Chinese Conversation – lesson 642
自远古以来，英国儿童就庆祝恶作剧之夜了。在这个夜晚，他们堵塞邻居的烟囱；将仇敌的窗户刷白；将一堆堆的狗粪放在别人门阶上点起火来，让那些倒霉的屋主又沮丧又吃惊，赶快将火踩灭。一直到近代，英国不同的地区一年中恶作剧之夜的日期并不相同。
From time immemorial, British children have celebrated a Mischief Night. This is the time for plugging neighbors’ chimneys, whitewashing enemies’ windows, and setting fire to piles of dog dung on doorsteps so that the unfortunate householder gets an unpleasant surprise while stamping out the flames. Until relatively recently, different regions celebrated their Mischief Nights at different times of year.
(Source: wwenglish.com)