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It's that time of year to celebrate this light-hearted holiday.
這是一年中慶祝這個輕鬆愉快假日的時刻。

　　Each year, holidays are held to mark special occasions like the winning of a war or the birth of a famous president. Some other holidays like Christmas and Chinese New Year are _(1)_ so that families can get together and spend time with each other. There is only one holiday, though, that annually celebrates acting silly—April Fools' Day. 
　　In some parts of the world, April Fools' Day is referred to _(2)_ All Fools' Day, while the French call it Poisson d'Avril, which means April Fish. On this day in France, school children _(3)_ tape fish to each other's backs hoping they don't get caught. It's _(4)_ whether the fish is a symbol of Jesus Christ, who wasrepresented as a fish in early times, or if it has to do with Pisces, the zodiac sign which is a fish and is close to April. The only thing _(5)_ really matters about April Fish is that kids get a kick out of it. 
　　The origins of April Fools' Day aren't _(6)_ clear either, but the most widely accepted theory centers around France's New Year's Day moving from the end of March to the beginning of January in the mid-1500s. Up until then, _(7)_ of New Year's Week ended on April 1. French ruler King Charles IX decided that France would _(8)_ the more modern Gregorian calendar at that time in 1564. The problem was that many people were unhappy about the switch and _(9)_ to follow the king's rule. Eventually, those people were thought of as _(10)_ and became the butt of jokes when they were invited to parties on April 1 that never happened.

(A) that　(B) observed　(C) unclear　(D) celebrations　(E) foolish
(F) perfectly　(G) refused　(H) as　(I) adopt　(J) with
(K) excitedly　(L) where
 
  1. Some other holidays like Christmas and Chinese New Year are observedso that families can get together and spend time with each other. 
    理由:
    a. 空格前有 be 動詞 are，得知空格應置形容詞或分詞。
    b. 選項中符合上述的有 (B) observed（慶祝）、
    (C) unclear（不清楚的）、(E) foolish（愚蠢的）
    及 (G) refused（拒絕），惟根據語意，(B) 項應為正選。
    c. observe vt. 慶祝（節日）
    Most Americans observe Thanksgiving by having a feast.
    大多數美國人會享用一頓大餐來慶祝感恩節。
  2. In some parts of the world, April Fools' Day is referred to as All Fools' Day, while the French call it Poisson d'Avril, which means April Fish.
    理由:
    a. 本題測試下列固定結構：
    be referred to as...　　被稱作……
    = be called...
    New York City is often referred to as the Big Apple.
    紐約市常被稱為大蘋果。
    b. 根據上述，(H) 項應為正選。
  3. On this day in France, school children excitedly tape fish to each other's backs hoping they don't get caught.
    理由:
    a. 空格前有主詞 school children（學童），空格後有及物動詞 tape（貼），得知空格應置副詞以修飾 tape。
    b. 選項中符合上述的有 (F) perfectly（完全地）及 (K) excitedly（興奮地），惟根據語意，(K) 項應為正選。
    c. excitedly adv. 興奮地
    Anna excitedly told her parents that she had won the debate.
    安娜興奮地告訴父母自己贏得了辯論比賽。
  4. It's unclear whether the fish is a symbol of Jesus Christ, who was represented as a fish in early times, or if it has to do with Pisces...
    理由:
    a. 空格前有 be 動詞 is，得知空格內應置形容詞或分詞。
    b. 選項中符合上述的有 (C) unclear（不清楚的）、
    (E) foolish（愚蠢的）及 (G) refused（拒絕），惟根據語意，(C) 項應為正選。
    c. unclear a. 不清楚的
    Mark is still unclear about where to go on his next vacation.
    馬克還是不太清楚他下次的假期要去哪裡。
  5. The only thing that really matters about April Fish is that kids get a kick out of it.
    理由:
    a. 空格前有名詞詞組 the only thing（唯一的事情），後方有主要動詞 is，得知空格應置關係代名詞以引導形容詞子句，並修飾先行詞 the only thing。
    b. 若形容詞子句的先行詞有包含 the only 時，一般都要和關係代名詞 that 搭配。
    Michelle is the only girl that I trust.
    蜜雪兒是我唯一信任的女孩。
    c. 根據上述，(A) 項應為正選。
  6. The origins of April Fools' Day aren't perfectly clear either, but the most wildly accepted theory centers around France's New Year's Day moving from the end of March to the beginning of January in the mid-1500s.
    理由:
    a. 空格前有 be 動詞 aren't，空格後有形容詞 clear
    （清楚的），得知空格應置副詞以修飾 clear。
    b. 選項中符合上述的僅剩 (F) perfectly（完全地），
    置入後亦符合語意，故為正選。 
    c. perfectly adv. 完全地，絕對地
    The prehistoric paintings in this cave have been perfectly preserved.
    這座洞穴裡的史前繪畫被完整地保存下來。
  7. Up until then, celebrations of New Year's Week ended on April 1.
    理由:
    a. 空格後方有動詞 ended（結束），得知空格應置名詞，與空格後的 of New Year's Week（新年週的）形成名詞詞組，並作 ended 的主詞。
    b. 選項中符合上述的僅有 (D) celebrations（慶祝活動），置入後亦符合語意，故為正選。
    c. celebration n. 慶祝（活動）
    The celebration commenced with a military parade.
    慶祝典禮以閱兵展開序幕。
  8. French ruler King Charles IX decided that France would adopt the more modern Gregorian calendar at that time in 1564.
    理由:
    a. 空格前有助動詞 would（要），空格後有作受詞
    的名詞詞組 the more modern Gregorian calendar（比較現代的陽曆），得知空格應置原形及物動詞。
    b. 選項中符合上述的僅有 (I) adopt（採用），置入後亦符合語意，故為正選。
    c. adopt vt. 採取；採用
    You should adopt an optimistic attitude toward life.
    你應該對人生採取樂觀的態度。
  9. The problem was that many people were unhappy about the switch andrefused to follow the king's rule.
    理由:
    a. 空格前有過去式 be 動詞 were 及對等連接詞 and，
    空格後有 to 引導的不定詞片語，得知空格應置過去式動詞。
    b. 選項中符合上述的僅剩 (G) refused（拒絕），置入後亦符合語意，故為正選。
    c. refuse vt. 拒絕
    refuse to V　　拒絕做……
    Samantha refuses to let her parents control everything she does.
    莎曼珊拒絕讓她的父母控制她所做的每件事。
  10. Eventually, those people were thought of as foolish and became the butt of jokes when they were invited to parties on April 1 that never happened.
    理由:
    a. 本題測試以下固定用法：
    be thought of as N/adj.　　被認為是……
    = be seen as N/adj.
    = be regarded as N/adj.
    Dr. Hyde is thought of as a leader in the field of medicine.
    海德醫生被視為醫學領域的龍頭。
    b. 根據上述，(E) 項應為正選。
  1. light-hearted a. 輕鬆愉快的
  2. mark vt. 標榜；標明
  3. get together　　聚在一起
  4. tape vt. 黏貼
  5. a zodiac sign　　星座
  6. be unhappy about...　　對……不滿意
  7. eventually adv. 最終
  1. occasion n. 場合，時機
    I heard Sharon swearing on a public occasion.
    我曾經在一個公開的場合聽到雪倫破口大罵。
  2. represent vt. 代表
    Penny was honored to represent her country at the World Chess Championships.
    佩妮很榮幸代表她的國家參加世界西洋棋冠軍賽。
  3. have to do with...　　與……有關
    The argument had to do with David's double standard.
    這場爭論和大衛的雙重標準有關。
  4. get a kick out of...　　從??中得到樂趣
    Most children can get a kick out of playing video games.
    大多數的孩子可以從打電動中得到樂趣。
  5. center around...　　以……為中心
    The plot of this movie centers around an unexpected romance.
    這部電影的情節以一個出人意料的愛情故事為中心。
  6. switch n. 轉換
    More and more customers are making the switch to organic food.
    愈來愈多消費者開始改買有機食品。
  7. be / become the butt of sth
    成為……的對象
    Jack was the butt of everyone's criticism because of his negative attitude toward everything.
    傑克由於對每件事情的態度都很消極而成了眾人批評的對象。

 

屬於傻瓜的一天
這是一年中慶祝這個輕鬆愉快假日的時刻。
　　每一年都會舉行節日來表彰特殊的時刻，像是戰爭勝利或是著名總統的生日。還有些節日是讓家人能夠團聚在一起度過，像是聖誕節和中國新年。然而，每年只有一個節日是用來慶祝愚蠢的行為，那就是愚人節。
　　在世界上的某些地方，愚人節被稱為『萬愚節』，而法國人則稱它為 Poisson d'Avril，意思是『4 月的魚』。在這一天，法國的學童都會很興奮地把魚貼在別人的背上而希望對方不會發現。這條魚到底是耶穌基督的象徵，因為在早期魚曾是耶穌的代表動物，或是和雙魚座有關，因為這個星座的標誌就是魚，且它的日期很接近 4 月（編按：星座的日期會因地區而有所不同），這並不清楚。唯一真正和 4 月的魚有關的就是孩子們從中得到很多樂趣。
　　愚人節的起源也不是非常清楚，但最普遍被接受的說法圍繞在法國新年在 16 世紀中期由 3 月底移到 1 月初。在那之前，新年週的慶祝活動都是在 4 月 1 日結束。法國的統治者查理九世在 1564 年決定法國要採用當時比較現代的陽曆。問題是許多人對這項轉變很不滿意，而且拒絕遵守國王的規定。最後，那些人被邀請去參加根本不存在的 4 月 1 日派對時被視為愚蠢，而且還成了眾人的笑柄。

答案：1. B　2. H　3. K　4. C　5. A　6. F　7. D　8. I　9. G　10.E

資料來源：常春藤電子報

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