Thanksgiving Dayis a day for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. Onthis day, people give thanks with dinner and prayer (祈祷).
The first Thanksgiving Days in New England were harvest celebrations, or days forthanking God for plentiful crops. For this reason, the holiday still takesplace late in the autumn, after the crops have been gathered. For thousands ofyears, people in many parts of the world have held harvest celebrations.
In theUnited States, Thanksgiving isusually a family day, celebrated with big dinners and pleasant gathering offamily members. The very mention of Thanksgiving often brings back memories ofkitchens and storerooms crowded with good things to eat. Thanksgiving is also atime for serious religious thinking, church services, and prayer.
The first Thanksgiving in New England wascelebrated in Plymouth less than a year after the Plymouth colonists (殖民者) had settled in America. The first bad winter in Massachusetts had killedabout half the members of the colony. But new hope arose in the summer of 1621.The settlers expected a good corn harvest, in spite of poor crops of grains andwheat. So, in early autumn, governor (地方长官)William Bradford arranged a harvest celebration to give thanks to God for theprogress the colony had made.
The festival lasted three days. The menof Plymouth hadshot ducks, geese, and turkeys. The menu also included fish, wild plums, cornbread, etc. The women of the settlementkept watch overcooking and outdoor fires. About 90 Indians also attended the celebration.They brought five deer (鹿) to add to the feast. Everyone ateoutdoors at large tables and enjoyed games and a military review. Similarharvest Thanksgivings were held in Plymouthduring the next several years, but no traditional date was set.
16. Which of thefollowing sentences is NOT true?
A. People usually prepare a special feaston Thanksgiving Day.
B. People usually go to church onThanksgiving Day.
C. From the very beginning ThanksgivingDay had a fixed date.
D. Thanksgiving Day reminds people ofkitchens and storerooms crowded with good things to eat.
17. According tothe passage, why did colonists choose autumn as their holidays?
A. Because they arrived in Plymouth in the fall.
B. Because the crops have been gatheredat that time.
C. Because they wanted to have a goodwinter.
D. Because it was the traditional date.
18. What do weknow from the passage?
A. Colonists went through hard days in Plymouth.
B. Colonists had a good harvest in thefirst autumn.
C. Indians didn’t like to attend thecelebration.
D. The Thanksgiving celebration is nolonger held in Plymouthbecause no traditional date was set.
19. What does “keptwatch over” mean in Sentence 3, Paragraph 5?
A. learned B.enjoyed C.guarded against D. took care of
20. How doAmericans celebrated Thanksgiving Day?
A. Family members gather together to havea big dinner.
B. People enjoyed eating outdoors.
C. They gathered the crops onThanksgiving Day.
D. They invited Indians to have a dinner with them.
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