VOA标准英语2014--Haunted House Attraction Brings Out Screams

 

Haunted House Attraction Brings Out Screams

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA— 

This Friday night is Halloween - a time when the souls of the dead are said to walk the Earth - and brave souls among the living venture door to door in search of candy, and flock to haunted house attractions in search of thrills.

A mansion¹ in Leesburg, Virginia was transformed into a house of horrors earlier this month, with volunteer actors scaring the thousands of visitors who come. Located on Paxton Campus, which has programs to help needy² children and their families, the haunted house is a fundraiser in its fifth year.

There’s been a new storyline every year. This October, the 140-year-old mansion has a story to tell about the bloodthirsty Carver family.  One hundred years ago, they were banished³ from this land and hid in caverns⁴ under the house.  Now they are back as ghosts haunting the empty manor⁵.  

Meet the Carvers

Visitors are greeted at the front door by the elderly Granny Carver and her husband, “the General.” She explains that he is her second husband. “My first husband, I killed him because he was mean.”

The entire Carver family is a mean bunch. Nine-year-old Jimmy, blood streaming down his face, screams at people waiting in line to get off his land. He is aided by his five-year-old sister Janice, who is looking forward to a feast.

"It’s so much fun because we get lots to eat,” she said, nodding toward the visitors, “like them.  They’re yummy.”

Once inside the house, you first run into Shiner Carver, with half his face blown off, who jumps out at you, threatening, "We’ve taken over the house and we want revenge!”

Getting ready for a fright

But before the Carvers get their revenge, the volunteer actors who portray⁶ them prepare for their big evening by getting into costume and applying deathly gray makeup⁷ and fake blood and boils.

One woman, feeling a bit overwhelmed with the fake blood streaming down her face, said. “It feels like I need a tissue!”

Fun in the dark

It’s so dark in the haunted house that it’s hard to see as you make your way through the narrow hallways, surrounded by screams and creaking noises.  

Visitor Pam Rowe held on tight to her husband. “You’re kind of winding⁸ your way up and down stairs,” she explained. “People just coming out of nowhere, unexpected screams, lots of gore⁹!”

There is gore all over, as well as hanging skeletons and bloody¹⁰ body parts. Worms crawl in and out of the food on the dining room table.

Andrew Bush got the daylights scared out of him when he visited the house, and then returned the following year as a volunteer actor to scare others. “It’s the best fun I’ve ever had!”

Is it real?

The hauntmaster behind the effects in the house is Matt Smith, whose day job is head of facilities for the campus. Smith admits he’s had a lot of experience scaring people, including his mother who he frightened with fake firecrackers when he was a boy.

“I stuck them in all the cabinets, the toilets and everything.  She just absolutely hated it but I enjoyed it,” he recalled with a smile.

Just when you think things can’t get any creepier, your ride to the cemetery¹¹ awaits. Outside the mansion is a hearse, and casket that visitors are invited to try out for themselves.  A soundtrack explains what’s happening as the casket vibrates, giving the illusion you’re in a moving hearse.  Kodi Sanders climbed in, and found it comfortable. The teen said he wasn’t afraid even though, “You’re buried alive and you can feel the shovel¹² and dirt coming on top of you.”

But it might not all be make believe.  Jennifer Lassiter, Executive Director of the Paxton Campus, says the house may actually be haunted.

“A lot of our actors hear voices, usually children singing,” she said. “They felt a presence pushing them or pulling their hair.”

Another presence, this one not so ghostly, runs out at visitors with a chainsaw during the tour. The Toporkov family - led by dad Aleksey - raced out of the house in fear. “Suddenly this thing came from behind and there was this smell, really like the smell from the wood, so it was vivid.  And I’m still scared!” he admitted, adding that, in the end, it was fun to be frightened.

1 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

2 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

3 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

5 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

6 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

7 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

8 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

9 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

10 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

11 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

12 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。