(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
During the Halloween season, one popular activity is to visit a haunted house. As a child, some of my earliest and most frightening memories happened in a haunted house at Halloween.
So, let me take you inside a real haunted house. This short story also gives you vocabulary and idioms for describing something scary.
We begin as many scary stories have: It is a dark and stormy night.
You walk alone down a desolate street. The rain has been falling steadily all night and is only getting worse. You are soaked to the bone and need to get out of the rain.
Then you see a house. "Thank heavens!" you say out loud. But at second glance, your relief is chilled by the look of the place.
It's dark. Only a lone street lamp casts a dim, yellow light on the sad features of the house. It looks as if no one has lived here for many years. The windows are broken. An old, ripped curtain blows from a third-story window.
Now, you remember where you are. This house is from your childhood. Neighborhood kids talked of ghosts, from a family long dead, walking through the house at night.
The front yard is tangled with overgrown weeds and vines. A pathway lined with broken stones leads to an old house.
You follow it.
As you walk down the sidewalk, tree branches seem to lean into your path. They grab at your hair and clothes. Spider webs stretched across the branches get caught in your eyes and mouth. As you wipe them away, you hear something behind you.
What is it?! You turn around. Nothing. It was probably just a cat, you tell yourself. Although, you don't believe it.
Just as you step onto the sagging front porch, the door creaks open. Suddenly, two bony hands push you inside. The door slams shut!
From the shadows, things start to come toward you! You can't see anything, but you can hear them coming closer. You run, but running only takes you farther into the nightmare. Your heart beats wildly. Hoping to hide, you open a door, but a skeleton falls into your face. Screaming, you fight with the bones as they entangle your arms and legs! Finally, you break free and run for your life down a hallway.
For a moment, you think you're safe. Then a deathly white hand reaches out from under a table, grabbing at your ankles! You run faster, this time up a flight of stairs. But a half-human, half-bat creature hangs from the ceiling. It flies toward your neck with blood dripping from its razor-sharp teeth.
As you try to escape, you trip down some stairs and fall into a cold, dark basement. From a small window you look outside and see a crazed man holding an axe. He's looking right at you, laughing.
Fear takes over your whole body, as you run out of the house only to find ...
... a bowl of candy. If you're lucky, maybe a plate of cupcakes, too. You dig your hands into the candy bowl and fill your pockets with sweets. You deserve it. You made it out alive!
That is exactly how I remember the first haunted house my parents took me to. To this day, the thought of it still sends shivers down my spine. And I still love being scared out of my wits!
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.turn around 转动;转身;扭转;（使）调转方向;（使）转向;（使）复苏;（使）好转;改变（问题、句子或想法的）表达方式;（尤指为指责别人或捍卫自己）话锋突转
Bud turned the truck around, and started back for Dalton Pond...
巴德把卡车掉头，开始返回多尔顿池。
2.break free 摆脱对方防守
He cannot seem to break free of her.
他好像跳不出她的掌心。
3.take over 接收，接管（公司）;（武力）占领，接管，控制;接替;接任;接手;取代;代替;占上风
A British newspaper says British Airways plan to take over Trans World Airways.
一家英国报纸称，英国航空公司计划接管环球航空公司。
4.be scared out of one's wits 吓得要死, 吓个半死, 吓得不知所措
The car accident happened right in front of my eyes. I was scared out of my wits.
车祸就发生在眼前，我吓得都快掉魂儿了。
参考译文
万圣节期间，其中一项受欢迎的活动就是去鬼屋（a haunted house）。孩提时代，我最早期和最恐怖的一些记忆就是关于万圣节的鬼屋。
那么，让我带你看看真实的鬼屋里面的样子。这篇短故事也可以带给你一些描述恐怖事物的词汇和短语。
和许多恐怖故事的开头一样：这是一个黑漆漆的、下着暴风雨的晚上。
你走在一条冷冷清清的街道上。雨连续下了一整夜，且没有要停的意思。你浑身湿透（be soaked to the bone），需要找个躲雨的地方。
然后你看见了一间屋子。“谢天谢地！”你大声说道。但是再看一眼的时候，你的解脱感被房子的外观一扫全无。
屋子里面黑黑的。只有一盏孤零零的路灯投下昏黄的灯光照着这间凄凉的屋子。它看起来像是多年无人居住的样子。窗户都是破的。三楼窗户上的破窗帘在风中摆动。
这时，你想起来这里是哪儿了，在你小时候的记忆里出现过，那时领居家的孩子们聊天聊到过死了很久的一家人的鬼魂，晚上的时候他们就会在房子里面走来走去。
屋子的前院杂草和藤蔓丛生。一条布满碎石的小径通向一间旧屋子。
你沿着小径走。
当你走在小径上的时候，树枝貌似触伸到了路上。它们抓住了你的头发和衣服。树枝间张结的蜘蛛网，黏到了你的眼睛和嘴巴上。当你清理掉这些的时候，你听见背后有声音。
什么东西？！你转过身。什么也没有。你告诉自己，也许只是一只猫。但你其实不信。
当你正踏上下陷的前廊时，屋子的们嘎吱一声开了。突然，两只露骨的手把你拉了进去。门砰的一声关上了。
黑暗处的东西开始冲你这边来！你什么也看不见，但是你能听见它们离你越来越近。你开始奔跑，但是跑得越远只会让你在这场梦魇里陷得更深。你的心狂跳。你想藏起来，你打开一扇门，但是一架白骨倒在了你面前。你尖叫地打着那些缠住你的那些胳膊和腿骨头！最后，你挣脱出来，逃到走廊上。
有那么一刻，你以为你安全了。然后一只死气沉沉的苍白的手从桌子底下伸出来，抓住了你的脚踝！你拼命跑，这次跑上了一段楼梯。但是一个半人半蝙蝠的生物倒挂在天花板上。它飞向你的脖子，鲜血从它锋利的牙齿上滴下来。
当你试图逃走的时候，你从楼梯上摔下来掉进一个又冷又黑的地下室。你从一个小窗户往外看，看见一个手握斧头的疯子。他正看着你大笑。
你感到恐惧，当你跑出屋子，你却发现······
一碗糖果。如果你够幸运，也有可能是一盘纸杯蛋糕。你把手伸进碗里，把糖果塞满口袋。这是你应得的。你活着出来了！
那正是我父母第一次带我去鬼屋时我的记忆。直到今天，一想到那个鬼屋我还是不寒而栗（send shivers down my spine）。而且，我仍然喜欢被吓得魂不附体！
我是安娜·马特奥。
