Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.

Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to Norm America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hand winter and could not find enough food to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.

Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days. The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing or dressing, and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin made into a pie.

1. Thanksgiving is held _______.

A. on the fourth Friday in November B. on the fourth Thursday in November.

C. on the fourth Thursday in December D. on the fifth Thursday in November.

2. During Thanksgiving, American people _____________.

A. work harder. B. must work on the weekend.

C. have days off. D. go to school.

3. Most of people on the ship the Mayflowers died when they had arrived North America because ________.

A. they didn’t have enough warm clothes.

B. they were sunk into the water along with the ship.

C. they didn’t have house to live

D. they couldn’t find enough food in a hard winter.

4. Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving to ____________.

A. eat food they had saved all the year.

B. show that they have a lot of food for the next winter.

C. thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.

D. thank the summer for giving them a lot of food.

5. The most important part of Thanksgiving __________.

A. is performance in the theatre.

B. is a traditional dinner with turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberries.

C. is singing together.

D. is giving many flowers.