Woman: Pumpkins and turnips.
Man: A pumpkin is a very large round fruit, with thick orange skin, that is cooked and eaten as a vegetable. It is popular in America, where they make a delicious dessert called “pumpkin pie.”
A turnip looks similar, but it is a round white vegetable that is grown under the ground.
Both pumpkins and turnips are used to make “Halloween Lanterns”, dependant on the country’s custom and availability of the products.
Listen to this short conversation:
Man: What on earth is that vegetable?
Woman: It’s not a vegetable, it’s a fruit. It’s a pumpkin.
Man: Looks like a turnip to me.
Woman: Well, that’s where you’re wrong, the children have made their “Halloween lanterns”, and I’m going to make a delicious pumpkin pie with the insides they’ve carved out.
Man: Mmm, yum yum!

Woman: Stingy
Man: Stingy is an adjective similar to tight. We use it to describe people who don’t want to spend or share their money.
For example
Woman: Come on, don’t be stingy, let’s have another drink.
Man: Have you seen the prices in this bar? You can have a bottle of wine at home for the price of one glass here.
Woman: Stop being so tight, we’re paying for the atmosphere and relaxation as well. Go and get another round in.
Woman: Silver
Man: Silver is a valuable grey-white metal that is used for making jewellery etc. Do not confuse it with “silver-plated” which is just silver paint.
For example:
Woman: Mmm, those dolphins would be nice for your sister’s 25th wedding anniversary, but is it real silver?
Man: Yes, look it says silver.
Woman: Let me check for a stamp, we’re in Italy, and they call silver-plated things “silver” and “Sheffield” for some strange reason. OK, yes, it’s real silver, can you see that little mark underneath, and it was made in Sheffield, so it must be good quality.
Man: Well I guess that’s one more present taken care of then. Where are we going next?

Woman: Soul
Man: Soul has several meanings, but with regards to Halloween, soul means the spiritual part of a person that is believed to continue to exist after the body is dead.
For example:
Man: Do you believe in the supernatural?
Woman: Mmm, some of it, things like ESP, ghosts, spirits and souls that watch over us.
Man: What about aliens and UFO’s?
Woman: No that’s stuff for boys. You’ve been watching too much Star Trek again.

Woman: Now let’s listen to some information on the origins of the famous pumpkin practice and the legend of “Jack o’ Lantern,” adapted from www.historychannel.com

Man: Jack o’ Lantern
The practice of carving pumpkins at Halloween originated from the Irish myth of ‘stingy Jack’. The legend says that Jack convinced the Devil to turn into a coin, so that he could buy drinks at a pub. The Devil agreed to do so, but then Jack decided to keep the coin and put it in his pocket, next to a silver cross, so that the Devil could not get back to his original form. At last Jack set the Devil free, but when he died neither God nor the Devil would have his soul. Therefore Jack was condemned to wander in the dark, with only a candle inside a carved-out turnip to light his way. The Irish called him ‘Jack o’ Lantern’ (= ‘Jack of the Lantern’).

Man: Do you want to do something different next week?
Woman: Such as?
Man: Well, I was thinking of having a Halloween party, would you like to come?
Woman: Oh, yes please!
Woman: “Would” is also used for hypothetical imaginary situations in the present and the future. This is known grammatically as the 2nd conditional, and is usually in a sentence structured with “if” + past simple, then would + verb. Listen to these examples:

Man: If I had more money, I would hire a disco for the party, but, I think I’ll have to have it at home.
Man: If I were a wizard like Harry Potter, I would put a million pounds in my bank account.

Woman: “Would” is also the past of “will”, it is often used in this way in reported speech, that is, when we repeat what somebody has said. Now listen to this example:

Man: Yippee! Sue says she will help me with the decorations for the party.
Woman: Sorry, I wasn’t listening, what did you say?
Man: I said that Sue said that she would help me with the decorations for the party.
Woman: Another use of “would” is to talk about things that happened repeatedly in the past, but don’t happen now. It is similar to “used to + infinitive”, but a little more formal, and when we use “would + infinitive” we mention a specific time in the past. Listen to these examples:

Man: When I was a child, I loved Halloween, I would play “trick or treat” for hours with my friends.
Man: In the old days, everybody would wear masks on the 31st of October to confuse the ghosts.

Woman: Now let’s listen to these words in the dialogue: pay attention to how they are used.
Halloween has always been a big celebration and an excuse for a party in America & the British Isles, but, in recent years it has gained popularity in other countries too. So imagine you want to throw a Halloween party, where would you start?
Woman: What would you like to do next week?
Man: Well I’d like to have some fun, it’s Halloween!
Woman: Oh, I forgot. What shall we do?
Man: Well, I’d like to throw a party.
Woman: Really? What ideas have you got?
Man: Well....,if I had the money, I would like to hire a disco, but, it’s expensive, so I guess, I’ll have to have it at home. I would like to have everybody in fancy dress though, and organise lots of games.
Woman: Sounds good. Would you like me to help you organise it?
Man: Yes please. Let’s make a list of everything we need to do, there isn’t much time.
Woman: OK, well, we need to decide who to invite, and tell them its fancy dress, so they can organise their costumes. We need to get some decorations and decide on Halloween games, then there’s just the food, drink and music to take care of.
Man: You make everything sound so easy.
Woman: I get that from my grand mother. When I was young, I used to help her organise family parties, she would have me write down everything she wanted to do as she spoke, so she wouldn’t forget anything. We used to have a lot of fun.
Man: Fantastic! So let’s start. Who shall we invite?
Woman: Give me the list and I’ll start calling.
Man: Ok, here you go. Start with Rosaria, she’s a great girl to get a party started.
Woman: Heh, I spoke to Rosaria, she says she’ll be there, and call the rest of the gang if you want, so we can organise the other stuff.
Man: Sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you, I’ve got the stereo on.
Woman: I said that I’d called Rosaria and she said that she would definitely come to the party and also she would call everybody else for us.
Man: Great! This party is really going to rock!

Woman: A ghost.
Man: A ghost is the spirit of a dead person or animal, that is seen or heard by a living person or animal.
Listen to this short conversation:
Man: Are you scared?
Woman: Why?????
Man: Do you believe in ghosts?
Woman: Don’t be ridiculous.
Man: Well look behind you now....I think I just saw a....
Woman: Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Woman: A Mask
Man: A Mask is something that you wear to cover your face, or part of your face. These can be protection masks for work, or party masks for fancy dress parties.
For example
Woman: Where did you get that mask? It’s fantastic you actually look like BatMan.
Man: Do you like it? I saw it at a fancy dress shop in the centre, it’s a bit hot though, I have sweat running down my face.
Woman: “Trick-or-treating.”
Man: “Trick or treat” is a Halloween tradition, whereby, children dressed up as ghosts, witches etc go to people’s houses, shout “trick or treat,” and if you don’t give them “ a treat” such as a bag of sweets, they will do “a trick,” such as throw flour on your car, or eggs at your house.
For example:
Woman: Here we go again, another group of kids, have we got any chocolates left?
Man: Oh yes, they’re all ready by the door, I’m not having my car trashed again, it took me 2 hours last year to clean up all the flour & eggs.
Woman: A custom.
Man: Is similar to a tradition. It is a way of behaving, which a particular group of people or society has had for a long time.
For example:
Man: What on earth are you doing now?
Woman: Making a lantern out of a pumpkin. It’s custom to do this in England on Halloween. Up north we use turnips, but, I couldn’t find any down here. But, this will do, look, now I’ve lit the candles inside, doesn’t the face look cute?
Man: Mmm, and where are you thinking of putting this?
Woman: In the window of course, so the kids know they can get sweets here when they start “trick or treating.”

Woman: Now let’s listen to some information on the origins of Halloween, adapted from www.historychannel.com

Halloween's origins date back to an ancient Celtic festival . The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the British Isles and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1st . This day marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter. Celts believed that on the night October 31st the ghosts of the dead returned to earth (terra). People would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. This is how the tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween originated. The tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England: poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. This custom was encouraged by the Church to replace the ancient practice of leaving food for roaming spirits.

Woman: Let’s Celebrate.
Man: People celebrate something such as a birthday, a new job, exam results etc. to show that they are happy that something has happened, or it is a special day. Halloween is a celebration in Many countries.
Now listen to an example of this phrase:
Woman: I can’t believe I got the job! I’m still in shock.
Man: Shut up and drink this, you deserve it. Let’s celebrate!
Woman: I’m having a party.
Man: A party is a social occasion to which people are invited to celebrate something, usually, with food, drink and music, in order to enjoy themselves. We usually use the verb “have”, before this, i.e. “I’m having a party next Friday,” but, the verb “throw” is also frequently used for spontaneous parties. For example, “I’m throwing a surprise party for Salvo next week.”
Now listen to an example of this phrase:
Man: I think we should throw a party.
Woman: What? Why?
Man: Any excuse to have some fun. Yes, I’m definitely having a party tomorrow night for you, let me start calling everyone now.
Woman: Oh no, I’m so tired, make sure it’s not too late.

Woman: Dress up
Man: “Dress up” is a phrasal verb. Like all phrasal verbs it can have several meanings. The one we are looking at in this podcast means to put on special clothes or costumes to look like somebody else, such as “Wonder Woman.” If you wear a costume it is also called “fancy dress.” Listen to this short conversation:
Woman: Why have you told everybody it’s a “fancy dress” party?
Man: Because it’s much more fun when everybody dresses up.
Woman: What’s the theme?
Man: Well, it’s Halloween, so people can dress up as ghosts, witches, vampires, or whatever takes their fancy.
Woman: “Bobbing apples.”
Man: “Bobbing apples” is a popular party game at Halloween parties. Several apples are put in a bowl of water, and people take it in turn to try and catch one with their mouth – without using their hands. “Bobbing” means to move up and down very quickly, so it is actually very difficult to bite an apple without using your hands when it is moving around in a bowl of water. The person who catches the most, is the winner. Now listen to this:
Woman: You’ve been very busy, you’ve organised party games as well. But what on earth is “bobbing apples?”
Man: It’s fantastic fun, wait till you see everybody try it. It’s a bowl of water with about 12 apples inside, and you have to try to get an apple out of the bowl using only your mouth.
Woman: Sounds like great fun for my make up and hair.

Woman: Now you will listen to some people having fun at a Halloween party.

Woman: Crikey, look how busy it is, I can’t believe how Many have come to Frank’s party.
Man: Well, he always throws a good party, so as soon as people know he’s having one, they all try to get an invitation – or even gatecrash...
Woman: Mmm, well, don’t let me drink too much, it’s Tuesday night, and I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.
Man: Relax! It’s Halloween, let’s have some fun and celebrate. I spent hours making this costume.
Woman: You look fantastic dressed up as a pumpkin.
Man: Well you don’t look too bad as a vampire, did you make the costume yourself.
Woman: Well, I did my own make up, but, I admit, I hired the outfit from a Fancy Dress shop, I just didn’t have the time.
Man: Excuses, excuses. Heh, look at those guys, they’re dressed as spiders, what a clever idea. Come on let’s go over to where they are and play some games.
Woman: Games??? Can’t we just dance?
Man : No way! This is all part of the fun, look I bet I can beat you at “Bobbing apples.”
Man: Aaah, I’m absolutely drenched, I’m covered in water, and couldn’t even get one apple. Your turn…..
Woman: No way, I spent over an hour doing my make up, let’s go and get another drink and hit the dance floor.

Woman: If you wish you can hear this lesson again. In the meantime we hope we have helped you to be more confident with your English. Watch out for the next topic. Thank you for using the EnglishBlog.