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1、美联英语 提供：英语阅读：April Fools Day 愚人节两分钟做个小测试，看看你的英语水平http:/ popular in the U.S., the April Fools Day tradition is even more prevalent in European countries, such as France and Great Britain. Although the roots of the traditional tricking,event)trickings are unclear, the French and the British both have
2、claims on the origin of the celebration.愚人节的习俗在美国是很流行的，在欧洲国家如法国和英国 就更是如此了。虽然这种愚弄人习俗的起源不甚清楚，但 是法国人和英国人却都宣称这种庆祝活动是由他们开始的。One theory holds that the first April Fools Day was on April 1 of the year when King of France instituted the new calendar. This new system placed the day that had formerly been the
3、 first day of a new year on April 1. Many people were reluctant to adjust to the new calandar and continued to celebrate New Years Day on what had become the first day of April. Thus, they become the first April fools. Others began to give gag gifts on the day to mock the foolishness of those who co
4、ntinued to celebrate the new year on April 1.有一种说法认为，第一个愚人节始于法国国王设立新历法 那一年的 4 月 1 曰。这种新历法将以前新的一年的第一天定在 4 月 1 曰。很多人都不愿意按照新的历法行亊，还继续在根据 新的历法已经是 4 月的第一天庆祝新年，于是他们就成了第一 批愚人。另有一些人开始在这一天送戏弄人的礼物来取笑那些 继续在 4 月 1 日庆祝新年的人。An English story about the day, however, holds that it began sometime during the 1200s. At
5、 the time, King John of England was in the habit of making a road out of nearly every path he walked regularly. The citizens of one particular farm village were aware of this. To avoid having their green meadows and pastures disturbed with one of the kings roads, they built a fence that prevented th
6、e king from walking through their countryside. The king sent a group of messengers to inform the villagers that they must remove the barrier. Upon hearing that the king was planning to do this, however, the villagers developed a plan of their own. When the messengers arrived, they found what appeare
7、d to be a community of lunatics, with people behaving in a bizarre manner, throwing things and running around wildly. The messengers, alarmed at what they had found, reported to king John that these people were so mad as to be beyond punishment. So, the villagers saved their farmland by tricking,eve
8、nt)tricking the King. In Great Britain, tradition only allows April Fools tricks from midnight to noon on April 1. Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves.然而关于愚人节这一天，英国的一则故事却认为它始于 13 世纪的某一天。那时, 英格兰的约翰国王习惯于将他经常走的几乎每条小道都修成一条路。有一个乡村的居民觉察到了这一 点。为了保护他们绿油油的草地和牧场免受国王修路所造成的
9、 破坏，他们筑了一道篱笆来阻挡国王在他们的乡间穿行。国王 派遣了一队使者去通报村民们必须撤掉障碍。在听到国王正要 打算这么做时，村民们也想出了自己的办法。当使者到达的时 候，他们看到这里的人像一群疯子似的，举止古怪，乱扔东西，并 且四下疯跑。此情此景令使者们惊恐万分，后来赶紧向约翰国 王报告说，这些人疯疯癲癲的，根本没办法处置。村民们就这样 骗过了国王，保护了自己的农田。在英国，按习俗在 4 月 1 日这 天只允许从子夜到中午的这段时间搞恶作剧，到下午还这么 做的人自己就成了愚人了。If the past has taught us anything, it is that every cau
10、se brings effect - every action has a consequence. This thought, in my opinion, is the moral foundation of the universe; it applies equally in this world and the next.假如说过去的日子曾经教给我们一些什么的话，那就是有因 必有果 每一个行为都有一种结果。在我看来，这种想 法是全宇宙的道德基础；它不仅适用于今生，也适用于来世。We Chinese have a saying: If a man plants melons, he w
11、ill reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans. And this is true of every mans life: good begets good, and evil leads to evil.我们中国人有一句俗语说：“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。”而这就 是每个人生活的真实写照：善有善报，恶有恶报。True enough, the sun shines on the saint and sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked wax and prosper. Bu
12、t we can say with certitude that, with the individual as with the nation, the flourishing of the wicked is an illusion, for, unceasingly, life keeps books on us all.说实在话，圣人与罪人皆会受到阳光的披泽，而且常常似乎 是恶者大行其道。但是我们可以确信地说，不管是对个人或是 对国家而言，恶人猖獗只是一种幻象，因为生活无时无刻不在将 我们的所作所为像账本一样一笔一笔记录下来。In the end, we are all the sum
13、 total of our actions. Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment. Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurture for growth and development.最终，我们就是我们行为的
14、总和。品性是无法伪装的，也无 法像衣服一样随兴地穿上或脱下来丢在一旁。就像木头的纹路 发端于树木深邃的中心，品性的生长与发育也需要时间和滋养。Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny, for inexorably we become what we do. This, I believe, is the supreme logic and the law of life.也因此，我们曰复一日地写下我们自身的命运，因为我们的 所作所为毫不留情地决定着我们的命运。我坚信，这就是人生 的最高逻辑和法则。两分钟做个小测试，看看你的英语水平http:/
