第七周　热考话题集训--节假日活动

　　阅读理解

　　A

　　Many Americans believe that our present national holiday called Thanksgiving originated with a feast celebrated by Pilgrims (清教徒前辈移民) who arrived on the shores of America in 1620. Some people survived due to the help from a local Indian tribe. During the next spring the Indians taught them how to grow and cultivate the crops. In the fall of 1621 they simply celebrated a traditional English Autumn Harvest Festival. This is the credit of the first Thanksgiving.

　　As time went on, Thanksgiving was celebrated through various governmental announcements. Cities, counties and state governments continued their regional observance until 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg fought on July 4th, 1863 became a Union victory that represented the turning point of the American Civil War. In honor of this event, two national Thanksgivings were declared by President Lincoln. The first holiday honored the victory at Gettysburg on August 6th. The second event was celebrated on the last Thursday in November and became the permanent holiday with which we are familiar. Lincoln's declaration was motivated by the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor of a popular women's magazine who started a national drive for Thanksgiving as early as 1827.

　　During the end of the 19th century, Thanksgiving with its New England influence was commonly represented by turkeys, a large feast and large family reunions. The Pilgrims were not in evidence during these early celebrations nor was there a cozy relationship with the Indians.

　　The dawn of the 20th century saw Thanksgiving develop into its present form. Now that the Indians were no longer a threat, pictures of Americans and Indians in their familiar congruent (相配的，符合的) setting emerged and became popular. The 300th anniversary of the Pilgrim's landing in America in 1920 strengthened the modern symbolism and meaning that we attribute to our present day celebrations.

　　语篇解读：本文讲述了人们是怎样庆祝第一个感恩节的，让读者了解了感恩节的由来和人们庆祝感恩节的活动变化过程。

　　1．What's the best title for the passage?

　　A．How to celebrate Thanksgiving around the world

　　B．The first Thanksgiving and its development

　　C．Various celebration activities of Thanksgiving around the world

D．Two national Thanksgiving declared by Lincoln