AprilFool’sDayisatraditionalfestivalinwesterncountriespeoplecelebrateitinmanydifferentways.Anditisalsobecomeaworldwidefestivalnowadays.Onthisspecialdaywehaveputtogetheralistofsomeofthegreatesthoaxes(恶作剧)inhistory.Theyaretheliesthathavebeendesignedforinnocentpeoplewhoarereadytobelievethem.
▲INSTANTCOLORTV
In1962therewasonlyoneTVchannelinSwedenanditbroadcastinblackandwhite.Thestation’sKnellStepsonappearingonthenewstoannouncethatthankstoanewlydevelopedtechnologyallviewerscouldnowquicklyandeasilytransformtheirexistingsetstodisplaycolorreception.Alltheyhadtodowaspullanylon(尼龙)stockingovertheirTVscreenandtheywouldbegintoseetheirfavoriteshowsincolor.Reportedlyhundredsofthousandsofpeopleweretakenin.ActualcolorTVtransmissiononlystartedtoappearinSwedenonApril11970.
▲SANSERRIFFE
In1977theBritishnewspaperTheGuardianpublishedaspecialseven–pagesupplement(增刊)inhonorofthetenthanniversaryofSanSerriffeasmallrepubliclocatedintheIndianOcean.Aseriesofarticlesaffectionatelyaskedformoreinformationaboutthebeautifulholidayspot.Fewnoticedthateverythingabouttheislandwasmadeup.
▲NIXONFORPRESIDENT
In1992AmericanNationalPublicRadio’sTalkoftheNationprogramannouncedthatRichardNixoninasurprisemovewasrunningforPresidentagain.Hisnewcampaignsloganwas“Ididn’tdoanythingwrongandIwon’tdoitagain.”Accompanyingthisannouncementwereaudioclips(片断)ofNixondeliveringhiselectionspeech.Listenersrespondedimmediatelytotheannouncementfloodingtheshowwithcallsexpressingshockandanger.OnlyduringthesecondhalfoftheshowdidthehostJohnHuckleberryrevealthattheannouncementwasapracticaljoke.Nixon’svoicewascopiedbycomedianRichLittle.
12.WhichofthefollowingcountriesinNOTmentionedinthetext?
A.TheUnitedStates B.TheUK C.India D.Sweden
13.Whoworkedasahostontheradio?
A.KnellStepson B.JohnHuckleberry C.RichardNixon D.RichLittle
14.WhendidthesmallrepublicSanSerriffecomeintobeing?
A.In1977 B.In1962