Unit Five

How to Celebrate Holidays

Thanksgiving--- general information

Thanksgiving is observed in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans, it’s the most important holiday apart from Christmas. It’s a day for family to have a reunion. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.

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A traditional dinner with foods that come from North America features Thanksgiving. Wild turkeys, pumpkins ,corn on the cob, sweet potatoes (also called potato-yams) make up a list of typical food on this day.

Wild Turkey

Pumpkin

Corn on the Cob

A Thanksgiving Dinner

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

On Thanksgiving there are special television programmes and sports events. In New York there is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, when a long line of people wearing fancy costumes march through the streets with large balloons in the shape of imaginary characters. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the Christmas period, and the next day many people go out to shop for Christmas presents.

http://www.ny.com/holiday/thanksgiving/images/garfield.jpg

Thanksgiving--- the myths

(1) Who observed the first Thanksgiving?

It was not the Pilgrims but the Indians. The native Americans celebrated many Thanksgiving before Europeans ever arrived. For example, one Indian tribe (Wampanoag ) held six Thanksgiving festivals throughout the year.

Thanksgiving--- the myths

(2) Was the pilgrim’s Thanksgiving a merely harvest festival?

No. In fact, Thanksgiving praises God for the harvest, makes reference to the "goodness of God" in providing for them the feast. It had a religious significance.

The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving--- the popular story behind it

Follwing is the story believed by many as the origin of Thanksgiving.

On December 11, 1620 ,the Pilgrims set around at Plymouth Rock. Their first winter was devastating. They could not find enough to eat ,and consequently many of them died. By the spring, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. The Pilgrims obviously needed help and it came from an English-speaking member of the Wampanoag nation, Squanto.

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Squanto decided to stay with the Pilgrims for the next few months and teach them how to survive. He brought them food and skins, taught them how to cultivate new vegetables and how to build Indian-style houses. He educated the Pilgrims on poisonous plants, medicine, how to get sap from the maple trees, use fish for fertilizer, and dozens of other skills needed for their survival.

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The harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one and the Pilgrims decided to celebrate with a feast. They asked Squanto and the leader of the Wampanoags, Massasoit to bring their immediate family and to dine with them. The English had no idea how large Indian families could be and Squanto and Massasoit arrived accompanied by 90 relatives. The feast lasted three days. The Pilgrims and Indians ate outdoors at large tables.

This is generally regarded as the first Thanksgiving .

Mayflower

Pilgrims

The 102 English people who sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620. Weakened by the seven-week crossing and the need to establish housing, they came down with pneumonia and consumption (tuberculosis). They began to die -- one per day, then two, and sometimes three. They dug the graves at night, so that the Indians would not see how their numbers were dwindling. Later ,they got help from the Indians and established Plymoth colony.

Pilgrim Landing

Native Americans

They were living in North America for many hundreds of years before Europeans reached the continent. For a long time, white people called them Indians. Today, many people don’t like this name since it is based on a mistake made by Columbus who thought he had landed in India when he arrived in America.

Native Americans

Native Americans

About the author

Born: 11 August 1921 Place of Birth: Ithaca,

New York Died: 10 February 1992 Place of Death:

Washington

Major Works

1939, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. 1965, Haley's first major book

The Autobiography of Malcolm X published

1976, the completed version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots published

1990, A Different Kind of Christmas, a book about the underground railroad, and Queen, the story of Haley's paternal ancestors published

Coast Guard

Discussion

Have you ever felt that you are indebted to somebody for what you are or what you have?

Discussion

It’s true that we may be grateful to a stranger who tells us the directions in the street, but we often forget to express our gratitude to the milkman, the elevator operator, our teachers, friends or parents --- all who oblige us in one way or another.

What refrains us from doing so?

Text Organization

Part One (Paras 1-9) On Thanksgiving Day in 1943, the writer , wh

o was a young coastguardsman at that time at sea, came up with the idea of expressing his gratitude to those who had helped him.

Text Organization

Part Two (Paras 10-16) The writer wrote thank-you letters to his fathe

r, his grammar school principal, and his grandmother respectively.

Text Organization

Part Three (Paras 17-23) The writer received three letters in reply in w

hich each told him how much he or she appreciated his letter.

Text Organization

Part Four (Paras 24-26 ) The writer wishes everyone to find the good i

n others and praise it.

Language Study

under way: in motion or operation

The national educational reform is already under way.

A debate on whether it is proper to keep pets is under way.

Language Study

You can get something under way, or something can get under way or be under way.

1) I need two more assistants to get the research under way.

2) Twenty players will be competing for the championship when the tournament gets under way tomorrow.

Language Study

What does the word “holds” probably mean based on the context?

Hold, here used as a noun, is the place in a ship or plane where cargo is stored. （船舱；货舱）

e.g. The hold was full when the ship left the port.

Language Study

load: (v.) put goods onto a vehicle How long will it take to load the machines onto the

truck? load: (n.) amount of weight carried by a

vehicle After getting paid, she left, promising to return the

next week for a new load of wash. (Other forms: unload, overload ,reload, n+load of …)

… bombs packed delicately in padded racks.

According to the description, the bombs were like wine packed carefully in racks, and there was soft material under the bombs to keep them safe.

… quite the same as for folk ashore, this Thanksgiving morning had seen us busily preparing a traditional dinner featuring roast turkey.

Paraphrase: Just like people on land, on this Thanksgiving morning we were also busy preparing a traditional dinner with roast turkey as a typical course.

The pattern “a period of time + see + an event” simply means the event takes place during that period of time.

The late 20th century has seen some unprecedente

d changes in China. 2) The past week saw Tom buried in the books try

ing desperately to catch up with the missed readings.

put away: remove (sth.) to a place where it is usually stored

1) She folded up the towels and put them away in the cupboard.

2) The children were asked to put away the toys by themselves after class.

When you get to something or get to doing something, you start doing or dealing with it.

1)   Unless it’s an emergency, you’ll have

to wait for weeks before the committee gets to your proposal.

2)   Recently I got to rereading some of my early works and was amazed how much I have changed.

Translation

1 ）我们开始工作吧。 2 ）警察到底什么时候才开始调查这个案子呢？ 3) 听说女儿开始考虑结婚了，母亲总算松了

一口气。

Language Study

in quest of: seeking, trying to find

He went to America in quest of liberty.

He visited many witnesses of the accident in quest of the truth of his son’s death.

Now complete the following sentences with this phrase.

1)  Mary sent an application letter to the co

mpany _______________________. 2)  Scientists have been studying AIDS for y

ears ________________________.

reverse: turn around to the opposite direction; exchange the position of

1) The videotape will reverse automatically when it finishes.

2)  Suddenly remembering that she forgot to lock the door, Mary reversed her car and drove back home.

3) Attention please this vehicle is reversing!

turn over: think about, consider

1)  As He watched the chairman speaking, Prof. Randolf turned over in his mind the speech he was about to deliver to the audience.

2) He had turned the matter over and over again, trying to figure out a solution.

至少有七个人对我有不同寻常、影响深远的帮助。但我难过地意识到其中约有一半已经过世了——所以他们永远也无法接受我的谢意了。

Translate the following into English.

swallow hard : make a movement in the throat because you are nervous, frightened, angry, etc.

He swallowed hard as he turned over the examination paper. ( 他紧张地翻开考卷 .)

Mother swallowed hard as she opened the letter coming from the front. （提心吊胆地展开信）

He must not show any emotion, he reminded himself as he took a deep breath and swallowed hard. （克制住自己）

Negation with “beyond”

Apart from the common negation using “NO/NOT”, the word “beyond” is a useful and idiomatic expression of negation in English. If something is beyond understanding or belief, it can not be understood or believed; if something is beyond someone, the person can not deal with it.

So when translating the sentence “ 这篇文章太难了，我根本看不懂。”

We can say: 1) The article is so difficult that I don’t understan

d it at all. 2) The article is too difficult for me to understand. We can also say: 3) The difficult article is completely beyond me.

Now rephrase the following sentences with “beyon

d” and then translate them into Chinese.

1. There is no doubt about his loyalty.

2. No word can express my admiration for him.

gratitude: being thankful, thankfulness

 1)  The students expressed their gratitude to their teacher in a card.

2)  Thanksgiving was the early settlers’ expression of gratitude for god’s blessings.

specific: particular, precise and exact

1) Though there are specific courses required within each discipline, all students should complete the 10 basic ones outlined in the curriculum.

2) The Federal Government should be more speci

fic when issuing warnings about terrorist threats.

on sb.’s behalf / on behalf of sb.: for sb.; in the interests of sb.; as the representative of sb.

The Reemployment Center, as its name indicates, operates mainly on behalf of the layoff.

医生禁止喝酒是为了你好。

In response to continuing inquiries from the media, her husband has issued the following statement on her behalf.

If you impress something on somebody, you make them understand its importance or degree.

1)  Despite the tough job, my mentor has always impressed upon me that there is always a way to overcome barriers.

2) Failing all the job interviews, Ted now needed no one to impress on him the necessity of a college certificate.

If something impresses you, you feel great admiration for it.

What impressed me most was the harmonious relationship between the villagers.

graduate to/into: advance in degrees

She graduated to a higher position in the company.

diminish: become lesser or smaller

1) The past year has seen the value of our car diminish substantially.

2) Though he was promoted to a higher rank, his responsibilities diminished in reality.

sb’s influence, patience, wind, etc. can also diminish

Translation

1) The reporter exposed the corruption in the city government.

2) Agricultural workers top the list of candidates for skin cancer because they are outdoors and are exposed to the sun on a daily basis.

3) Being exposed to these cultures enables us to not only learn about other cultures, but also see our own culture in a new light.

immerse: cover completely in a liquid; absorb deeply

1)  Immerse the vegetable in clear water several times to remove the sand and soil.

2) As a community, we are immersed in the quest for harmony throughout the world's nations.

Language Study

assemble : bring or call together into a group

The students assembled solemnly on the playground.

My grandparents had assembled all the members of the family for this year’s picnic..

(compare: resemble)

Language Study

considerate: thoughtful of the regards or feelings of others

Friendly and considerate, he invariably consults with inferiors before making decisions.

(compare: considerable)

accord: grant

1) Government at all levels should accord priority to reporting cases of SARS honestly.

2) Hindi is likely to be accorded the status of an official language at the United Nations, according to the Minister of State for External Affairs.

3) To exercise their functions effectively, inspectors shall be accorded privileges and immunities as following.

Language Study

successive : following one after the other

After three successive defeats, he decided to withdraw from the match.

He was elected mayor for the third successive term.

Language Study

humble (v.) : to cause someone to realize he is not as important or good as he thinks he is .

The result of the speech contest humbled him. humble (adj.) not arrogant ;low in rank he came from a fairly humble, poor

background. Be humble in front of God.

go about: behave; keep busy doing sth.; set about

1)  In winter everyone goes about in fur co

ats and thermal boots.(behave) 2)  In spite of the bomb attack yesterday, m

ost people seem to be going about their business as usual.(keep busy doing)

How do you go about getting a passport these days? (set about)

Appreciate the Essay

As a veteran writer, the author displays a good command of the language. For example , in Para 18 he vividly presents us a picture of earnest soldiers when the mail bag arrived. Verbs like pound, cluster, shout , and push indicate that they can’t wait to get their own mails.

Mark Twin’s comment on praise

Mark Twain once said “I can live for two months on a good compliment”. To give the praise costs the giver nothing but it can produce considerable results on the receiver. This coincides with what the author said in the essay “Find the good--- and praise it.”

What do you think of this statement?

Reminder

An ounce of praise is worth a pound of scolding.

Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much.

Our praise are our wages.---Shakespeare

Therefore don’t hesitate to praise or thank others, since it will not only bring joy into other people’s life ,but add happiness into our own life.