BBC 6 Minute English 是 BBC Learning English 出品的英语学习节目。每周一期，每期约6分钟，两位主播围绕某个话题展开对话，非常适合英音爱好者模仿学习。来源：BBC，仅用于语言学习分享


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Hello. This is 6 min English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Sam, and I'm Neil. Ooh, trick or treat for listeners at home.

Neil is dressed up as a ghost.

He's wearing a white bed sheet over his head with two holes curse out for his eyes, which must mean it's Halloween, the start of autumn, when the days get shorter and leaves fall from the trees.

Marked Halloween a festival which is celebrated all over the world at this time of year.

In Britain, people carve scary faces into pumpkins, and children go trick or treating, dressing up in fancy dress costumes and visiting people's homes shouting trick or treat for sweets and candy.

Halloween comes from an ancient festival called Sawin, which celebrated the changing of the seasons, a time when it was believed the dead could make contact with the living, which is why children dress up as ghosts, which is and other scary monsters.

But recently, online shops have removed several Halloween costumes, including creepy clown masks and real life serial killer costumes after paren'ts complained they were too frightening.

In this program, will be discussing whether Halloween is no longer harmless fun, and, as usual, will be learning some new vocabulary as well.

But before that, and since you're all dressed up as a go sneil, my question is this Why did people traditionally dress up in costumes on Halloween?

Was it A to scare their neighbors as a joke?

B to use up their old clothes, or C to hide from Gulf?

I think it was to hide from ghosts.

OK? now, will find out the answer later in the program.

In recent years, halloween has become more influenced by American horror movies like Friday the 13th, or Scream.

Some paren'ts now think Halloween costumes are too scary and over the top, A phrase me meaning too extreme and unsusable.

Mother of two Joanna Connel was shocked when she took her ten year old dorses shopping for Halloween costumes.

He As she explains what she saw to BBC radio for program you and yours, theyve seen decorations of small children holding a teddy bear covered in blood.

Theyve seen whats described as a standing animated decoration, which looks like a dead girl carrying a knife, and various grim reapers, creepy clowns.

And the stuff that kids are now finding frightening, and even to me, in the adult they look pretty viral, actually.

And I think it feels like retailers, it's a some kind of race to the bottom for the grimmest, most vile, sickening outfit so that they can just make money out of Joanne was horrified by Halloween costumes of The Grim Reaper, an imaginary skeleton who wears a long black cloak, carries a sharp cutting tool and represents death.

She is worried that costumes like this are too frightening for little children.

Nowadays, halloween is big business, and Joanne thinks that the focus on money encourages shops in a race to the bottom, a phrase which describes a situation where companies compete with each other to sell as many products as cheaply as possible.

The phrase is connected to the idea of standards getting worse and worse.

But come on, sam, isn't this going too far?

I mean, halloween is supposed to be scaring.

Yeah, paren'ts don't want to stop people having fun, but over the top costumes are too scary for younger children, and some mums say they will no longer open the door to trick or treaters because the costumes are giving children nightmares.

Shavorne Freegard, founder of the paren'ting website Channel Mum, think the compromise is needed.

Here she is talking to BBC radio fors you and yours.

Theres a sort of a halfway house, isn't there?

I mean, I know everyone refers to the new generations, the snowflake generation, and we shouldn't be so worried about our little darlings, But there's a point beyond which it becomes tasteful or appropriate.

Chevron thinks that scary costumes are OK for teenagers, but she also wants to protect younger children.

She thinks we need to find a halfway house, a compromise or arrangement which includes features of two opposing ideas.

She also uses the expression the snowflake generation, a phrase which is sometimes used to describe the generation of young people who became adults in or after the 2010s, and who are considered by some to be easily upset and offended.

Now, I can see how some costumes are over the top, and I don't want to spoil Halloween for anyone, so I'll stick with my bedsheet ghost.

Anyway, isn't it time for you to reveal the answer to your question?

Sam Yes. I asked why people started dressing up at Halloween in the 1st place, and you said it was to hide from ghosts, which was the correct answer.

Hundreds of years ago, people thought that ghosts would try to return to their old homes.

At Halloween, people wore masks so that the ghosts would mistake them for other spirits.

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with Trick or Treating, the Halloween tradition of dressing up in creepy costumes and knocking on neighbors doors shouting, trick or Treat for sweets and candy.

Over the top describes something which is too extreme, unsusable or unacceptable.

The Grim Reaper is an imagined representation of debt and looks like a skeleton in a long black cloak.

A Race to the bottom happens when companies compete with each other in order to sell as many products as cheaply as possible.

A halfway house is a compromise which includes features or of two contrasting ideas.

And finally, the snowflake generation is used by some people to refer to the present generation of young people who they think lack resilience and are easily upset.

Enjoy Halloween, and don't get too scared.

Bye for now. Bye. Subject News English from BBC Learningenglish dot com singer.



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