The leaves change. It’s Autumn, right? That means Halloween! $6.8 billion the magic number--- that’s how much the National 1)Retail 2)Federation says we’ll spend on all Hallo’s Eve this year. It’s just one day in October, but the 3)hype starts early folks. Candy is in the stores in September, and some start even earlier. Rubies makes and ships millions of costumes to 4)Wal-Mart, K-mart and Toys-R-Us, from design to production, to the customer, it starts here.

     “Halloween is very much affected by the toy industry, and what's hot in the movies, and even current events.”

     Last year, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was big. This year it's more mixed. “I'm gonna be a genie.” You can't forget 5)standbys like Superman, Barbie and “a grim reaper,” and Halloween's traditional cast of characters always gets its do. “I’m gonna be a mummy.”

     Eighty-four percent of kids under 15 will don a disguise for the day, but it's not just for them. Twenty-six percent of adults will join in the fun. “You want to get out of your ordinary life, and be somebody else for a change.” We'll spend an average of $27 per costume. To some, money well spent, to others a little too much. “I think all holidays have kinda gone overboard, and Halloween is one of them.”  “I'm an adult, still my favorite holiday.”

     Spooky World is a Halloween theme park employing 400 people in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It all  started nine years ago with a 6)hay ride. They've added four haunted houses and three museums. Only on weekends in October, 10,000 thrill seekers a night dare to be scared, and for $23.50 each, they want their money’s worth. “Each year the popularity increases in the bar, the level of customer satisfaction increases, the guest is actually looking for us to 7)excel and go to the next step.”

     A little further south, look at these New Jersey homes. Fifty-seven percent  of us decorate our houses, magazine cover stories and store fronts fuel the holiday as a decorating event. Salem, Massachusetts known for its witches and 8)haunted happenings, bring a quarter of a million people to visit, 9)generating $30 million in income, just for October. That's a major 10)impact for a city of 38,000 people.

     “I get lots of candy, it's fun.” Then the sweet stuff, the candy commodity exchange on the neighborhood market. Eight in ten parents will give out candy, spending two billion on treats. Thirty-five percent of all the candy sold in a year is sold now. It's a sure thing for candy makers. “Halloween is going to happen whether it rains or whether it snows. And from a candy manufacturer's point of view, the goods are going to be sold ahead of time.”

     And after “trick or treating” is over, the celebrating is in, a third of adults will attend parties. And with all the money spent on a single day, for many the cost of 11)shedding 12)inhibitions is a small price to pay.

“I'll never grow out of it, I guess.”

又逢万圣节

　 树叶变黄，秋天到了，是吗？那也就意味着万圣节到了！这个节日能带来神奇的商机--68亿美元--美国零售联盟会说这可是今年万圣节所要达到的消费金额呢。万圣节只是十月里的一天，但热潮很早就开始了。商店在九月份甚至更早的时候就摆出了糖果，“红宝石”制作了无数件服装运往沃尔玛、K-mart和Toys-R-Us商场，设计、制作到售卖一条龙都是从这里开始进行的。

　“玩具行业、热门电影、甚至时事都会对万圣节产生影响。”

　 去年是《星战前传》的热潮，今年则是百花齐放。“我要扮个妖怪。”还有少不了的，如：超人、芭比娃娃、“死神”，还有万圣节的传统角色向来历久不衰。“我要扮木乃伊。”

　 15岁以下的儿童有84%会在那天化妆，不过可不止他们，有26%的成人也要加入进来乐一番。“想摆脱平时的生活，变成另一个人轻松一下。”每件衣服的平均花销是27美元。一些人觉得值得，而另一些人则觉得贵了点。“我认为所有的节日都花销不菲，万圣节只是其中之一。”“我是个成人了，但万圣节仍然是我最喜欢的节日。”

　 Spooky World是万圣节主题公园，位于马萨诸塞州的福克斯保罗，雇有400名员工，是由9年前坐草车游戏开始的。他们新添了四栋鬼屋和三个博物馆。只在10月份的周末对外开放，每晚有万名游客到此挑战自己的胆量，每人收费23.5美元，他们希望能物有所值。“来这里的游客数量每年递增，游客的满意程度也在增加，他们非常希望我们能不断推陈出新，再上一个台阶。”

　 往南去，我们来看看新泽西州的家庭。57%的美国人会在此节日装饰家居，杂志封面故事与装饰一新的店面都为节日增添了不少气氛。马萨诸塞的萨伦尤以女巫和闹鬼事件闻名，仅十月份就吸引了25万名游客前来参观，收入约三千万美元。对于一个只有三万八千人口的小城来说，这可是很大的收益。

   “我得了好多糖，很好玩。”然后街坊邻里还会交换糖果。有八成家长会派发糖果，糖果的销售额高达20亿美元。全年中有35%的糖果是在万圣节期间卖出的，这是糖果商的固定收入。“无论下雨还是下雪，万圣节都会照常进行。从糖果商的角度去看，糖果是不愁销路的。”

　 给儿童派发了糖果之后，庆祝活动尚未结束，有三分之一的成年人会去参加晚会。一天就花去那么多的钱，好些人觉得为了释放压力，这小小开销是值得的。

　“我想我将永远喜欢万圣节。”

1) retail  n. & v. 零售    

2) federation n. 同盟，联盟

3) hype n. 大肆宣传，大做广告 

4) Wal-Mart和K-Mart均是美国比较有名的大型百货商场，Toys-R-Us是大玩具商场。

5) standby  n. 靠山，候补品

6) hay ride: 坐草车游戏。通常在马车上放满干草，人坐在上面或藏在里面的一种游戏。

7) excel  v. 胜过他人     

8) haunted   a. 闹鬼的 

9) generate  v. 产生 

10) impact n. 影响，冲击，效果

11) shed  v. 流，散发   

12) inhibition  n. 压抑，禁制