《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit 32 什么是美国梦？

（单词翻译）

　　Unit 32
What Is American Dream?
What is the American Dream? Is it the same for all Americans?  Is it a myth? Is it simply a search for a better life? How has the  American Dream changed over time? Some see their dreams wither¹ and die  while others see their dreams fulfilled. Why? Everyone has dreams abut  a personally fulfilled life... and what is your dream?
The term American Dream was first used by James Adams in his  book The Epic² of America which was written in 1931. He states: The  American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better  and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each  according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the  European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us  ourselves have grown tired and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of  cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each  man and each woman shall be able to get to the fullest stature³ of  which they are capable, and  be recognized by others for what they  are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
In the united States' Declaration of Independence, our  founding fathers state: "... all Men are created equal, that they are  endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among  these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Might this view  be considered the foundation of the American Dream?
Were homesteaders who left the big cities of the east to find  happiness and their piece of land in the unknown wilderness⁴ of the  west pursuing these Rights? Were the immigrants who came to the United  States looking for their bit of life, liberty, happiness and their  Dream? And what did the desire of the veteran of World War II -- to  settle down, to have a home, a car and a family -- tell us about this  Dream? Is the American Dream attainable⁵ by all Americans? Would Martin  Luther King feel his Dream was attained⁶? Did Malcolm X realize his  Dream?
Some say, that the American Dream has become the pursuit of  material prosperity -- that people work more hours to get bigger cars,  fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families -- but have  less time to enjoy their prosperity. Others say that the American  Dream is beyond the reach of the working poor who must work two jobs  for their family's survival. Yet others look toward a new American  Dream with less focus on financial gain and more emphasis on living a  simple, fulfilling life.