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VOA慢速英语2021--印第安人和第一个感恩节

时间:2021-11-29 03:23:43

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Native Americans and the First Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday is when Americans try to spend time with family, eat a tasty meal and give thanks for the meaningful things in life. This year, the holiday falls on November 25.

The historical facts of the holiday, however, have long been debated.

Ramona Peters is a historic preservation1 officer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in the state of Massachusetts. The Native American group was part of what is said to be the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

She describes the first Thanksgiving this way:

In the fall of 1621, early settlers called Pilgrims celebrated2 their first successful harvest in the New England area of the present-day United States. They celebrated by firing guns and cannons3 in Plymouth. The noise surprised ancestors of the modern-day Wampanoag Nation. So, they went to investigate.

This is how native people came to be present at the first Thanksgiving, Peters said. She added that the time was marked by mistrust and tension.

The description of the events suggests that paintings showing Native Americans sitting down for a peaceful meal with colonial families is largely a lie.

The Wampanoag might have shared food with the Pilgrims during their fact-finding mission. But they also hunted for food and probably ate very different things than the foods connected with today's Thanksgiving holiday.

What was served on the first Thanksgiving?

What was actually eaten at that first Thanksgiving was likely much different than the turkey, potatoes and stuffing that many American families eat today. That information comes from an expert at Plimoth Plantation4, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

"We...know turkey was plentiful5 in Plymouth Colony, but we don't know for certain that it was served at the meal," Plimoth Plantation's Kate Sheehan told VOA in an email. She also believes seafood6 might have been among the foods served. "Mussels, lobster7 and eel8 were available as well, and enjoyed by both the English and Wampanoag."

Plimoth Plantation attempts to copy the Plymouth Colony settlement established by English colonists9 in the 1600s. Modern experts can make educated guesses about what might else have been on the first Thanksgiving table. It is likely that many kinds of vegetables and herbs were among the available foods.

"English gardens probably produced cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, colewort (or collards), parsnips, turnips10, beets11, onions, radishes, lettuce12 and spinach13, as well as sage14, thyme, parsley, marjoram, fennel, anise and dill," Sheehan said.

"Wampanoag and English women also cultivated beans and squashes, including pumpkins," she added.

When did they celebrate?

Americans now celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. But historians do not know the date of the very first Thanksgiving.

"We know it took place over three days sometime between mid-September and early November in 1621, and was considered a harvest celebration following a successful planting of multicolored flint corn, or maize," Sheehan explained.

It was not until 1863, during the Civil War, that Thanksgiving became a national holiday. Some explanations say President Abraham Lincoln supported the idea of an idealistic Thanksgiving in hopes of bringing the country together.

Peters, of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, said a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale had a part in the holiday's development. Hale was the editor of an influential15 women's magazine. She said Hale had told President Lincoln that a national Thanksgiving holiday would help unite the war-torn country.

"It was a socio-political move to try to reunite the North and the South after the Civil War to have this national holiday," Peters said.

"It was actually a pretty smart move to establish something to unite families. During the Civil War, a lot of families actually split down the middle, brothers against brothers."

How do Native Americans celebrate today?

Today, Native Americans mark Thanksgiving in different ways. Some consider it a day of mourning because of the destruction that colonization16 and displacement17 caused for their people. Others gather with their families, but they do not think about the Pilgrims.

Peters said native people celebrate many thanksgivings throughout the year. They celebrate when certain crops come in or when fish return to release their eggs in nearby waters.

Giving thanks, Peters added, is a big part of the Wampanoag members' spiritual life.

Words in This Story

guess –n. an attempt to give an opinion or answer about something when you do not know much about it or are not sure about it

idealistic –adj. the ideas of a person who believes that it is possible to live by very high rules of behavior and honesty

cultivate –v. to grow, raise or develop

table –n. a piece of furniture that has a flat top and one or more legs

certain –adj. used to modify something or someone that is not named specifically

herb –n. a plant or part of a plant that is used as medicine or to prepare food

stuffing –n. a seasoned food mixture that is often put inside another food


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1 preservation glnzYU     
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持
参考例句:
  • The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
  • The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。
2 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
3 cannons dd76967b79afecfefcc8e2d9452b380f     
n.加农炮,大炮,火炮( cannon的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 plantation oOWxz     
n.种植园,大农场
参考例句:
  • His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
  • The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。
5 plentiful r2izH     
adj.富裕的,丰富的
参考例句:
  • Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
  • Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。
6 seafood 7j6zUl     
n.海产食品,海味,海鲜
参考例句:
  • There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
  • Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。
7 lobster w8Yzm     
n.龙虾,龙虾肉
参考例句:
  • The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
  • I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾,但它不适宜于我的健康。
8 eel bjAzz     
n.鳗鲡
参考例句:
  • He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
  • In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆,他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。
9 colonists 4afd0fece453e55f3721623f335e6c6f     
n.殖民地开拓者,移民,殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 turnips 0a5b5892a51b9bd77b247285ad0b3f77     
芜青( turnip的名词复数 ); 芜菁块根; 芜菁甘蓝块根; 怀表
参考例句:
  • Well, I like turnips, tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflowers, onions and carrots. 噢,我喜欢大萝卜、西红柿、茄子、菜花、洋葱和胡萝卜。 来自魔法英语-口语突破(高中)
  • This is turnip soup, made from real turnips. 这是大头菜汤,用真正的大头菜做的。
11 beets 88b1e961db3387e932ee94bcb085128f     
甜菜( beet的名词复数 ); 甜菜根; (因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而)脸红
参考例句:
  • Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
  • In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上,大麦,苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。
12 lettuce C9GzQ     
n.莴苣;生菜
参考例句:
  • Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿,我好做色拉。
  • The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。
13 spinach Dhuzr5     
n.菠菜
参考例句:
  • Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
  • You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。
14 sage sCUz2     
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的
参考例句:
  • I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
  • The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。
15 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
16 colonization fa0db2e0e94efd7127e1e573e71196df     
殖民地的开拓,殖民,殖民地化; 移殖
参考例句:
  • Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
  • These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。
17 displacement T98yU     
n.移置,取代,位移,排水量
参考例句:
  • They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
  • The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

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