清明（Tomb Sweeping Day ）禁忌：

• 怀孕妇女要避开清明拜山活动。
• 谨慎在先人墓地照相，更忌讳照相时将其他坟墓拍进镜头。
• 不要清明节当天去探视亲朋好友。
• 避开选择清明节时期结婚。
• 清明节忌穿大红大紫衣服，应着素色服饰。
• 外人不要陪同去扫墓，因为各自的气场不一样。
• 清明节前忌买鞋，因为鞋与邪同音。

There is something comforting about any system that provides quick answers to difficult problems, helpful tips about how to live one's life or even a quick look into the future. This is why nearly every human culture has developed rituals, beliefs in omens and supernatural beings, and magical and religious practices.
任何一个体系，如果它能为难题提供解决的捷径，为生活提供有用的指南，甚至能够大致预见未来，就能给人以安慰。这就是为什么几乎每一种已知的人类文化都衍生出了各种仪式、对先兆和超自然力量的信仰，以及法术和宗教习俗。

A report from India last winter shows just how far people will go in following superstitious beliefs. A 33-year-old Indian man by the name of P.Selvakumar said that he was "cursed". Shortly after killing two dogs 15 years earlier, he had mysteriously become paralysed and had partly lost his hearing.
去年冬天，印度的一则新闻说明人们究竟可以迷信到何种程度。一位名叫P·塞尔瓦库玛的33岁印度男子声称自己被“诅咒”了。他在15年前杀害两只狗之后不久就不可思议地瘫痪了，此外还丧失了部分听力。

Unable to regain his health through conventional remedies, Selvakumar asked an astrologer for help. He was advised that he could remove the curse by marrying a female dog. The wedding actually took place at a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu state, with the dog bride wearing an orange sari and flowers.
在无法通过传统xx康复的情况下，塞尔瓦库玛向一位占星家求救。他得到的建议是：迎娶一条母狗就能解除诅咒。这场婚礼当真在泰米尔纳德邦的一处印度教寺庙内举行了，那位狗新娘身披橙色莎丽和鲜花。

How open are you to superstitious thinking? Do you avoid walking under ladders because you think it's unlucky? Would you ever have an operation on Friday the 13th? Do you say "Bless you!" when someone sneezes? Many superstitons are such a part of our culture, traditions and language that we hardly notice them any more.
你又有多迷信呢？你会因为害怕厄运而避免从梯子下走过么？你会选择在13号的星期五那天进行手术么？当有人打喷嚏时，你会说“保佑你！”么？许多迷信已经成为了我们的文化、传统和语言的组成部分，几乎不再为人所特别注意了。

The history of superstitious pratices can often help to explain them. In the old days, before the invention of the gallows, criminals were hanged from the top rung of a ladder. They died, but their spirits were believed to remain underneath. That's why, in the English-speaking world, it's thought to be bad luck to wander under an open ladder--in other words, through the evil spirits. We rationalize walking around ladders as a way to avoid being hit on the head by falling objects, even though stepping out into a busy street can be far more dangerous.
迷信风俗的历史往往可以用来解释它本身。从前，在绞刑架还没有发明之前，罪犯是站在梯子的顶端被吊死的。他们死了，但是人们相信他们的灵魂仍旧在梯子下游荡。这就是为什么在英语国家中从一架打开的梯子下走过——换句话说，也就是从恶灵之间穿过——被认为是件倒霉事。我们为绕着梯子走的行为找借口，说这是为了避免被高空坠落物砸到脑袋，不过跨入车水马龙的大街也许更加危险吧。

Here's a tip: should you ever find you've walked under a ladder, you can undo the bad luck by walking backwards beneath the ladder or by crossing your fingers until you see a dog.
告诉你一个小窍门：万一你发现自己从一架梯子底下穿了过去，你可以选择倒退回去，或者食指交叉直到遇见一只狗，这样就能消解厄运。

We don't really believe in superstitions, do we? Still, there's no harm in respecting traditions, just in case. If you do respect them, you'll find yourself in good company.
我们并非真的相信迷信，是吧？不过，尊重传统，以防万一总是没错的。如果你确实尊重习俗，就会发现自己在这方面并不孤立。

Niels Bohr, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist, surprised his colleagues by hanging a horseshoe on the wall of his office. When asked if he really believed that it would bring him good luck, he said, "I am told that it works even if you don't believe in it."
诺贝尔奖获奖者、科学家尼尔斯·波尔就把一块马蹄铁挂在办公室的墙壁上，此举令他的同事们相当吃惊。当问及他是否真的相信这会给他带来好运时，他回答说：“我听说，即使你不相信这个，这么做也一样灵验。”