Designed by Bartosz Michałowski for Pearson Longman

Adapted from the The Museum of Hoaxes (

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/

)

Definitions from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

PHOTOCOPIABLE

D

0. The article explained the origin of the
bill. According to some politicians, being
drunk on the ‘Information Highway’ was
similar to being drunk on any other
highway. Congress received so many phone
calls from outraged Americans that one
senator had to release an official denial of
the rumour. The name of the person
responsible for this project (April Fools
read backwards) and the number of the bill
(the date—April, 1

st

) were invented.

A. This joke was aimed at Pepsi, which had
recently introduced the well-known and still
used blue labels.

B. After this message was published,
hundreds of people called her record
company to inquire about her age.

C. Hundreds of people who wanted to see it
gathered on the coast at Beachy Head.
There were so many of them that the cliff
started to crack. A few days later the cliff
collapsed into the sea.

D. It was a new version of an old joke about
telephones. Previously, customers had been
warned that the phone system would be
cleaned on April Fool’s Day. They were
even asked to place plastic bags over the
receivers (to catch the dust coming out of
them during this period).

E. The recording was done by pupils of a
German school in London. The authors used
classical music, including Beethoven pieces.
Reportedly, even Prince Charles’s office
asked the radio station for a copy of the
song.

0 — Z

A — __

B — __

C — __

D — __

E — __

anthem noun

the official song of a nation that is sung or
played on public occasions

beverage noun [C] formal

a hot or cold drink

boost verb [T]

to increase or improve sth and make it more
successful
The new resort area has boosted tourism.

condiment noun [C] formal

a powder or liquid, such as salt or ketchup that
you use to give a special taste to food

device W2 noun [C]

a machine or tool that does a special job
labour-saving devices
a device for controlling temperature

embalm verb [T]

to treat a dead body with chemicals, oils etc to
prevent it from decaying
There were basically three embalming
techniques.

launch W2 verb [T]

to make a new product, book etc available for
sale for the first time:
The company hopes to launch the new drug by
next October.

liner noun [C]

a large ship for passengers
an ocean liner

liquid noun [C, U]

a substance that is not a solid or a gas, for
example water or milk.
Add a little more liquid to the sauce.

purchase S3, W3 verb [T] formal

to buy sth
You can purchase insurance on-line.
Where did you purchase the car?

replica noun [C]

an exact copy of sth, esp of a building, a gun, or
a work of art
[+ of]: an exact replica of the Taj Mahal

crack noun [C]

a thin line on the surface of sth when it is broken
but has not actually come apart
[+ in]: There were several cracks in the glass.

denial noun [C, U]

a statement saying that sth is not true
[+ of]: The government issued a firm denial of
the rumour.

outrage verb [T, usu passive]

to make sb feel very angry and shocked:
Customers were outraged by the price increases.

rumour BrE noun [C, U]

information or a story that is passed from one
person to another and which may or may not be
true, especially about sb's personal life or about
an official decision
AmE rumor
Where did the rumour start?