Happy April Fools’ Day!

April Fools’ Day is on the first of April. People like joking on this day. There are jokes on radio and TV as well.

Level A2

Read the text about April Fools’ Day jokes on radio and television.

Welcome to ‘The Way the World Is” – a programme where we look at how different people live around the world. Today’s show is unbelievable – it’s all about April Fools’ Day.

April 1st is a special day in many countries. It’s a day when people play jokes on each other, trying to get them to believe in something that’s not true. The tradition of April 1st jokes goes back 2,000 years, to the time of the Romans. Television channels and newspapers play some of the best jokes. In England, the BBC showed a television programme about how to grow spaghetti on trees. Thousands of people rang the BBC to ask where to buy pasta trees. In America, Burger King advertised burgers for left-handed people. They said it would make the burger easier to hold. The next morning, there were lots of people outside Burger King restaurants, looking forward to having an easy meal, but they only got a normal burger like always.

One of the best April Fools’ jokes happened in Sweden in the 1960s, when most people had television that only showed black-and-white pictures. All Swedish people had to do was to put a very large sock over their television and they would see pictures in colour. Amazingly, many people believed it. Swedish people today still rmember the time when their parents tried to find very large socks.

Say whether the statements are true or false.

1. The radio programme is called April Fools’ Day.
2. The tradition of April Fools’ jokes is more than 1,000 years old.
3. The BBC showed a programme on April 1st about how to grow pasta.
4. Burger King made a special burger for April Fools’ Day.
5. A famous April Fools’ joke happened in Sweden in the last century.
6. On April 1st, Swedish people looked for very large socks for their children.

Speak about April Fools’ Day jokes.