Thanksgiving (English exercise n°69328 - Please quote this number when contacting us)


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Thanksgiving

                                                               

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The story of the first Thanksgiving     Around four hundred years ago many people in England were unhappy because their King would not let them pray to  God as they liked. The King said they must use the same prayers as HE did and if they refused they were persecuted,  imprisoned or even killed.      These Englishmen left their homes (in Plymouth) and went far away to a country called Holland. In Holland they were happy but they were very poor. Then when the children began to grow they became less godfearing and did not want to pray any more.  After much talking and thinking these English people decided to embark on a pilgrimage to the new world: AMERICA.      They set out in  a small ship called the Mayflower to take them across the sea. There were about one hundred people  on board the tiny ship. It was crowded, cold and uncomfortable. The sea was rough. They spent two months sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.       At last the Mayflower came in sight of land. The month was November and it was cold. There was nothing to be  seen but snow, rocks and hard bare ground. They were tired and cold from their long journey, and hungry too.  No one had enough food to eat. Many of them became sick and by springtime almost half of the people had died.       In spring the sun shone brightly, the snow melted and the leaves and flowers began to emerge. Some friendly  Indians had visited the Pilgrims during the winter. One of the kindly Indians was named Squanto. He stayed with the  Pilgrims and taught them how to plant their corn, peas, wheat and barley. The summer came and the days were long  and bright. The pilgrim children were very happy in their new home on Plymouth Rock.             When it was autumn the fathers gathered the barley, wheat and corn that they had planted and found that it had  grown so well that they would have quite enough for the long winter that was coming.        Let us thank God for everything, they said. Then they decided to have a big thanksgiving party and invited the  friendly Indians.        They prepared wild duck and geese and great wild turkeys. There was deer meat, bread and cakes.  They had fish and clams from the sea nearby. The friendly Indians all came with their chief. They were dressed in deerskins  and some of them had wild-cat fur skins hanging on their arms. Their long black hair fell loose on their  shoulders and was trimmed with feathers or fox tails.         Before they ate the Pilgrims and the Indians thanked God together for all his goodness.         And so the story goes of the first Thanksgiving celebrated in Plymouth colony nearly four hundred years ago.         As you sit down with your friends and family this Thanksgiving remember this original tale and give thanks for all   God's abundant blessings. .

 

Massasoit, chef de la tribu des Wampanoags

Le quatrième jeudi du mois de novembre, les Américains se réunissent en famille  pour partager la traditionnelle dinde de Thanksgiving, le gâteau au potiron et la  sauce à la canneberge.         Le 6 septembre 1620 un navire marchand, le Mayflower, quitte Plymouth à  destination de l'Amérique du Nord. Parmi les 102 personnes à bord se trouvent  35 pélerins protestants très pieux qui fuient les persécutions de Jacques 1er.        Le Mayflower aborde les côtes du nouveau monde après deux mois d'une  traversée difficile. Le premier hiver est très dur, la moitié des colons décède.        Non loin d'eux se trouve un village indien dont le grand chef est Massasoit.  Les immigrants et les indiens se mettent d'accord pour vivre en paix et s'entraider.  L'un des indiens Squanto parle anglais. Il vit avec les immigrants et leur apprend à  chasser et à planter le maïs.         A l'automne, après une récolte abondante, les immigrants organisent une fête  à laquelle sont invités le chef du village indien et ses guerriers.

Intermediate
English exercise "Thanksgiving" created by lili73 (17-11-2009) with The test builder
Click here to see the current stats of this English test

1.
  Which year did the Pilgrims set sail for America? 162016231615

2.
  From which city did the Mayflower depart? PlymouthSouthamptonPortsmouth

3.
  The Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown commemorates the Pilgrims' first landing
in New England.
          How many days did it take for the Mayflower to reach the New World? 1066696

4.
   How many people were there on board that ship? 1028292

5.
 John Alden (a barrel-maker)and his wife. They had 10 children. Presidents John Adams and
John Quincy Adams are their direct descendants.

                         During their first winter in the New World the Pilgrims suffered from starvation, cold,and disease.
                         How many Pilgrims survived? 50%60%70%

6.
  The Pilgrims met the chief of a local Indian tribe. They agreed to live peacefully and
                     to help each other.

                                           This chief and 90 of his braves were invited to the first Thanksgiving.
                                           He was named PacohontasSquantoMassasoit

7.
  What food was probably not on the Pilgrims' menu?fishcornpotatoes

8.
   Thanksgiving day did not become an official national holiday until 1863,
                                       until the proclamation of President J.BuchananUlysses S. GrantA. Lincoln

9.
 Today Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada
                                    and on the thirdsecondfourth Thursday of November in the United States.

10.
 Do you know what adult male turkeys are called? roostersleghornstoms

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