英语博客(A cup of English):020 Thanksgiving.

　　Beginners.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. It is a tradition that is very important for most Americans. It is a yearly celebration that reflects on history. Americans celebrate this special day in remembrance of the first settlers from Europe, the Pilgrims. They suffered during the first years of living here. The Winter was very cold; there was very little food. Many of them died or got sick. Those who survived were helped by the Native Indians. They were shown how to grow native foods, and how to look after themselves. As a result, they gave thanks to God and to the Indians for their survival. Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to think of the good things that we have in our lives. Most people get together with family or friends to have a big turkey dinner or lunch. It is a time, also, when children learn in school about the beginnings of the United States.
Grammar notes.
Useful vocabulary: yearly = annual; in remembrance = to remember; native = of the present country; the beginnings of something = how something started.
Verbs: to suffer (regular verb) = suffered in the preterite; 'was' and 'were' ex: The Winter was cold; they were helped. To die (died in past); to get sick (got sick in past).
Advanced.
The day of Thanksgiving, twenty-two people came to my house for lunch. It was a little crazy, but, on the other hand, it was a delight. The people were all family: my mother, in-laws, nephews and nieces. The ages ranged from sixty-nine to two. Thankfully we have enough room to cope with so many people. We spruced up the house a couple of days before, rearranged furniture and tidied up. Of course, I put a huge turkey in the oven to cook for about five hours. Everybody who came brought a dish or two of food, so the preparations for me were not overwhelming. Before we ate, the oldest of the family, my Father-in-law, said a prayer of thanks for all the good things, or 'blessings²', in our lives, and then we dove into the food. Plenty is an appropriate word for this holiday. The plenty from the harvest comes to our table and is enjoyed. Cornucopia³, or a horn of plenty, is a symbol related to Thanksgiving. Afterwards, we had an open fire, we lit candles; the kids played and ran around making all kinds of noise and mess, and the adults sat and chatted. There was always someone making an extra trip into the kitchen for 'round two' or 'round three' of desserts. I resisted the temptation, but I certainly lingered over my pumpkin⁴ pie and cream.
Grammar notes.
Useful expressions: on the other hand; to spruce up s.t.; a dish (of food) * it is often not necessary to mention the food; a 'dish' implies food. Overwhelming = too much / too exhausting; to dive into s.t. = to indulge fully¹. To chat = very common expression for light-hearted talking. A trip = a journey of any length (even extremely short). To resist temptation / to give in to temptation.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 cornucopia   

n.象征丰收的羊角

参考例句：

• The book is a cornucopia of information.书是知识的宝库。
• Our cornucopia is the human mind and heart.我们富足是由于人类的智慧和热情。

4 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！