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。 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,意味著厄運臨頭。可Julie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.
風水在西方越來越流行,這也算是文化互通吧。