A restaurant review

Listen and fill in the gaps.

Happy Thanksgiving!

1. Watch the video and fill in the gaps. Check your answers in 'comments'. 

We’re all familiar with the story of the first Thanksgiving when the 1._________ invited local Native Americans to share a meal with them. But we bet you didn’t know Thanksgiving didn’t become an 2.______________ until more than 200 years later.  
That first Thanksgiving in 1621 wasn’t just one big meal, it was a three day festival of eating and hunting and other 3.________________ in honour of the pilgrim’s first successful harvest. The Indians killed 5 deer as gifts for the 4._____________ so venison was definitely on the first Thanksgiving menu. But we bet you didn’t know that turkey was not. They also didn’t have pumpkin pie or potatoes, which hadn’t been introduced to New England yet. And while they may have eaten cranberries, they would have been served 5.__________, and not in a sauce or 6.__________. The pilgrims didn’t plan on starting a Thanksgiving tradition. In fact they didn’t repeat the November celebration in 7._________________ years. 
In 1789, President George Washington announced the first ever national Thanksgiving holiday, which took place on Thursday November 26th. But it didn’t become an annual tradition 8.____________ until the 19th century, that’s when an American writer named Sara Josepha Hale, most famous for writing the 9.______________ ‘Mary had a little lamb’, was inspired by a diary of pilgrim life to 10._____________ that first Thanksgiving feast, beginning in 1827, Hale 11. _____________ a nearly 30 year campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. She also published recipes for pumpkin pie, turkey, and stuffing, that probably didn’t appear on the pilgrim’s plates, but would become the 12.______________ of modern Thanksgiving meals. 
In 1863, in the 13._________ of the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln announced that the nation would celebrate Thanksgiving every year on the final Thursday in November. But did you know in 1939, President Franklin D Roosevelt decided to move the holiday up a week to give 14.______________ era retailers more time to make money during the pre-Christmas shopping season. The move was widely 15._____________, and in 1941 FDR signed a bill fixing Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November, where it stays today. 
One of the 16._______________ Thanksgiving traditions began in 1989 when President George H.W. Bush granted the first official pardon to a turkey. Every November since then, the 17._____________________________________ has given a reprieve to one or two turkeys, sending them to 18.____________________ on a farm rather than to a dinner table. Though it only began in the late 20th century, this story has become one of the more unusual chapters in the long history of Thanksgiving traditions. 

2. Black Friday
Click here to watch a lesson about Black Friday.
Another short video here.

Don't forget to look at old posts about Thanksgiving!

My Favourite Restaurant

Click here to get to the post with the video about a favourite restaurant.

Listen to Akane explaining how to cook "egg spaghetti".

Eating Habits (monologue)

You are what you eat, or so they say. So, do you make sure you eat quality food? Talk about this subject taking into account some of the following points:

·         Do you ever cook?

·         What is your favourite dish?

·         Your usual diet

·         Do you ever eat unhealthy food? How do you feel about it?

·         Do you think we eat differently now than 20 years ago? If so, explain why.

·         Most experts agree that the Mediterranean diet is particularly beneficial. What are its main characteristics?

·         Do you think vegetarians are healthier than people who eat a lot of meat. Explain.

Mari's Favourite Food

Click here to listen. Do the vocabulary and comprehension quizzes.

Remember to have a look at older posts about the same topic.

Informal Letters and Emails

1. Click here to learn about different types, tenses, vocabularies and some tips.

2. Click here to learn about the format.

3. More information about informal letters.

4. A model.

Question tags

1. Watch a video with question tag examples and read the explanations.

2. Watch a video explaining how to use question tags in English. Do the exercise to check your understanding of the lesson.

3. Click here to read the grammar and see more examples and exceptions.

4. Click here to do an exercise.