Thanksgiving dates back to the days of the early New England colonists(殖民地的居民) who were having difficulty living in New England. According to the legend(传说), without the help of the native American Indians, the settlers(移民者) would have been dead. The Indians showed the colonists how to hunt(打猎) wild turkeys and how to grow corn. In the fall, the Indians and colonists gathered for a feast(宴会) to honour their friendship.

　　In fact, the colonists and Indians never got along very well, and this first Thanksgiving dinner probably never took place. Even so, Americans today follow the tradition( 传统) by inviting friends and relatives(亲戚) for a turkey dinner on the fourth Thursday of November.

　　感恩节的起源要追溯到新英格兰殖民时代。殖民地上的早期居民在这块新土地上生活得非常困苦，根据传说，如果没有美洲原来居住的印第安人的帮助，这些殖民者可能早就死了。印第安人教殖民者猎野火鸡和种植玉米。秋天时，印第安人和殖民者齐聚在宴会上，向他们的友谊致敬。

　　事实上，殖民者和印第安人相处地一直不好，而这第一次的感恩节大餐可能也从未举办过。尽管如此，现在的美国人，在十一月的第四个星期四，还是会邀请亲朋好友一起来享用火鸡大餐，以沿袭这项传统。

　　(文/张华 巩玉香 供稿；英语辅导报初二版04~05学年第3期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)