美國：移民之國

A look at the history of the United States indicates that this country has often been called a melting pot, where various immigrant and ethnic groups have learned to work together to build a unique nation. Even those original Americans, the Indians, probably walked a land bridge from Asia to North America some thousands of years ago. So, who are the real Americans? The answer is that any and all of them are! And you, no matter where you come from, could also become an American should you want to. Then you would become another addition to America's wonderfully rich nation of immigrants.

The United States is currently shifting from being a nation of immigrants of mainly European descent to one of immigrants from other parts of the world, such as Asia and Latin America. The number of recent immigrants has skyrocketed. They desire to escape economic hardship and political oppression in their native countries as well as the desire to seek a better education and a more prosperous life in America, the land of opportunity. Although there are frequent conflicts between the cultures they have brought with them from the old country and those found in America, most immigrants learn to adjust to and love their adopted land.

Americans have also learned much from the customs and ideas of the immigrants and are often influenced by them in subtle and interesting ways. Immigrants bring their native cultural, political, and social patterns and attitudes, varied academic and religious backgrounds, as well as their ethnic arts, sports, holidays, festivals, and foods. They have greatly enriched American life.

For immigrants from all parts of the would, the United States has been a melting pot in which the foreigners have sometimes remained culturally and linguistically what they were in their native lands even as they move toward becoming citizens of the United States, a country whose people share a common cultural outlook and set of values. The melting pot does not melt away all recollections of another way of life in another place----nor should it. On the contrary, immigrants should maintain the languages, skills, religions, customs and arts of their own heritage, even while they are working towards entering the mainstream of American culture.

縱觀美國歷史，就可見這個國家經常被稱為一個熔爐，在此，各種移民和種族團體學會了共同建設一個獨特的民族。甚至那些本土的美國人--印第安人，也可能是幾千年以前，從亞洲走過大陸橋來到北美洲的。所以，誰是真正的美國人？答案是他們中的任何一個人都是！無論你來自何處，如果你想成為美國人，就會成為美國人；你就會變成這個極其富有的移民之國的一個新份子。

美國現在正由主要是歐洲血統移民的國家變為世界上其他各洲，如亞洲、拉丁美洲移民的國家。最近移民的數字急劇增長。 他們希望擺脫在本國的經濟困難、政治壓迫，并在美國這片充滿機遇的土地上尋找更好的教育和更富裕的生活。盡管他們從故國帶來的文化與美國文化之間往往會產生沖突,但是多數移民還是學會了適應并熱愛他們所歸化的土地。

美國人從移民的風俗和觀念中也學到了很多東西，并且在極其細微和有趣的方面受到了它們的影響。移民們帶來了他們本族的文化、政治以及社會模式和態度，不同的學術和宗教背景，以及他們種族的藝術、體育、節日和飲食。這些極大地豐富了美國人的生活。

對于世界各地的移民而言，美國已經是一個熔爐，在這個熔爐中，甚至當外國人快要成為美國（一個其人民有著共同的一套文化觀和價值觀的國家）公民時，他們從文化和語言上仍然是在他們本國的樣子。這個熔爐沒有、也不應該熔掉對另一個地方的另一種生活方式的記憶。相反，即使移民們努力地要進人美國文化主流之中，他們也應保存自己遺產中的語言、技能、宗教和藝術。