Practice English Speaking&Listening with: #109 English Podcast - Halloween in America 2019 (rep)

welcome to speak English now podcast

with your host Georgiana the podcast

that will help you to speak English

fluently with no grammar and no

textbooks hi everyone I'm Georgiana

founder of speak English podcast.com my

mission is to help you to speak English

fluently in today's episode I'll be

talking about one of the most celebrated

holidays in the United States Halloween

after that you'll practice your speaking

with a new mini story very well let's

get started

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the

last day of October I would say it's

very popular because everybody's excited

about it

especially children the word Halloween

comes from an old English expression All

Hallows Eve and it means the day before

All Saints Day children of all ages

really love Halloween because they can

dress up in funny costumes and knock on

their neighbors doors shouting

trick-or-treat the neighbors usually

give them candies the meaning of the

phrase trick-or-treat is interesting in

this context treat means getting the

candies and trick implies the

consequence of not getting the sweets

it's like an innocent threat children

make of course kids get really excited

when they knock on strangers doors in

their neighborhood since Halloween

originated as a celebration connected

with evil spirits the most common

symbols are witches flying on

broomsticks ghosts skeletons black cats

etc and the black color is one of the

tradition

Halloween colors of course pumpkins are

also a Halloween symbol I'm sure you've

seen them in movies people empty pumpkin

and put a candle inside to make a lamp

and how do you make a Halloween pumpkin

the first step is hollowing out the

pumpkin after we use a keyhole saw to

cut the hole when using a candle for

illumination you can cut the hole in the

pumpkins top for electric lights make

the hole in the bottom or side so you

can hide the cord the Halloween pumpkin

is called

jack-o'-lantern it's common to see

jack-o'-lanterns under steps decorations

before and on Halloween the name comes

from an Irish legend about a man named

Jack he was so ungenerous that when he

died he couldn't enter heaven but he

couldn't go to hell either because he

had told jokes about the devil as a

result Jack had to walk and walk with a

lantern until the day of judgement

here's what a typical family does at

Halloween they decorate their homes

Americans spend about 5 billion dollars

every year they buy costumes a costume

is not cheap it can cost $30 or more

they buy plenty of candy and of course

they eat it kids go trick-or-treating in

most towns it's only allowed from 3 p.m.

to 5 p.m. because it gets dark quickly

very well now you know a bit more about

this beautiful holiday maybe next time

you carve your own Halloween pumpkin and

celebrate Halloween just like an

American awesome

now let's practice with a short question

and answer exercise

which is a method that I use in my

English courses sometimes I call it a

conversation simulator because you

practice your English like in the real

conversation here's how it works I give

you information and ask simple questions

after each question there is a pause

where you can answer and after the pause

I give you a correct answer for you to

compare are you ready let's go my name

is Jack and I walk every night in the

world of spirits are you jack

yes I'm Jack do you walk every day or

every night

every night I walk every night when do

you walk

at night I walk at night in the world of

spirits do you walk in the world of

elves

no no I don't walk in the world of elves

I walk in the world of spirits what's

your name

Jack my name's jack okay jack so you

walk in the world of spirits on Tuesdays

and Fridays bright

no no I don't walk on Tuesdays and

Fridays I walk every night where do you

walk

in the world of spirits I walk there

when I died I couldn't enter heaven

because I was very ungentlemanly

yes I did I died I'm not alive are you

alive or dead

dead I'm dead I am a soul could you

enter heaven

no I couldn't I couldn't enter heaven

who couldn't enter heaven

me myself I couldn't enter heaven

I was very ungenerous why couldn't you

enter heaven

because I was ungenerous I liked having

money and I hated spending it did you

enter heaven

no I didn't I didn't enter heaven

because I was ungenerous

funnily enough I couldn't enter hell

either because I made some jokes about

the devil you couldn't enter heaven but

could you enter hell

no neither I couldn't enter hell either

I couldn't enter heaven or hell

was it funnily enough that you couldn't

enter hell

yes it was strange or surprising I

couldn't go there didn't you enter hell

because you have made some jokes about

the devil

yes I didn't enter hell because I had

made some jokes about the devil had you

made jokes about yourself

no no I hadn't made jokes about myself I

have made jokes about the devil had you

made stories about the devil before you

died

not stories I had made jokes about the

devil before I died why didn't you enter

hell

because I had made some jokes about the

devil that was the reason so my fate is

to wander with a lantern until the day

of judgement is your fate to sell

lanterns

no no that's not my fate my fate is to

wander with the lantern until the day of

judgement

till when do you have to wander

till the day of judgment I have to

wonder till the day of judgement do you

have to wander with a lantern

yes I have to wander with a lantern what

do you have to bring with you a lantern

a torch

a lantern not a torch I have to bring

with me a lantern do you have to wander

or run

wander I don't have to run I'm not in a

hurry I have to wander

that's my feint perfect it's the end of

this spooky mini story can you see how

many questions you can answer it's like

talking to another person in English now

imagine a whole story told this way it's

incredible how much you can learn using

this method if you want to get hours of

audio with many stories and points of

view lessons I'd like to recommend to

you my fluency course you can get it at

fluency dot speak English podcast.com

well that's it for today happy Halloween

everyone bye bye did you enjoy today's

episode get the transcript now at speak

English podcast.com speak English

podcast calm

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