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Poziomy europejskie

European levels:

The levels of language command are classified by the Common European Framework which is an internationally recognised classification of exams and levels accepted by the Council of Europe. The system thoroughly defines the range of language skills which must be mastered by the learners of a language to be able to communicate in it, and to ensure that the communication is set properly in any given sociolinguistic context.

The levels classified by the system:

C2 Mastery
C1 EOP - Effective Operational Proficiency
B2 Vantage
B1 Threshold
A2 Waystage
A1 Breakthrough

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Level 2 – Pre-intermediate

April Fool's Day

The 1st April is called April Fool's Day in Britain and America. You can play tricks on other people and if the victim falls for the trick, you shout "April Fool!" Of course, the practical jokes people play on each other are only for fun and not meant to hurt anyone.

The April Fool tradition comes from France. Until the sixteenth century, French people celebrated New Year on April first. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world and New Year became January 1st.

Some people continued to celebrate the New Year on 1st April. Other people played tricks on them and called them April fools. In France today, 1st April is called "Poisson d'Avril" or "April Fish". This is because children make paper fish and they stick them on other people's backs. When the person discovers the trick, the child shouts "Poisson d'Avril!"

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Answer the questions below to check how well you understand the text.

April Fool's Day:

started in France.

is sometimes on January 1st.

is a time when people eat fish.

A practical joke:

is a joke you can tell a friend.

is a trick you play on another person only on April Fool's Day.

shouldn't hurt anyone.

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Last update: 2006-04-13