Everyday English Home for Thanksgiving

Home for Thanksgiving

1426 m 2295 km

1267 m 2039 km

1189 m 1914 km 1852 m 2981 km

817 m 1316 km

Ukraine

miles kilometres 2126 m 3422 km

555 m 893 km

1 Let’s talk: Times and distances The US is huge. So a lot of people travel long distances to visit friends and family, for example, for the most important holiday in the US – Thanksgiving. a) Look at the map above. How far is it from Seattle to Miami? And from LA to NYC?

Ask your partner more questions like these about distances. b) Look at the time zones on the map.

Ask your partner about the difference in time between cities in the US.

Example: If it’s 9:30 p.m. in Denver, what time is it in Chicago? c) Look at the map and the info in the grid.

Talk about how you can travel from Denver to other cities. Use the phrases below. Denver to … by car* by plane* Seattle Los Angeles Miami New York City 28:30 23:50 42:30 37:00 2:50 2:30 3:35 3:40 *in hours and minutes

How far is it from Denver to … ? How long does it take by plane? What if I go by car? It’s about … miles/km. It takes … hours. It’s much longer – It takes about … .

d) Discuss the distances in Ukraine (by car, by bus or by train). How far is it from Kyiv to your place? Or from Kyiv to Lviv?

2 Travel troubles a) Read the e-mail (A) and the advert (B). Complete the sentences below with the best word.

I just saw the weather report on TV. Do you really have snow up there in Colorado? It’s over 80 degrees here in New Mexico. They showed pictures of the chaos on the Interstates. And lots of flights are delayed. By the way, you’ll be one of 56 million Americans who are traveling home for Thanksgiving tomorrow! So don’t get lost!

A DINER

B

If you are stranded or have a breakdown, don’t spend Thanksgiving at a rest area on the Interstate 40. Dinah’s Motel & Diner is just past Exit 140. OK, it isn’t home and you won’t get a turkey dinner. But our pancakes with bacon and eggs (over easy or sunny side up) are real tasty and our rooms are comfortable!

1. Both texts are about a. Colorado. 2. Text A describes the a. TV. b. Thanksgiving.

b. way. 3. Text B describes a place to have a. a breakdown. b. a turkey. c. motels.

c. weather.

c. pancakes.

3 Mediation and communication: Turkey Hotline You find this info about Thanksgiving on the Internet. Your younger brother reads it, too. But he doesn’t understand everything. Answer his questions.

Tomorrow is the 4th Thursday in November!

That’s right: It’s Thanksgiving! So do you have everything planned for the special day without stress for your family? No? Well, let’s look at the problem: This year the big dinner is not at your grandparents’ home. For the first time it’s your mom’s job to do the cooking for the whole family. But like many Americans she never cooks. So what should she do with the 20lb frozen bird which she has just bought? Tell her not to panic! If she phones us at the ‘Turkey Hotline’, we’ll tell her how to thaw, cook and serve it. So tomorrow you can all relax and remember the first people who came to the US from England on a ship called the ‘Mayflower’. That was in 1620 and they had the first ‘thanksgiving’ dinner then.

1. What will take place on the 4th

Thursday in November? 2. I came across the word ‘problem’.

What is the problem? 3. This is not a chicken in the picture, right? 4. What is the ‘hotline’? 5. What happened in 1620? 6. Why is the holiday celebrated?

4 For my folder: A special holiday Thanksgiving is a very special holiday for many Americans. What’s the most important holiday for you and your family? Do you have to travel anywhere for it? What do you do on this day? Write five sentences about it.