Selection Test: The Immigrant Contribution

Which of the following statements best expresses the central idea of "The Immigrant Contribution"?

• a. Immigration is a core part of American society and an expression of the nation's values.

• b. Immigrants have made key contributions to American history, culture, and politics.

• c. Immigrants have had difficulty assimilating into American society, but eventually they adapt.

• d. Immigration to America reflects the plentiful opportunities the nation offers to newcomers.

According to “The Immigrant Contribution," what does the concept of the "melting pot" represent?

• a. the idea that all people, whether newly arrived or long established in the United States, are equal

• b. the desire for new immigrants to learn to fit in with the dominant culture of the United States

• c. the belief that a shared background as a nation of immigrants unifies all United States citizens

• d. the process of blending many ethnicities in the United States into a single nationality

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the relationship between a woman and her descendants?

• a. They are her children or the children of her children.

• b. They are relatives who lived long before she was even born.

• c. They are part of a group of families who have lived together.

• d. They are her family members who immigrated to the U.S. together.

In which of these circumstances is a person most likely to go through naturalization in the United States? Base your answer on the meaning of naturalization.

• a. when he or she becomes a citizen

• b. when he or she becomes an immigrant

• c. when he or she gets a legal job in the U.S.

• d. when he or she travels to the U.S. for a visit

If a group has several factions, what must be true?

• a. Each faction represents the outlook of the group.

• b. The group has separated itself from the factions.

• c. The factions are defined parts of the group.

• d. The factions are trying to leave the group.

According to “The Immigrant Contribution," how is immigration a "gesture of faith in social mobility"?

• a. U.S. society is constantly changing, and immigrants are a central part of that social process.

• b. Immigrants believe that moving to the United States offers them a chance to improve their social and economic status.

• c. Immigrants have contributed to the United States' growth in industry, agriculture, and business.

• d. The pioneering spirit of the nation the desire to conquer new frontiers and explore the unknown-is kept alive by immigrants.

According to “The Immigrant Contribution," what does the idea of equality mean in the United States?

• a. Granting citizens equality is the surest way to create a powerful nation.

• b. All U.S. citizens should have equal opportunities and freedoms.

• c. People of different talents and abilities are still equal in character.

• d. U.S. citizens view one another as equals instead of looking down on anyone.

Which of the following statements is the main opinion about immigrants expressed in "The Immigrant Contribution"?

• a. Immigrants have overcome hard times to live successfully in the United States.

• b. Immigrants embody the spirit of the United States and have defined its history.

• c. Immigrants have significantly contributed to the U.S. economy, its politics, and the arts.

• d. Immigrants have been contributing to the nation's development since the founding of the United States.

In which of these excerpts from "The Immigrant Contribution" does John F. Kennedy most clearly include an appeal to authority to make his views more persuasive?

• a. Two immigrants the West Indian Alexander Hamilton, who was Washington's Secretary of the Treasury, and the Swiss Albert Gallatin, who held the same office under Jefferson-established the financial policies of the young republic.

• b. A German farmer wrote home from Missouri in 1834, “If you wish to see our whole family living in . . . a country where freedom of speech obtains, where no spies are eavesdropping, . . . in short, if you wish to be really happy and independent, then come here."

• c. We all know, of course, about the spectacular immigrant successes. . . In 1953 the President's Commission on Immigration and Naturalization mentioned the following: Andrew Carnegie (Scot), in the steel industry; John Jacob Astor (German), in the fur trade. . . .

• d. Sociologists call the process of the melting pot "social mobility."

In what main way does Kennedy make an appeal to reason in this quotation from "The Immigrant Contribution"?:

"Significant as the immigrant role was in politics and in the economy, the immigrant contribution to the professions and the arts was perhaps even greater. Charles O. Paullin’s analysis of the Dictionary of American Biography shows that, of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century figures, 20 percent of the businessmen, 20 percent of the scholars and scientists, 23 percent of the painters, 24 percent of the engineers, 28 percent of the architects, 29 percent of the clergymen, 46 percent of the musicians and 61 percent of the actors were of foreign birth. . . ."

• a. He uses charged language with strong positive associations.

• b. He appeals to readers' admiration for artists and professionals.

• c. He makes a logical argument based mostly on facts and statistics.

• d. He cites Charles O. Paullin, an expert on the topic of immigration.