| celebrate, admire, energy, starve, feast, memory, origin, arrive, agriculture, custom, gather, gain |
Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich
In time, other colonies (殖民地) began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before Thanksgiving Day became a national
| A.led B.forcing C.having D.planned E.performing F.limited G.monitoring H.announcing |
New Year’s Eve celebrations will still be on in Times Square, but with smaller crowds
NEW YORK — Revelers(狂欢者)will still ring in the new year in New York’s Times Square next week, there just won’t be as many of them as usual under new restrictions announced Thursday as the city struggles with a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Viewing areas that normally accommodate about 58,000 people will be
“There is a lot to celebrate and these additional safety measures will keep the fully vaccinated crowd safe and healthy as we ring in the New Year,” de Blasio said, noting the city’s success in getting residents vaccinated while also keeping businesses open.
The added precautions for New Year’s Eve in Times Square were spurred by the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the Big Apple, where lines for testing have snaked around blocks in recent days.
On Wednesday, the city set yet another one-day testing record with 22,808 new cases, though a true comparison to the number of cases during the initial COVID-19 surge in spring 2020 is impossible because tests were very limited at the time.
Because of vaccinations, hospitalizations and deaths from the current surge are far fewer than at the pandemic’s height.
The new wave of cases has
Little more than a month ago, de Blasio gladly announced that a fully vaccinated crowd of hundreds of thousands of people would be back at the iconic celebration — dressing goofy 2022-themed glasses and watching a crystal-clad ball drop at midnight — after it was limited last year to small groups of essential workers.
But that was before omicron caught fire,
On Tuesday, the Fox network gave its decision, pulling the plug on a planned live broadcast from the New Year’s Eve event.Other networks plan to air the festivities, including Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC, the loyal program now hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
De Blasio said along with Thursday’s announcement that the city is
On New Year’s Eve last year, Times Square was mostly empty, with Jennifer Lopez and other artists
“New York is the best place in the world to celebrate New Year’s Eve and now it will be one of the safest against COVID as well,” Mayor-elect Eric Adams said in a written statement supporting the new precautions.
“New Yorkers and visitors alike can now enjoy Times Square and the rest of our city as we ring in 2022.”
| A. associated B. Additionally C. countless D. existence E. fundamental F. highlight G. Meanwhile H. signal I. strengthened J. surprise K. uniquely |
What Sociology Can Teach UsAbout Thanksgiving
Sociologists （社会学家） believe that the celebrations practiced within any given culture serve to restate that culture’s most important values and beliefs. This theory dates back to founding sociologist Émile Durkheim and has been proved true by
It may not be much of a（n）
In most households across the U. S. women and girls do the work of preparing, serving, and cleaning up after the Thanksgiving meal.
One of the most interesting sociological research findings is that overeating
| A. loved B. cause C. honored D. spreading E. partially F. cheer G. properly H. reflect I. symbol J. gathering K. touching |
(Since 1952, the Queen’s Christmas message has been televised in some form. The following is the one given by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on December 25th, 2015. )
At this time of year, few sights arouse more feelings of
The popularity of a tree at Christmas is
In 1949, I spent Christmas in Malta as a newly-married naval wife. We have returned to that island over the years, including last month for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders; and this year I met another group of leaders: The Queen’s Young Leaders, an inspirational group, each of them a
Actually,
One
I wish you a very happy Christmas.
| access；perform；settle；classical；seek festival；piano；achievement；significant |
The National Cherry Blossom Festival (樱花节) held in Washington D.C. is creating an online experience for people to enjoy while practicing social distance. People can have
A.approaches B.shape C.previously D.evident E.secrets F.date G.hardly H.remains I.irrelevant J.potential K.particularly |
Swedish Archaeologists Make New Discoveries
Archaeologists have begun exploring an unknown ancient city at a village called Vlochós, five hours north of Athens. The archaeological
“What used to be considered remains of some
“We came across the site which has never been explored before in connection with another project last year and realised the great
Working together with the Swedish Institute at Athens and the local archaeological service in Karditsa, the Vlochós Archaeological Project (VLAP) was started with an aim to explore the remains. The project’s research team completed the first field season during two weeks in September 2016.
Rönnlund says that the hill is hiding many
“We found a town square and a street network that indicate that we are dealing with quite a large city. The area inside the city wall measures over 40 hectares. We also found ancient pottery and coins that can help to
Rönnlund believes that the Swedish-Greek project can provide important clues as to what happened during this violent period in Greek history.
| A. opportunity B. invented C. marking D. exposed E. celebrated F. typically G. responsibility H. valuing I. represents J. assigned K. particularly |
Celebrating Kwanzaa(宽扎节)
This past summer, I left home without my family for the first time to go to Ghana for two weeks in The Year of Return. The Year of Return is a year
I joined Pittsburgh Public School’s African American Center for advanced Studies Executive committee and was fully
Much like a harvest festival, the holiday was
During the festival, we begin by reading up on the holiday, going through the seven principles
On each day of Kwanzaa, we light one of the seven candles. The candles come in three colors: black, red and green. We start with one black candle for the people. There are three red candles for their struggle and three green candles for their future. Each candle also
Over the seven nights of Kwanzaa, people
For two continuous years, I’ve chosen Ujamaa as my principle of the day. It’s the principle of cooperative economics, and to me it means investing in and supporting black-owned businesses. My main reason for choosing Ujamaa is that it is also the name of the store in the Hill District that gave me the
| A. stressed B. exhibited C. reveals D. momentary E. reluctance F. unforgettable G. attaches H. amusedly I. understatement J. confusedly K. delivery |
The Correct Answer to the Question
The usual answer to the greeting “How are you?” is generally “Not too bad.” Why? Because it’s all-purpose. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the conditions, “Not too bad” will get you through. On an average day it
Americans are small-talk artists. They have to be. This is a wild country. The weakest agreement
But that’s the negative view. Some of my happiest interactions with other human beings have been glancing moments of small talks. It’s an extraordinary thing. A person stands before you, a complete stranger, and the best everyday small talk can have his or her soul
I was out walking the other day when a UPS truck pulled to the side of the road. As the driver leaped from his cab to make a
The exchange of feelings, the perfect understanding, the simplest small talk that emerged instantly between us, and, most of all, the
9 . It’s hard to imagine two societies that deal with their elders as differently as the U. S. and China. And I am pretty sure about that. My wife Junling is a Shanghai native. Last month
