American dream
To Americans, industriousness, thrift and ambition are possitive values. We encourage our children to be competitive, to get ahead, to make money, to acquire possassion. In games and in business alike, the aim is to win the game, the trorphy, the contract. We go in for laboursaving devices, gadgets, speed and shortcuts. We think every young couple should set up a home of their own. And we pity the couple who must share their home with their parent, let alone with other relatives. Actually, of course, not all Americans hold all these values. And those who do may hold other, and at times controdictary values that affect their ways of behaving. In the main, however,the collective expectation of our society is that these are desirable goals, and the individual, whatever his personal inclination, is under considerable pressure to conform.
參考譯文：美國夢(mèng)
對(duì)于我們美國人，勤勞、節(jié)儉和志氣都是積極的價(jià)值觀。我們鼓勵(lì)孩子們進(jìn)取、成功、賺錢、富有。在競賽和商業(yè)活動(dòng)中也是一樣，我們追求的是贏取比賽、獲得獎(jiǎng)杯、拿到合同。我們致力于節(jié)省勞力的工具、速度和捷徑。我們提倡所有的小兩口都能靠自己的雙手構(gòu)建家園。我們?yōu)槟切┍仨氁揽扛改富蛴H戚生活的夫婦感到遺憾！其實(shí)，并不是所有的美國人都擁有這樣的價(jià)值觀，甚至有些人或許會(huì)擁有相反的價(jià)值觀，這樣的價(jià)值觀會(huì)影響他們的行為。不過，我們的社會(huì)的主流意識(shí)/期望還是這種積極的目標(biāo)，不論個(gè)人的傾好如何，他的行為也是被規(guī)范在一定的范圍之內(nèi)的
