The United States of America is the most culturally diverse country in the world in terms of culture religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. As a combination of various races and cultures, America is home to all. The culture here is so unique that citizens can be just as proud of their original cultural heritage as they are to be American. What is now the US was initially inhabited by native people until the land was settled by various European groups and African slaves. Since the 20th century, the country has become a heaven for people from all over the globe . The arrival of immigrants has shifted populations from rural areas into cities because immigrants tend to settle in urban areas. At present, 81 percent of the inhabitants in the US live in cities. Cultural and ethnic diversity adds a unique flavor to cities that is expressed through distinct neighborhoods, restaurants, places of worship, museums, nightlife and multicultural learning environments. Unique musical forms, such as jazz, rock and roll, Chicano music, and the blues, grow in the US by mixing a variety of culturally distinct musical traditions to create a new form. At the executive level, the country is headed by a mixedrace president; two posts on the Supreme Court are held by members of the country's two largest minorities.There is also diversity in state and local governments. Without its rich mixture of races and cultures, America would not be the nation that it is today. Founded upon the basis of equality and freedom, America acts as a stage where different cultures not only coexist peacefully, but develop well. What's the best title for this passage? A) The effects of culture and diversity on America. B) The influence of globalization on America. C) The political development of America. D) The bright future of America.
A
A senior United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare . A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for prefix = st1 /ChinaandMongoliasaid thatChina"can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily." China's child population makes up one-fifth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said. "What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing. The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks , sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day. The Beijingchildren's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children. A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400--500 yuana month for an average orphan. An average Chinese workers earned 440yuana month during the first quarter this year. Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation(CYDF), said people from all walks of life have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children. She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling. By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuanin donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1. 25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms. Three "Hope Stars" also attended the... CYDF collected 700 million yuanwith the purpose of _ . A) reducing dropouts B) helping homeless orphans C) supporting the Chinese Team for the coming Atlanta Olympic Games D) establishing 2, 074 Hope primary schools all over the country
A
Q: "Can't hold a candle to" is a popular expression. It is from the time before electricity, when people used candles for light. Someone who lived in a big house would have a servant light his way by holding a candle. The expression meant that the person who cannot hold a candle to you is not fit even to be your servant. "Hold out" is an expression one hears often in sports reports and labor news. It means refusing to play or work. Professional football and baseball players hold out if their team refuses to pay them what they think they are worth. Members of labor unions hold out and refuse to work until they get the work agreement they want. The expression "hold up" has several different meanings. One is a robbery. A man with a gun may say, "This is a hold up. Give me your money." Another meaning is to delay. A driver late for work may tell his boss, "I was held up by heavy traffic." Someone who was robbed on the way to work might say, "Sorry, boss, I was held up by a hold up." Still another meaning of the expression is for a story to be considered true after an investigation. The same driver late for work could say, "My boss did not believe a hold up held me up. But the police confirmed what I said so my story held up." "Hold on" is another expression. Often it means wait or stop. As you leave for school, your brother may say, "Hold on, you forgot your book." Hold on is also used to ask a telephone caller to wait and not hang up his telephone. When talking about work, if a boss says to his assistant, "you can't hold a candle to me", he means that his assistant _ . A) is not efficient when doing her job B) should work as a servant instead of an assistant C) should help the boss with many tasks D) is different from all her other colleagues.
A: A
What kind of pets do people have in your country? Dogs? Cats? How about a duck, hippo or lion? Here are two cases of animal owners with unusual pets. Barrie Hayman has a pet duck called Star. Barrie adopted him after his brothers and sisters stayed away from him at birth. Barrie, a duck breeder, realized the little duck needed special attention. So he began taking Star with him everywhere he went. "I would put him in my pocket while I did my shopping," said Barrie. Now, at five months, Star is too big for Barrie's pocket, but the two are still _ . They watch sports together and even share a drink together. Barrie said, "He is one fantastic duck. I've never known any like him." Star even has his own Facebook page, with more than 2,000 Facebook friends. Then there's the case of Tonie and Shirley Joubert in South Africa. They live with their pet hippo, Jessica. Tonie saved Jessica from floodwaters when she was only a day old. Jessica lives outside their riverside house, but she knows how to open the kitchen door, and often goes there for a snack. Tonie recently said, "I don't know whether Jessica sees me as a hippo or whether she sees herself as a human." Shirley is more certain, "Jessica sees herself as our child and I see Jessica as my daughter. I can't imagine my life without Jessica." Jessica is free to leave, and often visits wild hippos that live nearby. But she always returns home at night. Jessica's website notes that she has three hippo boyfriends, but one in particular, Fred, is her favorite. They often go grazing together and Fred has recently moved onto the Jouberts' house as well. We can learn from the passage that Jessica _ . A) came to the Jouberts' home when she was 5 months old B) loves eating in the Jouberts' kitchen C) doesn't see herself as a human being D) has more than three boyfriends
B