Question

April Fool’s Day

April 1 is widely known as April Fool’s day．The custom of sending others on fool’s errands or playing other practical jokes on that day has been existing since at least the Middle Ages．The two most popular explanations in the nineteenth century were that April was a month of variable （that is, “fooling” ） weather, and that the Jews started the custom during Jesus’ passion, by sending him on fool’s errands to various magistrates （Caiaphas, Herod, and finally Pilate） before his crucifixion．

These explanations seem rather unconvincing and here is offered a more reasonable one．（until 1564, March 25 marked the European New Year, and the festivities typically lasted eight days, until April 1．In that year, the calendar changed, and the New Year’s Day became January 1．But not everyone immediately got the message, and those who continued to make the New Year’s visits and offer the traditional presents on April 1 would have been called April fools．Eventually the custom of playing tricks on others was established．

In the United States today, April Fool’s jokes are played mostly by children, who enjoy the holiday immensely．Here are some typical pranks:

---- Calling the zoo and asking to speak to Mr. Lion

---- Putting salt in the sugar bowl

---- Setting the clock back an hour．

--- Saying to a friend, “Oh my．You have four big holes in your coat--buttonholes”

---- Tying a string to a wallet and leaving the wallet in the middle of the sidewalk．When someone stops to pick it up, the prankster yanks it out of reach．

1．On April 1, the typical practice is to            ．

A.   humiliate others．                                 B．Play tricks on others．

C.      Send parents to others．                                  D．Call others “fools”．

2．According to the 19^th-century explanations, the origin of this custom was related to        ．

A.   Jesus’passion．                             B．The weather of the month．

C．The ignorance of people．                 D．Both A and B

3．According to the more reasonable explanation, in Europe, the New Year’s Day was   in 1564．

A．January 1            B．March 1              C．March 25             D．April 1

4．According to the passage,           enjoy this holiday most．

A．Children              B．The middle-aged     C．the elders              D．Housewives

Answer 1

BDAA