Ucreate 一起备课 背景知识模板
一 基本信息
提供者：杜明真 院校：曲阜师范大学公共外语教研部
背景知识名称：The American Thanksgiving Story
相关教材章节：新标准大学英语读写教程第三册 第一单元 Active reading 1
背景知识类别：文化
语言：英文，中英文字幕
文本长度:840 words
来源：网络
话题：Thanksgiving
背景知识相关关键词：Thanksgiving;Pilgrims;family reunion; traditional celebration
是否有所用素材附件：是
附件格式：视频
附件时长：6 minutes
附件语速：normal
附件口音：美音
附件素材真实性：原版素材
附件题材：影视
附件话题：How do American people celebrate Thanksgiving? What does Thanksgiving mean
to family members? What are some things you are thankful for?
附件来源：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDc3NjAwNzc2.html?from=y1.2-1-87.3.3-1.1-1-1-2
二 具体内容
视频文本：
The American Thanksgiving Story
Early in the 17th century, a group of people called the pilgrims wanted to reform and purify
England’s churches. As a result of their efforts, they were persecuted, so they sailed to the
Netherlands; also known as Holland, seeking religious freedom. After 12 years in Holland where
they struggled to make a living felt threatened by the permissive Dutch society, the Pilgrims
decide to seek refuge in a place where they could create a society that matched their religious
ideals. In exchange for seven years of work the puritans persuaded a London stock company to
finance their journey to the New World. In September 1620, 102 passengers set sail from
Plymouth, England on a ship called the Mayflower. The journey took 65 days and was filled with
much difficulty. Bad storms weakened the ship and cause many leaks. Many passengers were cold
and damp for much of the journey and others were concerned that they wouldn’t even survive.
Though many were sick and one person died, they did make it. On December11, 1620 the Pilgrims
landed at Plymouth Rock and began to explore the surrounding area for suitable place to build
their colony. They chose Plymouth because it had an excellent harbor a large brook in which to
catch fish to eat. While living on the Mayflower and ferrying back and forth to land, the Pilgrims
Ucreate 一起备课 背景知识模板
built their houses and barns. Construction was hindered by exceptionally heavy snow and intense
cold but the settlement was completed in late March 1621. Their success was dampened by great
sorrow nearly half of their original group died that first winter. Besides survival the Pilgrims were
concerned that the Native American Indians would attack them. To their surprise, an Indian named
Samoset walked right into the colony and welcomed them in broken English.
Samoset was from an Indian tribe in Maine and had picked up a few English words from the
fishermen who come into the harbors there. He told them also of another Indian named Squanto, a
native of that place who had been in England, and could speak better English than he. The
Pilgrims used the opportunity to negotiate a peace treaty and to establish trading relations.
Squanto’s importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not
survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for
sap how to plant Indian corn and other crops and how to tell which plants were poisonous and
which could be used as medicine. As a result they had a bountiful harvest that provided food for
the coming winter. The Pilgrims had much to celebrate although nearby half of their people died.
They had successfully built homes in the wilderness raised enough crops to keep them alive
during the long coming winter and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. It was time to
give thanks.
The Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to God for
helping them survive the brutal winter. They invited Squanto and other Indians to join in their
celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days.
Two year later the colony suffered a drought and Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and
prayer. It is reported that soon afterward it began to rain. To celebrate God’s answer to prayer
November 29th was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the beginning of
the present day Thanksgiving Day which is held on the 4th Thursday of November. The custom of
an annual thanksgiving celebration held after the harvest continued but it became a national
observance under Presidents George Washington (in 1789) and Abraham Lincoln (in 1863). Only
after Lincoln did thanksgiving become an annual observance. Thanksgiving weekend has become
of the busiest travel periods of the year because it is a 4 to 5 vacation for many schools and some
businesses. It has also become the beginning of the Christmas buying season. Many people today
Ucreate 一起备课 背景知识模板
observe the holiday by watching professional football games. Thanksgiving TV programs and the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York City. Thanksgiving is a time when families
gather and enjoy their time together. Many families give thanks to God for His goodness and
faithfulness to them. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs most families will share a large meal
together of turkey, stuffing mashed potatoes with gravy sweet potatoes cranberry sauce, sweet
corn and pumpkin pie. Afterwards family members may share what they are thankful for from that
year. What are some things you are thankful for?
Good health? Family? Good education? Food? Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns
what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to
clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a strange into a friend. Gratitude makes
sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ------ Melody Beattie
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