April Fools’ Day is a day on which people play harmless tricks on each other. FILE PHOTO
当我还在上学时，愚人节那天总是充满了欢乐。我们互相捉弄，有时还对老师做恶作剧。实际上有一年，学校里的一个男生把一桶水放在门框上，当化学老师走进来的时候，他浑身都湿透了。那挺好笑的，但那个男生就惨了！
When and what is April Fools’ Day?
愚人节是什么？又是什么时候呢？
April Fools’ Day is on 1 April. It’s the custom in the UK to play a trick or a joke on someone on this day. If the person falls for the joke then they are called an “April Fool”. In fact it’s only half a day because April Fools’ Day finishes at midday. No more jokes after lunchtime, please.
愚人节是每年的4月1号。在英国，愚人节当天对某人恶作剧或者开玩笑是项习俗。如果有人上当受骗了，人们就会称其为“愚人”。事实上，愚人节只有半天，在当天中午就会结束。请不要再在午饭后开玩笑。
Here are some April Fools’ tricks from around the world:
下面是世界各地的一些愚人节玩笑：
• In the 1990s a fast-food chain published an advert in a US magazine offering new “Left-handed Whoppas” for the 32 million left-handed Americans. Thousands of customers ordered the new burger in the restaurants.
在上世纪90年代，一家快餐连锁店在美国一份杂志上刊登了一则广告，为3200万美国左撇子供应“左撇子汉堡”。成千上万名顾客在该餐厅点这款新汉堡。
• A zoo in Japan said that it had a giant penguin that was 165 cm tall and weighed 80 kg. In fact it was a man dressed up in a penguin suit.
一家日本动物园称园内有一只巨型企鹅，高165厘米，重80公斤。但其实那只企鹅是由人假扮的。
• In 1949 a radio presenter in New Zealand told listeners that there were millions of wasps coming to invade. He told viewers to wear their socks over their trousers and to put honey on their doors. Millions of listeners believed him.
1949年，新西兰一位主播告诉听众将有数百万只黄蜂入侵。他让听众们将裤子扎进袜子里，并在门口放上蜂蜜。几百万听众都相信了他。
• In 1976 a very famous British astronomer told radio listeners that at 9:47 am the Earth was going to experience a feeling of less gravity. He said that Jupiter and Pluto would cross and if listeners jumped in the air at exactly 9:47 am they would feel the sensation of having no gravity. Hundreds of listeners phoned the radio to say they had jumped and floated in the air.
1976年，英国一位著名的宇航员告诉广播听众，上午9时47分时地球的重力将会减少。他表示， 木星和冥王星将相交，如果听众们在上午9时47分那会儿往上跳，就有失重感。数百名听众事后给广播电台打电话，称他们这么做了以后在空中浮了起来。
• A British newspaper announced that Portugal had “sold” the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to Spain for €160 million. Why? To try to clear its national debt. It was a joke of course.
英国一份报纸曾宣布，葡萄牙以1.6亿欧元的价格将球星C罗“卖”给了西班牙。为什么呢？原因是想要偿还国债。这当然是个玩笑。
