Unlike most other holidays, the history of April Fools' Day. Sometimes called All Fools' Day, is not as the totally clear. The only point in time that can be agreed on as the beginning of this tradition was 1582,in France. Before that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning  on March 25.The reform of the calendar celetxration reached the highest point on April l_With the riform of the calendar under Charles 1X,the Gregorian calendar (公历, 阳历）was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

    However, because in those days communications were not as developed as they are today, many people did not receive the news for several years. Some people refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April, These backward people were considered “foots” by other peopk. They were often sent on “fools” errands (徒劳无益的工作)or were made the taragets of jokes.

    This developed, over time, into a tradition of playing a trick on someone on the first day of April. The tradition eventully spread to England and Scotland in the eightreenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the Britain and Francc.April Fools' Day thus developed into an  international fun feast,so to speak,with different nationalities specializing in their own kind of humor at the expense of their friends and families.

My dad was in the Air Force. When I was a kid, we moved every few years. That meant a lot of good-byes. It also meant getting used to a whole new community and a whole new school each time we moved. I can still feel what it was like to have to walk into the new school—that sinking feeling in my belly, that heaviness in my throat. It would always take time for me to learn how everything worked, what was cool and what not. It was always a struggle to find where I could fit in.

    Already shy, I didn't have much self-confidence in my friend-making abilities. I was the girl walking in the halls with her head down, panicking. When I spoke, you could hardly hear my soft voice. I was nervous and doubted myself a lot.

    It was very hard not having a history with everyone else. I was an outsider. But what I did have was soccer. Wherever I went, I knew that I could fit it with the soccer ball. The soccer team meant a familiar place and immediate friends for me. I could express myself and feel good about myself on the field. Playing hard helped to get rid of all my nervousness.

    Throughout our lives, our self-respect goes down when we feel like a failure, and it goes up when we feel successful. Doing something well, being praised, and feeling loved goes a long way. We all need to explore opportunities where we can be good at something and feel good about ourselves. Physical activity and sport participation is a terrific way to build up our sense of self-confidence and self-worth.

    Once there was an old man, who was completely broke (破产的), living in a tiny house. He had to live on a $105-a-month social security (保障) check.

    At 65 years of age, he decided things had to change. So he thought about what he had to offer. His friends thought highly of his chicken recipe (烹饪法). He decided that this was his best shot at making a change.

    He left Kentucky and traveled to different states to try to sell his recipe. He told restaurant owners that he had a mouth-watering chicken recipe. He offered the recipe to them for free, just asking for a small percentage (比例) on the items sold. Sounds like a good deal, right?

    Unfortunately, not to most of the restaurants. He heard "NO" over 1, 000 times, but he didn't give up. He believed his chicken recipe was something special. He got rejected (拒绝) 1,009 times before he heard his first yes.

    With that one success, the old man changed the way Americans eat chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken, popularly known as KFC, was born. The old man was Colonel Harland Sanders, who was an American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. His name and image (肖像) are still symbols of KFC now.

    From roller coasters to adventure tours performances to experiments, there are plenty of exciting attractions in the UK. Here is our pick of the best attractions that children can visit.

    The Natural History Museum

Why go: This really is the grandfather of all London museums—the beauty of the building and the amazing exhibits. Look out for the whale skeleton(骨架) occupying the entry hall, but don't miss the largest piece of gold (or a model of it) in the minerals gallery. You can easily spend a day here—tasty steaks, sandwiches and pizzas. Try to avoid weekends, because the crowds are larger

    Best for: Children aged 5 and over. If time is limited, families should go quickly and directly towards the dinosaur gallery, because it's really wonderful.

    Details: Entry is free, although there is a charge for some temporary exhibitions

    Legoland

    Why go: Some 80 million Lego bricks have gone into the creation of this colourful park. There are thrilling rides and countless ways to spend money in shops. Yes, the queues can be long (unless you pay extra for the queue-jumping equipment, which is useful though it does not cover all rides)

    Best for: Legoland is aimed at children under10s, with pre-schoolers particularly well catered for in Duplo Valley

    Details: ￡32 per person; under 3s go free. 25 per cent discount for booking online more than seven days in advance.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London —The Making of Harry Potter

    Why go: You've read the books, you've watched the films, but no Harry Potter fan will want to miss the chance to go behind the scenes at the film studios where all eight of the movies were made. Sharing the secrets behind the most successful film series of all time and yet still managing to keep the sense of magic alive, this studio tour gives visitors access to two locations filled with original sets and costumes

    Best for: Children aged 7 and over, and anyone with an interest in filmmaking

    Details: ￡39 adults; ￡31 children; under 4s go free

    Four teenage girls from Minnesota, US. 120 hours of non-stop togetherness. No cellphones. This is not a reality show, but an adventure journey.

    "It was really perfect," said Julia Ruelle of her recent adventure to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with three of her childhood friends. "By unplugging, we had an amazing time."

    Last year, the 16-year-old took part in an essay contest and carried off a prize. The award was a 5-day canoe and camping adventure with up to three friends. No parents or guides would be there. So Julia invited her friends Anna Wander, Madeline Wilson and Julianna Torelli.

    The four Minnetonka High School juniors arrived in Ely for training the day before they began the journey. They set out the next day at 7 a.m., quickly developing a routine.

    "We were done paddling by noon," Julia said. "We ate lunch at the campsites and then it was time for hammocks (吊床), reading, making friendship bracelets (手镯) and talking."

    The girls had all had experience in the outdoors before.

    Anna had been to the Boundary Waters with her family. "I love how you are separated from everything in your life, especially technology," Anna said. Without her phone, she said, "I'm less worried about things." Madeline, too, had been to the Boundary Waters a few years back. "But this time, I had to paddle right and set up camp," she said. The girls made fire and cooked meal together. No one was ever hungry or homesick, but they were nervous the final night as they waited out a thunderstorm. They left wet sleeping bags in one tent, and squeezed into another for the night. "Every thunderstorm in the Boundary Waters feels huge," Julia said.

    On the car ride home, they were all on their phones catching up with friends. "It was a little at a loss turning my phone on," said Anna. "Mental health can be improved so much in the Boundary Waters. It really helps to get away and reconnect with yourself."

A simple gesture can be formed into a child's memory so quickly that it will cause the child to give a false answer to a question accompanied by that gesture. A new finding suggests that parents, social workers, psychologists and lawyers should be careful with their hands as well as their words. 

Gestures can be as informative as speech, but hand gestures are so common that we rarely notice we're using them. 

While the recall of both adults and children are easy to react to suggestion, the memories of children are known to be particularly influenced, said lead researcher Sara Broaders of Northwestern University. Kids are used to looking to adults to tell events for them and can be misled even if not intentionally(故意地). 

Previous research, for example, has shown that detail-loaded questions often cause false answers; when asked, say "Did you drink juice at the picnic?", the child is likely to say "yes" even if no juice had been available. It is not that the child is consciously lying, but rather the detail is quickly formed into his or her memory. 

To avoid this problem, social workers have long been advised to ask children only open-ended questions, such as "What did you have at the picnic?" But an open-ended question paired with a gesture, briefly meaning a juice box, is treated like a detailed question. That is, children become likely to answer falsely. 

And it isn't just a few kids: 77% of children gave at least one piece of false information when a detail was suggested by an ordinary gesture. Gestures may also become more popular when talking with non-fluent language users, such as little kids, Broaders said as hand movements can impart meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases. "It certainly seems reasonable that adults would gesture more with children. "

In general, Broaders advises parents and other adults to "Try to be aware of your hands when questioning a child about an event. Otherwise, you might be getting answers that don't reflect what actually happened. "