Full transcript
0:00hey everybody welcome to this b1 english
0:02listening practice video you can use
0:04this video to practice your listening
0:06and comprehension as i speak before we
0:09start remember to download my listening
0:11time podcast and become a listening time
0:13member at
0:14patreon.com listening time to receive my
0:17listening practice seminars so today i'm
0:20going to talk about thanksgiving we just
0:22recently celebrated this famous american
0:24holiday so i thought it'd be a good
0:26topic for this video so first of all
0:28what are the origins of thanksgiving
0:29where did it come from well to be honest
0:32there isn't really a whole lot that we
0:33can draw from to know that much about
0:35the first thanksgiving actually there's
0:37really only one short description
0:39written by a man named edward winslow
0:41regarding the first thanksgiving feast
0:43but from what we do know the story goes
0:45a little something like this in 1621 the
0:48pilgrims living in plymouth which was
0:50located in the modern day state of
0:52massachusetts held a feast with the
0:54wampanoag people which were a native
0:56american group that lived in the area at
0:58that time this feast was a celebration
1:00of the native americans first successful
1:02corn harvest and they decided to invite
1:05some of their native american allies to
1:06join in nobody can say for sure what
1:09food was served but it's safe to say
1:11that it probably didn't bear much
1:12resemblance to the thanksgiving food we
1:14eat nowadays so let's go through several
1:17traditional thanksgiving dishes that
1:18you'll find on tables across the u.s
1:21firstly and most importantly you have
1:22the thanksgiving turkey this animal has
1:25become the iconic image of thanksgiving
1:27and most families wouldn't be able to
1:28imagine a thanksgiving without it
1:30besides turkey another essential is the
1:32stuffing this is a mix of herbs spices
1:35veggies and breadcrumbs that are stuffed
1:37into the turkey before cooking a good
1:39thanksgiving meal needs a good stuffing
1:42another essential side dish is the
1:43cranberry sauce which provides a good
1:46sweet contrast to the savory taste of
1:48the turkey and a few other traditional
1:50side dishes include mashed potatoes and
1:52gravy green bean casserole and dinner
1:54rolls and for dessert people like to eat
1:56pies such as apple pie pumpkin pie and
1:59pecan pie alright so besides food what
2:02else is there to know about thanksgiving
2:04well as the name implies it's supposed
2:06to be a day when people give thanks for
2:08the blessings in their lives so for
2:10example some families go around the
2:12dinner table and have each person say
2:14one thing that they're thankful for i
2:16like this tradition because it allows us
2:17to take a step back and reflect on the
2:19good in our lives we get so caught up in
2:22the stress of our everyday lives and all
2:24the bad things that happen to us so it's
2:26nice to be able to put all that aside
2:27and acknowledge the blessings on a
2:29lighter note another common thing that
2:31people like to do on thanksgiving is
2:33watch and play football for some reason
2:35thanksgiving has become a big football
2:37day in america so people can watch a
2:39couple games while they're cooking or
2:41the adults and kids can play a game in
2:43the backyard while they're waiting for
2:45the big feast one other important thing
2:47about thanksgiving is that it's the day
2:49before black friday this is the biggest
2:51shopping day of the year in the u.s many
2:54people start their black friday shopping
2:55at midnight after thanksgiving many
2:58stores open their doors at 12 a.m on
3:00this day so a lot of people line up
3:02hours beforehand to make sure they get
3:03first dibs on the best deals a lot of
3:06people criticize the fact that stores
3:08open at this time because it tends to
3:09take away a little bit from the
3:10thanksgiving celebration and it adds a
3:13little bit more stress to the holiday
3:15i'm not a big shopper so black friday
3:17doesn't really mean much to me but for
3:19other people and for companies it's an
3:21important day okay now i'm going to ask
3:23you a few questions to see how well you
3:25understood number one in what year was
3:27the first thanksgiving celebrated number
3:29two what type of dessert is the most
3:31common on thanksgiving and number three
3:34what's one popular thanksgiving
3:35tradition alright before we go remember
3:38to download the listening time podcast
3:40and become a listening time member at
3:42patreon.com listeningtime so you can
3:44receive my listening practice seminars
3:47and of course subscribe to the channel
3:49and click on the bell i'll see you next
3:51time
3:57[Music]