Festivals Around the World (Unit1, Module 3)
Vocabulary Revision
Tha nksgiving Day
Thanksg iving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.
In 1620, the settlers, or Pilgrims(朝圣者), sailed to America on the Mayflower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship(信仰自由). After a stormy two-month voyage they landed at in an icy November, what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.
During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of starvation or epidemics(流行病). Those who survived began sowing in the first spring.
All summer long they waited f or the harvests with great anxiety, knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield（产出，产量）rich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving be fixed to the Lord and the local Indians who had helpe d them. Years later, President of the United States proclaimed（宣布）the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year.
The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are ro ast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.
Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday on w hich Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year’s bounty（恩典,恩赐）and respectfully ask for continued blessings.
1. The origins of Thanksgivi ng Day.
Question: I n which paragraphs can we find the information about the origins of Thanksgiving Day?
Exercises:
1) The settlers ________ in search of a place where they could have freedom of worship.
A. set about
B. set down
C. set off
D. set up
[用法拓展] Translate the underlined phrases into Chinese. (翻译划线短语)
①Children like to set off firecrackers during the Spring Festival . ________________
②Her performance always sets me off laughing. ________________
2) During their first winter, many of the settlers died of starvation（同义转换）
During their first winter, many of the settlers s________ ________ ________.
3) We can easily imagine that the early settlers might have worked d________ ______ ________ for the
coming harvest.
4) All summer long the settlers waited for the harvests with great anxiety.（同义转换）
All summer long the settlers were l________ ________ to the harvests with great anxiety.
[即时训练]
①The day they looked forward ______ at last, which really gave us a great surprise.
A. to came
B. to come
C. had come
D. to coming
2. What does it celebrate?
Question: Which sentence in paragraph 4 tells us the purpose of the first Thanksgiving Day?
Exercises:
1) It used to be a ________(宗教的) celebration of the harvest.
2) The settl ers celebrated Thanksgiving Day to r________ themselves of the help they had received from the local Indians.
[用法拓展] Fill in the blanks using inform/convince/accuse/rob.（选词填空）
①They __________ the bank of thousands of dollars.
②Visitors should __________ receptionists of their arrival.
③She tried to __________ me of her innocence.
④They __________ her publicly of stealing their books.
3) Americans of all ________(信仰) and backgrounds join in to expres s their thanks for the year’s bounty
and respectfully ask for continued blessings.
4) Unlike some festivals, like Halloween, which is in __________(纪念) of the dead, Thanksgiving Day is
a holiday to express thanks to people alive.
[短语归纳] in + n. + o f 短语
歌颂_________ 拥有_________ 负责________ 需要__________
寻找__________ 代替_________ 赞同________ 为了纪念__________。