Social change is more likely to occur in societies where there is a mixture of different kinds of people than in societies where people are similar in many ways. The simple reason for this is that there are more different ways of looking at things present in the first kind of society. There are more ideas, more disagreements in interest, and more groups and organizations with different beliefs. In addition, there is usually a greater worldly interest and greater tolerance in mixed societies. All these factors (因素)tend to promote social change by opening more areas of life to decision. In a society where people are similar in many ways, there are fewer situations for people to see the need or the chance for change because everything seems to be the same. And although conditions may not be satisfactory, they are at least customary and clear.

Within a society, social change is also likely to occur more frequently and more readily in the material aspects of the culture than in the non-material aspects, for example, in technology rather than in values; in what has been learned later in life rather than what was learned early; in the simple elements(要素)rather than in the complex ones; and in elements that are acceptable to the culture rather than in strange ones.

Besides, social change is easier if it is gradual. For example, it comes more readily in human relations on a continuous scale rather than one with a sharp division. This is one reason why change has not come more quickly to Black Americans as compared to other American minorities, because of the sharp difference in appearance between them and their white fellows.

1.The underlined part “greater tolerance” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to “________”.

A. quicker adaptation to changing conditions

B. greater willingness to accept social change

C. more respect for different beliefs and behavior

D. greater readiness to agree to different conditions

2. Why is social change less likely to occur in a society where people are similar in many ways?

A. They are so conservative that they tend to slow down social change.

B. They can easily get what they want in the material aspect of society.

C. They are so used to their conditions that they seldom want to change.

D. They have similar needs that can be satisfied without much difficulty.

3. Which of the following factors probably tends to promote social change fast?

A. Different points of view.

B. Traditional values.

C. Sharp divisions in relations.

D. Similar appearances.

4.What is this passage mainly discussing?

A. Two different kinds of society.

B. Consequences of social change.

C. The importance of social change.

D. Certain factors affecting social change.

The United States is a country of immigrants. It is a place where people from all over the world come to build a better life. Some immigrants bring their families. Some bring a few of their favorite things. Others come alone with nothing but determination. One thing that every immigrant brings with them is their culture.

American immigration began in 1607 with the colony (殖民地) of Jamestown. In 1620, another group of people left England to build a settlement in America. They wanted to go to a place where they could practice their religion freely. Then many more people left their homes in Europe to build a better life in America. Many also came to America from Africa. By 1770, more than two million people had moved to America. Later on, more people came to the United States than ever before.

In cities all over America, you can see different cultures that formed this country. Many things that you may think of as being “American” are actually from a foreign culture. Some of the best examples of this are the foods people eat. Pizza and spaghetti are foods that all Americans know and love. But both of them are from Italy. Baseball is an all-American sport. But the hot dogs that people eat during the game are a type of food that was brought to America by German immigrants.

Over time, pizza and hot dogs have become a part of what is considered to be American food. In the same way, different groups of people have come together to define what an American is. An American can be a person of any background. An American can be of any faith. An American can be of any skin color. They can speak English clearly. They can speak English with an accent. Each new immigrant adds something new to American culture. It will keep changing as more people come to this country.

1.Paragraph 2 is mainly about _____.

A. the history of American immigration

B. why people chose to move to America

C. the rapid growth of the population of America

D. what immigrants have brought to America

2.Several foods are mentioned in the text to show _____.

A. they have a long history in America

B. they are very popular with Americans

C. America is a country full of tasty foods

D. America is made up of different cultures

3.The author probably agrees that American culture is _____.

A. simple B. strange

C. diverse D. advanced

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Immigrants and their American dreams

B. America: a melting pot of cultures

C. America: a land of opportunity

D. Life in the US: culture shock

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Of the many unpleasant emotions we can experience, fear may top the list. 1. . Fear can also keep us from pursuing the things in life that really matter --- like following our dreams, and developing important relationships. 2. .

Experience fear.

I used to be very afraid of speaking in front of people. I would get sweaty palms and my stomach would be so tied up that I wouldn't be able to eat. However, each time I spoke, I noticed afterwards that it wasn't that bad. Things I fear are never as bad in reality as I make them out in my mind. 3. .

Create space.

The first and most important step to being fearless is to create some space between ourselves and the emotion of fear. This isn't accomplished by ignoring the fear, or trying to talk ourselves out of it. 4. . In fact, a recent research shows that by simply admitting the emotion we actually begin to reverse the "fight or flight (逃避)" response in the body.

Control the breath and feel the fear.

Once we acknowledge the presence of fear, the second step is to control the breathing so that it becomes slower and gentler. We try to make the breath just a little bit longer, and feel how fear manifests (展现) in the body. 5. .

With practice, we can create enough space between us and the emotion of fear so that we're able to replace a fearful thought with a positive one. We can imagine a positive outcome for whatever we're about to do. For instance, before I get up to speak in front of a group of people, I imagine that the audience is positively impressed by what I say and that I manage to complete the speech successfully.

A. As we pay attention to the physical symptoms of fear, we can see fear objectively.

B. Fear is more than just physically unpleasant.

C. Fear, if left uncontrolled, can even destroy our life.

D. So one way to get rid of fear is to simply push ourselves to do things that we fear.

E. When we can see a positive outcome in our mind, fear no longer holds us back.

F. I have some ideas, though, of how to be free from fear.

G. Space is created only when we can honestly acknowledge that fear exists.

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