來自中國的雇員Sue跟男同事Pete和女同事Julie一起去吃飯。三個人談到了東西方的迷信。Sue說，
S: What about walking under a ladder? What's wrong with that?
J: You know, I'm not really sure! But it's probably a good idea to avoid it...something might fall on your head!
P: That makes sense!
S: So many of your superstitions don't really have a specific origin?
J: Many of them might be related to religious issues...but the origin kind of gets lost in history.
Julie說，西方很多迷信都不知道是從哪來的了。The origin kind of gets lost in history. 比如說，從梯子下面走會帶來壞運(yùn)氣，可為什么呢？或許是上面會掉東西下來砸到你吧。
P: Oh! I can think of one superstition that's related to religion. Many Western people say "Bless you!" to a person if they sneeze.
J: Right. That's because around 500 years ago, people thought saying "God Bless You" could help heal the person and stop the spread of disease.
P: Still today, many people say, "Bless you" after someone sneezes. It's now considered polite.
S: I think that's a sweet thing to say. Tell me some more Western superstitions!
不過，不少迷信跟宗教有關(guān)。 Pete舉例說，有人打噴嚏，旁邊的人說"Bless You" 就起源于宗教。 Julie說，大約五百年前，人們覺得說上帝保佑你God Bless You能防治疾病，但是今天，別人打噴嚏，你說Bless You已經(jīng)變成一種禮貌了。
P: Well, if you see a black cat walking in front of you...bad luck might be coming very soon!
S: A black cat is kind of evil, huh? I guess that's why a witch always has a black cat!
J: Yeah...but I have a black cat at home and he's not evil at all. He's a sweet little cat.
P: I'd say many Western people don't take these things very seriously, but they are still a part of our culture.
J: I know one! Breaking a mirror is seven years of bad luck! Back in ancient times, a mirror was said to be a window to your soul, so breaking one was very bad!
在 西方，如果你前面有一只黑貓，那可糟了，意味著厄運(yùn)臨頭?？蒍ulie就養(yǎng)了只黑貓，可愛極了?？磥砦鞣饺艘膊⒉徽嫘?，They don't take these things very seriously. 另外，打碎鏡子代表七年的壞運(yùn)氣，因為古代人覺得鏡子是通向心靈的窗口。
S: Do you have superstitions about where things are built?
J: You mean like Feng-Shui?
S: Yes! Exactly! How do you know about that?
P: Feng-Shui is becoming quite popular in the West. Some people now do try to follow some of the rules if they can.
S: Wow! It seems we are starting to share traditions!
P: Sure! Why not?
J: Yes...I think it's good to get to know each other's culture better.
風(fēng)水在西方越來越流行，這也算是文化互通吧。
S: What about walking under a ladder? What's wrong with that?
J: You know, I'm not really sure! But it's probably a good idea to avoid it...something might fall on your head!
P: That makes sense!
S: So many of your superstitions don't really have a specific origin?
J: Many of them might be related to religious issues...but the origin kind of gets lost in history.
Julie說，西方很多迷信都不知道是從哪來的了。The origin kind of gets lost in history. 比如說，從梯子下面走會帶來壞運(yùn)氣，可為什么呢？或許是上面會掉東西下來砸到你吧。
P: Oh! I can think of one superstition that's related to religion. Many Western people say "Bless you!" to a person if they sneeze.
J: Right. That's because around 500 years ago, people thought saying "God Bless You" could help heal the person and stop the spread of disease.
P: Still today, many people say, "Bless you" after someone sneezes. It's now considered polite.
S: I think that's a sweet thing to say. Tell me some more Western superstitions!
不過，不少迷信跟宗教有關(guān)。 Pete舉例說，有人打噴嚏，旁邊的人說"Bless You" 就起源于宗教。 Julie說，大約五百年前，人們覺得說上帝保佑你God Bless You能防治疾病，但是今天，別人打噴嚏，你說Bless You已經(jīng)變成一種禮貌了。
P: Well, if you see a black cat walking in front of you...bad luck might be coming very soon!
S: A black cat is kind of evil, huh? I guess that's why a witch always has a black cat!
J: Yeah...but I have a black cat at home and he's not evil at all. He's a sweet little cat.
P: I'd say many Western people don't take these things very seriously, but they are still a part of our culture.
J: I know one! Breaking a mirror is seven years of bad luck! Back in ancient times, a mirror was said to be a window to your soul, so breaking one was very bad!
在 西方，如果你前面有一只黑貓，那可糟了，意味著厄運(yùn)臨頭?？蒍ulie就養(yǎng)了只黑貓，可愛極了?？磥砦鞣饺艘膊⒉徽嫘?，They don't take these things very seriously. 另外，打碎鏡子代表七年的壞運(yùn)氣，因為古代人覺得鏡子是通向心靈的窗口。
S: Do you have superstitions about where things are built?
J: You mean like Feng-Shui?
S: Yes! Exactly! How do you know about that?
P: Feng-Shui is becoming quite popular in the West. Some people now do try to follow some of the rules if they can.
S: Wow! It seems we are starting to share traditions!
P: Sure! Why not?
J: Yes...I think it's good to get to know each other's culture better.
風(fēng)水在西方越來越流行，這也算是文化互通吧。