2018年6月大学英语六级听力常考时文：Thanksgiving

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　　1.Like those festivals in many cultures, what kind of festival is
Thanksgiving? ... festival.
        　　2.What does Thanksgiving mean to millions of Americans? A day spent ...,...
and talking.
        　　3.Which year can Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade trace back to? ...
        　　Thanksgiving is an autumn harvest festival like those found in many
cultures. Today the holiday is a time of family reunions, parades and watching
football games on television, and of course food. For millions of Americans,
Thanksgiving is a day spent cooking, eating and talking. Thanksgiving is what
the social scientists call a civil holiday. It is not religious but it does have
spiritual meaning. For some families, Thanksgiving may be the only time of year
when everyone gets together. The government says the Sunday after Thanksgiving
is the busiest day of the year for long-distance travel as people return from
gatherings. Thanksgiving is also a time when thoughts start to turn to other
kinds of gifts. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the traditional start of the
shopping season for Christmas and the other winter holidays. And speaking of
traditions, a popular Thanksgiving tradition is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade in New York City. Employees of the huge Macy’s department store on Herald
Square organized the first parade in 1924. Many of them wanted to hold a big
parade like the ones in Old World Europe. So they dressed in costumes and
borrowed some animals from the zoo. They also carried small balloons that
floated just overhead. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is marking its
eightieth anniversary this year. The parade traditionally includes invited
marching bands. But now, in addition, the parade will have its own marching
band. Two hundred musicians and dancers will take part in what is called the
Macy’s Great American Marching Band. The young musicians will represent all
fifty states and the District of Columbia.