Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.
In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbors. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.
【小题1】Thanksgiving Day is celebrated      .

Moreover, insofar as any interpretation of its author can be made from the five or six plays attributed to him, the Wake field Master is uniformly considered to be a man of sharp contemporary observation. He was, formally, perhaps clerically educated, as his Latin and music, his Biblical and patristic lore indicate. He is, still, celebrated mainly for his quick sympathy for the oppressed and forgotten man, his sharp eye for character, a ready ear for colloquial vernacular turns of speech and a humor alternately rude and boisterous, coarse and happy. Hence despite his conscious artistry as manifest in his feeling for intricate metrical and stanza forms, he is looked upon as a kind of medieval Steinbeck, indignantly angry at, uncompromisingly and even brutally realistic in presenting the plight of the agricultural poor.

Thus taking the play and the author together, it is mow fairly conventional to regard the former as a kind of ultimate point in the secularization of the medieval drama. Hence much emphasis on it as depicting realistically humble manners and pastoral life in the bleak hills of the West Riding of Yorkshire on a typically cold bight of December 24th. After what are often regarded as almost “documentaries” given in the three successive monologues of the three shepherds, critics go on to affirm that the realism is then intensified into a burlesque mock-treatment of the Nativity. Finally as a sort of epilogue or after-thought in deference to the Biblical origins of the materials, the play slides back into an atavistic mood of early innocent reverence. Actually, as we shall see, the final scene is not only the culminating scene but perhaps the raison d’etre of introductory “realism.”

There is much on the surface of the present play to support the conventional view of its mood of secular realism. All the same, the “realism” of the Wakefield Master is of a paradoxical turn. His wide knowledge of people, as well as books indicates no cloistered contemplative but one in close relation to his times. Still, that life was after all a predominantly religious one, a time which never neglected the belief that man was a rebellious and sinful creature in need of redemption, So deeply (one can hardly say “naively” of so sophisticated a writer) and implicitly religious is the Master that he is less able (or less willing) to present actual history realistically than is the author of the Brome “Abraham and Isaac”. His historical sense is even less realistic than that of Chaucer who just a few years before had done for his own time costume romances, such as The Knight’s Tale, Troilus and Cressida, etc. Moreover Chaucer had the excuse of highly romantic materials for taking liberties with history.

Which of the following statements about the Wakefield Master is NOT True?

[A]. He was Chaucer’s contemporary.

[B]. He is remembered as the author of five or six realistic plays.

[C]. He write like John Steinbeck.

[D]. HE was an accomplished artist.

By “patristic”, the author means

[A]. realistic. [B]. patriotic

[C]. superstitious. [C]. pertaining to the Christian Fathers.

The statement about the “secularization of the medieval drama” refers to the

[A]. introduction of mundane matters in religious plays.

[B]. presentation of erudite material.

[C]. use of contemporary introduction of religious themes in the early days.

In subsequent paragraphs, we may expect the writer of this passage to

[A]. justify his comparison with Steinbeck.

[B]. present a point of view which attack the thought of the second paragraph.

[C]. point out the anachronisms in the play.

[D]. discuss the works of Chaucer.

A turkey named Courage gave thanks to President Obama for saving his life on the day before Thanksgiving. Honouring a 62-year-old tradition, the President pardoned the bird on Thanksgiving eve.
The tradition of a turkey pardon at Thanksgiving began with President Truman in 1947. Courage comes from Ellsworth, Iowa. The name Courage was chosen by voters (投票人)who took part in a survey posted on the White House website. The lucky turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden and posed for the cameras at the presidential podium(讲台).
The dinner that has become known as the First Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival celebrated in December of 1621. That’s when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after a hard winter in their new country. As America grew, Thanksgiving customs also spread and got bigger. George Washington declared that the first national Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people celebrated Thanksgiving locally, with no official date. President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November 1863 a national day of Thanksgiving. It stayed that way until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it one week earlier. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas to encourage gift-buyers and to help businesses. So Congress（议会） ruled that, after 1941, Thanksgiving would be an official federal holiday falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, November. Millions of Americans got together to give thanks with friends and family. The lucky turkey, Courage, was one of them. After his pardon, Courage would be sent to Disneyland Resort in California, where he would be the grand assemble of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
【小题1】That the turkey Courage was pardoned was decided by ________.

It is said that Abraham Lincoln searched for exactly the right words to say to his audience in that history-making speech that   1  less than three minutes.

Your speech probably won't be as long-remembered,   2  you can still strive to give your audience the best speech possible by   3  these simple tips:

Write and rewrite the material in your speech until it sounds exactly right to your own ears. Don't use words that are hard to   4  . Avoid technical   5  or keep them to a minimum whenever possible.

Remember to use descriptive phrases so your listeners can get a mental picture in their   6  of what you are talking about. People don't want to be told, they want to be given a   7  picture so they can better understand your words.

Avoid using a lot of statistics that will put your audience asleep in their seats. Keep necessary   8  in your speech to a minimum amount.

Humor can be an effective way to   9  your audience, Humor can also effectively lessen   10  , especially yours. You can use short jokes or personal anecdotes for this purpose. Just make sure your humorous material is appropriate for the audience you are   11  to.

Your speech will probably either inform or   12  your listeners to take action in order to help a charitable organization, etc. Be sure to include localized information in your speech that meet your audience's specific needs.

Read your speech out loud several times to hear how it will sound to your audience. Practice giving your speech in front of a mirror. That way you can see   13  you are going to look to the audience. This technique can help you   14  and feel more comfortable.

Make sure to speak a little louder than   15  conversation when you are giving your speech so that you can be easily heard by the entire   16  , not just the first few rows.

When you are giving your speech to your listeners, remember to   17  your speech down a little bit and don't rush through the words.

You can arrange to have helpful visual aids    18  before, during, or right after the end of your speech. This way the audience will have written information they can take home with them and   19  later.

Remember to be an appreciative speaker and to   20  the person or persons who asked you to give the speech. Also remember to thank the audience for listening.

(   ) 1. A. continued           B. lasted                      C. broadcast                 D. went

(   ) 2. A. but                    B. though             C. and                         D. therefore

(   ) 3. A. accepting           B. following        C. copying                   D. remembering

(   ) 4. A. pronounce          B. understand            C. learn                      D. listen

(   ) 5. A. sentences            B. terms                      C. pronunciations        D. meanings

(   ) 6. A. minds               B. notes               C. words                      D. tapes

(   ) 7. A. intellectual        B. physical            C. mental                     D. visual

(   ) 8. A. information               B. terms                      C. statistics                  D. words

(   ) 9. A. amuse               B. control             C. persuade                  D. drive

(   ) 10.A. attention           B. terror                      C. sorrow                    D. tension

(   ) 11. A. speaking           B. referring           C. leading                    D. owing

(   ) 12. A. help                 B. persuade           C. force                      D. trap

(   ) 13. A. what               B. how                 C. why                        D. where

(   ) 14.A. sleep                 B. rest                  C. comfort                   D. relax

(   ) 15. A. normal             B. later                 C. previous                  D. intentional

(   ) 16. A. speeches           B. actors                   C. friends                    D. audience

(   ) 17. A. slow               B. speed                      C. stop                        D. burn

(   ) 18. A. checked out      B. passed out        C. brought out              D. left out

(   ) 19. A. sell                  B. review              C. throw                          D. mail

(   ) 20. A. thank                      B. find                 C. teach                      D. assist

Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.

The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.

In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated      .

  A. in spring              B. summer

  C. in autumn             D. in winter

The first to celebrate thanksgiving were      .

  A. some people from England

B. the American Indians

  C. Sarah Josepha Hale

D. Governor Bradford

We can infer from the passage that New England must be      .

  A. in the U. S. A.    B. in Great Britain

  C. in Canada       D. on some island off the Atlantic

Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.

  B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.

  C. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.

  D. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

The passage mainly tells us      .

  A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.

  B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated

  C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday

  D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places