Halloween exercises

Read the text about Halloween, then do these exercises to check your understanding.

1. Check your understanding: true or false
Circle True or False for these sentences.
1. People celebrate Halloween on 31st October in Britain.                         True    False
2. Halloween is not a public holiday in the UK.                                       True    False
3. Halloween lanterns are usually made from potatoes.                          True    False
4. Apple bobbing is a game which involves apples, water and a bowl.        True    False
5. Only children dress up at Halloween.                                                True    False
6. Trick or treating is an American custom that is now popular in Britain. True    False
7. Fright Night is a big Halloween party in the north of England.               True    False
8. The film ‘Psycho’ is suitable for all ages.                                            True    False

2. Check your vocabulary: grouping

Write the words in the correct group.

apples     black     curry     vampire     ghost     soup        witch     zombie     red     pumpkins     orange     white

Colours	Food	Halloween characters

3. Check your vocabulary: gap fill – collocations
Complete the collocations with a verb from the box.

dress up     wear     go     go to     make     celebrate     play     watch

1. _______________ Halloween
2. _______________ a lantern
3. _______________ apple bobbing
4. _______________ as a witch
5. _______________ a costume
6. _______________ trick or treating
7. _______________ a party
8. _______________ a film

Discussion

Do you celebrate Halloween?      What Halloween character would you dress up as, and why?           Do you like watching horror films?      Why do you think Halloween is so popular?

Vocabulary Box     Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson here.

Keys

1. Check your understanding: true or false

1. True                              5. False

2. True                              6. True

3. False                             7. True

4. True                              8. False

2. Check your vocabulary: grouping

Colours	Food	Halloween characters
black red orange white	apples  curry  soup  pumpkins	vampire  ghost  witch  zombie

3. Check your vocabulary: gap fill – collocations

1. celebrate                       5. wear

2. make                           6. go

3. play                             7. go to

4. dress up                       8. watch

Halloween

In October many shop windows in Britain turn orange and black, with pumpkins, witches, broomsticks and cats. What do young people do to celebrate Halloween? Read this article to find out.

Flying witches, pumpkin lanterns, trick or treat ... What do you know about Halloween? Here are some Halloween facts to get started.

• Halloween is celebrated on 31st October. This isn’t a public holiday in Britain.
• Halloween is the night before the Catholic festival of All Saints and the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain (1st November).
• Halloween is also sometimes called All Hallows’ Eve, All Hallowtide and can also be written Hallowe’en.
• Halloween colours are orange and black. Orange is related to harvests because the end of October is the end of the harvest (the time when fruit and vegetables are collected). Black is related to death.

In the UK Halloween traditions are very much alive and popular, especially amongst kids and teenagers. We looked at some of the most common.

Pumpkin lanterns

These are pumpkins (an orange, football-sized vegetable) with the inside removed and a nose, eyes and mouth cut into one side. A candle is placed inside the empty pumpkin and the light creates a scary face effect. In the past people used potatoes or turnips to make lanterns but nowadays pumpkins are more popular. They are easier to cut and you can buy them in supermarkets. People use pumpkin lanterns to decorate their homes at Halloween. Do people actually eat their pumpkins? Yes, they do! Pumpkin soup and pumpkin curry are very popular meals at this time of year.

Apple bobbing

To play this game, lots of apples are placed in a large tub or bowl of water. The competitors have to take a bite from one of the apples without using their hands. To make this more difficult, the competitors have their eyes covered with a scarf. You are not allowed to use the sides of the bowl to help you bite the apple. This game often involves getting very wet so it's a good idea to bring a towel!

Apple bobbing may be related to the ancient Roman festival of remembering the dead, which was also in October. The Romans remembered the goddess of trees and fruit, called Pomona. When they came to the UK, about 2,000 years ago, they continued with this tradition.

Dressing up

People of all ages dress up on Halloween. The most popular fancy dress costumes include witches, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, zombies or monsters. You can buy a costume from a shop or you can make your own costume at home. It’s easy to make a ghost costume from an old white sheet or wear black clothes to look like a witch. You can even cover your face in bright red tomato ketchup to look like a Read UK: Halloween – textvampire! What would you choose? Rachel, 14, from Liverpool says, 'If you go trick or treating it’s best to dress up as a witch. You don’t need a bag for the sweets – you can just use your witch’s hat!'

Trick or treating

Children dress up and then visit the houses in their neighbourhood asking for a ‘trick or treat’. The neighbour gives them sweets or money as a ‘treat’. If there is no treat, the children play a trick on the neighbour, for example they might throw soap at the window. Some people think that playing tricks is unkind but luckily there is nearly always a treat! This custom is imported from the USA and is more popular with young people than with adults. The police in some parts of Britain give out 'No trick or treat, please!' posters for people to display on their door on the night of Halloween. Young children usually go trick or treating with parents or with an older brother or sister.

Halloween parties

If you are in Sheffield, in the north of England, at the end of October you can go to Fright Night. What is Fright Night? People in Sheffield say it’s 'Britain's Biggest Halloween Party' and it attracts about 40,000 people each year. There are activities for kids, teenagers and adults including a fancy dress catwalk, urban dance, a monster in the fountain and a zombie garden, as well as the traditional apple bobbing and a competition for the best pumpkin lantern. If you don't have a big Halloween party in your area, some people have parties at home or at youth clubs where they dress up and play scary games or tell ghost stories.

Watch a horror film

Not in the mood for a Halloween party? Older teenagers that aren’t helping their younger sisters and brothers to trick or treat sometimes watch a scary film with friends either at home or at the cinema. Any film with the words 'Halloween', 'Vampire', 'Dead' or 'Zombie' in the title is probably going to be quite scary. In the UK films are divided into categories depending on whether they are for children, teens or adults. 'U' films are suitable for all ages, '15' films are for people aged 15 or over, and '18' films are for adults only. Many cinemas in the UK show old black-and-white, classic horror films such as 'Psycho' on the night of October 31st. Interestingly, you needed to be over 18 to see 'Psycho' at the cinema in 1960. Now the film has a ‘15’ rating.

Happy Halloween!

Scary Halloween jelly

Cooking time

Prep: 25 mins Plus chilling

Skill level

Easy

Dracula's blood punch

Cooking time

Prep: 10 mins    Cook: 5 minsplus 4 hrs chilling

Skill level

Easy

Pumpkin halloween

Cooking time

Prep: 20 mins Cook:30 mins

Skill level

Easy

A report

A report is a formal document prepared by one person or a group of people who have been studying a particular subject. There are two basic kinds of reports:

• The first simply provides information on a topic and gives a brief conclusion or summary at the end. Example: a report on the educational system in a particular country, written to help someone research the subject.
• The second sets out to identify strengths and weaknesses in a particular situation and make recommendations for improvement. Example: a report on the library facilities in a college written at the request of the principal.

Language and register

Reports are the most impersonal kind of writing and it is usually best to avoid expressing personal opinions or feelings, except, perhaps, in the conclusion. Instead of I think that … or I found that… for example, you can use the impersonal “It” construction and a passive, eg It seems that… It was found that …

It is also advisable to avoid making very definite statements unless you’re absolutely sure they’re true. Instead of saying It is for example, you can use a modal verb eg It could/may/might be or a more tentative expression such as It seems to be or It tends to be.

Layout and organisation

Reports should have a clear factual heading and may also have subheadings which divide the writing into shorter sections. The information should be organised and presented as clearly and logically as possible, with a short introduction explaining the aims of the report and how the information was obtained and a suitable conclusion, summing up the information and making recommendations if necessary.

Useful language

Introduction:    The aim of this report is to..          It is based on…

                     This report is intended to..             It draws on

                     This report looks at / describes..     It uses..

Reporting an

observation:      It seems/appears that..                 It was found that..

                      The majority / minority of …        It was felt that ..

Quoting:    According to …     As X said…         In the words of …

Speculating:     It may / could / might (well) be that ..

Generalising:   In general       On the whole        In the main

Commenting:   Interestingly     Curiously     Oddly       Strangely

                     Surprisingly             Predictably

                     As might be (have been) expected     It is interesting that

Making a recommendation:        It is recommended that ..

                                             (Perhaps) it would be advisable for X to (do)

                                             (Perhaps) X might /should consider

Summing up:   To sum up / To summarise    On balance      In short

Study the following example carefully:

Leisure Facilities in Grimthorpe

Introduction

The aim of this report is to describe and assess the leisure facilities available in Grimthorpe. It is based on information made available by the Grimthorpe Tourist Office, and on views expressed by local people who were interviewed.

Sport

Grimthorpe has a wide range of sports facilities, both public and private. There is a large modern leisure centre in the High Street and facilities include a swimming pool, a sports hall for judo, fencing and other activities, and tennis courts. The centre runs courses in all these sports and these tend to be very popular. Membership costs £150 a year, which was felt to be rather expensive, but a special temporary membership is available to visitors. The public swimming pool on the outskirts of the town is older, less attractive and often overcrowded, but entry is only £1.50.

Theatres

There are two theatres in town, the Kings Theatre in Bee Street, which offers mainly “serious” drama and has a good reputation for its productions of Shakespeare, and the Little Theatre in Sea Street which specialises in lighter entertainment and the occasional pop concert. In general, it seems that the Kings Theatre is more popular with the older members of the community while the Little appeals more to people in their teens and twenties.

Museums and Art Galleries

The City Museum has an extensive collection of maps, pottery and other articles connected with Grimthorpe’s history. The attendants are said to be very friendly and helpful, and there is also a small café with reasonably priced home-made snacks. Interestingly, few of the local people interviewed had ever been to the museum but it was recommended highly by several tourists.

Conclusion

Grimthorpe is well provided with leisure facilities for a town of its size and these are well used by the townspeople on the whole. Sport seems to be the most popular leisure activity, while cultural activities like visiting the museum or art gallery appeared to be the least popular among the Grimthorpians who were interviewed. Perhaps the City Council should consider launching a publicity campaign to show how much these facilities have to offer.

Vocabulary: Personality

Positive aspect

ambitious	ambicioso
attentive	cortés
audacious	audaz
calm	calmo
charming	encantador
cheerful, amusing	divertido
considerate	considerado
courageous, brave	valiente
creative	creativo
curious	curioso
determined, b-willed	decidido
energetic	energético
extroverted	extrovertido
frank	franco
friendly	amigable
generous	generoso
gentle, kind, polite	amable
honest, truthful	honesto
humble	humilde
ingenious	ingenioso
likable / likeable	agradable, simpático
loyal, faithful	leal
mature	maduro
obedient	obediente
optimistic	optimista
organized	organizado
passionate	apasionado
patient	paciente
polite	amable
practical	práctico
realistic	realista
reliable, trustworthy	confiable
respectful	respetuoso
responsible	responsable
self-confident	seguro
sensible	sensato
sensitive	sensible
sincere	sincero
sociable, outgoing	sociable
strong	fuerte
sympathetic	compasivo
thankful, grateful	agradecido
tolerant, patient	paciente
understanding	comprensivo
zealous	entusiasta