Fool's Day a serious joke in Europe
歐洲媒體愚人節(jié)假新聞大PK
[ 2006-04-07 08:38 ]
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Britain's Daily Mail reported that British Prime
Minister Tony Blair repainted the traditionally black front door of
his Downing Street office "socialist red" to match his Labour party
colors. |
When it comes to April Fool's Day, Europe's media are having the last
laugh. Britain's Daily Mail reported that British Prime Minister Tony
Blair repainted the traditionally black front door of his Downing Street
office "socialist red" to match his Labour party
colors. The Times ran a story about a new song-activated credit
card security system called "Chip 'n' Sing."
Neither is true of
course, but two centuries after the tradition began, media outlets still
try to dupe the gullible in an unofficial yearly competition.
Some say April Fool's Day started with the creation of the Gregorian
calendar in the 16th century, which changed the starting date of the new
year from April 1 - or April Fool's Day - to Jan. 1; others point to Indian and Roman festivals that celebrated
tomfoolery.
Another theory dates back to the 17th century, when British villagers
would strap an effigy of the town's fool to a horse and parade it through
the village.
Some of the day's better efforts this year:
The Rome daily Il Messagger reported that a new group in the city of
Aquil had persuaded officials to cover up monuments in the main square by
dressing the naked men and women with clothes of bronze.
Sweden's daily Dagens Nyheter scared thousands of bicyclists by
claiming that Stockholm's city government would impose speed limits of 12
mph on bikes in the inner city.
The Moscow daily Moskovsky Komsomolets turned the day into a contest,
offering free subscriptions to callers who identified false stories. Its
gag stories included a secret research institute where Kremlin candidates
to succeed President Vladimir Putin undergo scientific testing, and plans
for a parliament building where lawmakers' offices would boast a bar, a
balcony and a Jacuzzi
.
(Agencies) |
說起愚人節(jié)，歐洲媒體堪稱這一天“整人大賽”的最后贏家。英國(guó)《每日郵報(bào)》報(bào)道，英國(guó)首相托尼·布萊爾將唐寧街首相府的傳統(tǒng)黑色大門刷成了“社會(huì)主義紅”，以配合工黨的象征色。《泰晤士報(bào)》則報(bào)道，一種名為“芯片與歌唱”（Chip
'n' Sing）的新型信用卡安全系統(tǒng)問世，使用者要唱歌才能啟動(dòng)該系統(tǒng)。
毫無疑問，以上兩條報(bào)道都是假的。歐洲媒體在愚人節(jié)這天開玩笑的傳統(tǒng)，已經(jīng)延續(xù)了二百年之久，各家媒體在這場(chǎng)年度非正式競(jìng)賽中“大顯身手”，專整那些容易上當(dāng)受騙的人。
有些人說，愚人節(jié)始于16世紀(jì)格里歷（即目前通用的公歷）誕生的時(shí)候。格里歷將新年的第一天由4月1日（愚人節(jié)）改成了1月1日；有的人則認(rèn)為，愚人節(jié)起源于印度和羅馬“慶祝滑稽行為”的節(jié)日。
還有一種說法認(rèn)為愚人節(jié)要追溯到17世紀(jì)，當(dāng)時(shí)英國(guó)的村民們將鎮(zhèn)上傻子的模擬像綁在一匹馬的身上，然后在全村游行。
本年度愚人節(jié)精彩假新聞集錦：
羅馬《每日信息報(bào)》稱，阿基爾市的一個(gè)新團(tuán)體已經(jīng)說服了該市官員，給市中心廣場(chǎng)上的裸體男女雕像穿上銅制衣服。
瑞典《每日新聞報(bào)》報(bào)道，斯德哥爾摩市政府規(guī)定腳踏車在城內(nèi)限速每小時(shí)12英里，這著實(shí)把許多騎自行車的人嚇了一跳。
莫斯科日?qǐng)?bào)Moskovsky
Komsomolets則在這一天搞起了“打假”競(jìng)賽，識(shí)破假新聞的讀者打電話過來便可免費(fèi)訂閱該報(bào)紙。其中的假新聞包括，俄羅斯建立了一個(gè)秘密研究機(jī)構(gòu)，有望接替普京、入主克里姆林宮的候選人都要在此接受科學(xué)測(cè)試；議會(huì)大廈將要改建，議員辦公室里將會(huì)有酒吧、陽(yáng)臺(tái)和水流按摩浴缸。
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站編譯)
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| Vocabulary: |
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Labour party colors :
工黨紅色（英國(guó)的三個(gè)主要黨派都有各自的代表顏色，工黨是紅色， 保守黨是藍(lán)色，而自由民主黨則是黃色。）
dupe
: to decieve an unaware person
（欺騙<易上當(dāng)之人>）
gullible :
容易受騙的人
Indian and Roman festivals :
古羅馬曾有3月25日的嬉樂節(jié)，印度有3月末的歡悅節(jié)
Jacuzzi :
水流按摩浴缸
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