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.

