来自：查字典高考网 2014-12-25
Native American languages
Before Europeans arrived in North America there were over 300 Native American languages. Some have now died out, and of the 250 or so remaining many are spoken only by a few older people. Other languages, like Cherokee, are more widely spoken. Most Native Americans speak English, some as their first language and others as their second.
Native American languages have added many words to English, though the meaning of a word has often been changed. Teepees are a kind of tent, *wampum belts were made of beads and since the belts had great value Europeans used wampum to mean money. Moccasins, a kind of shoe, are today worn by people all over the world. Many Native American words describe the things they name. For example, the Asakiwaki tribes name means people of the yellow earth, and the Cherokees name for themselves, Ani-Yunwiya, means the leading people. Indian names for Whites included people greedily grasping for land.
Many American place names have their roots in Native American languages. *Ohio, for instance, is a Native American name, and the names of many of its towns and cities, such as Chillicothe and Sandusky, and the lakes Scioto and Olentangy, are of Native American origin.
Native Americans today
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a part of the US government, there are now about 550 tribes. These include well-known groups like the *Navajo and *Sioux, and less famous tribes like the Cayuse. The number of Native Americans living in the US is about 1.2 million.
Almost a million live on reservations, areas of land that the government has allowed them to keep as their own. Native Americans are US citizens, and have the rights and responsibilities of any US citizen. However, reservations have their own governments and police forces and Native Americans pay different taxes. They also have the right to hunt and fish where and when they like, while other Americans have to get a licence.
On or off the reservations Native Americans find it difficult to live the traditional life. Activities of other Americans affect the way they live. Building dams across a river, for example, can affect the numbers of fish living there, so that even though Native Americans have the right to fish they may not be able to catch anything. Away from the reservations, many Native Americans find that their culture is very different from that of white people and have difficulty adapting.
Poverty is a serious problem. About 37% of people who live on reservations are unemployed, compared with 6% of the general population. Many tribes try to bring in money from outside. Some sell rights to search for oil on their reservation, others use the fact that the reservation makes its own rules to open casinos where people from outside can come and gamble. Gambling is illegal in most parts of the US and many Americans want it to remain so, but it makes a lot of money for the tribes. This brings Native Americans, once again, into conflict with white Americans.
【托福(toefl)阅读考试知识(十七)】相关文章：
[标签：海外留学,语言考试,托福,,]
高考前必听的5首励志歌曲，《Dream it possible》最能鼓舞人心！
他高考作文仅得6分，总分428分，被985高校录取，却被导师拒绝！
探秘历史 第二季 第233集 考英语用来睡觉，结果仍是高考状元，如今她怎么样了？
amc传媒音乐影像 第一季 第598集 西安原创乐队走进英泰青卓 用音乐助力高考学子
高考体育四项生的日常训练——深蹲移动跳：发展膝关节，踝关节力量。
加油吧考生：2019高考咨询大直播 第43集 科学填报志愿 规划精彩人生
美术联考用纸上海考试模拟试卷纸高考统考纸 4k水粉纸素描纸 速写纸卡纸美术模拟测试试卷纸 美术考试专用纸
葛军大爷怒了：高考我出了个小学数学送分题，你们跟我说不会做？
高考阅卷名师给考生的高考作文密训课 第4集 高考作文审题实操方法精讲（二）
amc传媒音乐影像 第一季 第600集 高中校长演唱《记忆花园》为高考学子助力打气
高中语文知识清单高考语文总複习工具书第5次修订五全綵版五三曲一线科学备考基础知识手册知识大集结资料书参考书导书高一高二高三
