A black cat crosses your path? That's bad luck. Walk under a ladder (梯子)? That's bad luck, too. Break a mirror-seven years of bad luck! Kill a bee? You got it…bad luck!
But not everything brings bad luck. Some things bring good luck, too. For example, if you carry a rabbit's foot with you at all times that will bring you good luck. Of course, nowadays, lucky rabbit's feet aren't made of real rabbit's feet. An acorn (橡子) in your pocket is good luck, too. If you make a wish when you see a shooting star cross the sky, the wish will come true.
If you throw rice on a just-married couple, they will have many children. If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn, you will have good luck all year. If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow, you will get whatever you want.
Are any of these things true? You may have blown out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow last year, but did you get everything you wanted? Probably not. If you walk under a ladder and a bucket of paint falls on your head-that's pretty bad luck. But if some candy or fruit falls, that's good luck.
In fact, good luck and bad luck are only "superstitions (迷信). Millions of people all over the world believe in superstitions, especially good luck ones. But remember, no amount of acorns is going to save you if you make your decisions because of silly superstitions.
