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The Unluckiest Day of All 大凶之日，诸事不宜

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Depending on where you are from, you may well consider certain numbers lucky or unlucky. For Westerners, the luckiest number is 7, ___1___ the number that generates most feelings of unease is 13. And no date on the calendar is more ___2___ than Friday the 13th.

你很可能会认为某些数字吉利或不吉利，端看你来自何处。对西方人来说，最幸运的数字是7，而引起最多不安感的数字是13。而日历上最令人恐惧的一天，莫过于13号星期五。

There are numerous theories ___3___ why Friday the 13this considered so unlucky, but it seems to be a combination of two ___4___ elements. When we look at the superstition behind 13, the number is linked by Christians to Jesus’ Last Supper, ___5___ by 13 people, with the traitor Judas as the 13th guest. Others connect the ___6___ of the number 13 with goddess-worshipping pagan religions, which followed a 13-month lunar calendar and were heavily condemned by patriarchal religions. As for Friday, Jesus features once more, as this was the day he died. Also, the name Friday comes from the pagan Norse goddess Freya, who was portrayed by ___7___ as an evil witch.

关于13号星期五被视为不祥的原因有好几种说法，不过似乎是结合了两种不祥的元素。当我们检视数字13背后的迷信，会发现基督徒认为这个数字和耶稣最后的晚餐有关连，因为出席的有13人，而且叛徒犹大是第13位客人。另外有些人则认为，对13这个数字的不信任，和崇拜女神的异教有关，这些宗教奉行一年13个月的阴历历法，并饱受父权宗教的谴责。至于星期五，耶稣再度发挥重要性，因为他是在那一天过世的。再者，Friday这个名称来自于异教的北欧女神芙蕾雅(Freya)，她被基督徒描述成邪恶的女巫。

Though many ___8___ the superstition of Friday the 13th, it does impact on many in the West. A recent study found that some 20 million Americans are genuinely afraid of this day, and around US$900 million are lost each time it occurs through people ___9___ traveling or working. While it may be easier ___10__ than done for some, we should try not to let such superstitions affect our daily lives too much.

虽然许多人对13号星期五的迷信嗤之以鼻，它对许多西方人士确实产生重大影响。最近的一项研究发现，大约有两千万名美国人真的很怕这一天，而每当这一天来临，由于人们避免出游或工作的缘故，造成大约九亿美元的损失。虽然对某些人来说，说的可能比做的容易，我们还是应该避免让这样的迷信过度影响我们的日常生活。

−by David Vickers

Vocabulary

单词发音

depend on 依据，根据

may well 很可能; (完全)能, (满)可以

traitor [ˋtretɚ] n. 叛徒

condemn [kənˋdɛm] v. 谴责

impact [ɪmˋpækt] v. 产生影响[（+on）]

More Information

单词发音

unease [ʌnˋiz] n. 心神不安

superstition [͵supɚˋstɪʃən] n. 迷信；迷信行为

Last Supper [ˋsʌpɚ]（耶稣受难前夕与十二使徒共进的）最后晚餐

Judas [ˋdʒudəs] n.（圣经）犹大; 出卖朋友的人，叛徒

pagan [ˋpegən] n. 异教徒；非基督教徒

patriarchal [͵petrɪˋɑrk!] adj. 由男性控制[统治]的; 父权的 characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

Norse [nɔrs] adj.（集合名词）古北欧(人)；古挪威(人)的

Freya 司爱与美的女神

portray [porˋtre] v. 描绘﹐描写

easier said than done 说比做容易 something that you say when something seems like a good idea but it would be difficult to do

dreaded [drɛdɪd] adj. 可怕的，令人畏惧的

dismiss [dɪsˋmɪs] v. 拒绝考虑〔某人的观点﹑意见等〕; 不考虑;不理会

as to 至于；关于 in respect of; regarding

Answer