Question

Happy April Fool’s Day! In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes (惡作劇) in history. They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.

▲INSTANT COLOR TV

In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s Kjell Stepson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

     ▲SAN SERRIFFE

In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement (增刊) in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serfiffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was made up.

▲NIXON FOR PRESIDENT

In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips (片斷) of Nixon delivering his election speech. Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger. Only during the second haft of the show did the host John Huckleberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little.

Which of the following western countries is NOT mentioned in the text?

A. India                                           B. the UK           

C. the United States                          D. Sweden

Who worked as a host on the radio?

A. Kjell Stepson                                B. Rich Little

C. Richard Nixon                         D. John Huckleberry

When did the small republic San Serriffe come into being?

A. In 1962.                                      B. In 1977.

C. In 1992.                                      D. Never.

Where can we probably read this article?

A. In an ad.                                 B. In a magazine.

C. In a novel.                               D. In a news report.

Answer 1

【小題1】A

【小題2】D

【小題3】D

【小題4】B

解析:

【小題1】文中第二段提到了瑞典，第三段提到了英國，第四段提到了美國，而沒有提到過印度。

【小題2】最后一段倒數第二句可知D項正確。A是技術專家，D是喜劇演員，C是美國前總統。

【小題3】從第三段最后—句可知，這個島嶼是編造出來的．所以選D項。

【小題4】選項A、C很容易被排除。這篇文章并沒有報道一個新聞事件，所以D項被排除，故選B項。