【美国精神】第87期

Explanation:

  The American Indians, also known as Native Americans, were the first people living in North America when the Europeans began to settle (or begin to live there). Although many people think about the American Indians as a homogenous¹ group, or a group of all the same kinds of people, they were actually many smaller groups known as tribes³. The tribes had different languages, customs (or ways of doing things), foods, and cultures. Some of them were very large and others were very small. Only a small fraction⁴ (or percentage or portion) of the original tribes still exist, because many of them were destroyed by the European settlers.

  Today, the U.S. government officially recognizes (or accepts and lists) 563 American Indian tribes. The Cherokee and the Navajo are the two biggest tribes. The Cherokees’ ancestral lands, or the land that belonged to their relatives many years ago, are in the area that is now the eastern and southeastern parts of the United States, especially where the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are today. But as the United States grew, most of the Cherokee were forced to relocate, or made to live in a new place even though they didn’t want to. The forced relocation is called the Trail of Tears because many Cherokee died while they were going to the new lands further west. Today, about 730,000 Cherokees live in the United States, mostly in the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

  The Navajo are the second-biggest tribe² of American Indians, with almost 300,000 Navajos living in the United States today. Most of them live in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. In traditional Navajo society, only women could own animals and property (or buildings or land). When people were married, the man moved into the woman’s home and the daughters inherited⁵ all the animals and property, meaning that the daughters got those things when the mother died. The Navajo are famous silversmiths, making jewelry⁶ and other things out of silver, a metal that is valuable and gray in color. The Navajo are also famous for their weaving, making beautiful red blankets and rugs⁷, which are small carpets or floor coverings.

 

问题：

Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

Answer:

• Cherokee

• Navajo

• Sioux

• Chippewa

• Choctaw

• Pueblo

• Apache

• Iroquois

• Creek

• Blackfeet

• Seminole

• Cheyenne

• Arawak

• Shawnee

• Mohegan

• Huron

• Oneida

• Lakota

• Crow

• Teton

• Hopi

• Inuit

1 homogenous   

adj.同类的，同质的，纯系的

参考例句：

• Japan is a wealthy,homogenous,developed nation with a stable political system.日本是一个富裕的同质型发达国家，政治体制稳定。
• My family is very homogenous and happy.我们这个家庭很和睦很幸福。

2 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

3 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fraction   

n.小部分，碎片；一点，一些；分数

参考例句：

• The car missed me by a fraction of an inch.那车子差一点儿就要撞到我了。
• The cost is only a fraction of his salary.那项费用不过是他薪水的一小部分。

5 inherited   

adj.通过继承得到的，遗传的；继承权的v.继承( inherit的过去式和过去分词 )；经遗传获得（品质、身体特征等）接替（责任等），继任

参考例句：

• She had not inherited her mother's forgiving nature. 她没有承袭她母亲的宽厚天性。
• She inherited a fortune from her father. 她从她父亲那里继承了一大笔财富。

6 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

7 rugs   

n.小块地毯( rug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• Try to avoid colours that jar when choosing curtains and rugs. 选择窗帘和地毯时，尽量避免颜色不调和。 来自《简明英汉词典》