2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材40
Customs of Halloween Halloween is an annual celebration. How did this peculiar custom originate? The word "Halloween" comes from All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hallows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. It was believed that during the period from Oct. 31 through to Nov. 1, the boundaries between our world and the world of the dead were weakened, allowing spirits of the recently dead to cross over and hunt the living. In order to make themselves and their homes less appealing to these spirits, the ancient Celts put out fire in their homes to make them cold and undesirable, and built huge scared bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to Gods. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortune.
When the celebration was over, they relit their hearth fires from the sacred bonfires to help protect them during the coming winter. They also dressed up in odd costumes and parade through their villages to scare off any recently departed souls who might be searching for bodies to inhabit. How did the custom of "trick-or-treat" come into being? On Nov. 2, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes", made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars received, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. The prayers, it was believed, could accelerate a soul's passage to heaven. The practice, once referred to as "going-a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given apples, buns or money. During the Pioneer days of the American West, the housewives would give the children candy to keep from being tricked. The children would shout "Trick or Treat!"
The Jack-o'-lantern custom comes from Irish folklore. Jack, a notorious drunkard, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him with alcohol again, he would let him down the tree. After Jack died, he was denied entrance to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a hollowed-out turnips, with an ember inside, to light his way through the darkness. Originally, the Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns". But when immigrants came to America, they found pumpkins were far more plentiful and easier to carve out than turnips. So the jack-o'-lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.
雅思口语沟通技巧总结
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-沉思的瞬间
雅思口语:Interview技巧总结
雅思口语素材:Coming-of-Age Day(日本成人节)
雅思口语考试的主要评判依据
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-走进光明
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-生活就像一架钢琴
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雅思口语天天练:如何表达失望
雅思口语素材:经典译文-道德经(第二章)
雅思口语素材:经典译文-道德经(第一章)
雅思口语天天练:喜欢的表达
雅思口语素材:Notting Hill Carnival(诺丁山儿童节)
雅思口语天天练:如何表达饥饿
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-作最坏的打算
雅思口语考官直接问第三阶段的问题怎么办?
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-人生的起落
雅思口语素材:US Independence Day(美国国庆日)
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-圣诞时光颂
雅思口语天天练:生病时常用的表达
雅思口语范文:General Questions
雅思口语素材:感恩节的温馨祝福
雅思口语素材:International Day of Peace(国际和平日)
雅思口语素材:Accordion & Fiddle Festival(苏格兰风琴提琴节)
雅思口语考试必须注意的六个“不要”
雅思口语素材:Valentines Day(情人节)
换个角度来看雅思口语考试
雅思口语素材:The Newport Folk Festival(纽波特民间艺术节)
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-奋斗不止
雅思口语天天练:做女人难
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