【答案解析】[听力原文] 24-30
Migration in the 19th Century
Between 1815 and 1914, the world witnessed the greatest peaceful migration in its history: 35 million people, mostly Europeans, left their homeland to start new lives in America. Why did these people risk everything by leaving their homes and families to see what the New World had to offer? There are both push and pull factors which we should consider.
First, what forced emigrants to make the decision to leave? One major cause of the exodus among European peasants was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. Another was politics. Nationalism saw increased taxation and the growth of armies, and many young men fled Europe to avoid being conscripted. Also, the failure of the liberal revolutions in Europe caused the departure of hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Physical hunger provided another pressing reason. Between 1845 and 1848, the terrible potato famine in Ireland ended in the deaths of one million Irish people and the emigration of a further million who wished to escape starvation. Religion also encouraged millions to leave the Old World.
In short，people chose to leave their homes for social，economic and religious reasons．As a result，by l 890 among a total population of 63 million，there were more than nine million foreign—born Americans．
But what were the attractions?First of all，there was the promise of land，which was so scarce in Europe．Next，factories were calling out for labor，and pay and conditions were much better than back home．Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads，and settlers were needed to populate new towns and develop commerce．There was the space for religious communities to practice their faith in peace and comparative isolation．
As we know，there were losers．To start with，there were those unwilling immigrants，the slaves who had been used as a source of cheap labor for the tobacco plantations of the South．Nor should we forget the equally awful fate of the American Indians．By l 860 there were 27 million free whites，four million slaves and a mere 488，000 free blacks．