History and Traditions

“Boo!” This scary noise is often said again and again on Halloween, October 31st, to frighten people. Originally, this holiday was celebrated 2000 years ago in Europe as a way to remove evil spirits and monsters from people’s lives – this time of year, when the days got shorter, was seen as an evil time. In those days this was a serious matter; people were frightened of wild animals and sickness, and scientific knowledge was very limited. Later on, Halloween was celebrated as a Christian holy day, but this well-known holiday is now used as an opportunity to tell scary stories, have parties with friends, and enjoy the darkening autumn days and cooler weather.

Dialogue

A: Happy Halloween! What are you dressed as?
B: I’m a zombie, can’t you tell? Are you going to the costume party tonight?
A: Yeah, I’m going to carve a pumpkin and dress as a witch. I hope we can go bobbing for apples.
B: Right, but we have to get back home in time to ‘trick or treat’.
A: And then later tonight we can tell some ghost stories.
B: Boo! I’m scared already!

Vocabulary & Phrases

Scary 可怕的
Causing fear

Evil 邪恶的
Very bad, esp. in thought or behavior, harmful

Monster 怪物
An animal or thing of unusually great size or strange form

A costume party 化妆派对
People dress like ghosts, witches, or monsters at this party www.hxw.red

Trick or treat! 不给糖就捣蛋
Children go to a house to say “trick or treat”; the meaning is: “Give me candy or I’ll play a trick on you”

历史及传统

“嘣!”，人们会在10月31日万圣节这一天一次又一次地听到这吓唬人的声音。这一节日起源于2000年前的欧洲，目的是从人们的生活中赶走邪恶的灵魂及妖魔鬼怪。每年的这个时候，当白昼逐渐变短，人们认为是邪恶的开始。那个年代人们对野兽和疾病惊恐万分，而科学还不为人知。以后，万圣节就成为基督徒的节日，而今天的人们在这个家喻户晓的节日到来之际讲述惊恐的故事，与朋友一起联欢，享受秋天的夜幕和凉爽的天气。

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