【英语趣味课堂】愚人节-April Fools Day

April 1st is an unofficial holiday in the United States called April Fool's day. In the past, April 1st used to be celebrated¹ as the New Year. And then in the year, I think, 1592, or something like that, the official New Year was changed to January 1st and some people never heard of this change so they continued to celebrate the New Year on the April 1st, but the people who knew of this change called them fools. A fool in English

is someone who is not smart. We have many words for this in English: dumb, a dummy², stupid, imbecile, idiot³, but you're all nice people so you'll never need to use those words so you can forget that. But the people who continued to celebrate the New Year's on April 1st were called April fools. So a tradition started, that on April 1st people would try to make, would do pranks⁵ on other people. 

 

学习内容：

 

unofficial holiday

 

April 1st is an unofficial holiday in the United States.

 

An 'unofficial holiday' is a day that many people recognize, but are not given the day off work for. 

 

Notice the following:

 

April Fools Day is an unofficial holiday to mark the beginning of spring. 

Do you have any unofficial holidays in your country?

in the past

 

In the past, April 1st used to be celebrated as the New Year.

 

'In the past' refers to a time before the present.

 

Notice the following:

 

I use to smoke cigarettes in the past, but I don't anymore. 

That is all in the past now. 

smart

 

A fool in English is someone who is not smart.

 

When you are 'smart' it means that are intelligent. 

 

Notice the following:

 

She is very smart so I think she will pass her exams. 

You are very smart for your age. 

tradition

 

So a tradition started.

 

A 'tradition' is an established way of thinking or acting⁶ in a certain situation. It is something that was started in the past and is still done today.

 

Notice the following:

 

I think the traditions at Christmas are great. 

Does your family have any traditions?

prank⁴

 

On April 1st people would try to make, would do pranks on other people.

 

A 'prank' is a type of practical joke or a trick you play on someone. 

 

Notice the following:

 

She probably will play some type of prank on me. 

I do not like pranks and practical jokes. 

 

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

3 idiot   

n.白痴，傻子，笨蛋

参考例句：

• Only an idiot would make such a thoughtless remark.只有草包才会说出这样没有头脑的话来。
• You are behaving like a perfect idiot.你表现得像个十足的白痴。

4 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

5 pranks   

n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。