Do you think that it is bad luck to break(打碎) a mirror(镜子)? Do you think that black cats and the number 13 are bad luck? Every Friday the 13th three men break mirrors, and do other unlucky(倒霉的) things. They want to show that they don't believe in such superstitions(迷信). They may be the only people in the world who aren't superstitious(迷信的). There are over one million superstitions, and most people believe at least one or two of them.
Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers. The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, the number 4 is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word "four" is pronounced the same as the word "death". Japanese never give gifts of four knives, or four of anything. What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and 8 is considered lucky in Japan and China.
Superstitions about numbers are so common that some people make a living giving advice about numbers. In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a number expert if "Toyoda" would be a good name for the company. The expert said it would not be. He explained that "Toyoda" took ten strokes(笔划) of the pen to write, and 10 was not a lucky number. "Toyota", however, took eight strokes to write, and eight was a very lucky number. The expert said "Toyota" was a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive "Toyotas" and not "Toyodas".
In addition to superstitions about numbers, there are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating and sleeping. There are superstitions about animals and holidays.
Because there are so many superstitions, it is not surprising that some of them are the opposite of each other. In Germany(德国), it is good luck when the left eye twitches(抽搐) and bad luck when the right eye twitches. In Malaysia(马来西亚), it is exactly the opposite: a twitching right eye means good luck, and a twitching left eye means bad luck. Putting on clothes inside out by accident is good luck in Pakistan(巴基斯坦) but bad luck in Costa Rica(哥斯达黎加). In Chile(智利), unmarried people won't take the last piece of food on the plate because it means they will never marry. In Thailand(泰国), unmarried people take the last piece because it means they will marry someone good-looking.
Some superstitions have been with us for so long that they have become customs. In many parts of the world it is polite to say "Health" or "God bless(保佑) you" when someone sneezes. People used to think that the soul(灵魂) could escape from the body during a sneeze. They said "God bless you" to protect people from losing their souls. Today we no longer believe that people who sneeze are in danger of losing their souls, but we say "God bless you" anyway. We say it not because we are superstitious, but because we are polite.
Almost everyone is at least a little superstitious. One woman says that when she got married, her aunt gave her white bath towels(毛巾). "Never buy purple(紫色的) towels," her aunt said. "If you use purple towels, your marriage will end." Does the woman believe that superstition? "No, of course not," she says. Does she use purple towels? "Well, no," she answers. "Why take chances?"
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Ignorance (愚昧) and Superstition 课文讲解
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