有关愚人节的英语文章.docx

有关愚人节的英语文章.docx

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有关愚人节的英语文章

有关愚人节的英语文章

1.AprilFools'DayorAllFools'Day,thoughnotaholidayinitsownright,isanotabledaycelebratedinmanycountriesonApril1.Thedayismarkedbythecommissionofhoaxesandotherpracticaljokesofvaryingsophisticationonfriendsandneighbors,orsendingthemonfools'errands,theaimofwhichistoembarrassthegullible.Insomecountries,AprilFools'jokes（alsocalled"AprilFools"）areonlymadebeforemidday.[1]ItisalsowidelycelebratedontheInternet.

2.Origin

Theoriginofthiscustomhasbeenmuchdisputed.Manytheorieshavebeensuggested.

Whatseemscertainisthatitisinsomewayorotherarelicofthoseonceuniversalfestivitiesheldatthevernalequinox,which,beginningonoldNewYear'sDay,the25thofMarch,endedonthe1stofApril.

IthasbeensuggestedthatEuropederiveditsApril-foolingfromtheFrench[2].FrancewasoneofthefirstnationstomakeJanuary1officiallyNewYear'sDay（whichwasalreadycelebratedbymany）,bydecreeofCharlesIX.Thiswasin1564,evenbeforetheadoptionoftheGregoriancalendar（SeeJulianstartoftheyear）.ThustheNewYear'sgiftsandvisitsoffelicitationwhichhadbeenthefeatureofthe1stofAprilbecameassociatedwiththefirstdayofJanuary,andthosewhodislikedordidnothearaboutthechangewerefairgameforthosewitswhoamusedthemselvesbysendingmockpresentsandpayingcallsofpretendedceremonyonthe1stofApril.FrenchandDutchreferencesfrom1508and1539respectivelydescribeAprilFools'DayjokesandthecustomofmakingthemonthefirstofApril.

Thoughthe1stofAprilappearstohavebeenancientlyobservedinGreatBritainasageneralfestival,itwasapparentlynotuntilthebeginningofthe18thcenturythatthemakingofApril-foolswasacommoncustom.InScotlandthecustomwasknownas"huntingthegowk,"i.e.thecuckoo,andApril-foolswere"April-gowks,"thecuckoobeingthere,asitisinmostlands,atermofcontempt.InFrancethepersonfooledisknownaspoissond'avril.ThishasbeenexplainedfromtheassociationofideasarisingfromthefactthatinAprilthesunquitsthezodiacalsignofthefish.AfarmorenaturalexplanationwouldseemtobethattheAprilfishwouldbeayoungfishandthereforeeasilycaught.

TheDutchcelebratethe1stofAprilforotherreasons.In1572,theNetherlandswereruledbySpain'sKingPhilipII.RoamingtheregionwereDutchrebelswhocalledthemselvesGeuzen,aftertheFrench"gueux",meaningbeggars.On1April,1572,theGeuzenseizedthesmallcoastaltownofDenBriel.ThiseventwasalsothestartofthegeneralcivilrisingagainsttheSpanishinothercitiesintheNetherlands.TheDukeofAlba,commanderoftheSpanisharmycouldnotpreventtheuprising.BrilistheDutchwordforglasses,soon1April,1572,"Albalosthisglasses".DutchpeoplefindthisjokesohilarioustheystillcommemoratethefirstofApril.

TheFrenchtraditionallycelebratedthisholidaybyplacingadeadfishonthebackoffriends.Todaythefishissubstitutedbyafloppykerk.

Chaucer'sstory,theNun'sPriest'sTale,writtenc.1400,takesplaceon32March;thatis,1April;itisChanticleerandtheFox,astoryoftwofools.

3.Well-knownhoaxes

AlabamaChangestheValueofPi:

TheApril1998newsletterofNewMexicansforScienceandReasoncontainedanarticleclaimingthattheAlabamaLegislaturehadvotedtochangethevalueofthemathematicalconstantpitothe"Biblicalvalue"of3.0.Thisclaimoriginallyappearedasanewsstoryinthe1961sci-ficlassic"StrangerinaStrangeLand"byRobertA.Heinlein.

Spaghettitrees:

TheBBCtelevisionprogrammePanoramaranafamoushoaxin1957,showingtheSwissharvestingspaghettifromtrees.Theyhadclaimedthatthedespisedpestthespaghettiwevilhadbeeneradicated.AlargenumberofpeoplecontactedtheBBCwantingtoknowhowtocultivatetheirownspaghettitrees.

SouthPark:

April1stwasadvertisedasbeingthepremiereoftheshow'ssecondseason—andalsotheresolutionofacliffhangerwhereEricCartmanwasabouttodiscovertheidentityofhisfather.Fansspentweeksspeculatingonthefather'sidentity,butwhentheytunedintotheepisode,theywereinsteadtreatedtoahalf-hourofTerranceandPhillipfartjokes.Thetrueresolutiontothecliffhangerairedseveralweekslater.Theshow'screators,TreyParkerandMattStoneclaimduringtheDVDintroductiontothisepisodethattheyreceiveddeaththreatsoverpullingtheprank,althoughtherewerenotanypolicereportstoprovethis.

LeftHandedWhoppers:

In1998,BurgerKingrananadinUSAToday,sayingthatpeoplecouldgetaWhopperforleft-handedpeoplewhosecondimentsweredesignedtodripouttherightside.

TacoLibertyBell:

In1996,TacoBelltookoutafull-pageadvertisementinTheNewYorkTimesannouncingthattheyhadpurchasedtheLibertyBellto"reducethecountry'sdebt"andrenameditthe"TacoLibertyBell."Whenaskedaboutthesale,WhiteHousepresssecretaryMikeMcCurryrepliedwithtongue-in-cheekthattheLincolnMemorialhadalsobeensoldandwouldhenceforthbeknownastheFordLincolnMercuryMemorial.

LiestoGetYouOutoftheHouseIn1985,theL.A.WeeklyprintedanentirepageoffakethingstodoonAprilFoolsday,bywhichhundredsofpeoplewerefooled.

Kremvax:

In1984,inoneoftheearlieston-linehoaxes,amessagewascirculatedthatUsenethadbeenopenedtousersintheSovietUnion.

SanSerriffe:

TheGuardianprintedasupplementin1*thisfictionalresort,itstwomainislands（UpperCaisseandLowerCaisse）,itscapital（Bodoni）,anditsleader（GeneralPica）.IntriguedreaderswerelaterdisappointedtolearnthatSanSerriffe（sansserif）didnotexistexceptasreferencestotypefaceterminology.（ThiscomesfromaJorgeLuisBorgesstory）.

FBICrackdownsonOn-lineFileSharingofMusic:

SuchannouncementsonAprilFoolsDayhavebecomecommon.

Metrictime:

Repeatedseveraltimesinvariouscountries,thishoaxinvolvesclaimingthatthetimesystemwillbechangedtooneinwhichunitsoftimearebasedonpowersof10.

Smell-o-vision:

In1965,theBBCpurportedtoconductatrialofanewtechnologyallowingthetransmissionofodorovertheairwavestoallviewers.ManyviewersreportedlycontactedtheBBCtoreportthetrial'ssuccess.ThishoaxwasalsoconductedbytheSevenNetworkinAustraliain2005.

TowerofPisa:

TheDutchtelevisionnewsreportedonceinthe1950sthattheTowerofPisahadfallen.Manyshockedpeoplecontactedthestation[citationneeded].

WrappingTelevisionsinFoil:

Inanotheryear,theDutchtelevisionnewsreportedthatthegovernmenthadnewtechnologytodetectunlicensedtelevisions（inmanyEuropeancountries,televisionlicensefeesfundpublicbroadcasting）,butthatwrappingatelevisioninaluminiumfoilcouldpreventitsdetection.

BreastExamsbySatellite:

Inthe1990s,PortuguesenationaltelevisionnetworkRTPannouncedtheMinistryofHealthwouldperformfreebreastexamsbysatellite,causingthousandsofwomentogoouttopless[citationneeded].

AssassinationofBillGates:

ManyChineseandSouthKoreanwebsitesclaimedthatCNNreportedBillGates,thefounderofMicrosoft,wasassassinated[3].

WriteOnlyMemory:

SigneticsadvertisedWriteOnlyMemoryICdatabooksin1972throughthelate1970s.

WheelofFortune/Jeopardy!

DoubleSwitch:

In1997,PatSajak,thehostofWheelofFortune,tradedhostingdutieswithJeopardy!

'sAlexTrebekforoneshow.InadditiontoSajakhostingJeopardy!

heandco-hostVannaWhiteappearedascontestantsontheepisodeofWheelhostedbyTrebek.White'spositionwasfilledbySajak'swifeLeslie[4].

Comicstripswitcheroo:

Cartoonistsofpopularlysyndicatedcomicstripsdraweachothers'strips.Insomecases,theartistdrawscharactersintheotherstrip'smilieu,whileinothers,theartistdrawsincharactersfromothervisitingcharactersfromhisown.Cartoonistshavedonethissortof"switcheroo"forseveralyears.The1997switchwasparticularlywidespread.

TheTroublewithTracy:

In2003,TheComedyNetworkinCanadaannouncedthatitwouldproduceandairaremakeofthe1970sCanadiansitcomTheTroublewithTracy.Theoriginalseriesiswidelyconsideredtobeoneoftheworstsitcomseverproduced.Severalmediaoutletsfellforthehoax.

NationalTelevisionStation（TVM）inMalta:

In1995,TVMannouncedthediscoveryofanewundergroundprehistorictemplewithamummy.Anotheryear,TVMannouncedthatMaltawouldadopttheEuropeancontinentconventionofdrivingontheright-handsideoftheroad[citationneeded].

Freewineforall:

TheNorwegiannewspaper"BergensTidende"announcedin1987thatthestate'salcoholmonopolyhad10,000litresofillegallysmuggledwinethathadbeenconfiscated.TheinhabitantsofBergenwereinvitedtothemainstoreintowntoreceivetheirshareofthegoods,ratherthantospillgoodwinedownthedrain.Thatmorningstaffweremetbyabout200men&womenwithbottles,buckets,andothersuitablevesselsforcarryingtheprizedgoods.LegislationinNorwaycausesalcoholtoberelativelyexpensiveandhavelimitedavailability[citationneeded].

Raindroppower:

OnApril1st2006Norwegianmediahadaone-pagestoryconcerning"raindroppower",whichcouldreplaceoilasaprimaryenergysource.OnecouldwritetotheenergycompanyBKKinBergeninordertobeavolunteerandreceivethepowergeneratedforfree.

TheCanadiannewssitebourque.organnouncedin2002thatFinanceMinisterPaulMartinhadresigned"inordertobreedprizeCharolaiscattleandhandsomeFawnRunnerducks."

SARSInfectsHongKong:

In2003duringthetimewhenHongKongisseriouslyhitbySARS,itwasrumoredthatmanypeopleinHongKonghadbecomeinf