Is the United States a melting pot？ In other words, have immigrants to the USA merged with

the native Americans and (1)_____ to be Germans, Japanese, Poles, Irish, etc？ It has been (2)_____ a "pot of stew" might be a more suitable word than "melting pot", (3)_____ in a stew the meat and vegetables keep their own characteristics, but (4)_____ to the spices and the (5)_____ it is cooked, the stew has a distinctive flavor of its own. The implications of "melting pot" (6)_____ American social workers and language teachers, many of (7)_____ feel that racial and national groups should be encouraged to (8)_____ their customs, traditions and languages. At the same time it is agreed that all Americans, (9)_____ their origins, must learn to speak English clearly and fluently, and they must learn to (10)_____ themselves to the American way of life.

However, there are ethnic groups who still (11)_____ together, who speak their own languages and have preserved many of their old customs. There are Hispanic (12)_____, e.g. Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, most of whom still speak Spanish as their (13)_____ language. There are the American Indians and (14)_____ Asian groups, all of whom speak their own languages. Then there are the 20 million blacks, who, (15)_____ they speak English, for the most part live separately. Many blacks are beginning to (16)_____ their roots right back to the African tribes (17)_____ which their ancestors were torn in the days of slavery and some of them are (18)_____ themselves more and more with Africa. Some black leaders (19)_____, reminding them that their culture and their language are not African. They are American. But many blacks are (20)_____ bitter against white culture to feel American.

A．ceased

B．stopped

C．paused

D．halted