常春藤生活英語：Friday the 13th 十三號星期五

For some people, Friday the 13th is no typical day. It is a day that might bring bad luck. People who believe this is true try to be careful on Friday the 13th. They might not plan big trips or try something risky. But why are they worried?

"Friday the 13th" is one of the world's most well-known superstitions. However, there are different versions of it worldwide. In several countries, it is on Tuesday the 13th that people should be cautious. In Italy, Friday the 17th is the day to watch out for. In the end, though, Friday the 13th is the most common.

There seem to be two main reasons why Friday the 13th is regarded as an unlucky day. To begin with, the number 13 itself is considered unlucky. This belief might have come from numerology1, in which 12 is the number of completeness2. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs in the zodiac, and other "12" things. The number 13, which is one more than 12, is seen as a number that is too much or not right.

So why would Friday be the unlucky day instead of any other day? One possible explanation3 has to do with Christianity, because Jesus died on a Friday. However, this is just a possible explanation. When something is thought to bring bad luck, it is often hard to say precisely why. The only answer to this question may be: Who knows?

對某些人來說，十三號星期五可不是一般的日子。這是個可能會招來厄運的一天。相信此事為真的人，都會試著在十三號星期五這天小心謹慎。他們可能都不會出遠門，或是試圖做有風險的事。但他們?yōu)楹我@么擔憂呢?

『十三號星期五』是世上最廣為人知的迷信之一。然而世界各地的版本不盡相同。在一些國家，人們在十三號星期二要小心行事。在意大利則是十七號星期五這天要特別注意。不過說到底，最普遍流傳的還是十三號星期五。

十三號星期五之所以被視為一個不幸的日子，似乎有兩個主因。首先，十三這個數(shù)字本身就被認為是不祥的。這種想法可能是來自命理學，在命理學當中，十二是代表『完整』的數(shù)字。一年有十二個月、星座有十二個，還有其它『十二』的東西。十三這個數(shù)字則比十二多了個一，因此被視為太多或是不對勁。

那為什么不吉利的是星期五，而不是其它天呢?其中一個可能的解釋和基督教有關，因為耶穌受難的那天正好是星期五。然而這只是一個可能的解釋。當某些事物被視為不祥時，通常很難準確地斷定原因。這個疑問的唯一答案或許是：誰知道?

Building Your Vocabulary

1.typical　a. 典型的，有代表性的

A typical British winter is wet and cold.

典型的英國冬季既濕又冷。

2.risky　a. 冒險的，非常危險的

It is risky to drive that old car around.

開著那臺老爺車四處跑還挺危險的。

3.worldwide　adv. 遍及全世界地

People celebrate the New Year worldwide.

世界各地的人都會慶祝新年。

4.cautious　a. 小心的，慎重的

You should always be cautious about making investments.

你在做投資時總是應該小心翼翼。

5. precisely　adv. 精確地，準確地

I can't tell you precisely what happened.

我無法確切地告訴你發(fā)生了什么事。

Phrases for Learning

To begin with, 主詞 + 動詞　　首先……

To begin with, Ronnie should make a list so that he won't forget what to do next.

首先，朗尼應該列張清單，才不會忘記接下來要做些什么。

參考字詞

1. numerology　n. 命理學

2. completeness　n. 完整，全部

3. explanation　n. 解釋

Tips In Use

They might not plan big trips or try something risky..

(他們可能都不會出遠門，或是試圖做有風險的事。)

用形容詞修飾 something, nothing, anything, everything 等不定代名詞時，須使用后位修飾，而不能將形容詞置于名詞前面。例：

I don't think there is anything interesting for me to watch on TV tonight.

(我想今晚沒有什么有趣的電視節(jié)目可以看。)

Nothing special happened to us last summer vacation.

(去年暑假我們沒有發(fā)生什么特別的事。)