Stewart一家以及Harry和Michelle在吃感恩節(jié)晚餐前，在進(jìn)行感恩祈禱。大家在輪流說(shuō)出自己最深切的感受和美好的愿望。

    Philip： OK， everybody. I want to welcome Harry and his daughter Michelle to Thanksgiving with us. Harry： Thank you， Dr. Stewart. Philip： Call me Philip. Harry： OK. Philip： But first， I think we should take a moment and remember the meaning of Thanksgiving. Harry： Philip， I took Michelle to a school play about the first Thanksgiving. Philip： Well， why don't you tell us about that， Michelle？

    Michelle： Thanksgiving was about the Pilgrims， the first settlers in America. They shared the first harvest with the Indians and gave thanks. Philip： All right. Then in that spirit let's each of us give thanks. Each in his own way. Who wants to begin？

    Grandpa： I will. I give thanks for being here with my family and for being well， so I can enjoy you all. Robbie： All right！ We love you， Grandpa. Susan： I'd like to give thanks for a healthy year， a good job， and for meeting Harry and Michelle. Harry： We'd like to give thanks for meeting Susan and the Stewart family. Michelle： I love you， Daddy. Susan： Thanks， Harry. That was very kind of you. Robbie： I'd like to give thanks for Grandpa coming to live with us. And I'd also like to thank my math teacher for giving me a passing grade. And call me， Alexandra. Ellen： Oh， Robbie！

    Grandpa： She'll call.

    「語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)精講」

    1. Well， why don't you tell us about that， Michelle？

    "Why don't you do……？"（為什么不做……呢？）是一種比較委婉的請(qǐng)某人做某事的說(shuō)法。

    2. Thanksgiving was about the Pilgrims， the first settlers in America. They shared the first harvest with the Indians and gave thanks.感恩節(jié)是打清教徒前輩移民時(shí)候開(kāi)始的，他們是北美大陸的第一批移民。他們同印第安人分享了第一次收獲，以表示感謝之情。

    這里Michelle講述了感恩節(jié)的由來(lái)。

    pilgrim： 最初的移民。P大寫(xiě)時(shí)，指1620年移居美國(guó)的英國(guó)清教徒。

    settler： 移居者。

    3. Then in that spirit let's each of us give thanks. Each in his own way.那么讓我們每一個(gè)人都以同樣的心情表示感謝，每一個(gè)人都說(shuō)自己心里的話。

    晚餐開(kāi)始之前，Philip在主持家中的感恩禱告（Say Grace）。感恩宴前，一般都要進(jìn)行感恩禱告。禱告一般由家長(zhǎng)執(zhí)行，有時(shí)請(qǐng)客人來(lái)做。內(nèi)容大致為： 主啊，感謝您賜予我們這頓晚餐，您使我們有幸享用它，阿門(mén)（Dear Lord，we thank Thee for this food.Please bless it for our use，Amen.）這是非常傳統(tǒng)、正式的儀式。美國(guó)不拘禮儀、風(fēng)趣幽默的民族性格決定了他們不會(huì)那么“守舊”。比如Stewart一家人的“禱告詞”就是非常生活化的，這使人們可以在更加輕松、歡快的氣氛中享用“主”賜予他們的這頓盛宴。

    in that spirit： 基于同樣的心意，懷著同樣的心情。

    in one's own way： 以某人自己的方式。

    4. I give thanks for being here with my family and for being well， so I can enjoy you all.我為了能在這里和家人在一起，還為了我身體還健康，能夠享受天倫之樂(lè)，表示感謝之情。

    give thanks： 意思是"to say thank you"，感謝，致謝，感恩。

    "give （sb.） thanks for……" 以及后面出現(xiàn)的" thank sb. for……"都是用來(lái)表示感激之情，感謝之意的短語(yǔ)。兩者所感謝的都是人，而引起感謝的事或物要放在for后面。

    5. That was very kind of you.你真周到。表示感謝、感激的用語(yǔ)，其后可以跟一不定式加以說(shuō)明感激的原因。例如：It's very kind of you to help me. It's very kind of you to take care of my daughter.