牛津英语故事乐园

Ghost Festivals

When someone dies, we are very sad. We miss that person and think about him/her. In some countries there are special festivals for all the dead people. Some of these festivals are to remember our ancestors. Our ancestors lived a long time ago and are now dead. Every family has ancestors. For example, your grandfather's grandfather is your ancestor.

A festival for ancestors is a lot of fun. At the festival different people in different countries do different things for their ancestors. Some people give their ancestors food and drink. Some people have parties. What do you do in your country at a festival for ancestors?

Every spring there is an important festival for Chinese people all over the world called Qingming. At Qingming families visit the graves of their ancestors. They sweep the graves and make them look nice. They also leave joss-sticks, candles, flowers, food and Chinese wine for their ancestors.

Most Chinese people like to visit the graves of their ancestors at Qingming. But some people live too far away from their ancestors' graves to visit them. These people often have a special party at home. They cook nice food for their ancestors and later the eat the food themselves.

Many people think you should look after your ancestors. But some ghosts do not have families in our world. There is a special festival in the summer for these ghosts. It is called The Festival of Hungry Ghosts.

People make special food for the 'hungry ghosts'. They put it outside so the 'hungry ghosts' can take it.

People think that the 'hungry ghosts' also need money, clothes and houses. People make these things out of paper and then burn them beside roads.

Some people drowned in rivers or the sea so their ghosts do not have graves. People float paper presents down rivers or in the sea for them.

Puzzles

  1. Fill in the missing words. The first one is done for you.

aunt grandfather grandmother ancestors uncle cousin

  1. The brother of my father is my uncle .

  2. The daughter of my father's brother is my .

  3. The father of my mother is my .

  4. The grandparents of my grandparents are my .

  5. The mother of my father is my .

  6. The sister of my mother is my .

  1. join the two parts of the sentences below.

牛津英语故事乐园 - 图1

The Day of the Dead is a very special festival in Mexico. It is really three days, from 31 October until 2 November. On The Day of the Dead, Mexicans think that the ghosts of dead people come back to the world. There are parties to welcome the ghosts in all the towns and cities of Mexico.

The Day of the Dead is not a sad day. People eat and drink and have fun. They make sugar skulls and chocolate coffins. There are model skeletons everywhere.

The model skeletons are often doing something funny. Sometimes they are answering the telephone or playing the guitar.

On the night of 3l October Mexican families get ready for The Day of the Dead. They cook food for the children's ghosts first. This is because many Mexicans think that the ghosts of children come back before the ghosts of adults.

They put many sweet things on the table for the children's ghosts. There are often chocolate and cakes to eat, and things like Coke and orange juice to drink.

Then the family cook food for the adults' ghosts. Each ghost is given his or her favourite food and drink. Sometimes people put special presents on the table for the ghosts to make them happy. Some families also give clothes to the ghosts.

The Cordoso family always remembers their grandfather on The Day of the Dead. Grandfather Cordoso's favourite food was chicken and his favourite drink was beer. They cook a big chicken for Grandfather Cordoso, and they give him a large glass of beer. They do this to tell him how much they love him.

Everybody knows that ghosts cannot eat and drink like us. The food will still be there the day after The Day of the Dead, and the Cordoso family will'eat it themselves. But they think that Grandfather Cordoso will e 'o the food, too.

Puzzles

  1. Look at the pictures. Write the right words.

  2. Fill in the blanks with the right words.

guitar telephone eat Mexico chocolate presents October sad sugar tables

The Day of the Dead is a festival in a) It is not a b) day. There are c) skulls, d) coffins and model skeletons everywhere. Some model skeletons are answering the e) or playing the f) On the night of 31 g) people put many sweet things, food and drink on the h) for the ghosts. Some people put special i) on the tables, too. The day after The Day of the Dead people will j) the food themselves.

Hallowe'en is another important festival for ghosts. It is on the night of 31 October. Today people wear special clothes at Hallowe'en. They tell ghost stories and play games. It is a lot of fun.

In the past Hallowe'en was often very frightening. People called it The Night of the Flying Witches. People thought that the witches were women and that they flew on broomsticks on the night of Hallowe'en. People also thought that they could do terrible magic so they lit fires to frighten them. In England there is a very old tower. It is on the top of a hill. Many people call it Witches Hill.

In the past many people thought the tower was a very bad place. They said that all the witches in England went there at Hallowe'en. On the night of 31 October hundreds of people went to Witches Hill. Each person walked around the tower with a lighted candle because they thought that the witches were afraid of the li hted

candles.

Later people went to fortune-tellers at Hallowe'en. A fortune- teller tells you things about the future. You can ask a fortune- teller any questions, e.g., Who will I marry? Will I be rich?

In the past many women asked, 'Who will I marry?' Then the fortune-tellers gave the women a plant and said, 'Put the leaves of this plant under your pillow at Hallowe'en. That night you will see a man in your dream and you will marry him!'

There was also a special Hallowe'en cake. A silver coin was put inside the cake. When the cake was cut into pieces, someone would find the coin inside one of the pieces. People thought that this person would become rich.

Hallowe'en is still a special time today. In the USA and Canada children play a game called trick or treat. To play trick or treat

children must wear strange clothes to look like ghosts, witches or animals. They also wear strange masks.

The children knock on doors. They say trick or treat to the person in the house. The person in the house must then give the children a 'treat". A treat means something nice like chocolate. When the person inside does not give the children a 'treat', the children then play tricks on him/her.

Children playing trick or treat often carry jack-o'-lanterns. A jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin with holes cut in it to look like a face. The middle of the pumpkin is cut out with a knife and a candle is put inside. A handle is then made from a piece of string . Jack-o'-lanterns are easy to make.

Puzzles

  1. It is Hallowe'en and you want to play trick or treat. Here are the things you need. What are they called? Write the right words.

a mask a pumpkin a knife a piece of string

  1. What do you need the things for? Do you know? Use the words above to fill in the blanks below.

  1. You need the to wear on your face.

  2. You need the to make a jack-o'-lantern.

  3. You need the to cut the pumpkin.

  4. You need the to carry the jack-o'-lantern.

Questions

Page 1 True or false?

  1. Our ancestors lived a long time ago before us.

  2. A festival for ancestors is very frightening. Page 2 a) When is

    Qingming?

  1. What do Chinese families do at Qingming?

  2. What do people leave for their ancestors?

Page 3 a) The Festival of Hungry Ghosts is in the spring / summer / winter.

b) People make presents out of glass / paper / wood.

Page 5 a) What is the special festival in Mexico called?

  1. When is the special festival?

  2. What do people make? Page 6 True or false?

  1. There is a special table for the children's ghosts.

  2. Mexicans think that the ghosts of children come back before the

    ghosts of the adults.

  3. People never give clothes to the ghosts.

Page 7 a) What was Grandfather Cordoso's favourite food?

the Dead?

  1. What was Grandfather Cordoso's favourite drink?

  2. Who will eat the food on the day after The Day of

Page 9 True or false?

  1. Today Hallowe'en is a lot of fun.

  2. Hallowe'en was called The Night of the Flying

Witches.

Page 10 a) Where did all the witches of England go on Hallowe'en?

b) What did people carry to the tower?

Page 11 a) A fortune-teller talks about the past/ future.

b) There was a special Hallowe'en drink/ cake.

Page 12 a) What game do children play at Hallowe'en?

  1. What do children carry when they play the game?

  2. What is a treat?

Page 4 练习

·答案

  1. 填入所缺的单词。第一题已替你做好。b)cousin e)grandmother

c)grandfather f)aunt d)ancestors

  1. 把下列句子的前后两部分用线连起来。

牛津英语故事乐园 - 图2

Page 8 练习

·答案

  1. 看图画，写出正确的单词。

  2. 在空格内填入正确的单词。

    1. Mexico f) guitar

    2. sad g) October

    3. sugar h) tables

    4. chocolate i) presents

    5. telephone j) eat

Page 13 练习

·答案

  1. 现在是万圣节前夜，你想玩挨整还是请客的游戏。这些是你需要的东西。它们叫什么？写出正确的词来。

  2. 你要这些东西作什么用？你知道吗？用上面这些词填入下面的空格内。

  1. mask c) knife

  2. pumpkin d) piece of string

Page 14-15 问题

·答案

Page 1 a) True.

b) False.

Page 2 a) In the spring.

  1. Families visit the graves of their ancestors.

  2. Joss-sticks, candles, flowers, food and Chinese

wine.

Page 3 a) The Festival of Hungry Ghosts is in the summer.

b) People make presents out of paper.

Page 5 a) The Day of the Dead.

  1. From 31 October until 2 November.

  2. They make sugar skulls and chocolate coffins. Page 6 a) True.

  1. True.

  2. False.

Page 7 a) His favourite food was chicken.

  1. His favourite drink was beer.

  2. The Cordoso family. Page 9 a) True.

b) True.

Page 10 a) They went to Witches Hill.

b) Lighted candles.

Page 11 a) A fortune-teller talks about the future.

b) There was a special Hallowe'en cake.

Page 12 a) Trick or treat.

  1. Jack-o'-lanterns.

  2. It is something nice like chocolate.