Unit 5 How to Celebrate Holidays

1. Unit 5 How to Celebrate Holidays Meng Ling

2. Cultural Notes • Thanksgiving • Introduction • Origin • Special Meal • Celebrations

3. Introduction 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 business close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation. The writer O. Henry called it the one day that is purely American. The holiday is a time of family reunion.

4. Origin Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflower arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough 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. Mayflower

5. Special Meal 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 mealincludes 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. ■

6. Celebrations ■ On Thanksgiving there are special television programs 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.

7. The Pilgrims The term is referred to the 102 English people who sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620. Their group included 35 Puritans whose aim was to create a safe religious community in the New World. The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, and they established the Plymouth colony. ■

8. Native Americans Native Americans 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 do not like this name since it is based on a mistake: it was given to the people living in the America by Christopher Columbus who, when he arrived there, thought he had landed in India. Instead, people prefer to use the term Native Americans. ■

9. The United States Coast Guard The US military service that is controlled by the US Department of Transportation but becomes part of the US Navy during a war. It was established in 1915. The Coast Guard stops ships suspected of carrying drugs and other illegal goods, and can make arrests. It also keeps watch to see that other laws of the sea are obeyed, rescues ships in danger and has a weather service.

10. Comprehension Questions • Where did the writer spend that Thanksgiving? Where was he going? 2. Why do you think they were sailing there? 3. What made him as a cook extremely busy on that Thanksgiving Day? 4. What was he thinking about on the deck after the day’s hard work?

11. Keys • He spent that Thanksgiving on a ship. He was going to a big base on the island of Tulagi in the South Pacific. • They were sending thousands of cartons of canned or dried foods and five-hundred-pound bombs there. 3. As a cook, he was preparing a traditional dinner featuring roast turkey. It was a lot of hard work to cook and serve a big meal, and clean up and put everything away. 4. He got to thinking about Thanksgiving, of the Pilgrims, Indians, wild turkeys, pumpkins, corn on the cob, and the rest.

12. Paraphrase Para 2 I was one of the Murizm’s several cooks and, quite the same as for folk ashore, this Thanksgiving morning had seen us busily preparing a traditional dinner featuring roast turkey. Paraphrase I was one of the Murizm’s cooks at that time. On the morning of Thanksgiving Day, we, just like people ashore, were busy with preparing a traditional dinner that features roast turkey.

13. Para 9 Not one time had I ever bothered to express to any of them so much as a simple, sincere “Thank you”. Paraphrase I had never expressed my thanks to them, even a simple, sincere “thank you.”

14. Para 10 I realized, swallowing hard, that half of them had since died----so they were forever beyond any possible expression of gratitude from me. Paraphrase: I feel terribly sorry since about half of them had died, so that they could never receive any expression of appreciation from me.

15. Para 13 So many times I have felt a sadness when exposed to modern childrenso immersed in the electronic media that they have little or no awareness of the marvelous world to be discovered in books. Paraphrase: Ｉhave felt sorry for many times when I saw modern children immersed themselves in the electronic media to such an extent that it almost remained unknown to them that there is a marvelous world in books.

16. Para 19 One “mail call” brought me responses from Grandma, Dad, and the Reverend Nelson and my reading of their letters left me not only astonished but more humbled than before. Paraphrase: Then came the time when the loudspeaker called there was mail for us, I received three replies from Grandma, Dad and the Reverend Nelson. After reading them, I felt astonished, but more humbled than ever.

17. Para 23 A glance at Grandma’s familiar handwriting, brought back in a flash memories of standing alongside her white rocking chair, watching her “settin, down” some letter to relatives. Paraphrase: As I saw Grandma’s familiar handwriting, what instantly came to mind was the time when I stood beside her white rocking chair and watched her writing to relatives.

18. Quite often we take for granted the people who are nice to us, then we realize all too late that we have never expressed our appreciation. At other times, when we are away from the holiday rush, we are able to recall the true significance of a holiday -- a time to say how much we value others. The author of this text did exactly that. • Have you expressed your gratitude to the person(s)? • If the answer is yes, what have you done? • If the answer is no, what do you plan to do?

19. Discussion What kind of roles do festivals play in people’s life?

20. Tips Give people a chance to take some days off from their normal duties and relax, offer an opportunity for people to socialize with their family members and friends, a family reunion with parents and siblings, strengthen family bonds, people can take advantage of festivals to travel home and abroad, stimulate the economy …

21. Instructions Divide into groups, only one students in each group come to the stage to read the story, then tell the second students about the story, the second students tell the third about the story, so on and so forth The fastest group win

22. Thanksgiving An elderly man in Manhattan calls his son in New York and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.” “Pop, what are you talking about?” The son screams.

23. “We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the old man says, “we’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her,” and he hangs up. Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone, “they’re not getting divorced if I have anything to do about it,” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.”

24. She calls Manhattan immediately, and screams at the old man, “you are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up.

25. Instructions Now, group members have a brainstorm to come up with as many endings as possible Each group contributes at least one of their best ending to the whole class. They had better explain why they reach the ending like that The whole class vote for the best ending, the best story-teller and the best explanation

26. An Interesting Ending The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife and says, “Okay, they’re coming for Thanksgiving – now what do we tell them for Christmas?”

27. Possible Thought and Explanation Nowadays, grown-up children are busy with their jobs and their own families. Their parents are usually neglected. To get their children back for Thanksgiving, the old couple have to go to extreme. It is funny to laugh at their trick, but it is sad to hear that they might have to lie again to get their children’s attention for Christmas. What would their children react after knowing the truth? Would they feel angry or guilty? And what about you? Are your thinking of your own parents now?

28. Try to stay with your parents more time, that’s what they expected most.

29. Word Web hold cabin Put to sea afterdeck Be under way ship deck coastguardsman Be at sea sailor seaman shipmate

30. Language Points 1. under way: in motion or operation, having started and making progress 航行中,工作中 • The nationwide medical reform is now under way. • 2008奥运会的准备工作正在进行中. • Preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games are now well under way. All the way自始至终any way 无论如何 By way of 经由,通过…的方法by virtue of 依靠,借助于

31. 2.put away: 把…放好, 收好; • 她有个习惯就是, 看完书后就把书收好. • She has a habit of putting away her books after reading them. • You wash the dishes and I’ll put them away in the cupboard. 储蓄,存钱 • The old couple has put away a considerable sum of money for their future life.

32. 3. get to sth./doing sth.:开始考虑, 做…事 • Recently I’ve got to wondering why I am doing the part-time job. • I’ll get to the accounts as soon as possible. • 经历了这次事件之后, 他开始对他周围的人好了. • Having gone through the accident, he got to treating people around him kindly.

33. 4. and the rest: and so on 等等 • The patient can have apples, apple sauce, and the rest. • The citizens are interested in the government’s policies on such important issues as health, education, tax, and the rest.

34. 5. in quest of: seeking 寻求,探求 • Tony went to the school library in quest of Mark Twin’s novels. • 他们去加州寻找金子. • They went to California in quest of gold. 6. reverse: v. 扭转,反转; adj. 相反的,反面的 n. 背面, 反面; n. 失败,挫折 • They have made it clear that they will not reverse the decision to increase prices. • Why don’t you reverse the order so that I play first and she plays second? • The financial reverses won’t discourage him.

35. 7.turn over: think about思考; • Even when she didn’t say anything you could see her turning things over in her mind. • 他静静地坐在那里, 思考着那个问题. • He sat quietly, turning over the problem. 移交(控制权/所有权等) • The old lady turned the shop over to her granddaughter when she retired. 8.repay: pay back, reward 偿还 • She repaid me the money. • 我该如何报答你对我的好呢? • How can I ever repay you for your kindness?

36. 9. so much as “甚至” • He doesn’t so much as invite his best friends. • 他甚至连他最好的朋友都没邀请. • Mike left all of a sudden, without so much as a simple “bye-bye”. 10. gratitude:感激(…to sb./for sth.) • It is my great pleasure to be here to express my sincere gratitude to my fellow members for electing me as your president. • 她对我们的帮忙表示感激. • She expressed her gratitude for our help. Sincere ~/ show ~/ feel ~/ deep ~

37. 11. statement: sth. that is said, esp. formally and officially 陈述, 声明 • The trade union issued a statement opposing racial discrimination. • In his newly-published book, Williams made a number of statements about modern life. 12. specific:具体的 specific description/purpose/details/facts • The new system made it easier for employers to recruit workers based on specific needs. • 你有没有一些对你要申请的工作有用的具体技能? • Do you have any specific skills that will be of use to you in the job you are applying for?

38. 13. on one’s behalf/ on the behalf of sb.:代表…, 为了…的利益. • He delivered a speech on the behalf of all the graduates on Graduation Day. • 律师代表当事人说话. • The lawyer spoke on behalf of his client.

39. 14. impress:使重视, 给予强烈影响; 使…印象深刻 impress upon / on sb. that; impress sth. upon / on sb. • The teacher tried to impress on his students the necessity of being honest. • 我父亲使我明白了努力工作的价值. • My father impressed on me the value of hard work. • Mr. Smith often impresses his students with humor in his speeches. • I was deeply impressed by/with his performance. impressive 动人的, 使人印象深刻的 impression n. 印象

40. 15. diminish: make or become smaller or less vt/i. (使)减少, 变小 • Her patience with the children diminished as the hours went by. • Time will not diminish our friendship. • 沉重的工作负担并没有降低他对户外运动的热情. • The heavy workload does not diminish his enthusiasm for outdoor sports.

41. 16. expose: leave uncovered; make accessible 使暴露, 使接触 be exposed to暴露于; 与…接触 • It is feared that people living near the power station may have been exposed to radiation. • The immigrants’ children exposed to American pop culture often rebel when their parents try to impose the values they brought with them. • 这种植物不能暴露在强光下. • This plant can’t be exposed to strong sunshine.

42. 17. immerse: over completely in a liquid; absorb deeply 使沉浸(在水中); 专心于 • I held my breath and immersed myself in water, trying to stay under water for as long as possible. • 约翰完全沉浸在电脑游戏中, 没有意识到周围发生的事情. • John was so immersed in playing the computer games that he was unaware of things happening around him.

43. 18. assemble a) bring or call together in a group集合,集会 • Delegates were assembling in Geneva for the conference. b) fit together the parts or pieces of 组装 • It took me less than an hour to assemble the bookcase. Everyone __B__ in the hall where they were welcomed by the secretary.[00-06, CET-6] A. piled B. assembled C. joined D. accumulate

44. 19. considerate: thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others; marked by careful thought (followed by of ) Management should be considerate of the well-being and interests of employees. Cf. considerate of 对…无微不至, 考虑周到 considerable相当的, 非常的

45. 20. sprinkle: scatter (drops or particles of sth.) on (sth.); scatter in small drops sprinkle sth. on/over sth. Sprinkle water on the grass sprinkle sth. with sth. Sprinkle the dish with pepper.

46. 21. accord: a) grant给予, 赠与 • The headmaster accorded me permission to attend the seminar. • 我们对他给予了热烈的欢迎. • We accorded a warm welcome to him. b) be in agreement (… with) (使)符合, 一致 • His behavior does not accord with his principles. • 我们应该言行一致. • What we say should accord with what we do. accord with 与…相一致 accord sth. to sb. 赠给… in accord with 与…一致, 融洽 of one’s own accord 主动,自愿 with one accord 全体一致地 in accordance with 根据 accordance. n. 符合, 一致, 和谐 accordingly. 相应地, 因此, 所以.

47. 22. successive: following one after the other连续的, 不断的 • The Brazilian men’s soccer team has won three successive games so far. • 接二连三的恐怖袭击已经引起了所有人的关注. • The successive terrorism attacks have aroused the attention from all humanity. succession n. 连续, 连续不断的事物 in succession 接连的 a succession of victories 连续的胜利 successor 后继者, 继承者 succeed. 继承, 继任.

48. 22. undergo v. to go through, endure 经历, 遭受 Undergo great hardship/suffering 遭受巨大的艰难, 困苦 Undergo repair/surgery接受检修, 进行手术. • She has undergone a lot of sufferings during the last 20 years. • After the craft returned safely to Earth, Yang Liwei underwent immediate physical exam.

49. 23. bring back使记起, 使回想起 • The smell of autumn always brings back memories of new terms at school. • The whole scene brought back the days of my childhood. bring forward 把…提前(~ the party); 提出( ~ a plan) bring about 导致, 使发生 bring out 生产; 揭示 bring through 拯救 , 救活

50. 24. in a flash: 立刻, 一瞬间 • The 100-meter dash was over in a flash. A flash in the pan 昙花一现 A flash of lightning 闪电 A flash of hope一线希望 25. go about四处走动; 开始, 从事, 着手做 • How shall we go about the job? • 你怎样着手修理这台机器? • How do you go about repairing this telex machine? go about with sb.和…常联系, 走动 • Nowadays it’s quite common to see freshmen go about with their girlfriends.