单选题 Thanksgiving Day is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November, and it is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.
In 1620, the settlers, or pilgrims, sailed to America on the Mayflower seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts on an icy November morning. During their first winter over half of the settlers died of starvation, cold or epidemics.
The following spring, the pilgrims were befriended by some native American Indians who taught them which of the wild vegetation was safe to eat. The Indians also showed them how to plant corn and other vegetables.
All summer long the colony people waited for the harvests with great anxiety, knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depend on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving be fixed, to thank the Lord as well as the Native Americans.
The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by President George Washington and was celebrated on the 26th day of November in 1789. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln revived the custom and made Thanksgiving an annual (moveable) holiday to be celebrated on the fourth/last Thursday of November. For three years (1939-1941), under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the day was celebrated on the third Thursday in November. In 1941, Congress returned Thanksgiving to its original day, and the celebration of it has been observed on that date until today.
The pattern of the thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plums, pudding, mince pie, cranberry juice, squash and other varieties of food. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives, it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.
Thanksgiving today is in every sense a national holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year's bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.

单选题 Why did the pilgrims sail away from their native land?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由第二段第一句可知，“朝圣者们乘坐‘五月花’号航行到美国，寻求一个(宗教)信仰自由的地方”，因此可以推论，在他们的祖国没有信仰的自由，或可以说存在着“宗教迫害”，因此B项为正确选项。A、C、D三项的意思分别为“逃避种族歧视”、“发扬大英帝国的远洋传统”和“开始冒险旅行”。
单选题 How was colonists' first year's crop?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由第四段第二句得知，“秋天的丰收出乎人们的意料”，因此B项正确。A、B、D三项分别意为“收成令人失望”、“本该有更好的收成”以及“那年的大丰收创下了新记录”。
单选题 The day on which Thanksgiving is observed now was first selected by ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由第五段得知“林肯总统……将感恩节定在每年十一月最后一个(第四个)星期四”，因此B项为正确选项，因为现今人们仍在11月的第4个星期四庆祝感恩节。
单选题 The most important traditional food on Thanksgiving dinner table is ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由倒数第二段的段首句可知，“每个人都同意”(感恩节)大餐应围绕着烤火鸡进行”。以此事实可以推论“烤火鸡”是感恩节最传统、最重要、最中心的一道佳肴。A、C、D三个选项分别为“坚果和草莓”、“肉饼”、“南瓜饼”。尽管南瓜饼也是该节日不可或缺的传统美食，但终不及烤火鸡更具有代表意义，人们甚至把感恩节称为Turkey Day。
单选题 Which of the following statements is not true of Thanksgiving Day?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由第四段最后一句可知，“(这些定居者们)决定选个日子感谢上帝(the Lord)和土著美国人(Native Americans)，即印第安人。”所以C、D两项为正确陈述句。另一方面，感恩节也是庆祝丰收的节日。尽管北美移民于1620年抵达麻省海岸，但耕种却是在第二年春天(The following spring)，秋天自然也该是在1621年(第二年)。因此只有B项的陈述是错误的。