Uint1 阅读与写作.docVIP

Uint1 阅读与写作 1 April Fools Day is a day to play jokes on others. No one knows how this holiday began but people think it first started in France. In the 16th century, people celebrated New Years Day from March 25 to April 1. In the mid—1560s King Charles IX changed it from March 25 to January 1. But some people still celebrated in on April 1, so others called them April Fools. Each country celebrates April Fools Day differently. In France, people call the April Fools April Fish. They tape a paper fish to their friends backs to fool them. When he or she finds this, they shout April Fish! In England, people play jokes only in the morning. You are a noodle if someone fools you. In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long. They call an April Fool April Gowk. Gowk is another name for a cuckoo bird. In the America, people play small jokes on their friends and any other people on the first of April. They may point down to your shoe and say,?Your shoelace(鞋带) is untied. If you believe them and look down to see, you are an April Fool then. 2 The American Thanksgiving Day celebration goes back to 1621. In that year a special dinner was prepared in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The people who had settled there had left England because they felt denied of religious freedom. They came to the new land and faced difficulties in coming across the ocean. The ship which carried them was called the Mayflower. The North Atlantic was difficult to travel. There were bad storms. They were assisted in learning to live in the new land by the Indians who lived in the region. The Puritans(清教徒), as they were called, had much to be thankful for. Their religious practices are no longer a source of criticism by the government. They learned to adjust（调整） their farming habits to the climate and soil. When they selected the fourth Thursday of November for their Thanksgiving celebration, they invited their neighbors, the Indians, to join them in dinner and prayer of thankfulnes