Question

The United States has always been a country of many cultures. Before Europeans came to North America, many groups of Native Americans lived here. Different Native American groups had different cultures. The first Europeans in the United States were from England and Holland, but immigrants（移民） came from all European countries. Many people also immigrated from Asia and Africa. Sadly, many Africans were brought to the United States to serve the Americans. The life there was hard for them. Many immigrants come from Latin America too. Today, the United States has people from more cultures than ever.

In the 19th century, people thought of the United States as a “melting pot”. People thought that all immigrants should forget their native cultures and languages and become English-speaking Americans. They felt that people should assimilate cultures. However, not everyone wanted to assimilate completely. Many people tried to keep parts of their cultures, such as foods, customs, and languages. However, their children often forgot their parents’ or grandparents’ language. But most Americans, even those whose families have been here for a long time, can tell the countries their relatives came from. And of course, new immigrants take great pride in their cultures and languages.

For all of these reasons, melting pot is no longer a good way to describe the United States. Instead, people now call the United States a “salad bowl”. They say salad bowl because in a salad, you can still see all of the individual parts （lettuce, tomato, and so on）, but all the different parts are mixed together and begin to take on the taste of one another.

1.The first paragraph mainly talks about_____________ .

A.how many immigrants the United States has

B.where the immigrants live in the United States

C.what culture and language the immigrants keep

D.why the United States is a country of many cultures

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Before Europeans came to North America, nobody lived there.

B.People spoke of the United States as a “melting pot” in the 19th century.

C.All the Africans were brought to the United States to serve the Americans.

D.The immigrants in the United States are only from England, Holland and Africa.

3.The underlined word “assimilate” in the second paragraph means “ ”.

A.make something similar B.make something special

C.make something different D.make something interesting

4.Why do people call the United States a “salad bowl” now?

A.Because Americans can make all the cultures into one culture.

B.Because Americans all want to eat salad to be healthy very much.

C.Because Americans want their country to be as “green” as “salad”.

D.Because Americans can make different cultures go together in one country.

Answer 1