Views #289 | Intermediate 5

Halloween

Adrienne and Mike talk about trick-or-treating on Halloween.
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Todd: OK, guys we're going to talk about Halloween. So, what do you think about Halloween?

Adrienne: I actually like it. It's a fun holiday for kids especially because you get to dress up in costumes and you get lots of candy if you go trick-or-treating. I have a lot of good memories. of Halloween growing up.

Todd: OK, what is trick-or-treating? Why do you trick-or-treat?

Adrienne: Trick-or-treat is when you go, you dress up in your costume on Halloween and you go door-to-door ringing doorbells, knocking on doors. One person comes to the door, you say, "Trick-or-treat" and usually these days they give you a treat which is candy or apples or something like that but in the older days, you could, if they didn't give you a treat, then you could play a trick on them or they could play a trick on you, instead of giving you a treat, something like that.

Mike: I always thought that it was they performed, the person at the door performed some kind of trick for the kids because they didn't have candy to give, but I could be wrong.

Adrienne: Yeah, I don't know exactly. It's one of those three options.

Todd: Yeah, I think it's you play a trick on them.

Mike: Oh, really

Todd: You throw trash against their house.

Adrienne: Toilet paper their.

Todd: Toilet paper, eggs,

Mike: Egg their window.

Todd: Dog pooh in the paper bag on fire. On fire!

Adrienne: Yuck.

Todd: Yeah, that's gross. So, Mike, you're from Canada, so do you have Halloween American-style in Canada? Do you celebrate trick-or-treating? Do you do trick-or-treating?

Mike: Oh, yeah, I think it is the same as in the U.S. I believe it is a little bit different in Europe, maybe. They don't have the same kind of traditions but, yeah, exactly the same as in the U.S. We watched all the Snoopy, Charlie Brown Halloween kind of things, just like everybody....

Todd: OK. That's good. I'm glad because now we can diverge. What was, what were your costumes when you were younger?

Adrienne: Ah, I had so many. My mom was a seamstress so she used to make a lot of my costumes. I designed them and she would make them for me and my sister so one year I was bat girl, another year I was Wonder Woman. Another year I was Princess Lea from Star Wars, I was a rainbow and a clown and a cat, and a witch and everything, basically that you're supposed to be for Halloween I was.

Todd: A lot of heroines in there.

Adrienne: Of course. Strong women!

Todd: Mike, how about you?

Mike: I was goat boy.

Todd: Goat boy!

Mike: I was always goat boy because there...

Todd: Every year?

Mike: Yeah, we, I couldn't afford to get a decent costume every year.

Todd: So how were you goat boy? What did you look like?

Adrienne: Where did you get goat boy from?

Mike: They just put some sort of, they put a lot of trash on me, and forced me to eat a can. It's OK.
I got lots of candy but then the other kids would beat me up and steal it from me. That's OK.

Adrienne: That's the saddest thing I've ever heard.

Mike: Well, you know. That's all right. It toughened me up when I got older.

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

dress up

Halloween is a fun holiday for kids because they get to dress up in costumes, and get lots of candy.

When you wear clothes that you don't wear on normal days you are 'dressing up.' This phrase is used to describe wearing a costume or putting on fancy or formal clothes. Notice the following:

  1. We are supposed to dress up as movie stars for the party.
  2. You have to dress up because the restaurant is really formal and expensive.

American-style

Do you have American-style Halloween in Canada?

Something that is 'American-style' is done in the same way that it is done in the United States. Notice the following:

  1. This is just like American-style pizza.
  2. Do you like American-style food?

diverge

I'm glad because now we can diverge.

Used like this 'diverge' means to do something different, not the same as what people did in the past. Notice the following:

  1. We decided to diverge from our normal path.
  2. He diverges a lot when making speeches.

seamstress

My mom was a seamstress, so she used to make a lot of my costumes.

A 'seamstress' is a person who sews, usually for an occupation. Notice the following:

  1. I designed the dress, but a seamstress made it.
  2. He takes his clothes to a seamstress to get them modified to fit him better.

look like

What did you look like as a goat boy?

The phrase 'look like' refers to someone's appearance and physical characteristics. Notice the following:

  1. My cat looks like a wild animal.
  2. He looks a lot like his mother.

Vocabulary Quiz

dress up • American-style • diverges
seamstress • look like
  1. You you just woke up.
  2. The book a lot from the original topic, but that's why it's interesting.
  3. Her makes all her clothes.
  4. This is more like Chinese food. It isn't traditional at all.
  5. My daughter likes to with her friends.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

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