景一

◆General Superstitions◆

◆一般的迷信◆

◇Good Luck

Lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured on many good luck greetings cards and birthday cards in England.

Lucky to touch wood. People touch or knock on wood， to make something come true.

Lucky to find a clover2 plant with four leaves.

A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up. The luck runs out of the horseshoe if it is upside down. Horseshoes are generally a sign of good luck and feature on many good luck cards.

On the first day of the month it is lucky to say “white rabbits， white rabbits， white rabbits” before uttering your first word of the day.

Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you will have good luck. Every leaf means a lucky month next year.

Cut your hair when the moon is waxing3 and you will have good luck.

Putting money in the pocket of new clothes brings good luck.

◇关于好运

遇到一只黑猫会带来好运。在英国，黑猫经常出现在好运贺卡和生日贺卡上。

碰触木头会带来好运。为了心想事成，人们会碰触或者敲敲木头。

找到四片叶子的三叶草会带来好运。

挂在门上的马蹄铁会带来好运，但马蹄铁必须是正确的方向朝上。如果马蹄铁放倒过来，好运气就没了。马蹄铁通常是好运的标志，在许多好运贺卡上都能看到它。

在某个月的第一天，在说出你当天的第一句话之前，念“白兔，白兔，白兔”会带来好运。

接住秋天的落叶会给你带来好运。每一片叶子都意味着来年一个月的好运。

在月亮渐圆时剪头发会给你带来好运。

把钱放在新衣服的口袋里会带来好运。

◇Bad Luck

Its unlucky to walk underneath a ladder.

Seven years bad luck to break a mirror. The superstition is supposed to have originated in ancient times， when mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods.

Unlucky to see one magpie4， lucky to see two.

Unlucky to spill salt. If you do， you must throw it over your shoulder to counteract5 the bad luck.

Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors.

The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified6 on a Friday.

Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.

Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.

◇關于厄运

从梯子下面走过会带来厄运。

打破一面镜子会带来七年的坏运气。该迷信应该起源于古代，那时镜子被认为是神灵的用具。

遇见一只喜鹊意味着不幸，但遇见两只喜鹊就走运了。

弄撒了盐不吉利。如果你弄撒了盐，必须把它扔到肩膀后以抵消厄运。

在屋里打伞是不吉利的。

数字13是不吉利的。恰逢星期五的13号是非常不吉利的一天。人们认为星期五不吉利，是因为耶稣是在星期五被钉死的。

把新鞋放在桌子上会带来不幸。

在楼梯上超过别人会招致厄运。

◆Animal Superstitions◆

◆动物迷信◆

Animals feature a lot in British superstitions as they do in superstitions around the world.

One ancient British superstition holds that if a child rides on a bears back it will be protected from whooping-cough7. （Bears used to roam8 Britain but now they are not seen.）

In some parts of the UK， meeting two or three ravens9 together is considered really bad. One very English superstition concerns the tame ravens at the Tower of London. It is believed if they leave then the crown of England will be lost.

It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and hear their cries. In the middle ages it was believed that witches were closely associated with bats.

If a sparrow10 enters a house it is an omen11 of death to one of the people who live there. In some areas it is believed that to avoid bad luck， any sparrow caught must be immediately killed otherwise the person who caught it will die.

In some areas black rabbits are thought to host the souls of human beings. White rabbits are said to be really witches and some believe that saying “white rabbit” on the first day of each month brings luck. A common lucky charm is a rabbits foot， but not for the rabbit.

It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a peacock12 within the home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of the eye shape present upon these feathers， the evil-eye associated with wickedness.

和在世界各地的迷信中一样，动物在英国的迷信中也占据了主要位置。

有一个古老的英国迷信认为，如果一个孩子骑在熊的背上，他将受到保护，不会得百日咳。……