fooling Around

　　Warning. Warning. Hoax zone ahead. Watch out for those tricksters...

　　If someone asks you to buy a can of striped paint, a bucket of steam, elbow grease or a left-handed hammer, check the date on your calendar.

　　It’s probably the 1st of April ?April Fool’s Day.

　　到处行骗

　　警告。警告。骗子的地盘儿就在前方。千万要小心那些江湖骗子……

　　如果有人让你买一罐条状油漆，一桶蒸气、重活，或是左撇子用的扳手，那可要好好看看日历了。

　　没准儿那天正好是4月1日——愚人节。

　　elbow grease: physical work or efforts. 重活；脏活

　　calendar: a list showing the days and months of the year. 日历

　　Grow Your Own Spaghetti

　　On April Fool’s Day in 1957, an English TV program showed Swiss farmers picking spaghetti from trees. Hundreds of people called the TV station and asked how to grow spaghetti trees. They were told to “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best”.

　　Because spaghetti was an exotic food in England at that time, many people didn’t know where it came from. They believed that it could grow on trees!

　　种你自己的意大利面

　　1957年的愚人节，一家英国电视台播放了瑞士的农夫从树上采摘意大利面的节目。成百的人给电视台打电话询问如何种植意大利面树。他们被告知“只要在一罐番茄酱里放上意大利面树枝，然后就祝自己好运吧。”

　　因为在那时的英国，意大利面还是种异域食品，很多人还不知道它是怎么来的。他们真以为意大利面是长在树上的！

　　spaghetti: a type of Italian noodle. 意大利式细面条

　　sprig: a small piece of a plant with its leaves. 树枝，枝叶

　　Would You Buy It?

　　On 1 April 1998, a company in America advertised a left-handed hamburger for left-handed burger eaters. The new hamburger was supposed to be heavier on the left so the fillings wouldn’t spill out on the right. Thousands of customers tried to order left-handed burgers.

　　Would you like to lose weight through your feet? On 1 April 2000, an English newspaper claimed you could —with Fatsox. Just sweat the fat into the socks, then wash the fat away. Was this for real? Fat chance!

　　你会买吗？

　　1998年4月1日，美国的一家公司在广告中宣传他们推出的专为左撇子食客提供的左撇子汉堡。据说这种新型汉堡的左边要比右边重些，这样汉堡里的馅就不会洒向右边。成千的人们想要订购这种左撇子汉堡。

　　你会喜欢用你的脚来减肥吗？2000年4月1日，一家英国报纸声称只要使用“肥袜子”，你就可以办得到。你只需把脂肪榨进袜子里，然后再洗去袜子里的脂肪就行了。这难道是真的吗？真不敢奢望!

　　advertise: make public announcement of the qualities or advantages of a product. 做广告

　　Pulling Your Leg

　　We often believe things we read, especially things that sound scientific. On 1 April 1976, astronomer Patrick Moore announced that Pluto would pass behind Jupiter. He said that this would lessen the gravity on Earth. If people jumped in the air at the exact moment the planets were in line, they would be able to float—just like astronauts in space. Some people said they had floated up to the ceiling!

　　“逗你玩儿”

　　我们通常对所读到的东西会信以为真，对那些听起来很科学的内容尤为如此。1976年4月1日，宇航员派特里克·摩尔宣布冥王星将运行到木星的后面，这样将减少地球引力。据说在九大行星运行成一线时，如果你在那一刻向上跳起，你就会像宇航员在太空中那样在天上飘浮。有些人甚至说他们还可以飘到天花板上呢!

　　astronomer: a scientist who studies stars and planets and other things in space. 天文学家

　　gravity: the force of attraction between two objects such as the Earth and a person. 地球引力；重力

　　Hot off the Press

　　Here’s another scientific hoax. On 1 April 1995, a magazine announced that a Dr Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new creature in the Antarctic ?the hotheaded naked ice borer.

　　The magazine went on to report that scientists had called the animal a hotheaded ice borer because it had a hot bone in its forehead. This strange animal used the hot bone to melt the ice around penguins. When a penguin sank into the slush, the ice borers attacked it, and ate it.

　　烧热了的媒体

　　这又是一个“科学”骗局。1995年4月1日，一家杂志宣布阿普瑞勒·帕措（可意译成“四月的迷惑”）博士在南极发现了一种全新的生物——“热头无毛冰钻蛀虫”。

　　该杂志接着报道说，科学家们将这种动物叫做“热头无毛冰钻蛀虫”，是因为它的额头里有一根“热骨”。这种奇特的动物会用它的热骨来融化企鹅周围的冰雪。当企鹅陷入冰雪的泥沼里，冰钻蛀虫就会攻击它，然后吃了它。

　　borer: an insect that bores into the woody parts of plants. 蛀虫

　　penguin: a large black and white bird found especially in Antarctic. 企鹅

　　slush: soft mud. 软泥