April 1st is April Fool's Day!

In Britain it's a day when people play tricks on each other.

It might be a prank or simply a practical joke.

You can't trust anyone on April Fool's Day, not even the BBC. On a serious news programme In 1957 they broadcast a hoax story about spaghetti growing on trees in Switzerland

Lots of people were fooled, but they should have looked at the calender - It was April 1st!


Listen to this report.

Listen to Weekender
	April Fool's Day

Words and expressions from the programme

play tricks
to surprise someone for a joke

Example sentence
He played a trick on me. He changed the clock so I thought I was late!

prank
a silly trick

Example sentence
The students' prank was to wrap up his car in newspaper.

practical joke
a joke that makes someone look foolish

Example sentence
Practical jokes are not always funny, especially for the person they are played on.

hoax
a trick where people give information which is not true

Example sentence
On April Fool's Day there are a lot of hoax stories in British newspapers.

to be fooled
to be tricked, deceived

Example sentence
My friend pretended to be my boss when she phoned me. She really fooled me!

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Extras

Watch a video of the spaghetti harvest




Weekender is updated every Friday