《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》19 A Few Reasons to Hate April Fool's Day
时间：2018-12-30 作者：英语课 分类：英语流行话题阅读：语境识词4500
Unit 19
A Few Reasons to Hate April Fool's Day
April Fool's Day is an odd holiday, and not to everyone's liking 1. In fact, many people dislike it.
When I was growing up I was mostly indifferent to it. Celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving made perfect sense to me, and I eagerly anticipated them, principally because they involved food. April Fool's Day, on the other hand, was just a date on the calendar. If I thought about it at all, it conjured 2 up visions of fake vomit 3, and prank 4 phone calls, none of which I was particularly interested in since I was quite serious and gloomy as a child. It was only when I was older, after my early seriousness had collapsed 5 into a cynical 6 fascination 7 with the comedic aspects of life, that I acquired an interest in the traditions and history of April Fool's Day.
What I have learned about April Fool's Day, after much study, is that most people regard it with as much indifference 8 as I formerly 9 did. Of all the major holidays, it is arguably the least celebrated 10. Most people, if they show any awareness 11 of the day at all, do so only in a purposeless fashion. For instance, they might remark that "Oh, it's April Fool's Day," when they notice the date to be April 1st. Very few actually do anything to mark the occasion.
But enough people do celebrate it to keep the holiday alive and kicking. In fact, thanks to the Internet, more people probably celebrate April Fool's Day now than ever before. As someone once remarked, "On the Internet, every day is April Fool's Day," and this statement holds especially true when it actually is April Fool's Day on the Internet.
But I'm not really interested in those who love and celebrate the day, because enough ink is spilled on them every year. Instead, I'm interested in those who hate the day, those whose passive indifference towards the celebration has turned into active hatred 12 and who seek to remove April 1st altogether from the calendar.
I think it's true that to really know something, you need to know its enemies. And just as importantly, because April Fool's Day is all about the freedom to be vulgar, mischievous 13, deceptive 14, and offensive for one day of the year, it doesn't help to revise its lighthearted follies 15 that people fondly remember -- in order to get at the real inner meaning of the day. Instead we need to inquire into its bitter antagonisms 16. Into its heart of darkness, if you will. And so here is my list, by no means definitive 17, of a few good reasons to hate April Fool's Day.
- The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
- I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
- He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
- His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话，使得我的怒气顿消。
- They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
- She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。
- It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
- The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。
- Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
- The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
- The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
- He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
- He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
- His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
- I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
- He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
- We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
- This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
- He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
- The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
- There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
- Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
- He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
- The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
- He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
- A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。
- His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
- The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。
- He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
- The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。
- The fundamental antagonisms in such an arrangement were obvious. 在这样一种安排中，基本矛盾很明显。
- The antagonisms between the two empires and systems were mortal. 这两个帝国和两种制度之间，有着不共戴天的仇恨。
- This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
- No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。