(单词翻译:单击)
Black cats
黑猫
Black cats have long been seen in Western cultures as an omen of bad luck - they have long been associated with witches, and many cultures believe that a black cat crossing your path means you will suffer disaster or even death. Gamblers are especially fearful of the black cat curse - many of them believe that if they see a black cat while going to a casino, they should abandon their plans to gamble there. However, it's not all bad news for the black cats; in some cultures, including in Japan, Great Britain and Ireland, the opposite is true, and black cats are seen as bringers of good luck.
在西方文化中，黑猫一直象征着坏运气--人们还认为黑猫和巫师之间存在着一定联系，在很多文化中，人们都认为如果黑猫挡住了你的去路，那么等着你的将是灾难、甚至是死亡。赌徒尤怕黑猫诅咒--许多赌徒认为如果他们在去赌场的路上看到了黑猫，那么他们应该放弃去那儿赌博的计划。然而，黑猫并不完全意味着坏运气；在某些文化中，包括日本、英国和爱尔兰，情况则恰恰相反，这些国家的人认为黑猫会带来好运。
Broken mirrors
破镜
It's a common superstition that a broken mirror will result in seven years bad luck - it's thought this belief can be traced back to the idea that a mirror captures part of your soul. So when a mirror breaks, part of your soul gets broken too. That's also why some cultures cover up all mirrors and reflective surfaces in a house where someone has died - so their soul can leave the building without getting trapped in the mirror.
镜子破碎会带来7年坏运，这个迷信很常见--该迷信可以追溯到镜子能抓住人的灵魂的观念。所以镜子破了，你的一部分灵魂也随之而碎。因此，在许多文化中，当屋子里有人离世时，人们会将所有的镜子和反光表面盖起来--这样他们的灵魂就能离开这栋房子，而不会被困在镜中。
Groundhog Day
土拨鼠日
The superstition that a large rodent can predict the weather (if he sees his shadow, there'll be an early spring; if he doesn't, there's six more weeks of winter) might seem ridiculous. But that doesn't stop it being extremely popular in the US and Canada - even more so since one of the most famous groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania, was immortalised in the film (above) of the same name. The tradition of animals' shadows predicting the coming of actually dates back to an old German superstition around Candlemas Day, which was brought to the Americas by Germanic immigrants. But how good is Punxsutawney Phil's record as a meteorologist? Pretty bad, actually - according to the Stormfax Weather Almanac, tracing his record for over a century, he's only been right 39 percent of the time.
大型啮齿动物可以预测天气（如果它看到自己的影子，那就是早春；如果没看到，那冬天还有6个星期才会结束）的迷信可能看上去滑稽可笑。但这却并不妨碍美国和加拿大人民对土拨鼠的喜欢--自最有名的土拨鼠（来自宾夕法尼亚州的Punxsutawney Phil）在同名电影（同上）给人留下不可磨灭的印象后，人们对其更为坚信。动物影子预测来年春天的传统实则可追溯到一个古老的关于春季结账日的德国迷信，后由德国移民带入美国。但Punxsutawney Phil的气象播报准不准呢？实际上，很不准--据Stormfax Weather Almanac气象站表示，以土拨鼠近一个世纪的记录来看，他的正确率只有39%。
Walking under ladders
从梯子下走
Walking underneath a ladder is widely held to be bad luck. Despite some theories suggesting that this is to do with the triangle formed by a ladder representing the Christian Holy Trinity, the most likely explanation is far more simple and obvious: walking under laddders is quite dangerous. It's actually just health and safety advice dressed up as a superstition.
人们广泛认为从梯子下走是不吉利的。尽管有些理论表明：这与梯子形成的三角形代表着基督教三位一体相关，但最说得过去的解释更为简单明了：从梯子下走是很危险的行为。这只是披着迷信皮囊的健康安全建议。
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