The United States has always been a country of many cultures. Before Europeans came to North America, many groups of Native Americans lived here. Different Native American groups had different cultures. The first Europeans in the United States were from England and Holland, but immigrants came from all European countries. Many people also immigrated from Asia and Africa. Sadly, many Africans were brought to the United States as slaves. Many immigrants come from Latin America too. Today, the United States has people from more cultures than ever. In the 19th century, people spoke of the United States as a " _ ." People thought that all immigrates should forget their native cultures and languages and become English-speaking Americans. They felt that people should assimilate - join American culture. However, not everyone wanted to assimilate completely. Many people tried to keep parts of their cultures, such as foods, customs, and languages. However, their children often forgot their parents' or grandparents' language. But most Americans, even those whose families have been here a long time, can tell the countries their  s came from. And of course, new immigrants take great pride in their curare and language. For all of these reasons, melting pot is no longer a good way to describe the United States. Instead, people now call the United States a " _ ." They say salad bowl because in a salad, you can still see all of the individual parts (lettuce, tomato, and so on), but all the different parts mixed together and begin to take on the flavor of one another. The "melting pot"   _  .
is an accurate way to describe the United States is a place where people from different cultures should assimilate completely cannot accurately reflect the reality in the United States cannot be replaced by the "salad bowl"