Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country。
In 1620， the settlers， or Pilgrims， they sailed to America on the May flower， seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship。
After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November， what is now Plymouth， Massachusetts。
During their first winter， over half of the settlers died of[1] starvation or epidemics。
Those who survived began sowing in the first spring。
All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety， knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest。
Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations。 And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed[2]。
Years later， President of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year。 The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today。
The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years。 The big family dinner is planned months ahead。
On the dinner table， people will find apples， oranges， chestnuts， walnuts and grapes。 There will be plum pudding， mince pie， other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash。
The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie。 They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years。
Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing[3] to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts。
But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives， it is not easy to get a consensus on[4] the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird。
Thanksgiving today is， in every sense， a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year' s bounty and reverently ask for continued[5] blessings。
中文翻译:
感恩节是美国国定假日中最地道、最美国式的节日，并且它和早期美国汗青最为密切相关。
1620年，一些朝圣者(或称为清教徒)乘坐"蒲月花"号船往美国逃求宗教自在。他们在海上波动折腾了两个月之后，末于在酷冷的十一月里，在如今的马萨诸塞州的普里茅斯登岸。
在第一个冬天，对折以上的移民都死于饥饿和流行症，活下来的人们在第一个春季起头播种。整个炎天他们都热切地盼看着丰收的到来，他们深知本身的保存以及殖民地的存在与否都将取决于即将到来的收获。后来，庄稼获得了不测的丰收，所以各人决定要选一个日子来感激天主的膏泽。
多年以后，美国总统公布每年十一月的第四个木曜日为感恩节。感恩节庆祝活动便定在那一天，曲到现在。
感恩节庆祝形式许多年来从未改动。丰富的家宴早在几个月之前就起头动手预备。人们在餐桌上能够食到苹果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，还有葡萄干布丁、碎肉馅饼、各类其它食物以及红莓苔汁和鲜果汁，此中最妙和最吸惹人的大菜是烤火鸡和番瓜馅饼，那些菜不断是感恩节中最富于传统意义和最受人喜欢的食物。
人人都附和感恩节大餐必须以烤火鸡为主菜。火鸡在烘烤时要以面包做填料以吸收从中流出来的甘旨汁液，但烹调身手常因家庭和地域的差别而各别，利用什幺填料也就很难求得一致。
今天的感恩节是一个不折不扣的国定假日。
在那一天，具有各类崇奉和各类布景的美国人，配合为他们一年来所遭到的上苍的膏泽表达感激，热诚地祈求天主陆续赐福。
正文:
1。 died of:死于…… 当死于身体内部原因的，die后面要接介词of，如:饥饿(starvation)、哀痛(sadness)等;当死于外因时则要用die from，好比死于受伤(wound)。
2。 it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed: decide可是个让你省事儿的好词了。它后面假设接从句，往往接虚拟语气。所以看见decide后面的从句，你就能够斗胆地用动词(should) "原形""啦!
3。
dressing:调味品、填料。那里的dressing可不是穿的呀，a bread dressing可不是"面包衣服"!和bread在一路，dressing天然就是食的啦!它是"调味品"的意思，"穿"在食物的身上了。
4。
consensus on:就……达成一致。注:consensus后面的介词要用on，而不消about。
5。 continued:陆续的。那里的continued看似动词continue的过往式，但它却是有本身的含义的，它是描述词"陆续的"意思。
如许continued blessings就是天主"陆续的赐福"了。