Because Americans are a blend of people from many countries,
there are only a few characteristics that __1__ all Americans. Perhaps
the most basic of these is American individuality that is evident in
their history from the days of their __2__. The second characteristic
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shared by all Americans is their paradoxical combination of idealism
and practicality. Another typically American feature is the emphasis
they place on money and the things it can buy—that is, the
materialism. Finally, in __3__ all American families, their parents
exert less influence on them than do parents in other parts of the
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world. These elements are deeply embedded in the American
character, but Americans are __4__ change in a relatively short period
of time.
Examinations have come to exercise so great an influence in
the modern age that it may be difficult to take a view of them
unclouded by prejudices. Those who pass examinations have an
interest in encouraging their use and in emphasizing their
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advantages. Those who fail may be in danger of accepting a
pessimistic view of their own abilities which could affect their whole
future. Here lies a great danger, for even in a society in which
everyone would be given an equal chance, no means of selection can
be tolerated which depresses the ambition of those rejected. There
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was little disgrace in failing an examination at a time when only a
small elite was involved. Nowadays nearly everyone is examined and
graded at one level or another, and opportunity for promotion is
becoming steadily more available to those who pass tests.
Examinations are important, but what is regrettable is that there
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is a tendency to put aside that which is not to be estimated by
examination. Moral excellence and strength of character, though
encouraged in school by tradition, come second to examination
technique when a student applies for entrance to the next stage of
education. But we must bear in mind that it is the defects in persona
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l qualities rather than lack of knowledge which are responsible for
failures in life.
