A Day of Fools
by Olivia Wycech & Marcus Maurice
It's that time of year to celebrate this light-hearted holiday.
Each year, holidays are held to mark special occasions like the winning of a war or the birth of a famous president. Some other holidays like Christmas and Chinese New Year are _(1)_ so that families can get together and spend time with each other. There is only one holiday, though, that annually celebrates acting silly—April Fools' Day.
In some parts of the world, April Fools' Day is referred to _(2)_ All Fools' Day, while the French call it Poisson d'Avril, which means April Fish. On this day in France, school children _(3)_ tape fish to each other's backs hoping they don't get caught. It's _(4)_ whether the fish is a symbol of Jesus Christ, who was represented as a fish in early times, or if it has to do with Pisces, the zodiac sign which is a fish and is close to April. The only thing _(5)_ really matters about April Fish is that kids get a kick out of it.
The origins of April Fools' Day aren't _(6)_ clear either, but the most widely accepted theory centers around France's New Year's Day moving from the end of March to the beginning of January in the mid-1500s. Up until then, _(7)_ of New Year's Week ended on April 1. French ruler King Charles IX decided that France would _(8)_ the more modern Gregorian calendar at that time in 1564. The problem was that many people were unhappy about the switch and _(9)_ to follow the king's rule. Eventually, those people were thought of as _(10)_ and became the butt of jokes when they were invited to parties on April 1 that never happened.
(A) that (B) observed (C) unclear (D) celebrations (E) foolish
(F) perfectly (G) refused (H) as (I) adopt (J) with
(K) excitedly (L) where
属于傻瓜的一天
这是一年中庆祝这个轻松愉快假日的时刻。
每一年都会举行节日来表彰特殊的时刻,像是战争胜利或是著名总统的生日。还有些节日是让家人能够团聚在一起度过,像是圣诞节和中国新年。然而,每年只有一个节日是用来庆祝愚蠢的行为,那就是愚人节。
在世界上的某些地方,愚人节被称为『万愚节』,而法国人则称它为 Poisson d'Avril,意思是『4 月的鱼』。在这一天,法国的学童都会很兴奋地把鱼贴在别人的背上而希望对方不会发现。这条鱼到底是耶稣基督的象征,因为在早期鱼曾是耶稣的代表动物,或是和双鱼座有关,因为这个星座的标志就是鱼,且它的日期很接近 4 月(编按:星座的日期会因地区而有所不同),这并不清楚。唯一真正和 4 月的鱼有关的就是孩子们从中得到很多乐趣。
愚人节的起源也不是非常清楚,但最普遍被接受的说法围绕在法国新年在 16 世纪中期由 3 月底移到 1 月初。在那之前,新年周的庆祝活动都是在 4 月 1 日结束。法国的统治者查理九世在 1564 年决定法国要采用当时比较现代的阳历。问题是许多人对这项转变很不满意,而且拒绝遵守国王的规定。最后,那些人被邀请去参加根本不存在的 4 月 1 日派对时被视为愚蠢,而且还成了众人的笑柄。
不少人希望藉愚人节来娱乐众人,但有时玩笑开得太大,却会适得其反。
2003 年,SARS 在香港蔓延期间,香港一名中学生利用《明报新闻网》的网页格式改装,在自己制作的网站里发出一则假新闻,指因为 SARS 在香港蔓延,所以香港已宣布成为疫区,海陆空交通要道实时封闭。此外,有关报导亦指当时香港的行政长官董建华为了不能好好处理疫情而向中央请辞。
这一则愚人节笑话新闻本来只传给他自己的同学,但有同学信以为真,把连结再传给其他人,并迅速在网络传播,以致引起公众恐慌,纷纷涌往超级市场抢购食物。港府于是立即召开记者会辟谣,并拘捕有关的学生。(数据源:维基百科)
答案: 1. B 2. H 3. K 4. C 5. A
6. F 7. D 8. I 9. G 10. E