四、閱讀測驗
第一篇:
2,000 years ago, the Celts lived in the area which is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France.
They used to grow their own food, and they considered harvest time to be the end of the year. Every year, they
celebrated New Year’s Eve on October 31st with a festival called “Samhain”. The Celts dressed in animal heads
and skins for this festival, and their priests, the Druids, built huge bonfires which the Celts gathered around to
burn crops as sacrifices to their ancient gods. October 31st marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter,
and the Celts believed that on that night, the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. The Celts thought the ghosts
helped the Druids to predict the future.
In about 43 AD, after the Romans conquered the Celts, two Roman festivals, Feralia (when the Romans
remembered their dead) and Pomona Day (when the Romans honored their goddess of fruits and gardens) were
combined with the Celtic Samhain festival. Later, in the 7th century, when Christianity reached the land of the
Celts, the Pope made November 1st All Saints’ Day. This was a time for people to honor saints and martyrs. This
celebration was also called All Hallows or Hallowmas. The night before it became known as All Hallows’ Eve,
which later changed to Halloween.
Today, people celebrate Halloween with black cats and magic from Samhain, apples and harvest from
Pamona Day, and ghosts and skeletons from All Saints’ Day. It’s a thrilling mixture of fun and fear.
【題組】42. Which statement about the All Saints’ Day is NOT accurate?
(A) It was on October 31st
.
(B) Its celebration was called All Hallows.
(C) It was a day to remember the dead.
(D) It was a religious holiday.