In this issue

Intermediate
Text: "Britain's press play the fool" (left)
Reading comprehension (below)
Holidays and festivals
Reporting statements
What do you think?
Advanced
Reading comprehension
Idioms and expressions with "fool"

Other issues

Index of contents

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"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool."

—Richard Feynman (1918-1988)

Would you believe it if somebody told you of the successful development of a genetically modified "whistling carrot"? - that is, carrots that have been specially engineered to grow with tapered air holes in their side? When fully cooked, these air holes cause the vegetable to whistle.

You guessed right! The story is taken from "Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time".

Learn English #3 •Intermediate | Advanced

Read the newspaper story below, and then answer the questions that follow it.

Britain's press play the fool

Britain's newspapers have played their annual April Fool's jokes on their readers with a series of hoax stories.

"The Sun" reckons gipsies have established a camp on the Queen's grass at Windsor Castle using a 650-year-old law. The paper reckons the gipsies claim to be descended from the original builders of the castle who got permission to put their tents there from King Edward III.

"The Mirror" reckons sheep with St George's Cross markings on their coats are being used to cut the grass at the new Wembley football stadium. It says the natural fertiliser of their droppings has reduced the need for chemicals, meaning less allergic reaction on players. The paper claims a Wembley spokesman said: "It's based on methods going back centuries."

Meanwhile "The Daily Mail" has what it claims to be a 'Royal picture exclusive' of Prince Charles and Prince Harry shopping for sexy underwear. The pictures show Royal look-alikes examining bras and knickers at what is described as an exclusive lingerie shop near Windsor Castle.

• Text from Ananova.com

Reading comprehension

True or false?

		true	false
1.	Newspapers always print false stories on April Fool's Day.
2.	Windsor Castle was built by gipsies.
3.	Edward lll was king of England 650 years ago.
4.	The story in "The Mirror" says that the sheep at Wembley Stadium make the grass grow faster.
5.	Natural fertilisers cause less of an allergic reaction than chemical ones.
6.	"The Daily Mail" printed photos of Prince Charles and Prince Harry.

Exercises

1. Holidays and festivals.

Match the holidays and festivals (1-8) with the definitions (a-h).

Please ensure the Java Virtual Machine is installed and enabled

2. Reporting statements: verb + that + clause.

a) Match each verb below with one of the meanings.

Please ensure the Java Virtual Machine is installed and enabled

b) Choose the correct verb.

1.	She that she had forgotten to put on the burglar alarm.
2.	So are you that we'll make a loss this year?
3.	We all that something needs to be done.
4.	I that it was him because I recognised his tattoo.
5.	He that we continued the meeting over lunch.
6.	Frank that he saw you with Helen last night. Is it true?
7.	I he's lost, but I'm surprised he hasn't phoned us if that's the case.
8.	We that we'll do it before the weekend.

3. More exercises
You will find more exercises relating to this text in the Advanced section:

Idioms and expressions with "fool"

What do you think?

Do you celebrate April Fool's Day in your country? Or is there a similar festival at another time of the year? If not, do you think it would be a good idea to introduce such a day? What day would you suggest for it, and why? Which of the three hoaxes mentioned in the article do you think is most convincing? Would any of the hoaxes work in your country? If so, what changes would need to be made to them? If not, why not?

Do you personally enjoy playing practical jokes and tricks on people? Do you like it when people play practical jokes on you?

More exercises

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