Learn the superstitions about walking under ladders and shooting stars
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Walking Under Ladders and Shooting Stars. I'm Eric and I'm joined by Yasmine. |
| Yasmine: Hi, I'm Yasmine. |
| THE TWO SUPERSTITIONS |
| Eric: In this lesson we’ll talk about two common superstitions in France. The first superstition is about bad luck. What’s it called in French? |
| Yasmine: passer sous une échelle |
| Eric: Which literally means "walk under a ladder." Yasmine, can you repeat the French phrase again? |
| Yasmine: [slow] passer sous une échelle [normal] passer sous une échelle |
| Eric: In France, it's believed that walking under a ladder brings bad luck. |
| Yasmine: This superstition probably has a religious origin. |
| Eric: Right. A ladder against a wall makes 3 sides, which represents the Holy Trinity. |
| Yasmine: So, walking under a ladder is believed to be sacrilege. |
| Eric: Not to mention, it can be dangerous if someone is on the ladder. |
| Yasmine: To sum up, walk around ladders, just in case. |
| Eric: The second superstition is about good luck. What’s it called in French? |
| Yasmine: étoile filante |
| Eric: Which literally means "shooting star." Let’s hear it in French again. |
| Yasmine: [slow] étoile filante [normal] étoile filante |
| Eric: In France, it's believed that if you see a shooting star, you should make a wish. |
| Yasmine: Right, if you wish on a shooting star, it’ll come true. |
| Eric: In the past, people believed shooting stars were the souls of the dead ascending to Heaven. |
| Yasmine: These souls could bring one's wishes to heaven. |
| Eric: That’s why wishing on a shooting star was lucky. Because you were almost sure that the wish would make it to heaven. |
| Yasmine: It’s believed so, yes. |
Outro |
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| Eric: There you have it - two French superstitions! Are they similar to any of your country’s superstitions? Let us know in the comments! |
| Yasmine: À bientôt! |
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