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英语四级听力美文第10篇:Comments on the American Dream
The phrase"American dream" generally refers to the hopes has for his own well-being inAmerica.It is not necessarily a selfish notion, because achieving the dream is assumed to makeAmerica strong.Because the dream is held by individuals, there can be as many differentdreams as there are people to have them.A new immigrant may dream of mastering thelanguage, holding a steady job, and having his own apartment.A successful industrialist maydream of acquiring more companies.
In the past, the most typical components of the American dream for ordinary are as follows. The first component is a piece of land where one can sustain himself and raise afamily.Having the land has to go beyond mere subsistence.It must also provide for a profit andexpansion.Most importantly, it must help to give your children better opportunties than youhad.A final component is freedom of movement within your geographic area.In ouragriculrural age, freedom of movement came with horse and wagon.
We remain emotionally tied to our agricultural past.We replace the working farm of theAmerican dream with a suburban house and an urban job.The horse that took our ancestors totown once a month for supplies is replaced by a couple of cars that take us several placeseveryday.
The essence of the American dream seems to me to be geographic space and physicalfreedom.One's efforts allow one to succeed independently while providing an improved futurefor one's children and making a contribution to the world that one can be proud of.
The dream has its constants,but is ever-changing with the people and with the times.Foryoung students today, the dream might include a very high-paying technology job from whichone could retire at an early ageand devote oneself to helping others.For middle-aged peopletoday, the dream may include voluntary simplicity--a planned reduction in consump-tionwith a potentially more satisfying lifestyle.
