Superstitions - Part 1

1 Look through the NOTES and watch the Episode “Superstitions- Part 1”. (Мультимедийный каталог 1556→Unit 9)

The Last Supper - the meal eaten by Christ with his disciples on the night before his Crucifixion;

Absenteeism – the high rate of absence where regular attendance is expected

Incantation – the speaking or singing of certain words for the purpose of raising spirits or performing magical actions.

‘Mojo’ - magical power with its magical spell, acts, or charm. Widely believed in among sportsmen.

Thespian – (of or pertaining to Thespis, a Greek tragic poet and the traditional founder of Greek tragedy) a tragedian, an actor or actress.

a coven - a group or meeting of witches

Pandora - the first woman, made out of earth by the gods. Given a box (Pandora’s box) that she was forbidden to open, she disobeyed out of curiosity and released from it all the ills;

2 Check you know the meanings of the words and phrases given in the box, make use of them when covering the information provided in the episode:

1. An ancient and a modern man have a lot of superstitions in common.

Humans have always tried to fend off fear and dread with the belief that small personal rituals would protect them. Far from being an ancient practice, superstition is very much alive today. Superstitions have been around since the first man appeared on the Earth, and they will continue to exist, even though people will try to squelch them and do away with them, saying that they’re bad and even evil. They provide a very important function in getting people through life, through the trouble spots. 21^st-century man would appear to be a rational creature who believes in the sciences. But in spite of our technical advances, most of us exhibit some form of superstitious behavior. Stephen King, renowned author, even said that he doesn’t like the number 13, daring his audience to make a federal case of it.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 995