(英会話リスニングスクリプト)
On November 5th in England, people light
bonfires and set off fireworks in what is one of the most
popular celebrations of the year.
This is to celebrate the capture and execution
of Guy Fawkes, who, in 1605, planned to blow up the English
King as he opened Parliament.
Guy Fawkes and a few other Catholic revolutionaries
dug a tunnel into the Houses of Parliament and brought barrels
of gunpowder into the cellars.
One of them, probably Guy Fawkes himself,
was to stay and light the gunpowder when the King arrived,
destroying the buildings, killing the King and himself.
A friend of the revolutionaries informed
the authorities about the plan and they were caught and
executed.
Their execution was gruesome; they were
hanged until they were nearly dead, then their intestines
were pulled out, and, finally, they were cut into pieces.
Ironically, King James the First was very
tolerant towards Catholics and if the plan had succeeded,
it would have resulted in the slaughter of thousands of
Catholics.
Also, the gunpowder was later found to be
damp, so it wouldn't have exploded anyway.
However, in the end Guy Fawkes did succeed
in doing something useful.
He gave British children and adults a good
reason to have a big firework display every year!
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