美国万圣节与狗

American Halloween Goes to the Dogs 美国万圣节与狗

In America, Halloween is a big deal.

Americans spend $7.4 billion on Halloween — and $350 million of that is for costumes for their pets, reports the National Retail¹ Federation².

About 15 percent of Americans will buy costumes for their pets. Time magazine reports that more people are purchasing Halloween costumes for their dogs — up 24 percent since 2010.

Spending has increased by 40 percent in the past two years.  

Go online, and you can buy a Robin³ Hood⁴ outfit⁵ for your dog. Or a Wonder Woman dog costume. Or a cow costume. The outfits⁶ come in various sizes. Purchase a large one for your Mastiff or a small one for your Chihuahua.

They cost as little as $7.80 or as much as $300.  

In Hollywood, pet costumes for movie characters and celebrities⁷ are popular. Some dogs are dressed as Edward Scissorhands or Kim Kardashian, reported Entertainment Weekly. In New York, Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night television host, held a dog costume parade on his show.

Cat owners can also participate in the fun. Stores sell orange and black cat nail clips and a Halloween bow tie costume collar.

Why are Americans spending so much on their pets? Time magazine reports that “pets have more status today,” and “more than nine in 10 owners consider their pets to be members of their family.” Many people have strong emotional ties with their dogs and cats.

The Halloween pet costume craze is spreading globally. Zoher Kapu is vice⁸ president of global optimization⁹ and data for eBay, the online marketplace.

He told the Chicago Tribune that eBay had 1.5 million pet costumes for sale on Oct. 21 out of 800 million items listed. There were 159 million active customers in 200 countries.

In Britain, The Telegraph newspaper noted¹⁰ that pet owners will spend $1.5 billion in 2015 on non-food items for their pets. This includes clothes, toys and holidays.    

Do you plan to dress up your dog or cat for Halloween?   

Words in This Story

costumes – n. clothes worn by someone in a different role  ?

pets – n. an animal (such as a dog, cat, bird, or fish) that people keep mainly for pleasure

mastiff – n. a type of large, powerful dog, once bred as a warrior¹¹

chihuahua – n. a very small dog with large ears and usually short hair originally from Mexico

characters – n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie or television show

celebrities – n. people who are famous

bow tie – n. a narrow length of cloth that is worn by men around the neck and tied into a bow at the throat

craze – n.  something that is very popular for a period of time

optimization – n. making something as good or as effective as possible

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

5 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

6 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

7 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 optimization   

n.最佳化，最优化；优选法；优化组合

参考例句：

• Development of detergents has required optimization of the surfactants structure. 发展洗涤剂时，要求使用最恰当的表面活性剂结构。 来自辞典例句
• In the case of productivity tools and other non-entertainment-oriented products, this optimization means minimizing work. 对于生产工具和其他非娱乐导向的产品而言，这意味着将工作负荷降至最低。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。