Happy April Fool’s Day．In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of
题型：不详难度：来源：
Happy April Fool’s Day．In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes in history．They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them．
INSTANT COLOUR TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white．The station’s technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display colour reception．All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color．Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people were taken in．Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970．
SAN ERRIFFE
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement （增刊）in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean．A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this unknown nation．The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot．Few noticed that everything about the island was made up．
NIXON FOR PRESIDENT
In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again．His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his election speech．Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger．Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke, Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little．
小题1:The underlined phrase “taken in” in the 2nd paragraph means ________.| A．deceived | B．pleased | C．innocent | D．broadcast |
小题2:What can be inferred from the text about Color TV?| A．The Swedish People didn’t watch color TVs until 1970． | | B．The Swedish People began to watch color TVs in 1962． | | C．Kjell Stensson was a TV host． | | D．Not many people believed Kjell Stensson． |
小题3:Which of the following statements about San Serriffe is True?| A．San Seffiffe is located in the Indian Ocean． | | B．San Seffiffe became a republic in 1967． | | C．San Seffiffe is a beautiful place． | | D．San Seffiffe doesn’t exist． |
小题4:We get to know from the passage that _____．| A．Richard Nixon didn’t win the election in 1992． | | B．Richard Nixon didn’t do anything wrong | | C．Richard Nixon was not liked by the American people | | D．Richard Nixon asked Rich Little to speak for him |
|
答案
小题1:A
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:C |
解析
这是关于愚人节的几个小故事，能让学生对西方文化有初步了解。
小题1:猜测词义题。根据Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970．真正的彩电是在1970出现的。说明那些人上当受骗了，选择A。
小题2:推断题。根据Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970．
小题3:细节题。根据：Few noticed that everything about the island was made up．一切都是编造的，所以说San Seffiffe doesn’t exist
小题4:推理题。最后一段第四行Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger人们表达震惊与愤怒说明人们不喜欢Richard Nixon。 |
举一反三
Do you know what the White House is? Perhaps some of you do，while others don"t.
The White House is a house in Washington. The president of the U.S.A. lives in it. It"s really white. But do you know why the White House is white? The story happened in 1812. That year England was at war with America. The British army got to Washington and set the president"s house on fire. In 1814，in order to hide the marks of the fire，the stone walls of the president"s house were painted white and it has been the "White House” ever since.
小题1:White House is a house for ___________.
A. the American people.
B. the soldiers of U.S.A.
C. the presidents of U.S.A.
D. the patients of U.S.A.
小题2:England fought with America in ____________.小题3:The house is called "White House" because ____________.| A．it"s covered with snow | | B．the house is very clean | | C．the stone walls of the house were painted white | | D．they like white colour |
小题4:The White House was painted white because ____________.| A．the house is old | | B．the house is new | | C．it was once on fire and was with marks | | D．they have enough paint |
小题5:"ever since" means ___________.| A．never | B．once | C．from then on | D．Before |
|
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest(牧师) in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.
小题1:Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?| A．Because there were few women in his country at that time. | | B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. | | C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. | | D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
小题2:Valentine was put into prison because ______.| A．he killed one of the soldiers | | B．he stole a lot of food | | C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order | | D．he didn’t want to be a soldier |
小题3: The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.| A．students in China send cards to their teachers | | B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China | | C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China | | D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
小题4:What is the author’s feelings toward Valentine?.| A．Honor and respect. | B．Love and joy. | | C．Praise and disbelief. | D．Sorrow and humor. |
小题5:Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?| A．Valentine’s Day is a Festival in honor of a person. | | B．Valentine is a brave priest who died for what he believed in. | | C．All the young people in the 3rd Century could not get married freely. | | D．People at that time in Rome lived in a hard time under the control of the emperor. |
|
Man has always wanted to fly. Some of the greatest men in history have thought about the problem. One of these, for example, was the great Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci. In the sixteenth century he made designs for machines that could fly. But they were never built.,
Throughout history, other less famous men have wanted to fly. An example was a man in England 800years ago. He made a pair of wings from chicken feathers. Then he fixed them to his body and jumped into the air from a tall building. He did not fly very far. He fell to the ground and broke every bone in his body.
The first real step took place in France in 1783. Two brothers, the Mongolfiers, made a very large “hot air balloon”. They knew that hot air rises. Why not fill a balloon with it? The balloon was made of cloth and paper. In September of that year, the King and Queen of France came to see the balloon. They watched it carry the very first air passengers into the sky. The passengers were a sheep and a chicken. We do not know how they felt about the trip. But we do know that the trip lasted 8 minutes and that the animals landed safely. Two months later, two men did the same thing. They rose above Paris in a balloon of the same kind. Their trip lasted twenty-five minutes and they traveled about 8 kilometers.
小题1: Leonardo da Vinci .| A．said that man would fly in the sky one day | | B．built a kind of machine which never flew | | C．drew many beautiful pictures of the birds | | D．made designs of flying machines |
小题2:Eight hundred years ago an Englishman .| A．made a kind of flying machine | | B．tried to fly with wings made of chicken feathers | | C．wanted to build a kind of balloon | | D．tried to fly on a large bird |
小题3: In fact, the Englishman who tried to fly .| A．lost his life | B．flew only 8 minutes | | C．was not wounded | D．succeeded in flying |
小题4:The very first air passengers in the balloon were .| A．the King and Queen | B．two Frenchmen | | C．two animals | D．the Mongolfiers |
|
For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub．Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news．
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved．Many of them have become historic sites．The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called " Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem" , which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England．
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society．On a cold night, the pub"s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire．There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drinks available at an affordable price．
That"s how things used to be．Things are beginning to change．It is said that the credit crunch （信贷紧缩） is causing 39 British pubs in a week to go out of business．People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer．Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs．
This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 11 p．m．．Previously, with 11 p．m．as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly．The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as "binge drinking" , and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities．
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market．British pubs now offer something for everyone．A lot of pubs used to be "Working Men"s Clubs" , meaning that women could not usually enter．Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems．Perhaps things are changing for the better after all．
小题1:British people have the habit of gathering in the pubs to _____．| A．have the hearty food | | B．enjoy the historic sites | | C．make themselves known | | D．communicate with each other |
小题2:The British pubs are allowed to stay open after 11p．m．to ______．| A．urge customers to drink quickly | | B．affect the number of customers | | C．help reduce social problems | | D．give pub owners better income |
小题3:We can learn from the last paragraph that the author _____．| A．is against the admission of too many women to the pubs | | B．holds an optimistic attitude towards the future of the British pubs | | C．thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems | | D．holds the view that British pubs should offer everything you need |
小题4:The passage mainly tells us ______．| A．the long history of British pubs | | B．the present situation of British pubs | | C．the reason why British people go to pubs | | D．the disadvantages of running pubs in Britain |
|
San Francisco has its cable cars. Seattle has its Space Needle. And, Longview has its squirrel bridge. The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark.
The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars.
The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of the library grounds. Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels. Many times, Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over.
One day Peters found a dead squirrel with a nut still in its mouth, and that day’s coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety. The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of the City Council(市政会).The Council approved, and Councilwoman Bess LaRiviere named the bridge “Nutty Narrows.”
After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started Construction, They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum and lengths of fire hose(消防水带). It cost 1,000.
It didn’t take long before reports of squirrels using the bridge started. Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes. The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became know in newspapers all over the world.
In 1983, after 20 years of use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge. Repairs were made and crosspieces were replaced. The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of the new bridge.
Peters died in 1984, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project.
小题1:The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in order to ________.| A．offer squirrels a place to eat nuts | | B．set up a local landmark | | C．help improve traffic | | D．protect squirrels |
小题2:What happened over the coffee break discussion?| A．The committee got the Council’s blessing. | | B．The squirrel bridge idea was born | | C．A councilwoman named the bridge | | D．A squirrel was found dead. |
小题3:What does the underlined phrase “teaching them the ropes” probably means in the text?| A．passing them a rope | | B．Directing them to store food for winter | | C．Teaching them a lesson | | D．Showing them how to use the bridge. |
小题4:Which of the following is true of the squirrel bridge?| A．It was replaced by a longer one. | | B．It was built from wood and metal. | | C．it was rebuilt after years of use. | | D．It was designed by Bill Hutch. |
小题5:What can we learn about Amos Peters?| A．He is remembered for his love of animals. | | B．He donated $1,000 to build the bridge. | | C．He was a member of the City Council. | | D．He was awarded a medal for building the bridge. |
|
最新试题
热门考点