Passage One
While popular in the U. S. , the April Fool’s Day tradition is even more prevalent in European countries, such as France and Great Britain . Although the roots of the traditional tricking are unclear, the French and the British both have claims on the origin of the celebration.
One theory holds that the first April Fool’s Day was on April 1 of the year when King of France instituted the new calendar. This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April 1. Many people were reluctant to adjust to the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April. Thus, they became the first April Fools.
An English story about the day, however, holds that it began sometime during the 1200s. At the time, King John of England was in the habit of making a road out of nearly every path he walked regularly. The citizens of one particular farm village were aware of this. To avoid having their green meadows and pastures disturbed with one of the king’s roads, they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside. The king sent a group of messengers to inform that they must remove the barrier. Upon hearing that the King was planning to do this, however, the villagers developed a plan of their own. When the messengers arrived, they found what appeared to be a community of lunatics, with people behaving in a bizarre manner, throwing things and running around wildly. The messengers, alarmed at what they had found, reported to King John that these people were so mad as to be beyond punishment. So, the villagers saved their farmland by tricking the King. In Great Britain , tradition only allows April Fool’s tricks from midnight to moon on April 1. Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves.
21. The word “prevalent” in the first sentence is nearest in meaning to “”.
A. unusual B. traditional
C. prevailing D. prosperous
22. As indicated in the passage, the first French April Fools were .
A. people who supported the new calendar
B. people who opposed the new calendar
C. King of France
D. all the people in France
23. In the French story, some people were regarded as the first April Fools because .
A. they celebrated New Year’s Day on Jan. 1st of the old calendar
B. they celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1st of the old calendar
C. they celebrated April Fool’s Day on Jan. 1st of the old calendar
D. they celebrated April Fool’s Day on April 1st of the old calendar
24. The villagers in the English story can be best described as .
A. crazy B. brave
C. intelligent D. hard-working
25. The readers can learn from the last paragraph that the villagers built a fence .
A. to show the king the way to their farmland
B. because their farmland had been ruined by their king
C. because their king often walked on their farmland
D. to prevent their king from turning their farmland into roads
21. ［答案］C
［解析］词义推断题。首段第一句通过while一词对比美国和欧洲国家对愚人节的态度，由此可知C为正确答案。
22. ［答案］B
［解析］事实细节题。由第二段 “This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April 1. Many people were reluctant to adjust to the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April. Thus, they became the first April Fools. ”可知B为正确答案。
23. ［答案］A
［解析］推理判断题。由第二段的第二句和第三句 “This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April 1. Many people were reluctant to adjust to the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April. Thus, they became the first April Fools. ” 可知A正确答案。
24. ［答案］C
［解析］观点态度题。村民们为了保护自己的土地，装疯骗过了国王的信使，这个故事说明村民们很有智慧，因此答案为C。
25. ［答案］D
［解析］事实细节题。由最后一段“To avoid having their green meadows and pastures disturbed with one of the king’s roads, they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside. ” 可知D为正确答案。
