Listen and fill in the blanks

The history of Halloween

Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. The Celts celebrated ____________ on October 31st.

a. the end of the winter

b. the end of the summer

c. the end of the harvest season

 

2. Samhain is the name of a festival that marked __________.

a. the Celtic New Year

b. a year between years

c. the middle of the year

 

3. On Samhain, the villagers ____________ to keep the dead away from the living.

a. slept outdoors

b. lit bonfires

c. left their homes

 

4. _________________ the Vatican merged Samhain with the church holiday.

a. In the 7th century

b. in the last century

c. in the 17th century

 

5. November 1st was designated ___________ by the church.

a. All Pains Day

b. All Saints Day

c. All Pay Day

 

 

6. Why are Samhain and All Saints Day related?

a. Because they were celebrated on the same day.

b. Because they are both very old traditions

c. Because they both have to do with the after life

 

7. Where does the word "Halloween" come from?

a. "Hallow" means saint and "eve" is the night before

b. "Hallow" is holy and "een" means frightening.

c. We don't know the exact origin of this word.

 

8. Who brought Halloween to America?

a. the English

b. the Irish

c. the Celts

 

9. Why did the pranksters wear masks?

a. Because they thought it was funny.

b. Because they wanted to be disguised.

c. Because they didn't want to be recognised

 

10. Halloween became dangerous __________.

a. In the 19th century.

b. In the 1930s.

c. In the 9th century

The hunted city

2. Listen and answer the questions.

1. Where is the video recorded? Why is it famous?

 

2. Which is the first place mentioned in the video? How many people are there?

 

3. Which are the four tragic events that occurred in the city?

 

4. What are the best ways to explore the haunted city?

 

5. What can you do to extent the tour? What peculiar thing can you ask there?

 

6. Which is the last recommendation the presenter does?

 

Halloween scares up tricks, treats in US

Listen and fill in the blanks.

At the end of October visitors to America may notice something a little strange going on. If the ___________ home does not look as welcoming as it could, it is just part of a growing phenomenon in America the ___________ of Halloween.

On October ___________, children all over the country will go on costumes and go house-to-house saying the words “___________” so people will give them candy.

This celebration ___________ back to Celtic rituals where people tried to scare away ___________. In the US the first citywide Halloween celebration was recorded in the northern state of ___________ in ___________.

The holiday’s popularity is growing fast. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly _____-______ of Americans plan on celebrating Halloween this year. Ellen Davis, the Federation ___________, says: that is because people do not view the holiday as if it is just one day anymore. “It’s an entire month longer, even a _________-________ celebration, and as a result, more people are getting in on Halloween activities. We are also seeing many ___________ like theme parks and orchards creating activities around the Halloween ___________ ”.

Cox farms in the state of ___________, is one of those places. ___________of children pour into the farm every day during the fall to go on rides, enjoy Halloween themed games and, of course, pick out the perfect ___________.

 

The growing interest in the holiday has been anything but scary for American businesses. ___________are expected to spend nearly ___________ ___________dollars on Halloween this year. That money will be spent mainly on a combination of ___________, ___________and ___________. Even the National Zoo in Washington is getting in on the celebration. Zoo spokesman Matt O'Leary says: the zoo has sold ___________of tickets to their annual Halloween event where the kids dress up. But they are not the only ones getting treats. “The animals do get treats we give pumpkins to the ___________, and the pygmy ___________ and some of the other animals … and here in the Great ___________ House they get some ___________ as well. ” And the kids get to act like animals. But the most important thing about Halloween is that everyone has some fun getting a little bit ___________.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-VRAemIvbI#t=31