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American Superstitions 1

                               Every culture has superstitions1.

                               Some people believe them more than

                               others. Our modern technological society

                               puts a high value on rationality, but

                               5 superstitions can still hold a powerful

                               influence. Most people seem to outgrow

                               them. But how many people continue to

                               believe (or at least act like they believe)  Even some ?쐕n-superstitious??Americans
                               superstitions as adults?                     think four-leaf clovers are lucky.

                               10 A survey2 conducted3 for the journal American Demographics

                               by the research firm Market Facts found some surprising results. In the

Q                              survey, people were asked how superstitious they were. Also, ten common

  Underline five actions that  superstitions were listed. Five related to good luck and five to bad luck.
  are considered unlucky.
                               Respondents4 were then asked to check the ones they believed, and how

                               15 strongly. Of the superstitions in the list, good-luck superstitions were more

                               widely held. The top good-luck superstitions that most people followed ?쐖ery

                               much??were picking four-leaf clovers5 (seventy-nine percent), knocking

                               on wood (seventy-two percent), picking up pennies (seventy percent), and

                               crossing fingers for luck (fifty-nine percent). Of the bad-luck superstitions,

                               20 the most common belief was that breaking a mirror brought bad luck (eighty-

                               two percent). Other bad-luck superstitions listed in the survey included

                               seeing black cats, walking under ladders, a groom6 seeing the bride before

                               the wedding, and doing anything on Friday the 13th.

                               Even though most Americans consider superstitions nothing more

                               25 than ridiculous myths, forty-four percent of the people surveyed still

                               admitted they were superstitious. There were other seemingly contradictory

                               results. Among the fifty-six percent who did not describe themselves as

                               superstitious, belief in ?쐎ptimistic??superstition was still fairly common. For

                               example, twelve percent of those who said they were not really superstitious

                               30 confessed7 to knocking on wood for good luck. And nine percent confessed

    1	 superstition 	  n. a belief based on faith in magic or luck
    2	 survey 	        n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or questions in order to gather information; a poll
    3	 conduct 	       v. to plan and do
    4	 respondent	     n. a person who gives a response, especially as part of a survey
    5	 clover 	        n. a small plant that usually has three leaves on each stem
    6	 groom 	         n. a man who is about to be married or who has just married
    7	 confess 	       v. to admit

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