April Fool’s Day（愚人节）, was a day of laughing and jokes. This day is kept in many countries, not only in Britain and the USA. This is a day to play jokes and make people laugh. Nobody knows when was the beginning of this custom. Some people connect it with the end of winter and the return of spring which make people merry and ready to play jokes.
In Scotland young people were sent for hen’s teeth or bird’s milk and everybody laughed when they could find such things. In the USA and Britain some people could place a sign on a person’s back with the words “push me!” Children often tell a grown-up that his sock is torn or he has something black on his face, and then shout “April Fool!” There is also the old purse（钱包） trick. A purse is left lying in the street, but when someone wants to take it, it is quickly pulled back by a string which the hidden joker holds in his hand. Or the purse may be filled with stones. Sometimes invitations are sent to people, asking them to come and visit somebody, but when they come they see that nobody expects them. Some people like to telephone to the zoo on the day and ask for Mr. Fish, Miss Fox or Mrs. Cat. All these jokes are very old but still they make people laugh.
小题1: ____________knows when the custom of April Fool’s Day started．
| A．One | B．Anyone | C．Nobody | D．Someone |
小题2:Many tricks are played on April Fool’s day except ____ ．
| A．phoning the zoo | B．placing a sign on someone’s back |
| C．playing cards | D．leaving a purse in the street |
小题3:The purpose of playing jokes is to _____ ．
| A．for fun | B．make people laugh |
| C．make fool of oneself | D．fool someone |
小题4:The best title of the passage is ____ ．
| A．How people in the west spend their April Fool’s Day |
| B．Customs are different |
| C．How British people celebrate their holidays |
| D．How April Fool’s Day comes about |
