Name: 萬聖節的服裝太可怕了嗎？- 6分鐘英語 (Are Halloween costumes too scary? - 6 Minute English)
Uploaded: 2022-10-27T16:46:10.000Z
Duration: 6 min 23 s

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam.

你好。這裡是BBC學習英語的6分鐘英語。我是山姆。

And I’m Neil. Whoo-oo-oo! Trick or treat!

而我是尼爾。Whoo -oo -oo!不給糖就搗蛋！

For listeners at home, Neil is dressed up as a ghost.

對於家裡的聽眾來說，尼爾被打扮成了一個鬼魂。

He’s wearing a white bedsheet over his head with two holes

他頭上戴著白色床單，上面有兩個洞。

他的眼睛被割掉了，這一定意味著...

when the days get shorter and leaves fall from the trees, marks Halloween,

當白天變短，樹葉從樹上落下時，標誌著萬聖節的到來。

a festival which is celebrated all over the world at this time of year.

每年的這個時候，全世界都在慶祝這個節日。

In Britain, people carve scary faces into pumpkins

在英國，人們在南瓜上刻下可怕的面孔

and children go trick-or-treating, dressing up in fancy dress costumes

和孩子們一起去玩 "不給糖就搗蛋 "的遊戲，穿上奇特的服裝。

and visiting people’s homes shouting, ‘trick or treat!’ for sweets and candy.

並走訪人們的家，喊著 "不給糖就搗蛋"，以獲取糖果和點心。

Halloween comes from an ancient festival called Samhain

萬聖節來自於一個古老的節日，叫做Samhain。

which celebrated the changing of the seasons,

a time when it was believed the dead could make contact with the living,

當時人們相信死者可以與活人接觸。

which is why children dress up as ghosts, witches and other scary monsters.

這就是為什麼孩子們要打扮成鬼魂、女巫和其他可怕的怪物。

But recently, online shops have removed several Halloween costumes

但最近，網上商店已經刪除了幾個萬聖節服裝

including creepy clown masks and real-life serial killer costumes

包括令人毛骨悚然的小丑面具和現實生活中的連環殺手服裝

after parents complained they were too frightening.

在家長們抱怨它們太嚇人之後。

In this programme, we’ll be discussing whether Halloween is no longer harmless fun,

在這個節目中，我們將討論萬聖節是否不再是無害的樂趣。

and as usual, we’ll be learning some new vocabulary as well.

和往常一樣，我們也將學習一些新的詞彙。

But before that, and since you’re all dressed up as a ghost, Neil,

但在這之前，既然你都打扮成了鬼，尼爾。

– why did people traditionally dress up in costumes on Halloween?

- 為什麼傳統上人們會在萬聖節穿上服裝？

Was it: a) to scare their neighbours as a joke

是：a) 嚇唬他們的鄰居作為一個笑話

b) to use up their old clothes, or c) to hide from ghosts

b) 用完他們的舊衣服，或者c) 躲避鬼魂。

OK, Neil. We’ll find out the answer later in the programme.

好的，尼爾。我們將在節目的後面找出答案。

In recent years, Halloween has become more influenced by American horror movies

近年來，萬聖節更多地受到美國恐怖電影的影響

like ‘Friday the Thirteenth’ or ‘Scream’.

像 "第十三號星期五 "或 "尖叫"。

Some parents now think Halloween costumes are too scary and over the top

現在有些家長認為萬聖節的服裝太過恐怖和誇張了

– a phrase meaning too extreme and unsuitable.

- 一句話，意思是太極端和不適合。

Mother of two, Joanne O’Connell, was shocked when she took her 10- year-old daughters

兩個孩子的母親Joanne O'Connell在帶著她10歲的女兒時感到震驚。

shopping for Halloween costumes. Here she explains

what she saw to BBC Radio 4 programme, You and Yours.

她向英國廣播公司第四臺節目《你和你的》講述了她的所見所聞。

They've seen decorations of small children

他們已經看到了小孩子的裝飾品

They've seen what's described as a standing animated decoration

他們看到了被描述為站立式動畫裝飾的東西

which looks like a dead girl carrying a knife

這看起來像一個死了的女孩拿著一把刀

和各種死神，令人毛骨悚然的小丑。

and stuff that kids are now finding frightening, and even to an adult,

和孩子們現在覺得可怕的東西，甚至對一個成年人來說也是如此。

they look pretty vile, actually. And I think it feels like

他們看起來很卑鄙，實際上。而且我認為這感覺就像

retailers are in some kind of race to the bottom

for the grimmest, most vile, sickening outfit

為最灰暗、最卑鄙、最噁心的裝備

這樣，他們就可以直接從中賺錢了。

Joanne was horrified by Halloween costumes of the Grim Reaper

喬安被萬聖節的死神服裝嚇壞了

– an imaginary skeleton who wears a long black cloak,

- 一個想象中的骷髏，穿著黑色長斗篷。

and represents Death. She’s worried that costumes like this

並代表死亡。她擔心，像這樣的服裝

Nowadays, Halloween is big business and Joanne thinks that

現在，萬聖節是大生意，喬安認為

in a race to the bottom, a phrase which describes a situation

爭分奪秒，這句話描述了一種情況

where companies compete with each other to sell as many products as cheaply as possible.

在這裡，公司相互競爭，以儘可能便宜的價格銷售儘可能多的產品。

The phrase is connected to the idea of standards getting worse and worse.

這句話與標準越來越差的想法有關。

But come on, Sam! Isn’t this going too far?

但是拜託，山姆！這不是太過分了嗎？

I mean, Halloween is supposed to be scary!

我的意思是，萬聖節應該是可怕的!

Parents don’t want to stop people having fun,

but over the top costumes are too scary for younger children,

但過頭的服裝對年幼的孩子來說太可怕了。

and some mums say they will no longer open the door

to trick-or-treaters because the costumes are giving children nightmares.

因為這些服裝讓孩子們做惡夢。

Siobhan Freegard, founder of the parenting website, Channel Mum,

Siobhan Freegard，育兒網站Channel Mum的創始人。

thinks a compromise is needed. Here she is talking to BBC Radio 4’s, You and Yours:

她認為需要做出妥協。在這裡，她正在與英國廣播公司第四臺的《你和你的》節目交談。

There's a sort of a halfway house, isn't there? I mean,

有一種半途而廢的房子，不是嗎？我是說。

I know everyone refers to the new generation as the snowflake generation,

我知道大家都把新生代稱為雪花一代。

and we shouldn't be so worried about our little darlings,

而我們不應該為我們的小寶貝們如此擔心。

but there’s a point beyond which it becomes tasteful or appropriate.

但有一個點，超過這個點就會變得有品味或適當。

Siobhan thinks that scary costumes are okay for teenagers

Siobhan認為可怕的服裝對青少年來說是可以的

but she also wants to protect younger children.

She thinks we need to find a halfway house

她認為我們需要找到一個半途而廢的地方

- a compromise, or  arrangement which includes features of two opposing ideas.

- 妥協，或包括兩個對立觀點的特點的安排。

She also uses the expression the snowflake generation,

她還使用了 "雪花一代 "這一表述。

a phrase which is sometimes used to describe the generation of young people

一句話，有時被用來形容年輕人這一代人

在2010年代或之後成為成年人的人。

and who are considered by some to be easily upset and offended.

並被一些人認為是容易生氣和被冒犯的人。

are over the top and I don’t want to spoil Halloween for anyone,

所以我還是堅持用我的床單鬼。

Anyway, isn’t it time for you to reveal the answer to your question, Sam?

無論如何，現在不是你揭示問題答案的時候了嗎，山姆？

Yes, I asked why people started dressing up at Halloween in the first place,

是的，我問過為什麼人們一開始就開始在萬聖節穿衣服。

Hundreds of years ago, people thought that ghosts would try to return

幾百年前，人們認為鬼魂會試圖回來

在萬聖節期間，他們將回到自己的老家。

People wore masks so that the ghosts would mistake them for other spirits!

人們戴著面具，這樣鬼魂就會把他們誤認為是其他的鬼魂!

OK, let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learned

好的，讓我們回顧一下我們所學的詞彙

starting with trick-or-treating, the Halloween tradition

從 "不給糖就搗蛋 "開始，萬聖節的傳統。

knocking on neighbours’ doors shouting ‘trick or treat’ for sweets and candy.

敲開鄰居家的門，喊著 "不給糖就搗蛋"，以獲取糖果。

Over the top describes something which is too extreme,

誇張描述的是過於極端的事情。

The Grim Reaper is an imagined representation of Death

and looks like a skeleton in a long, black cloak.

並且看起來像一個穿著黑色長斗篷的骷髏。

A race to the bottom happens when companies compete with each other

當公司之間相互競爭時，就會發生競合。

in order to sell as many products as cheaply as possible.

以便儘可能廉價地銷售更多的產品。

A halfway house is a compromise which includes

中途之家是一種妥協，其中包括

is used by some people to refer to the present generation

of young people who they think lack resilience

他們認為缺乏復原力的年輕人的百分比