今天是西方的愚人节(April Fools’ Day)——一年中少有的一个心惊胆战的节日。在这一天，您可以充分发挥想象力，让有序而枯燥的生活在您手中瞬时翻转，胡作非为在“愚人节”完全有充分的理由。但是与之同时，不只是有笑声，还有各种窘迫与恼怒，甚至有人会受到伤害。还有人会很当真……英国Metro报就报道过这样一则新闻：

　　A few years ago someone pranked on April Fools’ Day by saying they had murdered their husband with a shotgun.

　　几年前，有人在愚人节开玩笑说，开枪射杀了自己的丈夫。

　　Police were called and the woman found herself with dozens of officers surrounding her home in Tennessee.

　　于是警察被叫来了，这个田纳西州的女子发现自己的家被团团包围住……

　　Do NOT play this prank this April Fools’ Day.

　　别在愚人节开这种玩笑!

　　那么，如何才能避免恶作剧做的太过分呢?英语君给你们整理了一些Tips：How to Avoid Cruel Pranks?要开玩笑，先戴上安全帽!

　　1.Put yourself in your victim's shoes. Be honest. Would you feel hurt if someone pulled a prank like that on you? If so, this is a big warning flag telling you that his/her reaction may not be so different.

　　站在被捉弄人的角度进行换位思考。扪心自问，如果同样的恶作剧发生在自己身上会不会受到伤害?如果是，这便是一个标志来提醒你他/她的反应可能会有同样的反应。

　　2.Make sure that the prank won't physically hurt the person. It's not funny when someone gets injured. Enough said.

　　确保恶作剧不会给人带来身体伤害。无须多言，当有人受伤了，那就一点也不有趣了。

　　3.Choose the right victim. We all know that there are some people who get hurt more easily than others. Choose someone who can take a joke, someone who would well know that the whole thing's meant all in good fun.

　　谨慎选择好要捉弄的人。众所周知，有些人比其他人更容易受到伤害。选择那些知道恶作剧是纯属娱乐并可以开得起玩笑的人。

　　4.Make sure it's intended all in good fun. Why are you pranking the person anyway? If it's to humiliate someone or to get revenge on somebody who's wronged you, you might want to rethink the whole thing. Remember, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

　　确保这一切都会很快乐。不管怎样，你为什么要做恶作剧呢?如果是为了羞辱别人或报复得罪你的人,你可能需要重新考虑整个事情。记住：以眼还眼使全世界的人都瞎了。

　　文中的“an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. ”这句话是印度“非暴力不合作之父”甘地的一句名言。其中“an eye for an eye”的意思是“以牙还牙”“以眼还眼”“睚眦必报”的意思。

　　5.Choose the right time and place. Pranks are fun to play, but realise when the time is inappropriate. If your victim is at a fancy party or trying to make a good first impression on someone, it's not the time. You also don't want to prank him/her when he/she's clearly not in the mood to play games. If you do something like that, chances are the person won't take it as a joke no matter what you say.

　　选择合适的时间和地点，恶作剧是很有趣，但要知道到时间是否合适。如果被捉弄的人在一个聚会或想要给众人留下好印象的时候便不合适。如果对方显然没有心情跟你玩，你也不想再对他/她做恶作剧。如果你在这种情况下做恶作剧，不管你怎么说，别人很有可能不会把它当作一个笑话。

　　6.Understand when enough is enough. Sure it's funny when you finally do see that priceless look on the person's face, but keep the joking in moderation. If everybody's laughing at him/her all day long over it, that's taking it too far. You're laughing with the person, not at them.

　　适可而止。当然，当你最终看到别人窘迫的表情会很有趣，但是要适度开玩笑。如果一整天每个人都嘲笑他/她,那就太过分了。毕竟，你应该是与众人一起欢笑，而不是在嘲笑别人。

（编辑：何莹莹）