Thanksgiving is about the pilgrims' arrival in 1620 and how they survived due to the kindness of a local Native American tribe, and of how the two different peoples sat down and shared the new harvest meal in friendship the following year.
Yet much of the story contains a fair bit of fiction, and the story was actually created and promoted at the end of the 19th century. With numerous immigrants arriving from all over the world, the tale helped provide a common national identity. There really were pilgrims, though, who had fled religious persecution back in England. And they almost certainly wouldn't have made it through the harsh winter without the help of the Wampanoag, a local tribe. Nearly 50% of the settlers died, weakened after a long ocean voyage.
The Wampanoag taught the pilgrims about the local animal life, as well as how to plant and raise their main food, corn. In the autumn, nearly a year after their arrival, the pilgrims invited the chief and his tribe to celebrate the harvest. The first Thanksgiving, then, was simply an autumn harvest festival, which many cultures have celebrated throughout history.
George Washington declared a thanksgiving feast in December 1777, after defeating the British at Saratoga during the Revolutionary War. Since 1941, the holiday always falls on the fourth Thursday of November.
A typical Thanksgiving nowadays consists of family and friends coming together for dinner. Turkey is the main dish, and the holiday has picked up the name "Turkey Day" as a result. Other food at the table includes: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Notice that these traditional holiday dishes are all from New World crops.
TV rules the home before and after dinner. In the morning, all the main stations broadcast Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. A three-hour parade with floats, giant balloons of cartoon characters, and marching bands wind their way through New York City. The parade closes with Santa Clause, which indicates the start of the Christmas season.
After dinner, families glue themselves to the TV for football. Several games are played each year, and the sport shares an equal part of the holiday as turkey and cranberry sauce. Friday is almost always a day off, so friends and family visit with one another until quite late. Plans are made, as are shopping lists, because the Christmas season begins the day after.
Comprehension questions
When was the first Thanksgiving?
Why did the pilgrims come to the New World?
What problems did the pilgrims face during their first year in America?
How were the Pilgrim's problems solved?
Which president announced the first Thanksgiving national holiday?
When is Thanksgiving held nowadays?
What's the nickname of Thanksgiving?
What kind of food do people eat on Thanksgiving?
According to the article, what's the parade like?
What happens after dinner?
What is Black Friday?
Watch and answer the questions
What is Black Friday?
Answer the following questions:
What is Black Friday?
What do people do on Black Friday?
When did Black Friday start?
Where is Black Friday held?
Why do people enjoy this?
How did Black Friday get its unusual name?
Watch the Black Friday compilation
Craziest Black Friday Disasters compilation
Black Friday: listening and reading
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: You will listen to an article about Black Friday, or one of the busiest shopping days. The article is about four minutes long. Listen only, and don't worry about understanding everything.
Step 2: Read and understand the questions, then listen again. As you are listening, try to answer the questions in your head. Don't write the answers yet. Next, listen again and write the answers this time. Check your answers with a partner.
Step 3: Read the article. Check in your dictionary any unknown words. Now listen again. Can you understand more? Each time you listen, you will slowly improve!
Black Friday listening:
Black Friday
Black Friday refers to the day just after Thanksgiving in the US. Because so many
companies have a four day weekend, many people begin their Christmas shopping on this
day. (Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday in the US, and then people have Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday off from work.) Black Friday is often reported as one of the busiest
shopping days of the year. Shopping malls are packed with people, parking lots are
crowded, and lines at stores are very, very long. Some stores even open at five or six in the
morning because there are so many people. Other stores have discounts and sales to draw
even more customers.
The word "black" to describe the Friday likely began in Philadelphia in the mid-1960s.
Traffic jams filled the roads into the downtown area every year. The stores and sidewalks
were overflowing with shoppers. The experience for so many of the people who ventured
downtown was stressful and chaotic. It was a terrible, or black, day. Because other cities
around the country similarly experienced traffic jams, busy stores, and too many shoppers
on the day after Thanksgiving, the term spread. Black Friday became a common idiom in
American English.
Although many people may see the day after Thanksgiving negatively, retailers have a very
different opinion. It's their best opportunity to improve earnings for the year, and take the
business out of the red (loss) and into the black (profit). For example, if sales were slow in
the spring, summer, and fall, then the store must attract many customers and make many
sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The first and most important day of this last
chance shopping season is Black Friday.
Of course, there are some people who dislike Black Friday. There are some people who
hate the day and its crowds very much. But there are also some people who strongly
oppose the shopping day because they believe it harms society. They think that people
should consume less and reuse resources more, and so have created a day called "Buy
Nothing Day." It falls on the same day as Black Friday, and it encourages people to buy
nothing, of course.
However, for most people, Black Friday just presents one more opportunity to go shopping.
For those who don't like shopping, then it's one more reason to avoid the stores and
Shopping malls.
Black Friday comprehension
Answer the questions to check your comprehension. If you don't know an answer, don't worry. Skip it, then try to answer it after listening again.
1: What is the day just after Thanksgiving called in the US?
2: What happens on that day?
3: Where did the term begin?
4: Why do retailers like Black Friday?
5: The article calls Black Friday a last chance shopping season? What does this mean?
6: The article comments about people who oppose Black Friday. What did they do?
7: Why do they oppose shopping?
Listen and complete
Listen:
What is Buy Nothing Day all about?
Buy Nothing Day
Black Friday or Buy nothing Day?
Are you celebrating Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day?
Mary Bowerman USA TODAY Network
Published 8:23 AM EST Nov 25, 2016
Shoppers rush to grab electric griddles and slow cookers on sale shortly after the doors opened at a J.C. Penney store.
Julie Jacobson, AP
As consumers rush to stores for Black Friday sales and frantically enter credit card numbers into online checkouts, others are marking the frenzied post-Thanksgiving shopping day as a day to “Buy Nothing.”
International "Buy Nothing Day" falls on the day after American Thanksgiving each year. Celebrated since the 1990s, the day is meant to inspire worldwide action against mass consumerism, according to Adbusters, a not-for-profit anti-consumerism magazine.
"Buy Nothing Day isn’t just about changing your habits for one day it is about rediscovering what it means to live freely," according to Adbusters. "Join millions of us in over 60 countries on November 25, 2016, for Buy Nothing Day and see what it feels like to take a stand against corporate domination."
The magazine encouraged people to organize a credit-card cut up or a zombie walk through a mall to boycott mass spending during the holidays.
On social media, many encouraged people to take a harder look at the things they are purchasing on Black Friday and decide whether they need the products.
Others noted the irony in expressing thanks for everything you have one day, and hours later turning around and trying to get more.
Even if you aren't protesting consumerism, you can always decide to #OptOutside instead of jumping on the Black Friday bandwagon.
Published 8:23 AM EST Nov 25, 2016
Buy Nothing Day: Listening Gap Fill
Buy Nothing Day Listening:
WHILE READING / LISTENING GAP FILL
Put the words into the gaps in the text.
Buy Nothing Day is a great way of ____________ yourself you don’t need to go shopping. In today’s world, most of us buy too much, too often. There is really no need for us to buy half the ____________ we purchase. In fact, make that three-quarters, or even nine-tenths. Shopping has become an ____________ for many people. Companies are ____________ at making us buy stuff. TV and Internet ads can even make us buy things we don’t really want. There is a well-____________ bumper sticker that says: “When the ____________ gets tough, the tough go shopping.” I would say only ____________ people go shopping to reduce their stress. Anyway, Buy Nothing Day is a fantastic way to avoid ____________ stores, save some money (for once) and spend time wisely.
known foolish stuff experts reminding crowded addiction going
Lots of ideas on how to ____________ this day are on the www.buynothingday.org website. Here, you learn that you actually help ____________ our planet by not going shopping. You consume less and this means we use ____________ of Earth’s resources. We easily run out of money when we go shopping, but we can also ____________ of our planet’s animals, forests, water and a lot more. The website suggests you ____________ your credit card away for the day and keep your cash under the bed. You will not be ____________. The website says: “Buy Nothing Day is the biggest 24-hour [campaign] against consumerism. People around the world will make a ____________ to take a break from shopping as a personal experiment or ____________ statement. And the best thing is, it’s free."
fewer public spend lock alone save pact run out
Buy Nothing Day: Text order
PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER
Number these lines in the correct order.
purchase. In fact, make that three-quarters, or even nine-tenths. Shopping has become an addiction for many
Buy Nothing Day is a great way of reminding yourself you don’t need to go shopping. In today’s world, most (1)
website. Here, you learn that you actually help save our planet by not going shopping. You consume less and this means
people. Companies are experts at making us buy stuff. TV and Internet ads can even make us buy things we don’t really
or public statement. And the best thing is, it’s free."
alone. The website says: “Buy Nothing Day is the biggest 24-hour [campaign] against consumerism. People around
shopping.” I would say only foolish people go shopping to reduce their stress. Anyway, Buy Nothing Day is a fantastic
you lock your credit card away for the day and keep your cash under the bed. You will not be
way to avoid crowded stores, save some money (for once) and spend time wisely.
we use fewer of Earth’s resources. We easily run out of money when we go shopping, but we can also run out of our planet’s animals, forests, water and a lot more. The website suggests
want. There is a well-known bumper sticker that says: “When the going gets tough, the tough go
of us buy too much, too often. There is really no need for us to buy half the stuff we
the world will make a pact to take a break from shopping as a personal experiment
Lots of ideas on how to spend this day are on www.buynothingday.org
Buy Nothing Day: Scrambled Senteces
SCRAMBLED SENTENCES
Work with a partner; put the words back into the correct order.
1.
need go don’t to shopping You.
2.
often of too too Most buy , us much.
3.
people an addiction Shopping for has many become.
4.
we Make don’t us really buy want things.
5.
stress foolish shopping their Only go reduce people to.
6.
on spend ideas to day of how this Lots.
7.
by Help not save going our shopping planet.
8.
money when we go shopping We easily run out of.
9.
credit suggests your away website lock card The you.
10.
break as experiment a shopping personal Take from a.
What is my Carbon Footprint?
About Carbon Footprint
Maybe you identify cars as major producers of CO², but only think of it in terms of human transportation, as opposed to the transportation of goods.
You may also have a hard time thinking about the manufacturing of goods such as clothing, in which the raw materials are transported to one country where the fabric is created, another country where the garments are assembled, and still another country where they are sold. These are hidden contributors to climate change. You may understand it best when given examples that you are familiar with. Groceries such as apples, tomatoes, and milk are good examples of items you come into contact with at local stores. By using real-life examples, you can understand that your carbon footprint branches out not only to what you do, but also to what you choose to buy, and how and where it is produced.
It is also important to have a look at the big picture, and this often means comparing the carbon footprint of a typical person in the United States to someone in a developing country. Showing examples of different ways that the same task is done can help you to understand how some countries contribute more to climate change than others.
Carbon Footprint explained
Carbon Footprint explained
My Carbon Footprint
How big is your environmental footprint? Your living habits make up your carbon footprint.The size of your carbon footprint indicates how much impact you have on the environment. Find out how to reduce your footprint. Do the test.
Watch this video. The purpose of this video is to see what a carbon footprint is. You might get another view on what it takes to create that piece of clothing you just bought at the store.
The life cycle of a T-shirt
The Carbon Footprint of my phone
The life cycle of a Mobile Phone
What can I do?
Why your old phones collect in a junk drawer of sadness
Het arrangement Consuminderen Engels is gemaakt met
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Auteur
Gerda Grasmeijer
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Laatst gewijzigd
2018-12-16 16:33:56
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