научная статья по теме APRIL FOOL’S DAY Языкознание

Текст научной статьи на тему «APRIL FOOL’S DAY»

April Fool's Day

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year".

Mark Twain

April Fool's Day (also known as All Fools Day) is celebrated on the first day of April each year. It is traditionally a day when people play jokes and tricks on their family, friends, coworkers and loved ones. Once the person is engaged in the joke, the custom is to yell out, "April Fool's!" This lets the victim know that they have been the object of a prank.

1. What do you know about April Fool's Day and its celebrations? Do you like jokes? Have you ever played a trick on someone? What was it? Have you ever been fooled on this day?

2. How many words can you make out of the phrase:

April Oay

The following hints may help you:

- an antonym of "wet"

- a place for swimming

- a way of cooking

- the upper part of a house that covers it

- a toy

- happening every day

- milk products

- part of the Sun

- a synonym for "a street", "way"

3. Work with a friend and match parts to make up April Fool's Day words.

prank tim

surp ible

jest chief

vic rious

decei rise

absur ke

gull ve

hila er

mis ster

J° dity

(Key: prankster, surprise, jester, victim, deceive, absurdity, gullible, hilarious, mischief, joke)

4. Try to find April Fool's Day words hidden in this word search puzzle. Words can go t or .

t o m f o o l i s h n e s s

a s d e p r a n k r t h h m

b v c d t f k j u n m p e o

j b d u s c a m i o a g n h

e o r p v e w s l s b e a p

k d k i u g y c k p z s n a

o p l e k j a h g o f d i s

q w e r t y u g i o r e g d

t n u t s z a q w f s x a c

r f v b g t h y h n m j n f

i f y j l o m o p l k i u r

c m j u i y h n a b g t r a

k y u i o m n b v x c d e u

e t m i s c h i e f q w z d

5. Finish the sentence adding words beginning with the letter "j".

The jester juggled a ^

6. The lines in the following jokes are mixed up. Find the corresponding pairs.

a) Why did the man throw a bucket of water out of the window?

b) Why did the man put the clock in the safe?

c) Why did the man throw the butter out of the window?

d) Why did the man throw his watch out of the window?

e) He wanted to save time.

f) He wanted to see time fly.

g) He wanted to see a waterfall.

h) He wanted to see a butterfly.

7. Complete the poem about April Fool's Day using the past forms of the verbs in brackets.

Who's the Fool?

A friend of mine I thought was cool

Just ... (call) me an 'April Fool."

"That isn't fair," I said when we .(talk)

But he tried to trip me as we ... (walk).

He said he ... (eat) dog food and now he

was sick

I ... (not know) he was pulling a trick.

And I don't know how he . (get) a

mousetrap

But he ... (throw) it down and it slammed

with a "Snap!"

He ... (want) me to join in his pranks

But I frowned at him and ... (say), "No,

thanks."

"Come on, I'll show you," he eagerly

beckoned

But he's the fool, it's April the second.

8. No one is sure when or where the tradition to celebrate this day started. Read through the passage below to learn some versions of the origins. Which version seems more probable to you?

Historical tradition points to France as the birthplace of the holiday. In France 'April fools" were called "Poisson d'Avril", which is the French for 'April Fish". This name probably appeared because people thought fish were easy to catch since they could be fooled into taking the bait on a hook. Children would tag a paper fish on a person's back to mark them as an "April Fish". It's interesting to point out that Napoleon earned the "Poisson d'Avril" nickname when he married Marie-Louise of Austria on April 1, 1810.

Some people believe that the fish is tied to Jesus Christ who was often represented as a fish in early Christian times. Others say the fish is related to the zodiac sign of Pisces, which is represented by a fish and falls near April.

According to another version until the time of Charles IX of France, New Year's Day had been celebrated on the first day of April. With the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, King Charles declared in 1564 that the New Year would be celebrated on January 1. News travelled really slowly in those times. Many people didn't hear about the change and continued celebrating the New Year on April 1st. Those who had heard about the change began playing jokes and pranks on those who hadn't, such as inviting them to fake New Year's parties and sending them foolish gifts.

The custom made its way around to other nations as well. In England jokes were played only in the morning. Fools were called "gobs" or "gobby" and the victim of a joke was called a "noodle". In Scotland the favourite April Fool's joke is to send someone on a cuckoo hunt. The word "gowk" (another name for a cuckoo bird) is derived from the word "geck", which means "someone who is easily imposed upon". The prank of sending someone out on a cuckoo hunt became so common that in Scotland April Fool's Day is also known as 'April Gowk Day".

Still there isn't enough evidence to say that this is actually how the tradition of April Fool's Day began. A lot of people tried to pinpoint the exact date of the first April Fool's Day and it led even to more pranks. A professor from Boston University played a joke on a reporter who asked him about the origins of the day. The professor made up a story about a court jester who said he could run the empire better than the king. The jester was made king for a day on April 1st. The reporter thought the story was real, so this joke turned out to be a big April Fool's Day trick.

People believe that it is bad luck if you don't respond to a joke played on you with good humour. Just remember this is a day for laughter, whether it's towards someone else or yourself.

9. It is not certain how April Fool's Day started. Make up your own version of the origin of the day.

10. Here are some of the coolest tricks to get you in the holiday spirit.

April Fool's Day Pranks for Students

a) This April Fool's practical joke is old but it still works. Superglue some coins to the pavement or any spot that has a lot of people walking around, then watch people try their best to get the coins.

b) If you have little holders for your salt and pepper, switch the salt with sugar and then watch your family's faces when they try their food!

c) Grab a bunch of alarm clocks, set them to alarm at very early times in the morning and hide them all around different places in your victim's room!

April Fool's Day Pranks for Teachers

a) Perplexing Quiz: Use the "Mirror Image" or similar feature on your printer's settings to print a quiz backwards. Your students will have to hold the test paper face-up to the light to read the test.

b) Bizarre Test: Devise a test with questions using the same letter for all the correct answers to puzzle your students.

c) Quirky Quiz: Develop an elaborate test that begins by telling the student to read the entire test before doing anything. Test "questions" could include folding the top right corner of the paper, writing your name backwards, crossing out certain letters/words or circling each test question number. End the test with the phrase: "If you have not written any

answers, you have followed directions very well. Do not write any answers. Turn your paper and read silently. Do not tell anyone about your discovery. Have a fun April Fool's Day!"

Key:

t o m f o o l i s h n e s s

P г a n k h

e

s c a m n

o s a

k g P n

e a o i

g o g

t n u t s f a

г h n f

i o г

c a a

k x u

m i s c h i e f d

Reference:

http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/we-bimages/aprilfools/aprifools_image_2.htm

А.А. Фетисова

Сведения об авторе: Фетисова Анастасия Александровна, канд. пед. наук, доцент, кафедра английской филологии, ГБОУ ВПО МГПУ Институт иностранных языков.

Email: anastasia_fe@yahoo.com

Для дальнейшего прочтения статьи необходимо приобрести полный текст. Статьи высылаются в формате PDF на указанную при оплате почту. Время доставки составляет менее 10 минут. Стоимость одной статьи — 150 рублей.

Показать целиком