April Fool’s Day

Date: April 1st

Focus: new vocabulary and cultural knowledge

Level: upper-intermediate

Time: 90 minutes

Keys:

Readinga) The temperature in winter was very mild and the beetles, which destroy

spaghetti crops, were eliminated.b) They should have placed a stem of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce, and that’s

it.c) Because in 1962 the only TV channel in Sweden broadcast in black and white.d) To pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen.e) This Mexican-style restaurant chain announced it had bought the Liberty Bell

and was renaming it to Taco Liberty Bell.f) They phoned the National Historic Park to express their anger and they calmed

down when the company revealed that it was a practical joke.g) The ingredients were rotated 180 degrees to the benefit of the left-handed

customers.h) Because of an astronomical event, the planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter

and this could cause a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth’s gravity.

i) Yes, they offered strawberries.j) They advised them to check the date before their money was taken dishonestly.

Listening a) Her flatmate changed her clock so she ended up getting up a whole hour earlier

than she needed to.b) She’ll get her back next year.c) Now we all expect that there’s going to be one and often we’ll see a story and

we think it’s a hoax when actually it’s true.d) A newspaper article saying that Elvis Presley has been seen walking down the

streets of London, when in fact he's been dead for many years.e) Spaghetti trees and broadcasting smells through the airwavesf) No, just only midday.

a) 4b) 2c) 5

d) 7e) 6f) 1

g) 3

WWARMARM--UPUP ACTIVITIESACTIVITIES

1. Work in pairs (A and B). A is going to have a picture, and B a blank piece of paper. You will be given a fixed time so that A will describe the picture to B, who must draw it. At the end, the whole class will vote on most accurate picture.

2. What do you think is the topic of the lesson? Pay attention to the Power Point presentation and afterwards discuss with your partner the cultural differences between Spain and Great Britain or the USA regarding this day.

RREADINGEADING

The Top April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All TimeThe Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Many viewers were taken in and called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

Instant Color TV

1962: In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen. He proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

The Taco Liberty Bell

1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke.

The Left-Handed Whopper

1998: Burger King published an advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper, but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity

1976: A British astronomer announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. He told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls, one woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.

Pinanas

2009: British supermarket chain Waitrose placed ads in newspapers announcing the availability of a new fruit, the pinana (a combination of pineapple and banana). The text of the ad read: Pinanas. Fresh in today and exclusive to Waitrose. If you find that all Waitrose pinanas have sold out, don't worry, there's 50% off our essential Waitrose strawberries."

Tartan Sheep

2009: The London Times ran a photo of "tartan sheep" said to have been bred by Grant Bell of West Barns. However, the Times warned, "Before you complain of being fleeced, check out the baa-code for today's date."

3. Answer the following questions.a) Which situations were sorted out so that Swiss farmers could grow

spaghetti trees?b) What should the viewers have done to grow their spaghetti trees?c) Why were the Swedish TV viewers so interested in converting their TV

sets to display color reception?d) What did the technical expert advise the Swedish to do?e) What did Taco Bell do with the symbol of independence described as an

icon of liberty and justice? f) How did the Americans react to Taco Bell’s announcement? g) Which was the special feature of the new Whopper?h) How was it possible that the listeners were able to experience a floating

sensation in their homes?

i) Did Waitrose offer an alternative in case they had run out of the combination of pineapple and banana?

j) What advise did the Times give to their readers with the picture of “tartan sheep”?

LLISTENINGISTENING

4. You are going to listen to a radio programme on the topic of April Fool’s Day. Answer the following questions and match the words with the definitions.

a) What kind of joke did Jackie’s flatmate play on her?

b) What will Jackie do to her friend next year?

c) What is the problem that people can have with media hoaxes?

d) Jackie pointed out an example of a spoof story, which is it?

e) The BBC had taken in the public by many practical jokes, which two are pointed out in this programme?

f) Do jokes last all day in England?

5. Match the words with the definitions.a) Practical joke 1. someone who plays tricks or pranks on someone

else. b) Hoax 2. many people are deceived into thinking something falsec) Spoof story 3. people in charge of the media play a trick on the audienced) Taken in by 4. a type of joke which is played as someone else’s expensee) Gullible 5. a story that’s not true but presented as though it were truef) Prankster 6. someone who believes things easilyg) Media hoax 7. believe something that isn’t true

FFINALINAL ACTIVITYACTIVITY

6. In groups think on examples of practical jokes or media hoaxes which came up in Spain. Afterwards put them in common.