The first of April / is commonly known as April Fools Day / and it’s acustom on this day / to play a trick on a friend. / You do this/ by causingyour friend to believe something/ that isn’t true. / If your friend falls intothe trap, / then he or she is an April fool. / This strange custom has been observed/ by both children and adults for centuries. / Its origin is uncertain / andmay once have been cruel. / But today the tricks and practical jokes areharmless/ and played mostly for fun. / Usually April jokes are played onfriends and colleagues/ but sometimes they are played on a wider scale. / One seriousnational newspaper / reported on a new machine/ to transport passengers fromLondon to Australia in ten minutes. / Another published a four-page survey / ofa nonexistent island in the Pacific. / And even on BBC television news/ therewas an item / which showed a kind of an Italian noodle/ being harvested fromtrees.