2. Which is the easier way to become a better reader, pleasure reading or studying?

1. Is pleasure reading important for learning English?

5. Translate the sentence "They thank God for the good things that have happened during the year and for the good harvest they have had." into Chinese.

(3)

Reading for pleasure is the easiest way to become a better reader in English. It is also the most important way.

Some students say they don’t want to read for pleasure. They say they want to use their time to learn the rules of the language and new words. They say that pleasure read­ing is too easy.

Many experts (专家) say pleasure reading is very important for learning English. Dr. Stephen Krashen, a famous expert on learning languages, says that pleasure reading helps you learn many important things about English. Students learn more grammar and more words when they read for pleasure. They also learn more about good writing.

Dr. Krashen tells us that pleasure reading helps each student in a different way. Each student needs to learn something different. Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what he or she needs.

Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying. When you read for pleasure, you choose your own books, and you don’t have to remember everything. There are no tests on your pleasure reading books. Pleasure reading will help you:

●learn how English speakers use English

●read faster in English

●find examples of good writing in English

●learn new words

●learn about the cultures (文化) of English speakers

4. What does the word “fortunately” mean in Chinese?

3. Who made the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day in the USA?

2. When did the first thanksgiving service take place in North America?

1. Is Thanksgiving Day celebrated on the same day in North American countries?

5. What’s the main idea of the passage?

(2)

Thanksgiving Day is a very special day for people in the United States. They celebrate it on the last Thursday in November. Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving Day, but they do it on the second Monday of October. In Britain, where this festival is called Harvest Festival, people celebrate it earlier in the year, in September.

A harvest is the fruit you take from the trees and the crops you take from the ground. In North America and Britain, harvest time for most fruit and crops is in the autumn. In these countries and other Christian places, people give thanks to God on a special day of the year. They thank God for the good things that have happened during the year and for the good harvest they have had. People usually take small boxes of fruit, flowers, and vegetables to their churches to show their thanks.

The first thanksgiving service (仪式) in North America took place on December 4th, 1619 when 38 English people, arrived in America to make their home in the new country. They held this service not to thank God for the harvest, but to thank God for their safe journeys. The next year, many more English people arrived. They had a bad winter, but fortunately the harvest was good. they decided to celebrate it with a big meal. They shot and killed small animals to eat and cooked every­thing outside on large fires. About 90 Indians also came to the meal. Everyone ate at tables outside their houses and played games together. The festival lasted three days.

A Thanksgiving Day celebration was held every year for a long time, but not always on the same day of the year. Then, in 1789, President George Washington named November 26th as the Day of Thanksgiving. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln changed the date, and said that the last Thursday in November should be Thanksgiving Day.

Nowadays, North Americans around the world get together with their families on this day to eat good food and have a happy time.

4. What should you do if you want to have more chances for making friends?

3. Cindy always talks about herself when she talks to other people. What advice (it’80 do you think she needs to follow?