AMERICATHE ETHNIC MELTING POT美国的民族大熔炉.doc

AMERICA - THE ETHNIC MELTING POT "What then is the American, this new man? He is either a European or the descendant of a European, hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. I could point out to you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nations".J. Hestor St. JohnAmerica has long been known as an ethnic "melting pot" in which individuals of all nations have melted into a new race of men. The country was compared to a big pot of soup which had bits of flavour from each different culture. In time they all blended together forming a new unique flavour. The basic "ingredients" of this American mixture were immigrants who came to America from virtually () every country in the world. Europe began sending colonists in the early 17th century but the massive immigration took place in the period from 1880 to 1920, when tens of millions of Europeans entered the United States. Black Americans, the largest ethnic minority in the country, were brought to America from Africa in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries as slaves. Hispanics, who constitute the next largest ethnic minority in America, have come from Mexico, Puerto Rico or Cuba. The United States' population has also absorbed many Asians from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and other countries. In general, the United States took in nearly 43 million immigrants between 1820 and 1965. All these aliens have become Americans in the process of assimilation, naturalization and Americanisation. America, on the other hand, has taken its character from an extraordinary variety of peoples.Although there were immense differences between immigrants of various races, religions, cultures or backgrounds there was one thing that they had in common: all of them came to America to start a new life leaving everything behind. They all shared certain characteristics now regarded to be typically American: the courage to take risks, self-reliance, confidence in the future, optimism and tolerance of diversity.The idea of the melting pot is now considered to be less true as many groups of people are not willing to give up their old customs or live out of their ethnic communities, for example the Chinese or Mexicans. In general, however, descendants of immigrants are eager to mix with Americans, to adopt the American style of life and to follow American social customs.The Discovery of AmericaChristopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. He was born in Italy. His father and both grandfathers were cloth makers. Columbus was a seaman and made many sea voyages. Most people in Columbus's days thought that the earth was flat and they did not believe that beyond the Atlantic Ocean lay India. In 1492 the King and the Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. There were 3 caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta. After sailing 4000 miles he reached some land. The crew saw something like a white cliff and cried out: "Tierra! Tierra!". Columbus thought that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land - a new continent. It was America. Columbus named the land they had reached San Salvador ("Holy Saviour"). People began to speak about the land as "The new World".European people came to the New World for many reasons. Some hoped to find gold and silver. Priests and missionaries came to bring the Christian religion to the Indians. Among those who came for freedom was a small group of English people called Pilgrims. They wanted to start a new life and to have no religious problems they had in England. In 1620 on the ship "Mayflower" they landed in the northeast of America. They set up a colony and called that part of the country "New England".