Archie： Alright， something funky is going on around here.

Veronica： Why？ Whats up？

Archie： Ive been seeing all sorts of strange headlines in the news， and people walking around with weird drawings on their faces or paper stuck to their backs. I dont get it.

Veronica： Hold on. Do you mean to tell me that you dont know what day today is？

Archie： Beats me. Is it a leap year？

Veronica： Actually， the president just announced that there will be no more leap years anymore， so anyone born on February 29th will no longer have a birthday to celebrate.

Archie： Really？ Why would he do that？

Veronica： And the Websters people decided to take the word“gullible” out of the dictionary.

Archie： What？ That makes no sense. Why is everyone—

Veronica： April Fools！！

Archie： Huh？

Veronica： You really are slow to catch on， arent you？

Archie： Whats an April Fool？ Am I one？

Veronica： For the moment， you are.

Archie： ①So everyone in the world has free rein to go nuts and spread anarchy today？

Veronica： Not exactly. Though the results can be a bit anachronistic， Ill give ya that.

Archie： So？ ②Spill it. Whats all this tomfoolery about？

Veronica： Tomfoolery？ I think that word was probably used on the original April Fools Day.

Archie： ③Will you stop ragging on me and just explain the day to me already？

Veronica： Alright. No need to get fussy. There are conflicting stories as to when it originated， but the earliest connection between April 1st and foolishness can be found in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales （1392）.

Archie： Oh， I remember reading that in school. And I remember using that textbook as a pillow more often than not.

Veronica： Thats nice. So， do you want me to finish the story？ Or…

Archie： Alright， alright. Go on.

Veronica： Thank you. As I was saying， though Chaucer did mention something about it， the custom of setting aside a day to play harmless pranks on ones neighbor is actually recognized across the globe. From the Roman festival of Hilaria to the Holi festival of India and the Medieval Feast of Fools， tricking your friends and family， and even strangers， has become a time-honored， international tradition.

Archie： So， basically， what youre saying is that I should get into the spirit of things， and start fooling some innocent bystanders. Is that it？

Veronica： Or you could go around being the victim of other peoples pranks.

Archie： Ah…I see your point.

阿奇：没错，这里一带弥漫着古怪的气氛。

维罗妮卡：为什么？发生什么了？

阿奇：我看到新闻里各种各样奇怪的头条，而人们游荡着，脸上画着怪异的图案或背后贴着纸条。我搞不懂。

维罗妮卡：等等。你是要告诉我你不知道今天是什么日子吗？

阿奇：我不知道。今年是闰年吗？

维罗妮卡：事实上，总统刚刚宣布将不会再有闰年了，所以在2月29日出生的任何人都无法庆祝生日。

阿奇：真的吗？他为什么要这样做？

维罗妮卡：而《韦氏词典》的编辑决定把“gullible（易受骗的）”这个词从字典中删除。

阿奇：什么？太没道理了。为什么每个人都……

维罗妮卡：愚人节快乐！

阿奇：哈？

维罗妮卡：你真是反应迟钝，不是吗？

阿奇：什么是愚人节？是我被愚到了吗？

维罗妮卡：这一刻，是你。

阿奇：那全世界的人今天都可以随心所欲尽情疯玩，任凭混乱状态蔓延吗？

维罗妮卡：不完全是。尽管愚人节由来已久，我还是跟你说说。

阿奇：然后呢？快说吧。所有这些无聊玩意是怎么来的？

维罗妮卡：无聊玩意？我想这个词可能就是用在最初的愚人节上的。

阿奇：你能不能别开我玩笑，还是给我解释一下那个日子吧？

维罗妮卡：好吧，稍安勿躁。说到它的起源有几种相互矛盾的说法，然而4月1日与愚弄别人的行为之间的最早联系是在乔叟1392年的著作《坎特伯雷故事集》里发现的。

阿奇：噢，我记得在学校看过那本书，而且我记得那本教科书大多时候是被当作枕头使用。

维罗妮卡：那太好了。那么，你是想要我讲完这个故事？还是……

阿奇：好吧，好吧，继续。

维罗妮卡：谢谢你。正如我刚刚说道，尽管乔叟有提及过相关信息，但是留存一天对自己的邻居玩一些无伤大雅的恶作剧确实成为了全球公认的习俗。从古罗马的嬉乐节到印度的色彩节和中世纪的愚人节，捉弄你的朋友和家人，甚至陌生人，变成了历史悠久的国际性传统。

阿奇：所以，基本上，你所说的就是我应该贯彻这种精神，开始捉弄一些无辜的旁观者。是这样吗？

维罗妮卡：或者你可以到处走走，成为别人恶作剧的受害者。

阿奇：啊……我明白你的意思。

Smart Sentences

① So everyone in the world has free rein to go nuts and spread anarchy today？ 那全世界的人今天都可以随心所欲尽情疯玩，任凭混乱状态蔓延吗？

free rein to do sth.： do whatever one pleases（随心所欲）。例如：

Tammy thinks she has free rein to play video games as late as she wants when her parents are away.

塔米的父母不在家时，她觉得自己玩电子游戏到多晚都可以。

go nuts： go crazy， go mad（发疯）。例如：

When the impossible goal was announced， the whole group went nuts.這个不可能实现的目标一公布，整个小组都疯了。

② Spill it. 快说吧。

spill it： used to urge the other person to say what he/she intends to say（催促对方说想说的话）。例如：

—I just saw the list for the new branch office and I think it will be quite a shock for some.

我刚才看到新分部的人员名单了，我觉得有些人可能会大吃一惊的。

—Come on. Spill it. Youre killing us.

拜托，快说，我们都快疯掉了。

③ Will you stop ragging on me and just explain the day to me already？ 你能不能别开我玩笑，还是给我解释一下那个日子吧？

rag on sb.： make fun of sb.（开某人的玩笑）。例如：

Why did you guys rag on Wendy all day？ She just made a tiny mistake.

你们为什么整天都拿温迪开玩笑呢？她也只犯了个小错。