万圣节(Halloween)在每年的11月1日，是西方的传统节日。而万圣节前夜的10月31日是这个节日最热闹的时刻。你知道万圣节的起源吗？
Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31，before All Saints Day.The word “Halloween”is a shortening of All Hallows Evening，also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve.
Traditional activities include trickortreating，bonfires，costume parties，visiting“ghost houses”and cutting jackolanterns.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain (pronounced“sahwin”)．The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture.The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31，the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped (重叠) and the dead would come back to life and cause destruction such as sickness or damaged crops.
The festival frequently includes bonfires.It is believed that the fires attract the harmful insects to the area which attract bats to the area to eat them.These are additional features of the history of Halloween.Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to imitate the evil spirits.
Trickortreating is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they go on from house tohouse in costumes，asking for treats such as candies with the question，“Trick or treat？”Trickortreating is one of the main traditions of Halloween.It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should buy treat in preparation for trickortreaters.
The history of Halloween has evolved.The activity is popular in the United States，the United Kingdom，Ireland and Canada.Bad trickortreating has started to happen among children in many parts of Europe.In continental Europe，where the commercedriven importation(商业驱动的进口) of Halloween is seen with more illegal “tricks” and police warnings have further raised doubt about this game and Halloween in general.
[阅读障碍词]
1．shortening n．缩写，缩短
2．costume n．演出服，戏装
3．boundary n．分界线
4．feature n．特点
5．attempt n. & v．尝试
6．evolve v．发展，进化
[诱思导读]
阅读上文，回答问题
1．What does Halloween refer to?
It refers to All Hallows' Eve.
2．What is the passage mainly about?
It is mainly about the history，influence and main activities of Halloween.
