填空题
Most people know that in 1776 the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Britain and decided to form their own country. The reasons why the colonists decided to declare their independence, however, are very complex.
Britain had ruled over colonies in America since the 1600s. 1 [■] Since Britain was very far away, by the mid-1700"s, the East Coast colonists had become virtually self-sufficient. 2 [■] They governed themselves autonomously for the most part, using elected assemblies to make local laws. 3 [■] They formed their own militia to deal with Indian attacks and other problems, and slowly expanded westwards. 4 [■]
There were the problems between Britain and the colonies in I763. Britain had just defeated France in a long war, and had taken over a great deal of French land in North America. 1 [■] But to pay for the war and to manage the new lands, the British needed financial resources. 2 [■] The colonists became filled with discontent over the taxes and declared that since they were British citizens they could not be taxed without their representatives in the government agreeing to that. 3 [■] Their motto was no taxation without representation. 4 [■]
The colonists doggedly held to this view of actual representation, while the British upheld the concept of virtual representation, which meant a member of the London Parliament virtually represented every British citizen, colonist or not, so a specific representative from the colonies was not necessary. 1 [■] As more taxes were imposed, the colonists grew ever angrier with the mother land. 2 [■] In a final surge of anger, they dumped ship-loads of British tea into Boston harbor in a protest that became known as the Boston Tea Party. 3 [■] Eventually, the colonists realized that they did not need the British government, and that they had done pretty well on their own. 4 [■] They fought the British in several small battles and realized, finally, that to be happy and free, they had to break away from Britain.
1 [■] A number of wealthy merchants who had done well under the British rule were less enthusiastic supporters of emancipation. 2 [■] They feared severe retaliation at the hands of the British and were not willing to risk life and limb, as well as their wealth, for such lofty ideals as independence. 3 [■] Soon, two parties established themselves within the American government. The lefties were enthusiastic and vociferous supporters of American independence. They were the hotheads who had organized the boycotts and street rallies. On the other side were the conservative plantation owners and rich constituents still loyal to the English crown. Eventually, though, the democratic wing won over the royalists. 4 [■]
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson, asked by the leaders of the American Colonies, wrote a document called the Declaration of Independence, which consisted of two parts. The first part was a list of their rights and the second part was a list of the numerous ways that England had denied these rights to its colonists. Finally on July 4, 1776, leaders of the colonies signed the Declaration of Independence, which marked the beginning of a new country.

assembly: legislative body that especially makes up the lower house of a legislature
colonist: an inhabitant of a colony
taxation: the imposition of taxes
parliament: legislative assembly in certain countries

填空题 Look at the four squares in paragraph 2 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
These British colonies had grown and prospered for over a century until they covered most of the American East Coast.
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填空题 Look at the four squares in paragraph 3 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
Therefore the British raised taxes throughout the American colonies.
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填空题 Look at the four squares in paragraph 4 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
They went so far as to boycott any imported British goods.
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填空题 Look at the four squares in paragraph 5 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
Of course, the idea of independence was not as easy to grasp by all American colonists.
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