VOA常速：感恩节2019
燕山大学 刘立军 编写
【TRANSCRIPT】
On the fourth Thursday in November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The celebration is rooted in the ancient tradition of the harvest festival, but in the United States, it has taken a far greater significance. Although there are numerous regional claims as to where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, the traditional observance stems from a celebration that took place in Massachusetts, in November, 1621.
Those English settlers who celebrated that first Thanksgiving truly did have much for which to be thankful. Known today as the Pilgrims, these Christians were dissenters from the established English church. As part of their religious beliefs they observed Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving in response to events they believed to be special acts of Providence. The end of a drought, or of a plague, might call for a day of Thanksgiving.
Intent on setting up a community wherein they could live according to their own religious beliefs, they sailed out of England on a ship called the Mayflower in September 1620. One hundred and two would-be colonists and some 30 crew came ashore at Cape Cod on November 9th. Within a year, half of them were dead due to starvation, disease and the harsh weather conditions of that first winter. But the summer brought a good harvest, and in autumn, 53 Pilgrims sat down to a feast with 90 of their neighbors, Wampanoag Indians who had helped feed and safeguard them over their first year in the New World.
Although the holiday had been observed in Virginia since the first permanent colony was founded in Jamestown in 1609, modern Thanksgiving was first officially established in all states in 1863, by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. The observance was moved to the fourth week in November by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Thanksgiving began as a prayer of gratitude by emigrants who faced death, who nevertheless came through and endured. Today, for many Americans it is an occasion for gatherings of family and friends; a day to share a holiday meal with those who matter the most; and a day to give thanks for the many blessings of freedom.
【VOCABULARY】
1. Pilgrim n. a member of the group of English people ( the Pilgrim Fathers ) who sailed to America on the ship The Mayflower in 1620 and started a colony in Massachusetts 清教徒前辈移民（1620年乘五月花号赴美洲，在马萨诸塞建立英国殖民地）
2. dissenter n. a person who does not agree with opinions that are officially or generally accepted （对官方或普遍认可的意见）持异议者，持不同意见者
3. crew n. （可数名词+单数/复数 动词） all the people working on a ship, plane, etc. （轮船、飞机等上面的）全体工作人员。例如：
None of the passengers and crew were injured. 没有一个乘客和机组人员受伤。
crew members 全体机务人员
4. proclamation n. （可数名词, 不可数名词）an official statement about sth important that is made to the public; the act of making an official statement 宣言；公告；声明
【QUESTIONS】
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
On the fourth Thursday in November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The celebration is rooted in the ancient tradition of _______________________, but in the United States, it has taken a far greater significance. Although there are numerous regional claims as to where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, the traditional observance ________________ a celebration that took place in Massachusetts, in November, 1621.
Those English settlers who celebrated that first Thanksgiving truly did have much for which to be thankful. Known today as the Pilgrims, these Christians were dissenters from the established English church. As part of their _________________________ they observed Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving in response to events they believed to be special acts of Providence. The end of a drought, or of a _____________________, might call for a day of Thanksgiving.
Intent on setting up a _____________________ wherein they could live according to their own religious beliefs, they sailed out of England on a ship called the Mayflower in September 1620. One hundred and two would-be colonists and some 30 crew came ashore at Cape Cod on November 9th. Within a year, half of them were dead due to ________________, disease and the harsh weather conditions of that first winter. But the summer brought a good harvest, and in autumn, 53 Pilgrims sat down to a feast with 90 of their neighbors, Wampanoag Indians who had helped ___________________________ them over their first year in the New World.
Although the holiday had been observed in Virginia since the first ___________________________ colony was founded in Jamestown in 1609, modern Thanksgiving was first officially established in all states in 1863, by a __________________________________ of Abraham Lincoln. The observance was moved to the fourth week in November by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Thanksgiving began as a prayer of gratitude by emigrants who faced death, who nevertheless came through and endured. Today, for many Americans it is an occasion for ________________ of family and friends; a day to share a holiday meal with those who matter the most; and a day to give thanks for the many blessings of freedom.
【KEY】
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
On the fourth Thursday in November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The celebration is rooted in the ancient tradition of the harvest festival, but in the United States, it has taken a far greater significance. Although there are numerous regional claims as to where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, the traditional observance stems from a celebration that took place in Massachusetts, in November, 1621.
Those English settlers who celebrated that first Thanksgiving truly did have much for which to be thankful. Known today as the Pilgrims, these Christians were dissenters from the established English church. As part of their religious beliefs they observed Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving in response to events they believed to be special acts of Providence. The end of a drought, or of a plague, might call for a day of Thanksgiving.
Intent on setting up a community wherein they could live according to their own religious beliefs, they sailed out of England on a ship called the Mayflower in September 1620. One hundred and two would-be colonists and some 30 crew came ashore at Cape Cod on November 9th. Within a year, half of them were dead due to starvation, disease and the harsh weather conditions of that first winter. But the summer brought a good harvest, and in autumn, 53 Pilgrims sat down to a feast with 90 of their neighbors, Wampanoag Indians who had helped feed and safeguard them over their first year in the New World.
Although the holiday had been observed in Virginia since the first permanent colony was founded in Jamestown in 1609, modern Thanksgiving was first officially established in all states in 1863, by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. The observance was moved to the fourth week in November by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Thanksgiving began as a prayer of gratitude by emigrants who faced death, who nevertheless came through and endured. Today, for many Americans it is an occasion for gatherings of family and friends; a day to share a holiday meal with those who matter the most; and a day to give thanks for the many blessings of freedom.