BBC learning English
Word on the street: Hallowe'en
Transcript
"It's party time for Ashlie and Stephen - but which costumes to choose?"
Stephen: OK, just the mouth to go and there we go. Wow! What do you think? Looks like Ashlie.
Ashlie: Stephen, can you give me a hand here, please?
Stephen: It’s Hallowe'en this weekend and we’re getting ready for a big party.
Ashlie: We’ll be dressing up and having fun with all the Hallowe'en traditions.
Stephen: And that means we’ve got lots of work to do, starting with these apples and pumpkins.
Ashlie: Yes, but before that we need to get our costumes. Nice pumpkin, by the way. Looks just like you! Come on then, let’s get going.
.....
Ashlie: So, come on then, Stephen, let’s take a look at you.
Stephen: Well, what do you think? I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of a magician.
Ashlie: Very nice. But I think it’ll take a little more than a costume to turn you into a wizard!
Stephen: Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. They actually sell magic tricks here. I reckon I should learn a few. You know, to help with the character.
Ashlie: I think it may be a little harder than you think. Magic takes a lot of practice.
Stephen: I’m a natural. Come on, let’s have a look and see what they’ve got. Hmm. And I’ll need a wand, of course.
Ashlie: Err, are you sure you have enough there?
Stephen: I think so. Look, I’ve got my wand! What’s that?
Ashlie: So, do you think he’ll be able to do any of these tricks?
Man: Well, it does require a lot of practice. And of course you also have to read the instructions very carefully.
Ashlie: Oh dear.
Man: It takes a lifetime to be good magician.
Ashlie: Hear that, Stephen?
Stephen: What?
Ashlie: It takes a lifetime to become a magician.
Stephen: Oh, I don’t need to be a full magician. I’m a trainee. I’ll be on to the big stuff in no time: catching a bullet, sawing a lady in half, disappearing lady. That reminds me, I may need an assistant.
Ashlie: Don’t even think about it! Come on, we need to get home so we can start preparing for the party.
Stephen: And I need to start practising. Hazam Falam, take me home!
Ashlie: Err, OK. Maybe we’ll get the bus.
.....
Stephen: Put the lid on. Abracadabra, ta-da! Ash, I think this trick might be broken. Nothing’s happening.
Ashlie: Are you sure you’re reading the instructions properly?
Stephen: Maybe my wand's broken.
Ashlie: OK. Well, you can’t spend all afternoon on this. We have work to do. We have a party tonight.
Stephen: OK, just give me ten more minutes. I need to make this work.
Ashlie: OK. What’s this? Oh, well, that was easy.
Stephen: Yeah, dead easy.
Ashlie: OK. Ten more minutes. I’m going to start on the food.
.....
Ashlie: Stephen, I said ten minutes. You need to come and help now.
Stephen: What?
Ashlie: Oh, Stephen!
"Ashlie and Stephen's house is full of witches, wizards, and ghosts... and everyone's having a frighteningly good time!"
Stephen: It’s Hallowe'en and we’re getting ready for our very own Hallowe'en party. All our friends are coming and everyone will be in fancy dress.
Ashlie: We have to prepare all the traditional Hallowe'en food and drink. We have to decorate the house and get ourselves ready. Right, that’s it. Oh, Stephen, it’s some trick or treaters. You go. I have to get Poppy ready.
Stephen: Trick or treaters? Great! I can show them some magic.
Ashlie: That will be a treat! Poppy!
Kids: Trick or treat!
Stephen: Aha! Now, for your entertainment – a show of magic!
Kids: Trick or treat?
Stephen: An empty pan. Nothing on the inside, nothing on the outside.
Boy: Look, mister. Give us a treat or we’ll play a trick on you.
Stephen: Hocus Pocus!
Girl: That’s rubbish!
Stephen: Hang on a minute. Abracadabra! Hey! Ash! It worked. My trick worked!
Ashlie: Yeah, whatever, Stephen.
Stephen: No, seriously, look. Hocus Pocus!
Ashlie: Wow! Very impressive.
Stephen: But it did work.
Ashlie: Yeah, yeah, now come on. Help me with my costume. I need to get my witch's nose on.
Stephen: Really, Ash? I thought you already had it on.
Ashlie: Ha ha.
.....
Ashlie: Nice costume!
Friend: Oh, thanks, it took me ages to make. Yours is great too.
Ashlie: Thank you, but we cheated. We didn’t have time to make costumes, so we just hired them.
Friend: They look great anyway. I had to make loads of costumes today. I took my brother and his friends trick or treating and I made loads of ghost costumes.
Ashlie: How did it go?
Friend: Yeah, they got loads of sweets and treats and they didn’t have to do any tricks.
Ashlie: Hey listen, talking of tricks, Stephen’s magic is pretty bad. He’s really sensitive, so you just have to pretend to be amazed. I don’t think the show will last long. Ooh, here we go. Remember, look amazed.
Stephen: Now, ladies and gentlemen, for my first trick of the evening I require an assistant.
Ashlie: Ooh, I think that may be more trick or treaters. Let’s go and see.
Kids: Trick or treat!
Ashlie: Don’t you look scary! What have you come as?
Kids: I’m a scary pumpkin. And I’m a skeleton.
Ashlie: You’re a skeleton? You’re very scary.
Stephen: Now, an ordinary handkerchief, a simple wave...
Ashlie: Go on then, you can have a treat, help yourselves. Go on, tuck in guys.
Stephen: A wave of my magic hand...
Kid: Your dog’s really sweet.
Ashlie: Thank you. Do you want to give her a little stroke? Her name's Poppy. She loves dressing up for Hallowe'en as well.
Stephen: And Abracadabra! A treat for you all. I hope you enjoyed my show!
Kids: Thank you! Happy Hallowe'en!
Stephen: Ashlie, I did it. It was amazing! Everything worked! Did you see it?
Ashlie: Yeah. Well done you. It was brilliant.
Stephen: I told you I could do it. I could make a career out of this! I want the fire of death trick next. It’s really cool.
Ashlie: Err, maybe a little practice first, eh? Here, let’s take the plates into the kitchen.
"Join Joe to find out why the British celebrate people trying to blow up Parliament!"
All around the world, festive days like New Year’s Eve are celebrated with fireworks. But here in Britain, there is one night that is very special.
It’s November the fifth, Bonfire Night, and I’m wrapped up warm for some autumn fun. Tonight’s the night for lighting bonfires and setting off fireworks. Here in Winchester, preparations for the celebrations are under way and tonight it’s all going to get very noisy!
Bonfire Night parties take place in towns and cities across Britain. The Winchester event is free and attracts over twenty thousand people. Steve Lewis of the charity ‘Round Table’ is the volunteer in charge.
Joe: Steve, what’s the plan for tonight’s celebrations?
Steve: OK, tonight actually kicks off at 6pm in the city centre by our Guild Hall. There’s a torch-lit procession where thousands and thousands of people follow a band through the city and we all process down to the fields here. And then we’ll follow that by the lighting of the bonfire about 7.15. At 7.45 the fireworks will go off and the crowds will cheer.
Joe: It sounds like a hectic night. How many people does it take to organise this?
Steve: On the night itself, we have a hundred and eighty volunteers and many, many other people to help us out. So it’s hundreds of people involved in an event of this size.
Joe: And be honest, is this about history or is it just an excuse to have fun?
Steve: Bonfire Night is about history. It all comes from history of England and the Houses of Parliament. But it is great fun, too – great fun for us to organise and put on and great fun for everybody who turns up.
So how did this all start? Four hundred years ago, a man called Guy Fawkes planned to kill King James by blowing up the Houses of Parliament. It was called the Gunpowder Plot. It failed, and to mark the event rag doll ‘Guys’ are burnt on the bonfire and fireworks are set off. Fireworks are made using gunpowder.
Leon’s probably got the best job in the world. He lets off fireworks for a living.
Joe: Leon, talk me through the sort of display you’re going to put on.
Leon: There’s about four thousand fireworks which all create different effects. Some will go up and go bang, some will spin up there, some will crackle, there’s whistles…
Joe: What do you think it is about fireworks that the British public just love?
Leon: It’s a great tradition that we have here. If it wasn’t for Guy Fawkes we wouldn’t be stood here today. You know, it’s a great... I love tradition.
It’s six o’clock and time for me to join the procession.
OK, it’s almost time for the fireworks now.
Well, I thought that was fantastic – but what did the public think?
Woman: Well, it was really nice to come up and meet up with my friends – and watching the fireworks, they were beautiful.
Girl 1: I thought they were really good. They were even better than last year.
Girl 2: They were really good and they were really colourful and they looked really cool.
That’s Bonfire Night over for another year – but there’s always time for a final bit of sparkle.