The American Way: Freedom
The heart of the American calendar is July 4. Americans have celebrated
this date as "Independence Day" snice 1776. In a (1) ______ atmosphere [1] ______
of this holiday, patriotic speeches remind Americans of their (2) [2] ______
______ July 4 represents the heartbeat of America: freedom.
When Americans think of freedom they often think of (3) ______. A- [3] ______
merican -style democracy tries to protect individual rights. People in other
cultures may not understand this (4) ______ [4] ______
Privacy is one good example of individual rights. Personal freedom in
America often means the right to one’s own (5) ______. American don’t [5] ______
want to invade someone’ s privacy, even if they know the person quite well.
They prefer to keep many "family matters" private. (6) ______,individuals [6] ______
may not share in conversation such information as salary, age, (7) ______ [7] ______
status or religion.
In American culture freedom also implies equality. For Americans, e-
quality refers to equal worth and equal (8)______ . In America, people can [8] ______
still hear rags - to - riches stories often enough to (9) ______ it in the [9] ______
minds of many. Freedom arouses strong feelings for Americans. However,
problems still exist. One individual’s freedom can (10) ______ with the [10] ______
rights of others. The path to freedom is not completely smooth but for Americans
it is worth travelling.