Simple Past / Past Perfect
Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses,
Simple Past / Present Perfect / Past Perfect
Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses
Oral and Reading Comprehension: - April Fool's Day
April Fools Day
by Claire Powell and Dave Collett
What is April Fools Day and what are its origins? It is commonly believed that in medieval France, New Year was celebrated on 1 April. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, changing New Year to 1 January. With no modern communications, news travelled slowly and new ideas were often questioned. Many people did not hear of the change, others chose to ignore it, while some merely forgot. These people were called fools. Invitations to non-existent ‘New Year’ parties were sent and other practical jokes were played. This jesting evolved over time into a tradition of playing pranks on 1 April. The custom eventually spread to England and Scotland, and it was later transported across the Atlantic to the American colonies of the English and the French. April Fools Day has now developed into an international festival of fun, with different nationalities celebrating the day in a special ways.
In France and Italy, if someone plays a trick on you, you are the ‘fish of April’. By the month of April fish have only just hatched and are therefore easy to catch. Children stick paper fish to their friends’ backs and chocolate fish are found in the shops.
In Scotland, April Fools Day lasts for two days! The second day is called ‘Taily Day’ and tricks on this day involve the bottom (or the ‘tail’ in informal speech). Often a sign saying ‘kick me’ is stuck onto someone’s back without them knowing.
In Spain and Mexico, similar celebrations take place on 28 December. The day is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by Herod in his search for the baby Jesus. It eventually changed to a lighter commemoration of innocence involving pranks and trickery.
Today, Americans and the British play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on 1 April. A common trick is to point to a friend's shoe and say ‘Your shoelace is untied.’ When they look down, they are laughed at. Schoolchildren might tell a friend that school has been cancelled. A bag of flour might be balanced on the top of a door so that when the ‘victim’ opens the door, the flour empties over their head. Sometimes the media get involved. Once, a British short film was shown on April Fools Day about spaghetti farmers and how they harvest their crop from spaghetti trees!
Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and not meant to harm anyone. The best trick is the one where everyone laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke has been played.
April Fool’s Day, 1989
UFO Lands Near London
Two British policemen were sent to investigate a glowing flying saucer on 31 March, the day before April Fool’s Day. When the policemen arrived at a field in Surrey, they saw a small figure wearing a silver space suit walking out of a spacecraft. Immediately the police ran off in the opposite direction. Reports revealed that the alien was in fact a midget, and the flying saucer was a hot air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records.
Branson had planned to land the balloon in London’s Hyde Park on 1 April. However, a wind change had brought him down in a Surrey field. The police were bombarded with phone calls from terrified motorists as the balloon drifted over the motorway. One lady was so shocked by the incident that she didn’t realise that she was standing naked in front of her window as she was describing the UFO to a radio station
Answer the following questions:
- What was originally celebrated on April 1st?
- The first April fools were called 'fools' because ...
- Where will you find a chocolate 'fish of April'?
- What do people stick on their friends' backs on April Fools day in Scotland?
- What common trick do British and Americans play on people? What about you, do you have a favorite one you play on friends?
- The best type of April Fools joke is one where ...
- What did two policeman see the day before April fool's day?
- Why were the policeman and motorists frightened?
Comparative and Superlatives Adjectives
Fill in the gaps with the comparative form of the adjectives given.
1. A rock is than a leaf. (heavy)
2. Our house is than yours. (big)
3. The princess is than the witch. (beautiful)
4. Tom is a student than Mary. (good)
5. Bicycles are than motorbikes. (safe)
6. July is than January. (hot)
7. A lion is than a cat. (dangerous)
8. Helen is than Mary. (happy)
9. Computers are than telephones. (expensive)
10. I think golf is than football. (boring)
Fill in the gaps with the superlative form of the adjectives given.
1. It is the shop in town. (large)
2. Monday is the day of the week. (bad)
3. Ben was the person in his family. (noisy)
4. Sam is the in the class. (popular)
5. Which is the subject at school? (difficult)
6. Jim is the player in the football team. (good)
7. Elephants are the animals. (heavy)
8. Let's pick the apple of the tree. (big)
9. Mary is the girl in the class. (thin)
10. That is the sofa in our house. (comfortable)
Fill in the gaps with the comparative or the superlative form of the adjectives given.
1. This armchair is than the old one. (comfortable)
2. Trains are than aeroplanes. (slow)
3. I bought the souvenir I could afford. (expensive)
4. In this classroom there are girls than boys. (many)
5. Ann is the child in the family. (young)
6. That TV set is the of all. (cheap)
7. You are here than there. (safe)
8. Fifi is than Kate. (pretty)
9. This is the film i have ever seen. (exciting)
10. Tim is than Peter. (talented)
Conditional - Use of Would
| Modal Use | Positive Forms 1. = Present 2. = Past 3. = Future | Negative Forms 1. = Present 2. = Past 3. = Future | |
| would conditional | 1. If I were president, I would cut the cost of education. 2. If I had been president, I would have cut the cost of education. 3. If I were elected president next year, I would cut the cost of education. | 1. If I were president, I would not raise taxes. 2. If I had been president, I would not have raised taxes. 3. If I were president, I would not sign the tax increase next week. |
Exercises:
