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1、例释美国民间迷信 101 则（101 American superstitions）Harry Collis 著，外语教学与研究出版社（foreign language teaching and research press） 2003 过去，对未知事物的恐惧引发了人们对不可见的鬼怪神灵的迷信，人们发明出种种吉祥物 或符咒，希望他们给自己带来好运或是驱散厄运。尽管民间的迷信观念都是无稽之谈，但 他们始终是英语语言与文化的一个重要组成部分。 Section one：Body language Section two: love and marriage Section three: food a
2、nd thought Section four: Ive got your number Section five: be careful Section six: lots of luck Section seven: win or lose Section eight: special days Section nine: and many moreSection one: body language 1 if you sing before seven, you will cry before elevenTheres an old belief that the morning is
3、too early to be happy. Happiness has to be earned each day, otherwise, you are sure to have bad luck. 2 asking gods blessing for a sneezerPeople once believed the soul could escape from the body when a person sneezed. To stop ths from happening, people ask god to bless- and so to protect the person
4、who sneezes. 3 stopping hiccups 打嗝It was believed that a person with hiccups was possessed by the devil. Many remedies are supposed to stop hiccups, such as scaring the person or having the person hold his nose while drinking water. 4 cover your mouth when you yawn 打哈欠 An old superstition says that
5、yawning is caused by the devil and that evil spirits enter the body when your mouth is open wide. Covering your mouth stops them. Now, it is simply considered rude not to cover your mouth when you yawn. It is also believed that watching someone else yawn will cause you to yawn too. 5 an itchy nose p
6、redicts a quarrel 痒 There are many superstitions about itching. For example, an itchy nose means you are going to have a quarrel with someone. 6 spitting on your hands for strength Seeing animals licking their wounds caused people to believe that saliva had some magical healing power. Even today, th
7、e first thing someone does when they hurt their finger is put it in their mouth. Nowadays, when we spit on our hands, we are asking for added strength. 7 getting rid of a cough People have tried many strange remedies to get rid of a cough. One cure is to take a hair form te coughing persons head, pu
8、t it between two slices of buttered bread, feed it to a dog, and say” eat well your hound, may you be sick an I be sound.” 8 curing cramps 绞痛Superstitions say that one way to stop the pain of a cramp is by carrying certain animal bones on your body. Another cure is to lay your shoes on your stomach,
9、 across the cramp. 9 cross your fingers to make a wish come true It is said that bad luck is trapped at the point where the two fingers meet. So when we cross our fingers, we stop the bad luck from escaping and allow our wishes to come true. 10 whistling bring misfortunePeople used to think that whi
10、stling was the noise made by evil spirits and that it invited misfortune. Whistling was considered very unlucky in a closed place such as a house or a ship. It was considered especially unlucky to whistle in a theater dressing room, for example 11 pulling out a gray hair will cause more to grow Peop
11、le have always thought that hair had magical powers, and there are many superstitions about human hair. One belief is that pulling out a single gray or white hair will cause ten more to grow in its place. 12 fingernail clippings must not be left for others to find An old American belief says that fi
12、ngernails can be used to cast spells 诅咒 on their owner. The clippings must never be left around fro the evil spirits to find. To be sag they should be burned or buried. 13 the evil eye There is an ancient belief that some people have the power to harm anothers health or happiness simply by looking a
13、t them. To protect yourself from being noticed by the evil eye, you must not openly praise yourself or call attention to any good fortune.Section two: love and marriage 14 carrying the bride across the thresholdThe custom of the groom carrying his bride over the threshold is believed to bring the co
14、uple good fortune. One superstition says that evil spirits trying to spoil the newlyweds happiness might cause the bride to fall as she enters here new home, so the groom should carry her to keep her from falling. 15 sth old, sth new, sth borrowed, sth blueWhen getting married, brides traditionally
15、wear or carry sth old, sth new, sth borrowed, and sth blue. Sth old can be anything that has brought good luck to its owner in the past. Sth new is a symbol of hope for the future. Sth borrowed adds the good luck of the giver to the bride. And blue , considered a lucky color, is a traditional protec
16、tion for all women. 16 cutting the wedding cakeThe wedding cake has always stood for good fortune and fertility. The bride, with the help of her groom, must cut the first piece as a sign that they will share all possessions in the future. 17 choosing the wedding dateThe Romans believed that Juno, their goddess of women, blessed marriages that took place in her month. So June is considered the perfect month for marriage. 18 the groom must not see the bride befo
