【正文】 most famous jokes i n Engl and took pl ace on Bri ti sh tel evi sion i n 1957. It was a Monday ni ght when there were al ways m any seri ous program m es on the tel evisi on. O ne of them was cal l ed Panoram a, thi s show expl ored probl em s and progress al l over the worl d, so nobody was surprised when it began wi th a report on the excel ent noodl e harvest i n the south Swi tzerl and. The programm e m enti oned two reasons for the good crop: an unusual l y warm wi nter and the di sapearance of the i nsect that attacked the nodl e crop every year. The reporter showed m any noodle trees wi th the farm ers pul ing nodl es off them and putti ng them into baskets. The peopl e watching were tol d that they m ay not have heard of noodl es from thi s part of the worl d because noodl es were grown as part of sm al fami ly busi neses. The programm e m akers m akers reali zed that peopl e m ight wonder why noodl es were al ways the sam e si ze so that they expl ai ned that “it was the resul t of m any years’ patient research with the tree to produce noodl es of exactl y the sam e length. ” But even so they expl ained, the life of a nodl e farm er was not easy. “The l ast two weks of March are an anxi ous tim e for noodl e farm ers. There i s al ways a chance of very col d weather spoi li ng thei r crop. Then it is difficult for them to get top prices on the m arkets.” Many peopl e i n England bel ieved thi s story. They rang the BBC to fi nd out hoe to grow thei r own noodl e tree. They were tol d to “pl ace a piece of noodl e in a tin of tom ato sauce and hope for the best. ” This m ay seem very sil y, but in the 1950s very few British peopl e travel l ed aboard for their holidays and even fewer of them ate nodl es. So i t seem ed posi bl e to i magi ne that nodl es grew on tree li ke appl es, pears and nuts. Peopl e al so trusted the Panoram a programm e for i ts careful research and seri ous i nform ati on. So they were shocked to find the next day that they had al beli eved an April Fool’s joke. Even today the report of the noodl e harvest is rem em bered as one of the best April Fool’s jokes ever! Unit 4 Com municati on: No Problem ? Yesterday, another student and I, representing our university’s student association, went to the Capital International Airport to m eet this year’s international students. They were ing to study at Beijing Universi ty. We shoul d take them fi rst to thei r dorm i tori es and then to the student cantee. After an hour of wai ti ng for their fl ight to ari ve, I saw several young peopl e enter the wai ti ng area l oki ng around curi ousl y. I stood for a m i nute watchi ng them and then went to greet them. The fi rst person to arri ve was Tony Garci a from Col um bi a, closel y fol lowed by Juli a Smi th from Bri tai n. After I m et them and then i ntroduced them to each other, I was very surpri sed. Tony approached Jul i a, touched her shoul der and ki ssed her on the cheek! She stepped back appeari ng surprised and put up her hands, as i f i n defence. I guesed that there was probably a major mi sunderstandi ng. Then Akira N agata from Japan cam e i n sm il i ng, together with Gee Cook from Canada. As they were i ntroduced, Gee reached hi s hand out to the Japanese student. Just at that m om ent, however, Aki ra bowed so hi s nose touched Gee’s moving hand. They both apol ogized another cul tural mi stake! Ahm ed Azi z, another i nternati onal student, was from Jordan. When we m et yesterday, he m oved very cl ose to m e as I i ntroduced m ysel f. I m oved back a bi t, but he cam e cl oser to ask a questi on and then shook m y hand. When Darl ene Coul on from France cam e dashi ng through the door, she recogni zed Tony Garci a39。sti ck. Thi s character was a soci al fai l ure but was loved for hi s opti mi sm and determi nati on to over e al l di fi cul ti es. H e was the underdog who was ki nd even when others were unki nd to hi m. H ow di d the li ttl e tram p m ake a sad si tuation entertai ni ng? H ere i s an exam pl e from one of his m ost fam ous film s, The Gol d Rush. It is the m i dni eenth century and gol d has just been di scovered i n Cal i forni a. Li ke so many others, the l i tl e tram p and hi s fri end have rushed there in search of gol d, but without success. Instead they are hi ding i n a sm al l hut on the edge of a m ountai n duri ng a snowstorm wi th nothi ng to eat. They are so hungry that they try boi li ng a pai r of l eather shoes for thei r di nner. Charl i e first pi cks out the l aces and eats them as i f they were spaghetti . Then he cuts off the l eather top of the shoes as i f i t were the fi nest steak. Fi nal ly he tri es cutti ng and chewi ng the bottom of the shoe. H e eats each m outhful wi th great enjoym ent. The acti ng is so convi nci ng that it m akes you beli eve that it i s one of the best m eals he has ever tasted! Charl i e Chapl i n wrote, di rected and produced the fi lm s the starred i n. In 1972 he was gi ven a speci al O scar for hi s outstandi ng work i n film s. H e l ived i n Engl and and the USA but spend hi s l ast years i n Swi tzerl and, where he was buri ed i n 1977. H e is l oved and rem em bered as a great actor who coul d i nspi re people with great confi dence. AN APRI L FOOL’ S JOKE: THE NOODLE HARVEST April Fool’s day, or April 1st, i s known i n many countri es as a day for pl aying jokes on others. It i s usual y a tim e when chi l dren m ake fun of each other, but som eti mes other peopl e can get caught i n the fun to. O ne of the most famous jokes i n Engl and took pl ace on Bri ti sh tel evi sion i n 1957. It was a Monday ni ght when there were al ways m any seri ous program m es on the tel evisi on. O ne of them was cal l ed Panoram a, thi s show expl ored probl em s and progress al l over the worl d, so nobody was surprised when it began wi th a report on the excel ent noodl e harvest i n the south Swi tzerl