阅读理解

　　There are over one million superstitions(迷信), and most people believe at least one or two of them．

　　Many people are superstitious about numbers．They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers．

　　The number 13 is often considered unlucky．In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13．In Japan, "4" is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word "four" is pronounced the same as the word "death"．

　　Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything．

　　What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and "8" is considered a lucky number in Japan and China．In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8．

　　Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people－called numerologist--make a living by giving advice about numbers．

　　In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if "Toyoda" would be a good name for the company．The numerologist said it would not be．He explained that "Toyota" would be a better name for the company．The family took his advice．As a result, millions of people drive "Toyota" and not "Toyoda"．

　　There are many other kinds of superstitions．There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching(抓痒)．There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes．

　　There are even superstitions about superstitions．Those superstitions will tell people how to reverse bad luck．

　　When the Japanese bump heads, they immediately bump heads again．According to a Japanese superstition, the first-bump means their parents will die, but the second bump "erases" the first bump

　　To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pockets inside out, or put their hats on backwards．

　　In the United States, baseball players sometimes wear their caps backwards when their team is losing．It looks silly, but the baseball players do not mind if it helps them win the game．

阅读理解

　　Margaret Bourke-White was one of the leading news reporters of the 20^th century．But she did not write news．She told her stories with a camera．Margaret Bourke-White began her career as an industrial photographer in the early 1930s．In 1936, she accepted the American publisher Henry Luce’s invitation and went to his magazine, called Life, and later another magazine called Fortune．

　　In the 1930s, Margaret Bourke-White met the American writer Erskine Caldwell．They decided to produce a book about poor country people of the South．They traveled through eight states．Their book, You Have Seen Their Faces, was published in 1937．It was a great success．

　　In 1938, some countries in Europe were close to war．Margaret Bourke-White and Caldwell went there to report on these events．The next year they got married．

　　During the World War Two, she became an official photographer with the United States Army．Her photographs were to be used jointly by the military(军队)and by Life magazine．She was the first woman to be permitted to work at the front during World War Two．

　　After the war, she went to India and took a famous photograph of Mohandas Gandhi called “Gandhi at His Spinning Wheel”．She was the last person to photograph Gandhi before he was murdered in 1948．

　　Often, Margaret Bourke-White was not satisfied with what she had done．She would look at her pictures and see something she had failed to do, or something she had not done right．Reaching perfection was not easy．Many things got in the way of her work．She said, “There is only one moment when a picture is there．And a moment later, it is gone forever．My memory is full of those pictures that were lost．”