30
35
40
45
50
older people in the survey. For people between the
ages of eighteen and twenty-
four taking the survey, 64 percent claimed to be at least a little superstitious. But
for seniors 65 and older, only 30 percent admitted to believing any superstitions.
It might be
expected that people with more education would be less
superstitious, but results from the survey indicated
almost equal numbers of
believers between those with and without college degrees. Of those survey
respondents who never finished or only finished high school, 42 percent
reported being at least a little superstitious. For those with a college education,
47
percent claimed the same minimal level of belief.
In the survey, ten
common superstitions were listed for the people who
responded. Of these superstitions, five were related to good luck and five to bad
luck. Respondents
were then asked to check the ones they believed. Of the
superstitions in the list, good-luck superstitions were more
widely held. The top
superstitions related to good luck that most people followed “very much” were
picking four-leaf clovers (79 percent), knocking on wood (72 percent),
picking up
pennies (70 percent), and crossing fingers for luck (59 percent). Of the bad-luck
superstitions, the most common belief was that breaking a mirror
brought bad luck (82 percent). Other bad luck superstitions
listed in the survey included seeing black cats, walking under
ladders, seeing the bride before the wedding, and doing
anything on Friday the 13
th
.
Many people would like to think it could not hurt to do
something like knocking on wood or
crossing your
fingers to
bring a little luck. After all, who doesn’t want a little luck?
Reading Time
_______ minutes _______ seconds
574 words
32
expect
--- to guess; to consider likely
35
respondent --- a person who answers a survey
37
minimal --- low; of the smallest amount
38
common --- usual;
occurring frequently
40
check --- to mark
41
widely --- over a large range or area
51
cross one’s fingers --- to put the second finger over the first finger
7
