单选题
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项[A]、[B]、[C]和[D]中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, {{U}}(36) {{/U}} some were opposed to it. There was {{U}}(37) {{/U}} among the colonies, {{U}}(38) {{/U}} feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not {{U}}(39) {{/U}} a national holiday. And {{U}}(40) {{/U}} , President Thomas Jefferson laughed {{U}}(41) {{/U}} the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
{{U}}(42) {{/U}} was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to {{U}}(43) {{/U}} we now recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her {{U}}(44) {{/U}} in her Boston Ladies' Magazine. {{U}}(45) {{/U}}, after a 40-year {{U}}(46) {{/U}} of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a {{U}}(47) {{/U}} when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a {{U}}(48) {{/U}} day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president {{U}}(49) {{/U}} Lincoln. The date was changed a {{U}}(50) {{/U}} of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it {{U}}(51) {{/U}} one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to {{U}}(52) {{/U}} a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar {{U}}(53) {{/U}} the decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving {{U}}(54) {{/U}} to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a {{U}}(55) {{/U}} holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[名师精解] 这篇短文介绍的是感恩节的来历。第一句话讲乔治·华盛顿于1789年宣布感恩节为国家法定的节日，紧接着跟了一句让步从句——虽然有些人反对(although some were apposed to it)。这一段接下来进一步讲观点的不一致。在各个殖民州当中就存在着争论(conflict)，第37题除了选项conflict外，还有disagreement和argument，尽管也指争论，但disagreement的语气太轻，表示“不同意”，argument属可数名词，应加冠词an或表复数的s。接下来的部分属独立结构，主语是many(许多州的人)，意思是许多州的人觉得少数朝圣者的苦难不值得(did not deserve)作为一个国家的节日。后来(later)，总统杰弗逊也嘲笑(laughed at)这个主意。第二段讲有个叫Sarah Josepha Hale的杂志编辑，是她的努力最终导致了我们现在对感恩节的认可。这样的句型属强调句型，结构为it+ be +强调的部分+定语从句，所以，第42题应填It。第43题后面是个句子，因此这个空格的词应既作关系代词引导这个从句，又在从句中作宾语，只有what才能起这个作用。对于Hale来说，倡导这个节日是她的事业(cause)。最后(finally)，经过40年的活动 (campaign)——写社论，给总督写信——她的梦想成了现实(reality)，林肯总统终于将感恩节定为国立的(national)节日。林肯之后(after Lincoln)，每届总统都确定过感恩节的时间，改变过一两次(a couple of times)。最近一次是由罗斯福改的，他把节日确定为一周 (set it up one week)，以便使圣诞假期更长(in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season)。但两年后，公众对该决定的反对(uproar against the decision)迫使总统把节日改回原来的日子(move... back to)。1941年，感恩节最后经国会批准，成为法定(legal)节日。 [解题秘籍] 一般来说，命题者最容易选句子与句子之间有联系的单词出题，如：代词、关系代词或副词等。第43题就是一个例子。What属关系代词，既引导后面的定语从句，又在从句中作宾语。