In the United States this Thursday many of us will gather together with friends and family to eat a great feast. It is a time when we (ideally) come together to be thankful for our lives, our families, and our opportunities.

It is also a time when friends and family with different views, beliefs and religions sit around a table and try to share a meal. Combine the potential for family arguments with the difficult task of cooking a giant turkey without burning it, and you have a recipe for a holiday disaster.

The scene below from Saturday Night Live humorously captures some of the arguments about race and religion you might hear around dining room tables in the United States this Thanksgiving, and combines it with Adele’s new album, which everyone seems to agree on.

Answer the listening questions below in comments and we will respond.

1. Name all the things they are thankful for.
2. Who did she see at the grocery store?
3. What was she picking up from the store?
4. Why is it your ‘friends’ keep ________ the police?
5. Why does she ask him the offensive question?
6. The Grandfather, “Very interesting ______, this.
7. What two things are ready?
8. ___ __ everyone!
9. What does the above sentence mean?

Are there any special feasts in your country that bring friends and family together? Is it common to have these types of disagreements at those special occasion dinners?

Thanksgiving vocabulary:

Autumn – The third season of the year, when crops and fruits are gathered and leaves fall, in the northern hemisphere from September to November and in the southern hemisphere from March to May:
Carve – To cut (cooked meat) into slices for eating.
Corn
Cranberry sauce
Feast – A large meal, typically one in celebration of something. Example: A wedding feast.
Grateful – Feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; to thankful. Example: I’m very grateful to you for all your help.
Gravy
Harvest – The process or period of gathering crops when the growing season has finished.
Pilgrim
Pumpkin pie
Stuffing
Turkey
Yam