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Transcript:

Hi, everyone!

I\\u2019m Georgiana, founder of\\xa0SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU to speak English fluently.

In today\\u2019s episode:

I\\u2019ll be talking about one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States:\\xa0Halloween.\\xa0After that, you\\u2019ll practice your\\xa0speaking\\xa0with a new mini-story, while enjoying my new Question & Answer story.

Very well. Let\\u2019s get started!\\xa0

Halloween\\xa0is a holiday celebrated on the last day of October. I would say it\\u2019s very popular because everybody\\u2019s excited about it, especially children.

The word Halloween comes from an old English expression, \\u201cAll Hallows\\u2019 Eve,\\u201d and it means\\xa0the day before All Saints\\u2019 Day.\\xa0\\xa0

Children of all ages really love Halloween because they can\\xa0dress up\\xa0in\\xa0funny costumes\\xa0and knock on their neighborhood doors shouting\\xa0\\u201cTrick or Treat!\\u201d. The neighbors usually give them candies.

The meaning of the phrase\\xa0\\u201cTrick or Treat\\u201d\\xa0is interesting. In this context,\\xa0\\u201ctreat\\u201d\\xa0means\\xa0getting the candies, and\\xa0\\u201ctrick\\u201d\\xa0implies the\\xa0consequence of not getting the sweets. It\\u2019s like an innocent\\xa0threat\\xa0children make. Of course, kids get really excited when they knock on stranger\\u2019s doors in their neighborhood.

Since Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits, the most common symbols are\\xa0witches flying on broomsticks,\\xa0ghosts,\\xa0skeletons,\\xa0black cats, etc. The\\xa0black color\\xa0is one of the traditional Halloween colors.

Of course,\\xa0pumpkins\\xa0are also a Halloween symbol. I\\u2019m sure you\\u2019ve seen them in movies. People empty a pumpkin and put a candle inside to make a lamp.

\\xa0How do you make a\\xa0Halloween pumpkin?\\xa0

\\xb7 The first step is hollowing out the pumpkin.

\\xb7 After we use a keyhole saw to cut the hole.\\xa0

\\xb7 When using a\\xa0candle\\xa0for illumination, you can cut the hole in the pumpkin\\u2019s\\xa0top.

\\xb7 For\\xa0electric lights, make a hole\\xa0in the bottom or side, so\\xa0you can hide the cord.

The\\xa0Halloween\\xa0pumpkin\\xa0is called\\xa0Jack-O\\u2019-Lantern.\\xa0It\\u2019s common to see jack-o\\u2019-lanterns on doorsteps decorations before and on Halloween.

\\xa0The name comes from an\\xa0Irish legend\\xa0about a man named Jack. He was so\\xa0ungenerous\\xa0that when he died, he couldn\\u2019t enter heaven, but he couldn\\u2019t go to hell either because he had\\xa0told jokes about the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk and walk with a lantern until the\\xa0Day of Judgment.