[00:00.00]UNIT2
[00:15.10]Let's Dress Up——It's Halloween
[00:17.94]From early childhood getting
[00:21.00]dressed up is connected with
[00:23.63]a special pastime in North America,
[00:26.47]called Halloween. Halloween is
[00:28.99]celebrated on the last
[00:31.17]night of October, when the air
[00:33.15]is crisp and snow is
[00:34.90]not far off. Every young
[00:37.30]child is acquainted with
[00:39.49]this exciting tradition.
[00:42.01]On the last day
[00:44.85]of October when dinner is finished,
[00:47.04]children hurry to
[00:48.57]dress up in a costume.
[00:50.11]Darkness comes early at this time
[00:53.17]of year and caution
[00:54.92]must be practiced, foremost
[00:56.67]by the children who are
[00:57.98]going from house to house,
[01:00.50]“trick or treat”.
[01:01.48]Parents warn their children
[01:04.21]not to dart out
[01:05.31]in front of cars.
[01:06.74]In all the excitement
[01:08.37]it is easy for children to
[01:10.68]become distracted and ignore safety rules.
[01:13.30]Planning what your costume
[01:17.13]will be, ahead of time,
[01:19.20]is part of the
[01:20.74]fun of the evening.
[01:22.60]Many mothers will spend time
[01:25.23]fabricating outfits for
[01:26.97]their little girls who suddenly
[01:29.27]turn into circus clowns,
[01:30.69]beautiful ballet dancers or
[01:33.10]weird colorful bugs. Fathers may
[01:36.71]help their sons construct
[01:39.01]a costume of foil armor.
[01:41.31]Little boys often enjoy pretending
[01:44.48]they are in the army so
[01:46.56]on Halloween it is possible
[01:48.75]to see squads of lieutenants
[01:50.94]and sergeants marching along
[01:53.01]in the dark. We affiliate
[01:56.40]this celebration with the supernatural
[01:58.70]so some children may choose
[02:00.89]to wear a skeleton costume
[02:02.53]bearing a skull and crossbones,
[02:04.72]or even a monster costume.
[02:07.13]The choice of wardrobe
[02:09.64]for the evening is really limitless.
[02:12.92]Witches can be seen
[02:14.68]riding on broomsticks across well?
[02:16.75]illuminated intersections. Earlier
[02:19.48]in the evening they may
[02:22.11]have concocted a witch's brew
[02:23.86]to quench their thirst
[02:25.72]for their arrival home.
[02:28.46]Ghosts can be heard groaning
[02:30.76]and moaning while they
[02:32.18]glide along city streets.
[02:34.91]Beautiful butterflies flutter by
[02:37.76]on their way to a party.
[02:40.27]Pirates carrying swords and pistols
[02:42.56]roam about, patches over one eye.
[02:46.28]Small aliens search for
[02:48.90]a new home here on Earth.
[02:51.31]Wearing a cape and mask
[02:53.50]allows a child to become Superman
[02:55.25]for a few hours and
[02:57.21]enter the world of fantasy.
[02:59.62]An ethnic flavor is introduced
[03:02.46]as a band of gypsies dance
[03:04.55]along under a bright full moon.
[03:07.72] Of course you can always
[03:09.90]see a certain number of
[03:11.66]Native American costumes,
[03:13.96]the buckskin jackets and dresses
[03:15.93]decorated with fringe and beads.
[03:18.45]Some youngsters choose to
[03:21.61]decorate only their faces with grease
[03:23.69]paint instead of wearing masks.
[03:27.19]In many ways this is
[03:29.05]safer for a child,
[03:31.13]making visibility clearer.
[03:32.77]At the same time
[03:34.63]a mask allows them to
[03:36.05]remain anonymous to all
[03:37.37]but their closest friends.
[03:40.65]Usually, on the night
[03:42.84]before Halloween, family members
[03:45.46]gather together to carve a pumpkin.
[03:48.96]On Halloween night the candle lit
[03:51.59]face of the pumpkin shines
[03:53.12]from each home welcoming the little
[03:55.53]ghosts and goblins to call.
[03:57.94]Parents usually escort small children
[04:00.89]around their own neighborhood
[04:02.42]helping to keep them safe.
[04:05.05]Small children only visit random houses,
[04:08.22]their parent's friends mostly, while
[04:10.96]older children knock at every door.
[04:13.36]Crowding onto the front porch
[04:16.76]of the house the children rap at
[04:18.61]the door and chant
[04:20.03]the refrain “trick or treat”.
[04:21.89]Householders distribute candies, apples,
[04:24.85]peanuts, or any edible treat
[04:28.46]into decorated wooden six quart baskets,
[04:31.30]or plastic bags. They may
[04:34.26]be asked to recite a poem
[04:36.23]or sing a song
[04:37.87]before receiving their treat.
[04:40.27]Some lucky children may receive
[04:42.68]cookies from a freshly baked
[04:44.76]batch of chocolate chip cookies.
[04:47.28]On arriving home the children
[04:49.79]will dump all the junk candy
[04:51.54]out onto the floor
[04:52.97]to examine their loot.
[04:55.27]Usually there is a great racket
[04:58.33]as brothers and sisters compare
[05:00.19]what goodies they have collected.
[05:02.81]Adults, too, like to
[05:05.22]join in Halloween celebrations
[05:06.75]by attending small house parties
[05:09.27]or large group gatherings
[05:11.56]at halls or arenas.
[05:13.86]They may play the old traditional games
[05:16.49]such as bobbing for apples,
[05:18.24]which float in tubs of water,
[05:20.43]telling ghost stories and
[05:22.28]visiting a haunted house.
[05:24.48]Everyone seems to get enjoyment
[05:26.88]from being slightly afraid.
[05:29.84]If you live in the country
[05:32.46]the hooting of an owl or
[05:34.32]even the howl of a wolf
[05:35.74]underlines the spooky atmosphere
[05:38.37]of Halloween evening. Clouds scuttle
[05:41.98]across the face of the moon
[05:43.84]and the flap of
[05:45.59]a bird's wings can be heard
[05:47.12]as it settles on
[05:48.55]the bare branches of a tree.
[05:50.30]Eyes gleam in the night as
[05:53.36]a black cat crosses your path.
[05:56.31]Bats swoop about in the dark
[05:58.83]startling those who are nervous.
[06:01.35]On this evening it is
[06:03.97]not necessary to be extravagant
[06:05.50]to have a good time.
[06:08.34]A little imagination and
[06:10.57]a sense of fun will create
[06:12.76]a memory of Halloween
[06:14.29]night for many years |