Stuart Vyse shares the weird and specific origins of some of our favorite superstitions.
WARM-UP
·
Are
you afraid of black cats?
·
Would
you open an umbrella indoors?
·
How
do you feel about the number 13?
VOCABULARY
a. To knock
on wood
b. To step
on sidewalk cracks
c. walk
under ladders
d. to skip:
to avoid doing or having something. It’s not a good
idea to skip breakfast. She’s been skipping lessons all year.
e. pagan:
relating to an ancient religion that had many gods and praised nature. pagan temples devoted to the Greek and Roman gods.
f. to fade
away: to become less famous or less important: After one
hit record he rapidly faded into obscurity.
g. 
radio headset
radio headset
h. whistle
i. absent-minded
j. bias:
a special interest or ability in a particular thing, or a
particular tendency. bias towards: a French course with a bias towards the spoken language
1 Many common superstitions come from history of:
A.
Business
B. Religion
C. Medicine
D. Sport
2 Triskaidekaphobia
is the fear of:
A.
Tree snakes
B. The number 4
C. The number 13
D.
The number 17
3 The belief that knocking on wood brings good luck is thought to stem from
the:
A.
Ancient Indo-Europeans
B. Medieval Christians
C. Ancient Africans
D.
Ancient Chinese
4 Which of the following superstitions was once good advice?
A.
Avoid the number 13
B. Don’t step on a crack
C. Don’t cross a black cat’s path
D.
Don’t whistle in the theater
5 What is not a reason people believe in superstitions?
A.
Because they grew up hearing
about superstitions
B. Because superstitions give them a sense of control
C. Because superstitions often appear to work
D.
Because superstitions really
do work
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