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halloween
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Halloween is big with kids and business
October 31st is Halloween. On that night, children around the United States will wear special
clothing and make up their faces to look like frightening creatures. These little vampires,
ghosts and witches will walk around their neighborhoods, knocking on doors and yelling
“trick or treat.” If the people in the homes do not give them a sweet treat, candy, the children
may play a trick on them.
Many homes are also dressed up for Halloween. People hang toy spiders, skeletons and other
scary decorations on trees and bushes. Pumpkins are also popular. People often empty the
pumpkins and carve frightening faces on them. Then they place a candle inside so the
pumpkin face glows in the night.
Halloween traditions developed from Celtic beliefs in ancient
Britain. The Celts believed that spirits of the dead would return to
their homes on October 31st, the day of the autumn feast. Celts
would build huge fires to frighten away evil spirits released with
the dead on that night.
People from Scotland and Ireland brought these ideas with them
when they came to America. Some believed that spirits played
tricks on people on the last night of October.
Today, Halloween is a favorite holiday among children. But
Halloween is also big business. The National Retail Federation has
reported predictions about Halloween spending for the last 11
years. It says, this year, it expects Halloween sales to total about $7.4 billion. The National
Retail Federation says the average person will spend more than $77 on Halloween goods.
And, the NRF says more Americans plan to take part in Halloween activities than last year.
The group expects 162 million people to celebrate compared to 158 million people in 2013. It
says 54 million of those people plan to hold Halloween parties.
Not all children, or adults, dress to scare on Halloween. Other popular costumes include super
heroes and Disney characters. The NRF says this year characters from two children’s movies
will be especially popular. Can you guess the movies? Of course, “Frozen” and “Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
Alapfok
Humans will not be the only costumed creatures Halloween night. The National Retail
Federation says about 23 million people plan to dress up their animals. The top two popular
pet costumes are pumpkins and hot dogs.
Words in this Story
vampire – n. a dead person who leaves the grave at night to bite and suck the blood of
living people
ghost – n. the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world or as
appearing to living people
witch – n. a woman who is thought to have magic powers
candy – n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate
costume – n. the clothes that are worn by someone (such as an actor) who is trying to
look like a different person or thing
(forrás: VOA English)
Reading Harry Potter in English
Have you read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series? Let me ask this again. Have you read the
Harry Potter series in English? Many English learners on MyEC name Harry Potter as their
favourite book. The 7 part fantasy series has attracted millions of readers of all ages from all
over the world.
Why do so many people love Harry Potter?
Harry is an orphan. Many popular tales start out with the main character losing one or
both parents. Think of all of the popular Disney movies. Most of them start this way!
Harry is loveable. For a book to be successful, the main character has to be adored by
the readers. The average human can relate to Harry Potter despite his abnormal life.
Harry is magic. Humans love to read about worlds of wonder. Perhaps this is a form of
escape from our own reality.
Harry has his fair share of trouble. Conflict is the key to a good story. The Harry
Potter books are page turners. Once you are hooked you can’t put them down.
The Harry Potter books are available in over 60 languages. However, if Harry Potter is truly
your “favourite book” why not read it in English? Reading a translation is not the same as
reading the original. In fact, it is a little bit like watching a movie adaptation. You lose part of
the author’s true vision for the book.
Will you accept the challenge to read Harry Potter in English? You can use the comments
below to motivate each other. You can also ask questions about vocabulary from the books.
Why not start a Harry Potter reading group on MyEC?
Wordchecker:
orphan: a child whose parents have died
relate to: understand because it is familiar
fair share: as much or more than the average person
középfok
page turner: a book that you can’t stop reading
hooked: convinced to continue reading (or using)
vision: a plan in one’s imagination
(forrás: https://edition.englishclub.com/esl-magazine/harrypotter)