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1、选修8Unit1Alandofdiversity-ReadingCALIFORNIACaliforniaisthethirdlargeststateintheUSAbuthasthelargestpopulation.ItalsohasthedistinctionofbeingthemostmulticulturalstateintheUSA,havingattractedpeoplefromallovertheworld.Thecustomsandlanguagesoftheimmigrantsliveonin
2、theirnewhome.ThisdiversityofcultureisnotsurprisingwhenyouknowthehistoryofCalifornia.Unit1加利福尼亚加利福尼亚是美国的第三大州,而且是人口最多的州。加州与众不同之处在于它也是美国最具多元文化的一个州,它吸引了来自世界各地的人们。这些移民的风俗习惯以及语言在他们的新家都得以延续。当你了解了加利福尼亚的历史后,你就不会对此感到惊讶了。NATIVEAMERCANSExactlywhenthefirstpeoplearrivedinw
3、hatwenowknowasCalifornia,noonereallyknows.However,itislikelythatNativeAmericanswerelivinginCaliforniaatleastfifteenthousandyearsago.ScientistsbelievethatthesesettlerscrossedtheBeringStraitintheArctictoAmericabymeansofalandbridgewhichexistedinprehistorictimes.
4、Inthe16thcentury,afterthearrivaloftheEuropeans,thenativepeoplesufferedgreatly.Thousandswerekilledorforcedintoslavery.Inaddition,manydiedfromthediseasesbroughtbytheEuropeans.However,somesurvivedtheseterribletimes,andtodaytherearemoreNativeAmericanslivinginCali
5、forniathaninanyotherstate.美洲土著人最早的一批人具体是在什么时候来到我们现在所知道的加利福尼亚地区的,谁也说不清楚。然而,很可能至少在15,000年以前美洲土著人就住在加利福尼亚了。科学家们认为,这些迁居者通过一条史前时代曾经存在的大陆桥穿越北极地区的白令海峡到达美洲。欧洲人在16世纪来到这儿后,土著人遭受了极大的苦难,成千上万的人被杀害或被迫成为奴隶。此外,欧洲人带来了疾病,使许多人染病而死,不过,还是有一些人在经历了这些恐怖时期后活下来了。今天住在加利福尼亚的美洲土著人比任何其他州的
6、都要多。THESPANISHInthe18thcenturyCaliforniawasruledbySpain.SpanishsoldiersfirstarrivedinSouthAmericaintheearly16thcentury,whentheyfoughtagainstthenativepeopleandtooktheirland.Twocenturieslater,theSpanishhadsettledinmostpartsofSouthAmericaandalongthenorthwestcoas
7、tofwhatwenowcalltheUnitedStates.OfthefirstSpanishtogotoCalifornia,themajoritywerereligiousmen,whoseministrywastoteachtheCatholicreligiontothenatives.In1821,thepeopleofMexicogainedtheirindependencefromSpain.CaliforniathenbecamepartofMexico.In1846theUnitedState
8、sdeclaredwaronMexico,andafterthewarwonbytheUSA,MexicohadtogiveCaliforniatotheUSA.However,thereisstillastrongSpanishinfluenceinthestate.Thatiswhytodayover40ofCaliforniansspeakSpanishasafir