On July 12, 1993, a young professor of American history named Frederick
Jackson Turner stood up to speak. The scene was the American History
Congress at the Chicago World’s Fair. (62) His paper was titled "The
significance of the Frontier in American History." Turner had a new idea.
(63) And many historians who heard him recognized that he had come upon a
simple theory that seemed right. To Turner, the frontier was
one of the most powerful forces shaping the American character. He pointed out
that the frontier was a place for new beginnings, a place where men and women
could build new lives. Thus, the frontier represented hope and opportunity to
Americans. Turner also pointed out that these new lives on the frontier were
shaped by tile hardships of surviving in the wilderness. Thus, life on the
frontier produced determination in Americans and made them believe in the value
of work. (64)According to Turner’s theory, the frontier was a place where
everyone had to struggle equally hard. (65) Thus, frontier life helped
shape the American ideal of equality, independence, and democracy.
【参考答案】
许多听到他演讲的历史学家意识到他涉及到一个看起来很正确的简单理论。[说明] come upon：v. 突然产生，要求，成......