Within the span of a hundred years, in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a tide of emigration one of the great folk wanderings of history—swept from Europe to America. 【F1】
This movement, driven by powerful and diverse motivations, built a nation out of a wilderness and. by its nature, shaped the character and destiny of an uncharted continent.
【F2】
The United States is the product of two principal forces—the immigration of European peoples with their varied ideas, customs, and national characteristics and the impact of a new country which modified these traits.
Of necessity, colonial America was a projection of Europe. Across the Atlantic came successive groups of Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, Scots, Irishmen, Dutchmen, Swedes, and many others who attempted to transplant their habits and traditions to the new world. 【F3】
But the force of geographic conditions peculiar to America, the interplay of the varied national groups upon one another, and the sheer difficulty of maintaining old-world ways in a raw, new continent caused significant changes.
These changes were gradual and at first scarcely visible. But the result was a new social pattern which, although it resembled European society in many ways, had a character that was distinctly American.
【F4】
The first shiploads of immigrants bound for the territory which is now the United States crossed the Atlantic more than a hundred years after the 15th-and-16th-century explorations of North America.
In the meantime, thriving Spanish colonies had been established in Mexico, the West Indies, and South America These travelers to North America came in small, unmercifully overcrowded craft. During their six- to twelve-week voyage, they survived on barely enough food allotted to them. Many of the ships were lost in storms, many passengers died of disease, and infants rarely survived the journey. Sometimes storms blew the vessels far off their course, and often calm brought unbearably long delay.
To the anxious travelers the sight of the American shore brought almost inexpressible relief. Said one recorder of events, "The air at twelve leagues" distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden." The colonists" first glimpse of the new land was a sight of dense woods. 【F5】
The virgin forest with its richness and variety of trees was a real treasure-house which extended from Maine all the way down to Georgia.
Here was abundant fuel and lumber. Here was the raw material of houses and furniture, ships and potash, dyes and naval stores.
【答案解析】解析：本句主干是This movement built a nation…and shaped the character and destiny…。过去分词短语driven by powerful and diverse motivations是后置定语修饰主语movement；短语out of a wilderness，by its nature分别为地点状语、方式状语；介词短语of an uncharted continent为后置定语修饰character and destiny。
【答案解析】解析：本句主干是The United States is the product…。介词短语of two principal forces为后置定语修饰product；破折号后的内容是对two principal forces的解释说明，其中的with their varied ideas，customs…characteristics作定语修饰the immigration of European peoples，末尾部分定语从句which modified these traits修饰a new country。
【答案解析】解析：本句主干是The first shiploads of immigrants…crossed the Atlantic…。过去分词短语bound for the territory为主语The first shiploads of immigrants的后置定语，定语从句which is now the United States修饰的是the territory；more than a hundred…为时间状语。
问答题
【F5】
【正确答案】正确答案：郁郁葱葱、树种繁多的原始森林是一座从缅因一直向南绵延到佐治亚的天然宝库。
【答案解析】解析：本句主干是The virgin forest…was a veritable real treasure-house…。介词短语with its richness and variety of trees作定语修饰The virgin forest；定语从句which extended from Maine all the way down to Georgia修饰的是a veritable real treasure—house。词汇veritable意为“真正的，名副其实的”。