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愚人节 April Fools' Day is a day to make jokes about others, No one knows how this holiday began but people think it first started in France. In the 16 th century, people celebrated New Year's Day from March 25 to April 1. In the mid—1560s King Charles IX changed it from March 25 to January 1. But some people still celebrated in on April 1, so others called them April Fools. Each country celebrates April Fools' Day differently. In France, people call the April Fools “April Fish”. They tape a paper fish to their friends' backs to fool them. When he or she finds this , they shout “April Fish!” In England, people play jokes only in the morning. You are a “noodle” if someone fools you. In Scotland, April Fools' Day is 48 hours long. They call an April Fool “April Gowk”. Gowk is another name for a cuckoo bird. In the America, people play small jokes on their friends and any other people on the first of Aprol. They may point down to your shoe and say, “ Your shoelace is untied.” If you believe them and look down to see, you are an April Fool then. History of April Fool's Day The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1. Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke. This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continue on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way. In Scotland, for instance, April Fool's Day is devoted to spoofs involving the buttocks and as such is called Taily Day. The butts of these jokes are known as April 'Gowk', another name for cuckoo bird. The origins of the "Kick Me" sign can be traced back to the Scottish observance. In England, jokes are played only in the morning. Fools are called 'gobs' or 'gobby' and the victim of a joke is called a 'noodle.' It was considered back luck to play a practical joke on someone after noon. In Rome, the holiday is known as Festival of Hilaria, celebrating the resurrection of the god Attis, is on March 25 and is also referred to as "Roman Laughing Day. In Portugal, April Fool's Day falls on the Sunday and Monday before lent. In this celebration, many people throw flour at their friends. The Huli Festival is celebrated on March 31 in India. People play jokes on one another and smear （涂抹）colors on one another celebrating the arrival of Spring. So, no matter where you happen to be in the world on April 1, don't be surprised if April fools fall playfully upon you. 1 Easter A Sunday between March 22 and April 25 The meaning of many different customs observed during Easter Sunday have been buried with time. Their origins lie in pre-Christian religions and Christianity. All in some way or another are a "salute to spring," marking re-birth. The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory of the holiday. The word "Easter" is named after Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox （春分）. People celebrate the holiday according to their beliefs and their religious denominations （命名）. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that He was resurrected （复活）. Protestant settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious gathering at dawn, to the United States. This year Easter will be celebrated on Sunday April 11, 2004. On Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for the eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize. The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the" Easter Hare." Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why we dye, or color, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts. Egg Rolling In England, Germany and some other countries, children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ's tomb when he was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World. In the United States in the early nineteenth century, Dolly Madison, the wife of the fourth American President, organized an egg roll in Washington, D.C. She had been told that Egyptian children used to roll eggs against the pyramids so she invited the children of Washington to roll hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building! The custom continued, except for the years during the Civil War. In 1880, the First Lady invited children to the White House for the Egg Roll because officials had complained that they were ruining the Capitol lawn. It has been held there ever since then, only canceled during times of war. The event has grown, and today Easter Monday is the only day of the year when tourists are allowed to wander over the White House lawn. The wife of the President sponsors it for the children of the entire country. The egg rolling event is open to children twelve years old and under. Adults are allowed only when accompanied by children! Traditionally, many celebrants （司仪神父） bought new clothes for Easter which they wore to church. After church services, everyone went for a walk around the town. This led to the American custom of Easter parades all over the country. Perhaps the most famous is along Fifth Avenue in New York City. Good Friday is a federal holiday in 16 states and many schools and businesses throughout the U.S. are closed on this Friday. 2 The size and shape of your ears show your character more than any other part of the face. Other parts of the face change shape as we get older, but ears don’t change their shape. They only change in size. Reading people’s character from their ears is very old science. In ancient(古代的) times people thought that a person with big ears had a good and generous character. They thought that a person with pale, small ears was dangerous. They also thought that the shape of the ear showed if a person was musical or not. Today, too, many people believe that the size and shape of the ear helps you know if a person is musical. Ears are all different, and each characteristic has a meaning. Next time you look at a person, see if his or her ears are large, medium-sized, or small. Look at the lobes(耳垂). Are they attached(连接) to the face? Ears that are always red mean that a person may have a temper(脾气), or he/she may just have high blood pressure(血压). Ears that are always cold and pale mean that a person has a nervous character. And a big hole(孔) inside the ear means a person is musical. There was once a professor(教授) of medicine, who was very strict with his students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee(委员会), the students would be in fear, because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all. The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK. Then the professor asked about the cure for the illness, and the student, too, answered just as right. “Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?” “A full spoon,” answered the student. “Now you may go out and wait for what you can get,” said the professor. At the same time the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Quickly he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr. Professor, I’ve made a mistake! A full spoon is too much for the patient. He can take only five drops.” “I’m sorry, sir ” said the professor coldly, “ but it’s too late. Your patient has died.” If you say, “The cat is out of the bag” instead of “The secret is given away,” you are using an idiom(习语). The meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning of the words used. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb(谚语). Proverbs are old but familiar sayings that usually give advice. Both idioms and proverbs are part of our daily speech. Many are very old and have interesting histories. See how many of these sayings you know. “Bury the hatchet.” Native Americans used to bury(埋葬) weapons(武器) to show that fighting had ended and enemies were now at peace. Today, the idiom means to make up with a friend after an argument or fight. “A close shave.” In the past, students barbers(理发师) learned to shave on customers. If they shaved too close, their customers might be cut or even hardly escape from serious harm. Today, we use the idiom if a person narrowly(勉强) escapes disaster. “He who pays the piper calls the turn.” In the Middle-Ages, people were treated by travelling musicians(乐师). Whoever paid the price could 3 本文来源：https://www.dywdw.cn/21ec181fcd1755270722192e453610661ed95a7c.html
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2022-08-05
