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’).