Section D In this section, you will hear a short
passage. There are 10 missing words or phrases. Fill in the blanks with the
exact words or phrases you hear on the tape. Remember to write the answers on
the answer sheet. Home-ownership Owning
one’s home is a very important part of the (21) It’s
directly related to our culture and wordview. When the first
European settlers set foot on the Americas, Europe was still dominated by
feudalism. There were then classes in Europe—the (22) , the
clergy and the peasantry. The first two were the only classes that could legally
own land. If you were born a (23) you had little hope of
owning a piece of land or your own home. When the Americas were
discovered, they were regarded as the (24) Aside from
Indians, the continents were uninhabited by (25) Since all
the lands there had not been claimed, they were free and available to be owned.
But the aristocrats of Europe were not interest- ed in the New World for they
were wealthy and successful in their homelands. The (26) ,
however, took up the challenge. They had very little (27) in
Europe despite their wealth. To them, owning land was the cure.
In England, the middle class led the way to transform the North American
coast into British colonies. In (28) , the Virginian Company
and the Plymouth Company, which were responsible for establishing the first
(29) in America, were formed. To get people to go to North
America, the companies had to offer settlers land ownership, something valuable
enough to attract people to leave their comfortable homelands. People who had no
hope of owning land in Europe, therefore, saw the prospect of owning
(30) in North America. As such, the concept
of owning one’s own home was from the very start an essential ingredient in the
economic, cultural and social development of the U. S..