Writing three thank-you letters

1

Unit FiveHow to Celebrate Holidays
2
Main holidays in USA

• New Years Day, January 1st
• Valentines Day, February 14th
• Easter, the first Sunday after the full moon
  that occurs on or after March 21st
• Independence Day, July 4th
• (to be
  continued)

3
(To be continued)

• Halloween, October 31st
• Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November
• Christmas, December 25th

4
Discussion

• Compare a Chinese festival with an American one,
  trying to find out some similarities as well as
  differences between them.

5
Thanksgiving--- general information

• Thanksgiving is observed in the US on the
  fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans,
  its the most important holiday apart from
  Christmas. Its a day for family to have a
  reunion. Schools, offices and most businesses
  close for Thanksgiving and many people make the
  whole weekend a vacation.
• (to be continued)

6
(continued)

• A traditional dinner with foods that come
  from North America features Thanksgiving. Wild
  turkeys, pumpkins, corn on the cob, sweet
  potatoes (also called potato-yams), Indian
  pudding make up a list of typical food on this
  day.

7
A Thanksgiving Dinner
8
Thanksgiving--- the myths

• (1) Who observed the first Thanksgiving?
• It was not the Pilgrims but the Indians. The
  native Americans celebrated many Thanksgiving
  before Europeans ever arrived. For example, one
  Indian tribe (Wampanoag ) held six Thanksgiving
  festivals throughout the year.

9
(continued)

• The first recorded Christian thanksgiving in
  America occurred in Texas on May 23, 1541 when
  Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado,
  and his men held a service of thanksgiving after
  finding food, water, and pasture for their
  animals in the Panhandle.

10
(continued)

• Two years before the Pilgrims ,on December 4,
  1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived at
  Berkeley Plantation in what is now Charles City,
  Virginia. The group's charter required that the
  day of arrival be observed yearly as a day of
  thanksgiving to God.

11
Thanksgiving--- the myths

• (2) Was the pilgrims Thanksgiving a merely
  harvest festival?
• No. In fact, Thanksgiving praises God for the
  harvest, makes reference to the "goodness of God"
  in providing for them the feast. It had a
  religious significance.

12
Thanksgiving--- the popular story behind it

• Following is the story believed by many as
  the origin of Thanksgiving.
• On December 11, 1620 ,the Pilgrims set around at
  Plymouth Rock. Their first winter was
  devastating. They could not find enough to eat
  ,and consequently many of them died. By the
  spring, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who
  sailed on the Mayflower. The Pilgrims obviously
  needed help and it came from an English-speaking
  member of the Wampanoag nation, Squanto.
• (to be continued)

13
(continued)

• Squanto decided to stay with the Pilgrims for
  the next few months and teach them how to
  survive. He brought them food and skins, taught
  them how to cultivate new vegetables and how to
  build Indian-style houses. He educated the
  Pilgrims on poisonous plants,  medicine, how to
  get sap from the maple trees, use fish for
  fertilizer, and dozens of other skills needed for
  their survival.
• (to be continued)

14
(continued)

• The harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one and
  the Pilgrims decided to celebrate with a feast.
  They asked Squanto and the leader of the
  Wampanoags, Massasoit to bring their immediate
  family and to dine with them. The English had no
  idea how large Indian families could be and
  Squanto and Massasoit arrived accompanied by 90
  relatives. The feast lasted three days. The
  Pilgrims and Indians ate outdoors at large
  tables.
• This is generally regarded as the first
  Thanksgiving .

15
(continued)

• The day for Thanksgiving was not fixed until
  the time of the Civil War. On October 3rd, 1863,
  Lincoln issued the first National Thanksgiving
  Proclamation. Since then it has been the custom
  for the President of the United States to
  proclaim annually the fourth Thursday of November
  as Thanksgiving Day.

16
Idiom--- to talk turkey

• Meaning--- it refers to speaking frankly,
  discussing hard facts or getting down to serious
  business.
• Origin--- A colonist and a native went hunting
  and they agreed to share what they got equally.
  At the end of the day, there were four crows and
  four turkeys in their bag. The colonist tried to
  partition the spoils by saying heres a crow for
  you to the Indian, then keeping a turkey to
  himself, giving another crow to the Indian, and
  so on. At this point the Indian very reasonably
  protested, saying you only talk crow for Indian.
  Now lets talk turkey.

17
Coast Guard
18
About the Author

• Alex Haley was born in New York on August 11,
  1921 and was the author of the widely claimed
  novel Roots. Haley began writing short stories
  while working at sea, (He served in Coast Guard
  for 20 years). After he retired from military
  service, he launched his career as a freelance
  writer.
• Roots ,which stimulates the interests in Africa
  and in black genealogy ,was published in 1976.
  It is compared to Harriet Beech Stowes Uncle
  Toms Cabin and has received many rewards.
• Haley died on Feb 10 ,1992 , of a heart attack.

19
Alex Haleys foundation
20
Quotations

• When you clench your fist, no one can put
  anything in your hand, nor can your hand pick up
  anything. (From Roots)
• Knowledge of history can be the first step away
  from anger and bitterness. Truth leads to
  understanding and forgiveness , and to
  reconciliation and healing. --- Haley Memorial
  Stony Wall Plague

21
Talking about

• This essay reminds us to give thanks
  to those who helped us. Its true that we may be
  grateful to a stranger who tells us the
  directions in the street, but we often forget to
  express our gratitude to the milkman, the
  elevator operator, our teachers, friends or
  parents --- all who oblige us in one way or
  another.
• Discuss with your neighbors what refrain you from
  doing so?
• Who has given you the greatest help ? What have
  you done or will do in return?

22
Text Organization

• Part One (Paras 1-9)
• On Thanksgiving Day in 1943, the writer , who was
  a young coastguardsman at that time at sea, came
  up with the idea of expressing his gratitude to
  those who had helped him.

23
Text Organization

• Part Two (Paras 10-16)
• The writer wrote thank-you letters to his father,
  his grammar school principal, and his grandmother
  respectively.

24
Text Organization

• Part Three (Paras 17-23)
• The writer received three letters in reply in
  which each told him how much he or she
  appreciated his letter.

25
Text Organization

• Part Four (Paras 24-26 )
• The writer wishes everyone to find the good in
  others and praise it.

26
Language Study

• under way in motion or operation
• The national educational reform is already
  under way.
• A debate on whether it is proper to keep pets
  is under way

27
Language Study

• load (v.) put goods onto a vehicle
• How long will it take to load the machines
  onto the truck?
• load (n.) amount of weight carried by a vehicle
• After getting paid, she left, promising to
  return the next week for a new load of wash.
• (Other forms unload, overload ,reload, nload of
  )

28
Language Study

• ashore
• a- prefix (usu. w/ n. to form adj.(????
  ?)/adv.)
• 1) ???,??
• e.g. a day ashore before sailing
• He swam ashore.
• We came ashore from the boat.

29
Language Study

• 2)???????????
• e.g. be asleep
• fall asleep
• set a house afire

30
Mayflower
31
Pilgrims

• The 102 English people who sailed to America on
  the Mayflower in 1620. Weakened by the seven-week
  crossing and the need to establish housing, they
  came down with pneumonia and consumption
  (tuberculosis). They began to die -- one per day,
  then two, and sometimes three. They dug the
  graves at night, so that the Indians would not
  see how their numbers were dwindling. Later ,they
  got help from the Indians and established
  Plymouth colony.

32
Pilgrimages
33
Native Americans

• They 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 dont like this
  name since it is based on a mistake made by
  Columbus who thought he had landed in India when
  he arrived in America.

34
Wild Turkey
35
Pumpkin
36
Corn on the Cob
37
Language Study

• in quest of seeking, trying to find
• He went to America in quest of liberty.
• He visited many people who were present when
  the accident happened in quest of the truth of
  his sons death.

38
Language Study

• reverse
• 1) turn sth. around to the opposite direction
  or inside out
• The order of the names had been reversed.
• The jacket can be reversed.
• He reversed (the car) into the garage.

39
Language Study

• 2) change around completely, make (sth.) the
  opposite of what it was
• He reversed a policy he had pursued for six
  years.
• 3) exchange (positions)
• Her father would have done the same thing
  were their positions reversed.

40
Language Study

• verbal ???
• verbal skills reading and writing skills
• non-verbal skills (gestures, facial
  expressions, etc.)

41
Language Study

• verbal spoken, not written ???(????)
• verbal explanation/agreement/warning/
• reminder

42
Language Study

• swallow to suppress an emotion
• He swallowed his anger and spoke quietly.
• swallow hard make a movement in the throat
  because you are nervous.
• He swallowed hard as he turned over the
  examination paper. (????????.)

43
Language Study

• beyond too difficult for(used to express
  negation) ???
• beyond understanding/belief
• The task is entirely beyond the boy.

44
Language Study

• on sb.s behalf for sb. in the interests of
  sb.
• He delivered a speech on behalf of all
  graduates on commencement day.
• Please dont give up the opportunity on
  behalf of me.

45
Language Study

• graduate to/into advance in degrees
• She graduated to a higher position in the
  company.
• My son has graduated from a tricycle to a
  bicycle.

46
Language Study

• diminish become lesser or smaller
• The past year has seen the value of our car
  diminish substantially.
• Time , which strengthens friendship,
  diminishes love.

47
Language Study

• expose leave uncovered make accessible to
• People living near the nuclear power station
  may have been exposed to radiation.
• His parents are worried that he might be
  exposed to the kind of people they disapprove of .

48
Language Study

• immerse put (sb/sth) completely under the
  surface of a liquid involve completely in sth
• I held my breath and completely immersed
  myself in the water, trying to stay under for as
  long as possible.

49
Language Study

• She got some books out of the library and
  immersed herself in Jewish history and culture.
• John was so immersed in playing computer games
  that he was unaware of things happening around
  him.

50
Language Study

• assemble bring or call together into a group
• The students assembled solemnly on the
  playground.
• My grandparents had assembled all the
  members of the family for this years picnic..
• (compare resemble)

51
Language Study

• considerate thoughtful of the regards or
  feelings of others
• Friendly and considerate, he invariably
  consults with inferiors before making decisions.
• (compare considerable)

52
Language Study

• accord grant be in agreement
• Government at all levels should accord
  priority to reporting cases of SARS honestly.
• What he did does not accord with what he said.

53
Language Study

• recede become fainter move back or away from a
  point
• The painful memories gradually receded in her
  mind.
• As the boat picked up speed, the coastline
  receded into the distance until finally it became
  invisible.

54
Language Study

• alternate (v.) to happen or exist one after
  another
• He alternated working in the office with long
  tours overseas
• alternate (adj.)
• He plays golf on alternate Sundays.

55
Language Study

• successive following one after the other
• After three successive defeats, he decided to
  withdraw from the match.
• Chinese female table tennis team has taken off
  the gold medal in five successive world
  championships.

56
Language Study

• humble (v.) to cause someone to realize he is
  not as imports as he thinks he is .
• The result of the speech contest humbled him.
• humble (adj.) not arrogant low in rank
• He came from a fairly humble, poor background.

57
Language Study

• welcome received with or giving pleasure
• a welcome change/relief/rest/sight/vision
• ???????????????
• Your offer of a loan is extremely welcome just
  now.

58
Language Study

• paramount of chief concern or importance
• basic critical
• central crucial
• essential fundamental
• leading major
• primary significant
• vital

59
??

• repay
• gratitude
• appreciation
• gratefulness
• acknowledge
• recognize
• appreciate
• grateful
• indebted

60
Appreciate the Essay

• As a veteran writer, the author displays a good
  command of the language. For example , in Para
  18 he vividly presents us a picture of earnest
  soldiers when the mail bag arrived. Verbs like
  pound, cluster, shout , and push indicate that
  they cant wait to get their own mails.

61
Mark Twains comment on praise

• Mark Twain once said I can live for two months
  on a good compliment. To give the praise costs
  the giver nothing but it can produce
  considerable results in the receiver. This
  coincides with what the author said in the essay
  Find the good--- and praise it.
• What do you think of this statement?

62
Reminder

• An ounce of praise is worth a pound of scolding.
• Gratitude is something of which none of us can
  give too much.
• Our praise are our wages.---Shakespeare
• Therefore dont hesitate to praise or thank
  others, since it will not only bring joy into
  other peoples life, but add happiness into our
  own life.