▲美国“愚人俱乐部” Fools’ Club

一年一度的“愚人节”(April Fool) 在西方国家经久不衰，有关“愚人”的一些活动和组织也应运而生。在美国，一个比较著名的组织叫Fools’ Club（愚人俱乐部），这家俱乐部不仅“organize foolish activities”，而且还“do scientific research”。经过多年研究，他们终于有了一项重大成果公布于众，那就是：“鸡是植物”。

该结论是从一个英语单词追根求源而来，该词就是eggplant。他们说，eggplant 是由两个单词组成的：egg + plant。egg是鸡蛋，plant 是工厂，整个单词的意思是“生产鸡蛋的工厂”。在世界上，只有鸡才能生产鸡蛋，所以，eggplant 就是鸡。可是，他们查遍世界上所有的英语辞典，发现eggplant竟然是茄子！那么，在他们看来，鸡就是茄子，茄子也是鸡。既然茄子是植物，所以，“鸡就是植物”。

▲April Fool’s Day 愚人节

April 1st is a day on which, in some countries, people try to play tricks on each other. If one succeeds in tricking somebody, one laughs and says, “April Fool!” and then the person who has been tricked usually laughs too.

No one knows how this holiday began, but people think it first started in France.

In the 16th century, people celebrated New Year's Day from March 25 to April 1. In the mid-1560s, King Charles IX changed it from March 25 to January 1. But some people still celebrated it on April 1, so others called them April Fools.

Each country celebrates April Fool’s Day differently. In France, people call the April Fools “April Fish”. They tape a paper fish to their friends' backs to fool them. When he or she finds this, they shout “April Fish!”

In England, people play jokes only in the morning. You are a “noodle” if someone fools you. In Scotland, April Fool’s Day is 48 hours long. They call an April Fool “April Gowk”. Gowk is another name for a cuckoo bird.

In America, people play small jokes on their friends and any other people on the first of April. They may point down to your shoe and say, “Your shoelace is untied.” If you believe them and look down to see, you are an April Fool then.

▲“愚人节”有几种说法

每个单词首字母要大写。以下说法都正确：

April Fool’s Day

April Fools’ Day

All Fools' Day

但April Fools Day，属于非正式说法。

为什么“愚人”用单数或复数都可以呢？——

有时名词所有格用单数或复数都可以，例如：

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary《剑桥高阶学习词典》

The Wordsworth Advanced Learners’ Dictionary 《沃兹沃斯高阶英语学习词典》　

※“学生用书”：既可用 student’s book，也可以用 students’ book。朋友们若有兴趣的话，可以去翻一下各种英语教材（中学的或大学的），看看书上面的封面便知，不同的教材对这两种形式没什么太大区别。同样的道理，“教师用书”，可用 teacher’s book，也可以用teachers’ book。

※“师范大学”：说成英语可以是 Teacher’s University, 也可以是 Teachers’ University。

具体内容请参考：

http://www.yygrammar.com/Article/201305/3275.html