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  3. American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It emerged from the short and

American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It emerged from the short and

游客2024-05-04  22
问题     American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It emerged from the short and rapid European conquest of an enormous landmass sparsely settled by diverse indigenous peoples. Although European cultural patterns predominated, especially in language, the arts, and political institutions, peoples from Africa, Asia, and North America also contributed to American culture. All of these groups influenced popular tastes in music, dress, entertainment, and cuisine. As a result, American culture possesses an unusual mixture of patterns and forms forged from among its diverse peoples. The many melodies of American culture have not always been harmonious, but its complexity has created a society that struggles to achieve tolerance and produces a uniquely casual personal style that identifies Americans everywhere. The country is strongly committed to democracy, in which views of the majority prevail, and strives for equality in law and institutions.

    Characteristics such as democracy and equality flourished in the American environment long before taking firm root in European societies, where the ideals originated. As early as the 1780s, a French writer living in Pennsylvania who wrote under the pseudonym J. Hector St. John, was impressed by the democratic nature of early American society. When French political writer Alexis de Tocqueville, an acute social observer, traveled through the United States in the 1830s, he provided an unusually penetrating portrait of the nature of democracy in America and its cultural consequences. He commented that in all areas of culture — family life, law, arts, philosophy, and dress— Americans were inclined to emphasize the ordinary and easily accessible, rather than the unique and complex. His insight is as relevant today as it was when de Tocqueville visited the United States. As a result, American culture is more often defined by its popular and democratically inclusive features, such as blockbuster movies, television comedies, sports stars, and fast food, than by its more cultivated aspects as performed in theaters, published in books, or viewed in museums and galleries. Even the fine arts in modern America often partake of the energy and forms of popular culture, and modern arts are often a product of the fusion of fine and popular arts.
    While America is probably most well known for its popular arts, Americans partake in an enormous range of cultural activities. Besides being avid readers of a great variety of books and magazines catering to differing tastes and interests, Americans also attend museums, operas, and ballets in large numbers. They listen to country and clas-sical music, jazz and folk music, as well as classic rock-and-roll and new wave. Still evolving and drawing upon its ever more diverse population, American culture has come to symbolize what is most up-to-date and modern. American culture has also become increasingly international and is imported by countries around the world. [br] From the second paragraph we can conclude that______.
选项 A、we tend to specify American culture by its uniqueness
B、Americans are apt to highlight the uniqueness of American culture
C、democracy and equality thrived in America long before in Europe
D、Tocqueville was impressed by the democratic nature of early American society
答案 C
解析 推理判断题。第二段第一句就说“虽然民主，平等这些特点是起源于欧洲，但是在欧洲社会扎根之前就已经在美国很盛行了”。由此可判断选项[C]正确。[A]、[B]与原文矛盾；选项[D]的错误在于将J．Hector St．John与Tocqueville混淆了。
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