专业四级标准听力强化训练(MP3+文本) 第43期:短文(22)

【听力答案】

l.D 2. C 3. A

【听力原文】

Passage 1

Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits.（1）Witches flying on broomsticks with ghosts, goblins and skeletons have allevolved as symbols of Halloween.（巫婆、骷髅、南瓜都是万圣节的象征物。）They were originally feared because people believed that these creatures could communicate with the spirits of the dead. Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night. In the weeks before October 31, Americans decorate windows of houses and schools with puppets and toys of witches and black cats.

Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is an orange-colored squash, and orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns is a Halloween custom also dating back to Ireland. When the Irish brought their customs to the United States, they carved faces on pumpkins.（2）Today jack-o'-lanterns in the windows of a house on Halloween night let costumed children know that there are candies waiting if they knock and say "Trick or Treat!"（窗前挂着南瓜灯，表示主人欢迎孩子们的拜访，并会有糖果相赠。）

（3）No Halloween party is complete without at least one scary story.（鬼故事是万圣节必不可少的一项内容。）Usually one person talks in a low voice while everyone else crowds together on the floor or around a fire.

【核心词汇】

Halloween 万圣节

witch n.巫婆

scary a.恐怖的,可怕的

jack-o'-lantern 杰克灯；空心南瓜灯

skeleton n.骷髅