1a Read the passages below twice: the first time skim for gist and the second time scan for the key points and note them down.
On 1st Apnl 1957 there was a mixed reaction to a BBC
spoof documentary about spaghetti crops in Switzerland.
The presenter of the hoax Panorama programme
was Richard Dimbleby, a distinguished broadcaster. The
programme showed a family from Ticino in Switzerland
carrying out their annual spaghetti harvest.
The women were carefully plucking strands of
spaghetti from a tree and laying them in the sun to dry.
However, some viewers failed to see the funny side
of the broadcast and criticised the BBC for including
the item on a serious factual programme.
Other people were so intrigued that they asked
where they could purchase their own spaghetti bush.
Spaghetti was not a widely eaten food in the UK
in 1957 and many people thought it was an exotic
delicacy
Mr Dimbleby commented that each year the
end of March is a very anxious time for spaghetti
harvesters all over Europe because severe frost can
impair the flavour of the spaghetti.
The programme explained how each strand of
spaghetti always grows to exactly the same length, thanks to years of hard work by generations of
growers.
This is believed to have been one of the first times television was used to stage an April Fools'
Day hoax.
When viewers rang the BBC to ask how they could acquire a spaghetti tree, they were advised
to plant a strand of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and wait patiently for results.​