Question

    "I just gave birth to 5 babies last weekend." Isn't that exciting? Oh, you don't believe me? "Okay then, I stole some money from a bank on Saturday night." Now do you believe me? Actually, I hope you don't. April 1st, or April Fool's Day is the day when we play jokes on people. Do you have it in your country?

April Fool's Day started in the sixteenth century in Europe. Before that time, New Year's Day was celebrated on April 1st. If they were teased, they were called fools.

Nowadays we play jokes on people on April 1st. For example, someone might put salt in the sugar bottle, so another person could put it in his coffee "by accident". Or someone might change the time on another person's alarm clock so that the person would unknowingly wake up earlier or later than planned. Or maybe a person would tell a lie to make someone else shocked.

After we play the trick, we say "April Fool". Then the poor person realizes he has been fooled. It is generally done in the spirit of fun and doesn't cause any real harm to anyone. Do you have any great jokes to play on anyone? Try it out.

1.Before the sixteenth century, New Year's Day was on _______.

A.April 1^st B.January 1^st C.October 1^st D.February 1^st

2.Which of the following situations doesn't make you "April Fool"?

A.Someone might put salt in the sugar bottle, then I could put it in my coffee "by accident".

B.A man might take my bag by mistake, then he could say sorry to me.

C.Someone might change the time on my alarm clock, then I would unknowingly wake up earlier or later than planned.

D.A person would tell a lie to make me shocked.

3.Sometimes people lie to shock someone on_______.

A.New Year's Day B.Christmas Day C.April Fool's Day D.Thanks giving Day

4.In the 2nd paragraph, the closest meaning of the underlined word "teased" is in English.

A.hit B.criticized C.laughed at D.shocked

5.What should be the right attitude(态度) towards "April Fool"?

A.It is generally done in the spirit of fun and doesn't cause any real harm to anyone.

B.It is done for the real fools.

C.We needn't say "April Fool" when we play jokes on people on April 1st.

D.Don't play jokes on others.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.C

5.A

【解析】

本文主要向我们介绍了愚人节，包括它的时间、由来、历史以及具体属于愚人节的例子等。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段“April Fool's Day started in the sixteenth century in Europe.”和“Before that time，New Year's Day was celebrated on April 1st”可知，愚人节是在16世纪的欧洲开始的，在那之前，4月1日是庆祝新年的。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段“For example, someone might put salt in the sugar bottle, so another person could put it in his coffee "by accident". Or someone might change the time on another person's alarm clock so that the person would unknowingly wake up earlier or later than planned. Or maybe a person would tell a lie to make someone else shocked.”可知，有人可能在糖瓶里放了盐，这样另一个人就可以“不小心”把它放进他的咖啡里；或者有人可能会改变另一个人的闹钟时间，这样那个人就会在不知不觉中比计划的早或晚醒来；或者一个人为了让别人震惊而撒谎。这三种情况都可以使你成为“四月愚人”，所以A、C、D三项不符合题意。B项，A man might take my bag by mistake, then he could say sorry to me. 一个男人可能会错拿了我的包，然后他可能会向我道歉。在文中没有提及，所以B项这种情况不会使你成为“四月愚人”。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段“Or maybe a person would tell a lie to make someone else shocked.”可知，有些时候，人们会在愚人节这天撒谎，让别人感到震惊。故选C。

4.词义猜测题。hit打击，撞击；criticized批评；laughed at嘲笑；shocked震惊。根据“they were called fools”可知，他们只有在被嘲笑了以后，他们才被成为愚蠢的人，所以此处划线部分单词teased与laughed at的意思最接近。故选C。

5.观点态度题。根据最后一段“It is generally done in the spirit of fun and doesn't cause any real harm to anyone.”可知，在愚人节的时候，对别人开玩笑通常是为了好玩，不会对任何人造成伤害，这是对“四月愚人”正确态度。故选A。