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Unit 8 : Halloween

Halloween is a time for ghosts, ghouls, vampires, skeletons and things that go bump in the night. The dead come to life, mummies walk the streets and witches fly through the air on brooms. Cemeteries fill with howls and screeches as zombies crawl from their shallow graves. Halloween night is the most haunting night of the year, unless, of course, you are a child.
Children love Halloween. They can dress up as their favorite creature, person, or even thing. Some make their own costumes out of old clothes in the attic, while others take the easy route and buy them at the store. Many even paint their faces and wear wigs to really try and fool people into thinking they are someone else.
Though a lot of the fun is in dressing up and acting out, kids mostly do it for the free candy. Not only do they get to goof off for a night and walk the streets till the late hours, but also they get rewarded for doing so by receiving free candy. Some people make the children sing a song or tell a joke to get a treat, but most of the time a simple "trick or treat" will do.
  Although it is a lot of fun for the kids, it is the parents who have to put up with the sugar-induced fit the children might throw when they are told to go to bed. The teachers will have to tolerate hyperactive kids, too, until their stash runs out. But the real nightmare is left for just one person…the dentist!

第八課：萬聖節

萬聖節是鬼魂、活死人、吸血鬼、骷髏頭，還有在晚上活躍的東西的時間。死者復活，木乃伊走在街上，女巫騎著掃帚飛越天空。墳場充滿了殭屍爬出墳墓後的空洞和尖叫聲。萬聖節的夜晚是一年中最恐怖的，當然，除非你是小孩。

   小孩們喜歡萬聖節。他們可以打扮成任何一個他們喜歡的物種、人物，甚至是物品。有些人用閣樓裡的舊衣服做自己的服裝，還有另一些人選擇簡單的方式，去店裡買。很多人還會在臉上塗顏料，或是戴上假髮試著愚弄別人，讓他們以為自己是其他人。

    儘管很多樂趣都在打扮和表演，但孩子們大多是為免費糖果做的。他們不只可以在夜晚搗亂，在街上走到深夜，還可以因此收到免費糖果當作獎賞。有些人會叫小孩唱一首歌或是講笑話，但通常一句「不給糖就搗蛋」就行得通了。

     雖然這對孩子們來說很有趣，卻是父母們要忍受叫小孩上床睡覺時糖可能會引起的健康問題。老師則要忍受過動的孩子直到他們藏的糖吃完。但真正的噩夢只會留給一個人...牙醫！