【趣谈英语】万圣节的由来-The Halloween Capital Of The World

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

 

self-proclaimed: decided¹ or claimed (a title) on one’s own

sponsor: to support a person or cause with funding or assistance

deter²: to prevent

vandalize: to purposely cause damage to property

kick off: to start something

festivities: celebrations and activities related to a holiday or event

spot: to see or suddenly notice someone or something

The Halloween Capital Of The World

The Midwestern town of Anoka, Minnesota is the self-proclaimed Halloween capital of the world. Anoka was one of the first cities in the US to organize a formal Halloween celebration. The city-sponsored parade was scheduled as a way to deter troublemakers³ from vandalizing the town and playing cruel tricks. Residents kick off the week-long celebration with the Pumpkin⁴ Bowl, a match between Anoka’s high school football team and a local rival. Several Halloween-themed events take place throughout the week, including the Big Parade of Little People, the Grand Parade, and the 5K Gray Ghost run. The Gray Ghost run was named after Bill Andberg, a local world-class runner who was often spotted⁵ running through an Anoka cemetery⁶ in a grey sweatsuit.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

3 troublemakers   

n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was employed to chuck out any troublemakers. 他受雇把捣乱者赶走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers. 她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 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。