American Dream

Question 1

Whether Americans can still believe in the AD

Answer 1

has bcome increasingly questionable given the economic context and the current bleak outlook

Question 2

asking such a question boils down to wondering

Answer 2

whether there is still room for hope and brighter prospects in today’s America

Question 3

Undoubtedly, the basic tenet of AD

Answer 3

has been undermined

Question 4

AD

Answer 4

any individual working hard can make it/cn get head

Question 5

this is best exemplified by

Answer 5

the results of a poll showing most AMericans no longer believe their children will have a brighter future

Question 6

Hence

Answer 6

a growing pessimism on life which can be accounted for in several ways

Question 7

several ways:

Answer 7

Americans have been squeezed by the sluggish economy over the lat few years

Question 8

it also seems that

Answer 8

they have lost faith in the long-standing basic institutions of society such as:

• the governement
• the churches
• the SUpreme Court
• the banks

Question 9

this growing pessimism was

Answer 9

echoed in Obama’s speech in his 2014 State of the Union Address

Question 10

this speech

Answer 10

clearly acknowledges the grim reality most Americans are faced with

Question 11

he reckons the AD

Answer 11

has been endangered by increasing income inequality and that the gap between the haves and the have-nots has widened

Question 12

though the economy has started to

Answer 12

recover it has just benefited the 1%

Question 13

on top of that

Answer 13

social mobility has stagned and Americans find it extremely hard to climb the social ladder

Question 14

thus the AD seems

Answer 14

beyond their grasp

Question 15

However, according to another survey carried out in

Answer 15

July, it seems that most people in the US are living the AD even though they don’t recognize it.

Question 16

Long-time citizens are reported to

Answer 16

be more demanding and set higher expectations for themselves

Question 17

while earning more

Answer 17

they are no longer able to accumulate wealth

Question 18

this is due to

Answer 18

a shifting definition of the term

Question 19

achieving the Dream is no longer

Answer 19

viewed as encompassing all the traditional elements of education, home ownership, opportunity and so on but as relative to wealth

Question 20

…are seen as key to achieving success

Answer 20

being both Internet-savy creative and determined … as they enable business owners to promote themselves on the job market

Question 21

the best option to find a decent job

Answer 21

to have a capacity for anticipation so as to adapt to the demand for specific skills in our ever-changing world

Question 22

All things considered

Answer 22

it appears that there is still a srtong work ethic and much creativity among Americans.

Question 23

the Dream will be kept alive

Answer 23

as long as people are aware that they have to earn it

Question 24

principe fondamental

Answer 24

a basic tenant

Question 25

definition of AD

Answer 25

it is a belief that America is the land of opportunity where everybody can be successful provided they are talented and work hard

Question 26

american history is

Answer 26

full of success stories and of self-made men who started from scratch and managed to climb all the rungs of the social ladder

Question 27

petit à petit

Answer 27

gradualy

Question 28

dépérir

Answer 28

to wither

Question 29

céder à

Answer 29

to give way to

Question 30

the belief that US is the strongest nation in world is gradually withering :

Answer 30

• its frailty was exposed on 9/11 it is now regarded as a giant with feet of clay
• hard hit by the economic downturn
• fialure of Obamacare
• other countries are challenging America’s suprmeacy
• the gap between the have and the have nots is widening

Question 31

the US has been hard hit by the economic downturn

Answer 31

it dealt a severe blow to their morale

opward mobility is running out of steam

Question 32

devenir rich

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to strike it irch

Question 33

attirer

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to entice

Question 34

l’envers du décor

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the seamy side

Question 35

rêve illusoire

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an elusive dream

Question 36

chimère

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a pipe dream

Question 37

ne jamais se réaliser

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to fail to materialiez

Question 38

être hos de portée

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to be beyond sb’s reach

Question 39

rêve brisé

Answer 39

a shattered dream

Question 40

the AD has always

Answer 40

held out th epromise that as long as an individual works hard enough in this land of freedom and opportunities he can achieve anything

Question 41

those already on America soil

Answer 41

may be prone to thinking such a dream has faded and belngs to bygone days when Rockefeller and the like could start from scratch and reach the top by making huge sums of money

Question 42

the crisis has taught Americans that

Answer 42

wealth can be short-lived and downturns may happen overnight, as many traders have experienced over the last few years

Question 43

Conversely abroad

Answer 43

the Dream is still alive and kicking with immigration on an upward trend
- sremains a magnet for worldwide brains

Question 44

for some the Dream has become nothing more than

Answer 44

a pipe dream, for others the dream is as potent as ever, just waiting to come true