The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.
However, the idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon① in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices② and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a selfless and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spikane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge declared the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.
When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental③. Most greeting cards are too special so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.
Notes:
① sermon v. 布道
② sacrifices n. 牺牲
③ sentimental adj. 感伤的
1. The United States is special in Father’s Day because ______.
A. many people celebrate the day B. only America celebrates the day
C. America makes it an official day D. all men are honored in America
2. At first, Father’s Day was fixed on June 19th because ______.
A. Sonora honored her father on her father’s birthday
B. Sonora’s birthday was June 19
C. it was decided by the president at that time
D. her mother died on June 19
3. How many years has passed before Father’s Day became an official day since the father’s day was celebrated?
A. 4 B. 10 C. 14 D. 24
4. According to the passage, on Father’s Day, ______.
A. people will wear the same flowers to honor their fathers
B. only daughters wear red flowers to honor their fathers
C. children must go home to honor their fathers
D. fathers are often honored in different ways
5. According to the passage, we can infer that Henry Jackson Smart ______.
A. was very kind to anyone
B. did a lot for his daughter
C. was the first father honored in 1924
D. always help others by giving money
