By 謝忠理 on Thursday, 27 October 2022
Category: 托福口說

BBC 6 分鐘英語—Are Halloween costumes too scary? 萬聖節服裝太嚇人了嗎?

一年一度的萬聖節即將來臨,孩子們開心裝扮準備出門討糖果。但是最近的萬聖節服裝有些太過於驚悚,可能會嚇到孩子。對此我們開如何因應?一起來聽聽 BBC 6 分鐘英語對這個話題的討論。

Are Halloween costumes too scary? 萬聖節服裝太嚇人了嗎?

BBC 6 分鐘英語在 2022 年 10 月 27 日播出的節目 中討論萬聖節服裝是否過於駭人。

每年的這個時候,全世界都在慶祝萬聖節,但是家長們抱怨有些服裝太嚇人了,這個節日目前仍然是無害的樂趣嗎?BBC 6 分鐘英語的主持人薩姆和尼爾兩人討論此一話題,同時教導聽眾一些相關詞彙與表達方式。

本周的問題

為什麼傳統上人們在萬聖節要穿上特殊服裝?
a) 嚇唬他們的鄰居作為一個笑話
b) 用掉他們的舊衣服
c) 躲避鬼魂

詞彙

trick-or-treating 不給糖就搗蛋
萬聖節的傳統,孩子們穿上可怕的服裝,去敲鄰居家的門,喊著「不給糖就搗蛋」。如果應門的人不給孩子們吃的,比如糖果,孩子們就會對應門的人搗蛋。

over the top (OTT) 太過頭
太極端,不適合,因此不能接受

the Grim Reaper 死神
代表死亡的假想人物,看起來像一具骷髏,身穿黑色長斗篷,手持稱為鐮刀的彎曲切割工具。

race to the bottom 比爛
公司之間為盡可能便宜地銷售產品而相互競爭的情況;某種東西的標準越來越差的情況。

halfway house 中途之家
包括兩種截然不同想法的特點的安排;妥協

snowflake generation 雪花一代
描述在 2010 年或之後成年的年輕人,一些人被認為他們很容易生氣,同時也容易被冒犯的。

中英文稿謄本

BBC 6 minute English – Are Halloween costumes too scary?

點此看英文原稿

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

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

Sam
For listeners at home, Neil is dressed up as a ghost. He’s wearing a white bedsheet over his head with two holes cut out for his eyes, which must mean…

Neil
It’s Halloween! The start of autumn, when the days get shorter and leaves fall from the trees, marks Halloween, a festival which is celebrated all over the world at this time of year. In Britain, people carve scary faces into pumpkins and children go trick-or-treating, dressing up in fancy dress costumes and visiting people’s homes shouting, ‘trick or treat!’ for sweets and candy.

Sam
Halloween comes from an ancient festival called Samhain which celebrated the changing of the seasons, a time when it was believed the dead could make contact with the living, which is why children dress up as ghosts, witches and other scary monsters.

Neil
But recently, online shops have removed several Halloween costumes including creepy clown masks and real-life serial killer costumes after parents complained they were too frightening. In this programme, we’ll be discussing whether Halloween is no longer harmless fun, and as usual, we’ll be learning some new vocabulary as well.

Sam
But before that, and since you’re all dressed up as a ghost, Neil, my question is this – why did people traditionally dress up in costumes on Halloween? Was it:
a) to scare their neighbours as a joke
b) to use up their old clothes
c) to hide from ghosts

Neil
I think it was to hide from ghosts.

Sam
OK, Neil. We’ll find out the answer later in the programme. In recent years, Halloween has become more influenced by American horror movies like ‘Friday the Thirteenth’ or ‘Scream’. Some parents now think Halloween costumes are too scary and over the top – a phrase meaning too extreme and unsuitable. Mother of two, Joanne O’Connell, was shocked when she took her 10- year-old daughters shopping for Halloween costumes. Here she explains what she saw to BBC Radio 4 programme, You and Yours

Joanne O’Connell
They've seen decorations of small children holding a teddy bear covered in blood. They've seen what's described as a standing animated decoration which looks like a dead girl carrying a knife and various Grim Reapers, creepy clowns, and stuff that kids are now finding frightening, and even to an adult, they look pretty vile, actually. And I think it feels like retailers are in some kind of race to the bottom for the grimmest, most vile, sickening outfit so that they can just make money out of.

Neil
Joanne was horrified by Halloween costumes of the Grim Reaper – an imaginary skeleton who wears a long black cloak, carries a sharp cutting tool and represents Death. She’s worried that costumes like this are too frightening for little children.

Sam
Nowadays, Halloween is big business and Joanne thinks that the focus on money encourages shops in a race to the bottom, a phrase which describes a situation where companies compete with each other to sell as many products as cheaply as possible. The phrase is connected to the idea of standards getting worse and worse.

Neil
But come on, Sam! Isn’t this going too far? I mean, Halloween is supposed to be scary!

Sam
Parents don’t want to stop people having fun, but over the top costumes are too scary for younger children, and some mums say they will no longer open the door to trick-or-treaters because the costumes are giving children nightmares. Siobhan Freegard, founder of the parenting website, Channel Mum, thinks a compromise is needed. Here she is talking to BBC Radio 4’s, You and Yours:

Siobhan Freegard
There's a sort of a halfway house, isn't there? I mean, I know everyone refers to the new generation as the snowflake generation, and we shouldn't be so worried about our little darlings, but there’s a point beyond which it becomes tasteful or appropriate.

Neil
Siobhan thinks that scary costumes are okay for teenagers but she also wants to protect younger children. She thinks we need to find a halfway house - a compromise, or arrangement which includes features of two opposing ideas.

Sam
She also uses the expression the snowflake generation, a phrase which is sometimes used to describe the generation of young people who became adults in or after the 2010s, and who are considered by some to be easily upset and offended.

Neil
Now I can see how some costumes are over the top and I don’t want to spoil Halloween for anyone, so I’ll stick with my bedsheet ghost. Anyway, isn’t it time for you to reveal the answer to your question, Sam?

Sam
Yes, I asked why people started dressing up at Halloween in the first place, and you said it was to hide from ghosts, which was… the correct answer! Hundreds of years ago, people thought that ghosts would try to return to their old homes at Halloween. People wore masks so that the ghosts would mistake them for other spirits!

Neil
OK, let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learned starting with trick-or-treating, the Halloween tradition of dressing up in creepy costumes and knocking on neighbours’ doors shouting ‘trick or treat’ for sweets and candy.

Sam
Over the top describes something which is too extreme, unsuitable or unacceptable.

Neil
The Grim Reaper is an imagined representation of Death and looks like a skeleton in a long, black cloak.

Sam
race to the bottom happens when companies compete with each other in order to sell as many products as cheaply as possible.

Neil
halfway house is a compromise which includes features of two contrasting ideas.

Sam
And finally, the snowflake generation is used by some people to refer to the present generation of young people who they think lack resilience and are easily upset. Enjoy Halloween and don’t get too scared! Bye for now.

Neil
Bye!

廣播原稿中文翻譯有兩個目的。首先是幫助聽力有困難的讀者能夠快速了解原文的意思。而更重要的原因是,提供給練習英語口語表達的讀者訓練的素材。

由於每個人的知識範疇各不相同,因此碰到超出自己專長的領域,常常會啞口無言,無話可說。這對練習英語表達是一項非常難以克服的障礙。所以參考 6 分鐘英語的對白稿,既可以讓自我練習英語對話時有貼切適當的素材,同時也能順便學些道地的表達方式,實是一舉數得。

使用上,可以在聽完一、兩次原始廣播之後,試著一邊看中文謄本,一邊流利、正確地用英語說出文中的內容。多次練習之後,未來自然能夠在碰到同樣主題時與人侃侃而談。

BBC 6 minute English – Are Halloween costumes too scary?

點此看中文翻譯

薩姆
你好。這裡是 BBC 學習英語的 6 分鐘英語。我是薩姆。

尼爾
我是尼爾。Whoo-oo-oo! Trick or treat!

薩姆
對於在家裡的聽眾說一下,尼爾被打扮成了一個鬼。他頭上戴著白色床單,眼睛被剪出兩個洞,這肯定意味著…

尼爾
今天是萬聖節!秋天的開始,白晝變短,樹葉落下,標誌著萬聖節,每年這個時候全世界都會慶祝這個節日。在英國,人們在南瓜上刻下可怕的面孔,孩子們穿上奇特的服裝,到人們家裡喊著「不給糖就搗蛋」,去討要甜食和糖果。

薩姆
萬聖節來自於一個叫做 Samhain 的古老節日,這個節日慶祝季節的變化,人們相信死人可以與活人接觸,這就是為什麼孩子們要裝扮成鬼魂、女巫和其他可怕的怪物。

尼爾
但是最近,在家長們抱怨萬聖節服裝太嚇人之後,網上商店撤下了幾件萬聖節服裝,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。在這個節目中,我們將討論萬聖節是否不再是無害的樂趣,和往常一樣,我們也將學習一些新的詞彙。

薩姆
但在此之前,既然你都打扮成了鬼魂,尼爾,我的問題是—為什麼傳統上人們會在萬聖節穿上服裝?是為了
a) 嚇唬他們的鄰居當作是個笑話
b) 用掉他們的舊衣服
c) 躲避鬼魂

尼爾
我認為是為了躲避鬼魂。

薩姆
好的,尼爾。我們將在節目的後面找出答案。近年來,萬聖節越來越受到美國恐怖電影的影響,比如《十三號星期五》或《驚聲尖叫》。一些家長現在認為萬聖節的服裝太過恐怖和誇張—這個詞的意思是太過極端和不適合。兩個孩子的母親喬安.奧康納 (Joanne O'Connell) 在帶她 10 歲的女兒去買萬聖節服裝時感到震驚。在這裡,她向英國廣播公司第四台節目《你和你的》解釋了她看到的情況。

喬安.奧康納
她們看到了小孩子拿著沾滿鮮血的泰迪熊的裝飾品。他們看到了被描述為站立的動畫裝飾品,看起來像一個拿著刀的過世女孩,還有各種死神,令人毛骨悚然的小丑,以及現在孩子們覺得可怕的東西,甚至對一個成年人來說,他們看起來非常卑劣。我認為這感覺就像零售商在為最可怕的、最卑鄙的、令人作嘔的裝扮進行某種比爛的競賽,這樣他們就可以從中賺錢了。

尼爾
喬安被萬聖節的死神服裝嚇壞了—死神是一個想像中的骷髏,穿著長長的黑色斗篷,拿著鋒利的切割工具,代表死亡。她擔心這樣的服裝對小孩子來說太嚇人了。

薩姆
如今,萬聖節是一門大生意,喬安認為,對金錢的關注鼓勵商店競相壓價,這句話描述了一種情況,即公司之間相互競爭,盡可能便宜地出售更多的產品。這句話與標準越來越差的想法有關。

尼爾
但是,拜託,山姆!這是不是太過頭了?我的意思是,萬聖節本來就是要來嚇人的!

薩姆
家長們不想阻止人們玩耍,但過分的服裝對年幼的孩子來說太可怕了,一些媽媽說她們不會再為「不給糖就搗蛋」的人開門,因為這些服裝會讓孩子們做噩夢。育兒網站 Channel Mum 的創始人西奧班.弗裡加德 (Siobhan Freegard) 認為需要做出妥協。在這裡,她與英國廣播公司第四台的《你和你的》節目對談。

西奧班.弗裡加德
有一種折衷的辦法,不是嗎?我的意思是,我知道每個人都把新一代稱為「雪花一代」,我們不應該對我們的小寶貝如此擔心,但有個關鍵點,超過這個點就會變得有品味或適當。

尼爾
西奧班認為青少年的恐怖服裝是可以的,但她也想保護年幼的孩子。她認為我們需要找到一個中途之家—一種妥協,或是能包含兩種對立想法特點的安排。

薩姆
她還使用了「雪花一代」的說法,這個片語有時被用來描述在 2010 年代或之後成年的那一代年輕人,有些人認為他們很容易生氣和被冒犯。

尼爾
現在我可以看到有些服裝太誇張了,我不想破壞任何人的萬聖節,所以我還是堅持我的床單鬼。不管怎麼說,現在不是你揭曉問題答案的時候了嗎,薩姆?

薩姆
是的,我問的是為什麼人們當初就開始在萬聖節打扮,你說是為了躲避鬼魂,這是……正確的答案!幾百年前,人們認為鬼魂會在萬聖節時試圖回到他們的老家。人們戴著面具,這樣鬼魂就會把他們誤認為是其他的鬼魂!

尼爾
好了,讓我們從「不給糖就搗蛋」開始,回顧一下我們學過的詞彙。這是萬聖節的傳統,人們穿上令人毛骨悚然的服裝,敲開鄰居的門,大喊「不給糖就搗蛋」,以獲取糖果。

薩姆
誇張描述的是過於極端、不合適或不可接受的事情。

尼爾
死神是想像中的死亡代表,看起來像一個穿著黑色長斗篷的骷髏。

薩姆
當公司為了盡可能廉價地銷售更多的產品而相互競爭時,就會發生競相壓價的現象。

尼爾
中途之家是一種妥協,其中包括兩種截然不同想法的特點。

薩姆
最後,「雪花一代」被一些人用來指代現在的年輕人,他們認為這些人缺乏抗壓能力,很容易生氣。大家享受萬聖節吧,別被嚇到了!先跟大家說再見。

尼爾
再見!

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