Leave your books at school, put down your pens and pencils at 3:30 pm! A new law(法律) has banned(禁止) homework for Australian students. The new rule starts on April 1, 2022.

Wait a minute, is there something familiar(熟悉的) about the day? Yes, it’s April Fools’ Day. This is just one of the many pranks(恶作剧) that will be played in schools, homes, businesses this April Fools’ Day.   ▲  

There are many different stories about April Fools’ Day. Some people think it started in France in 1564. The New Year started at Easter(复活节) at that time. And Easter is often in April. Then the king made January 1 the New Year’s Day. But some people didn’t listen to the king. They clung to the old ways. These people were called “April Fools”.  

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）

1.What prank does this text use to tell us the topic(话题)?

A Australian students.

B Books and pens.

C A new law.

D Easter.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第一段可知，文章用了“澳大利亚禁止家庭作业的新法律”这一恶作剧引入话题，故选C。

2.What can be put in ▲ ?

A What do we do on April Fool’s Day?

B Who are called “April Fools”?

C So how do we play pranks?

D So how did April Fool’s Day begin?

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据第二段中句子所在上下文可知，上文引出愚人节的话题，下文是对愚人节起源之一的介绍，选项D最符合文意。故选D。

3.When did the New Year start in 1564 in France?

A In August.

B In January.

C In June.

D In April.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据第三段“Some people think it started in France in 1564. The New Year started at Easter(复活节) at that time. And Easter is often in April.”1564年的法国，新年从复活节开始，而复活节是在四月，故那时的新年是在四月。故选D。

4.What does the underlined part “clung to the old ways” mean?

A They did not like the old sayings.

B They wanted to start Easter on January 1.

C They thought what the king said was right.

D They thought New Year started at Easter.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据最后一段“Then the king made January 1 the New Year’s Day. But some people didn’t listen to the king.”可知国王把1月1日定为新年，但这些人不听国王的话，也就是他们仍然认为新年从复活节开始。故选D。

5.What does the text mainly talk about?

A April Fools’ Day.

B Homework banning.

C Australian laws.

D Easter.

解析：选A。A主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，文章以一个恶作剧开始，引入话题“愚人节”，接着讨论愚人节的起源，由此可知本文主要围绕“愚人节”这个话题展开。故选A。