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WorksheetsUnderstanding Immigrant Contributions to America
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 13mins
1.Which of the following statements best expresses the central idea of "The Immigrant Contribution"?
Immigration is a core part of American society and an expression of the nation's values.
Immigrants have made key contributions to American history, culture, and politics.
Immigrants have had difficulty assimilating into American society, but eventually they adapt.
Immigration to America reflects the plentiful opportunities the nation offers to newcomers.
According to "The Immigrant Contribution," what main hopes did nearly all immigrants to the United States share? Choose two options.
the hope for security
the hope for adventure
the hope for cultural stability
the hope for personal freedom
the hope for economic opportunities
As explained in "The Immigrant Contribution," which of the following aspects of life in the United States have benefitted from the contributions of immigrants? Choose four options.
Sports
Politics
The Arts
Language
The Economy
According to “The Immigrant Contribution,” what does the concept of the
“melting pot” represent?
the idea that all people, whether newly arrived or long established in the United States, are equal
the desire for new immigrants to learn to fit in with the dominant culture of the United States
the belief that a shared background as a nation of immigrants unifies all United States citizens
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?
They are her children or the children of her children
They are relatives who lived long before she was even born
They are part of a group of families who have lived together
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.
when he or she becomes a citizen
when he or she becomes an immigrant
when he or she gets a legal job in the U.S.
when he or she travels to the U.S. for a visit
If a group has several factions, what must be true?
Each faction represents the outlook of the group
The group has separated itself from the factions
The factions are defined parts of the group
The factions are trying to leave the group
8. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A According to “The Immigrant Contribution,” how is immigration a
“gesture of faith in social mobility”?
U.S. society is constantly changing, and immigrants are a central part of that social process
Immigrants have contributed to the United States' growth in industry, agriculture, and business
Immigrants believe that moving to the United States offers them a chance to improve their social and economic status.
The pioneering spirit of the nation--the desire to conquer new frontiers and explore the unknown--is kept alive by immigrants.
Part B Which of these quotations from “The Immigrant Contribution” best
supports the answer to Part A?
Between 1880 and 1920 America became the industrial and agricultural
giant of the world as well as the world’s leading creditor nation. This
could not have been done without the hard labor, the technical skills and
the entrepreneurial ability of the 23.5 million people who came to
America in this period.
[Immigration] is the expression in action of a positive belief in the
possibility of a better life. It has thus contributed greatly to developing
the spirit of personal betterment in American society and to strengthening
the national confidence in change and the future.
[Immigration] reminded every American, old and new, that change is the
essence of life, and that American society is a process, not a conclusion.
[Immigration] infused the nation with a commitment to far horizons and
new frontiers, and thereby kept the pioneer spirit of American life, the
spirit of equality and of hope, always alive and strong.
9. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A According to “The Immigrant Contribution,” what does the idea of
equality mean in the United States?
Granting citizens equality is the surest way to create a powerful nation.
All U.S. citizens should have equal opportunities and freedoms.
People of different talents and abilities are still equal in character.
U.S. citizens view one another as equals instead of looking down on anyone.
Part B Which of these quotations from “The Immigrant Contribution” best
supports the answer to Part A?
This is the spirit which so impressed Alexis de Tocqueville, and which he
called the spirit of equality.
Equality in America has never meant literal equality of condition or
capacity. . . .
[It] has meant that in a democratic society there should be no inequalities
in opportunities or in freedoms.
The American philosophy of equality has released the energy of the
people, built the economy. . . .
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A Which of the following statements is the main opinion about
immigrants expressed in “The Immigrant Contribution”?
Immigrants have overcome hard times to live successfully in the United States.
Immigrants embody the spirit of the United States and have defined its history.
Immigrants have significantly contributed to the U.S. economy, its
politics, and the arts.
Immigrants have been contributing to the nation’s development since the
founding of the United States.
Part B Which of these quotations from “The Immigrant Contribution” best
supports the answer to Part A?
Oscar Handlin has said, “Once I thought to write a history of the
immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were
American history.”
So, of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, eighteen
were of non-English stock and eight were first-generation immigrants. Two
immigrants . . . established the financial policies of the young republic.
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.
[Immigration] was hard on the newcomers. . . . When poor, ill-educated
and frightened people disembarked in a strange land, they often fell prey to
native racketeers, unscrupulous businessmen and cynical politicians.
11. 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?
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.
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.”
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. . . .
Sociologists call the process of the melting pot “social mobility.”
12. Read these sentences from “The Immigrant Contribution.”
But the anonymous immigrant played his indispensable role too. Between 1880 and
1920 America became the industrial and agricultural giant of the world as well as
the world’s leading creditor nation.
Which words in the sentences are most clearly examples of charged language?
Choose three options.
anonymous
immigrant
indispensable
giant
leading
13. 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. . . .
He uses charged language with strong positive associations.
He appeals to readers’ admiration for artists and professionals.
He makes a logical argument based mostly on facts and statistics.
He cites Charles O. Paullin, an expert on the topic of immigration.
14. In which of these quotations from “The Immigrant Contribution” does Kennedy
most clearly include appeals to emotion to make his views more persuasive?
Yet each wave of immigration left its own imprint on American society;
each made its distinctive “contribution” to the building of the nation and
the evolution of American life.
In consequence, the impact of immigration has been broadly to confirm
the impulses of American life demanding more political liberty and
more economic growth.
The multiplicity of sects established the American tradition of religious
pluralism and assured to all the freedom of worship and separation of
church and state pledged in the Bill of Rights.
Immigration provided the human resources. More than that, it infused
the nation with a commitment to far horizons and new frontiers, and
thereby kept the pioneer spirit of American life, the spirit of equality and
hope, always alive and strong.
15. Which of the following is one meaning of the Latin root -nat-?
to be bad
to be born
to be found
to be strong
16. The prefix pre- means “before.” What does a doctor provide when he or she
gives prenatal care? Use the information about the prefix pre- and your
knowledge of the Latin root -nat- to help you answer.
a stabilizing procedure before the main procedure
preventive tools to keep an illness from striking a patient
medical care to a mother and child before the child is born
strong medication prior to an operation or another procedure
17. What type of sentence is this sentence?
Nearly all immigrants, in both the present and the past, transport their customs as
well as their baggage.
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-Complex
18. Which of these sentences is a compound sentence?
The departure from one’s homeland and the adaptation to a new one are
common topics in American literature.
Many American writers are the children of immigrants, and the
immigrant experience is one of their themes
Willa Cather, Bernard Malamud, Julia Alvarez, and Amy Tan are all
writers who explore the immigrant experience.
While some writers who come from other lands write about the
immigrant experience, others focus on their homelands.
19. Which of these sentences is a complex sentence?
Sauerkraut and pumpernickel are two German food names that are now
part of American English.
Used very rarely in Britain, the word cookie entered American English
from the Dutch language.
Ketchup may now be a typical American condiment, but the word
ketchup apparently has its origins in Chinese.
Chile, which is short for chile con carne, comes from Spanish, but in
American English we usually spell it chili.
20. What type of sentence is this sentence?
Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in the early nineteenth century, and
his book Democracy in America described in glowing terms what he found there.
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-Complex
21. Which of the following statements describes a main difference between John F.
Kennedy’s “Immigrant Contribution” and Anna Quindlen’s “A Quilt of a
Country”?
Quindlen focuses more on immigrants’ accomplishments than Kennedy
does.
Quindlen focuses on immigration in an earlier time period than Kennedy
does.
Quindlen gives fewer details from her own personal experience than
Kennedy does.
Quindlen gives more details about immigrant problems and tensions than
Kennedy does.
22. What main difference in the authors’ diction is illustrated by these quotations
from “The Immigrant Contribution” and “A Quilt of a Country”?
The ideal of the “melting pot” symbolized the process of blending many strains into
a single nationality, and we have come to realize in modern times that the “melting
pot” need not mean the end of particular ethnic identities or traditions.
—John F. Kennedy, “The Immigrant Contribution”
[America] . . . was built of bits and pieces that seem discordant, like the crazy quilts
that have been one of its great folk-art forms, velvet and calico and checks and
brocades. Out of many, one. That is the ideal.
—Anna Quindlen, “A Quilt of a Country”
Quindlen uses more formal, or serious, diction than Kennedy uses.
Quindlen uses less poetic, or imagistic, language than Kennedy uses.
Quindlen uses more concrete, or specific, language than Kennedy uses.
Quindlen uses less old-fashioned, or archaic, language than Kennedy
uses.
