Prereading Before you read discuss what people usually
Pre-reading
Before you read, discuss what people usually do on April Fool’s day. Do you know any of the funny tricks people play on each other?
April Fool’s day is a day when people play jokes on each other. On this day you will often see strange and interesting finds, scientific results or astronomical findings that are put there to mislead the public.
The newspaper feels happy if a large number of people believe what is written. Sometimes particularly good stories get into the evening news on BBC.
Now read the passage on page 59 about the “Noodle harvest” which is remembered as one of the Best April Fool’s jokes ever!
Read the passage and fill in the chart below. Name of the programme Its usual content The particular content on April 1 st, 1957 People’s reactions
Name of the programme Panorama Its usual content Examination of serious problems and progress all over the world
The particular Story about the content on April 1 st, excellent noodle 1957 harvest in Switzerland People’s reactions Thay believed it and even ring the BBC to find out how to grow a noodle tree!
Answer the following questions. 1. What do children usually do on April Fool’s Day? Children enjoy playing jokes on each other. When they “fool” someone they say “April Fool” to them. The most common kind of joke is to say something like “Your dress is hanging down at the back”. When you turn round they say “April Fool”.
2. Why did people believe the programme Panorama? People believed the programme Panorama because it was always serious and known for its factual correctness.
3. Do you think the advice that the BBC gave people who asked how to grow noodle trees was serous? Give a reason. The advice the BBC gave to people wanting to grow their own noodle tree could not be serious as no tree could be grown in this way.
4. What would you do to find out whether a story like this was true? If I was not sure if a story was true or not, I would go to the library to check the facts in an encyclopedia or go on the Internet.
Homework Finish the project on page 61.
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