Task I. Read the following text.
Are Russians superstitious?
Russians are a mystical, religious, superstitious people at heart. I recall a poet seriously counseling me once never to go back to my apartment for something I had forgotten because it was bad luck to return and to have to leave a second time. A well-educated lady instructed our family on having all members of the household sit for a moment of silence before anyone departed on a journey: evidently a holdover from religious practice, for when she rose she said: “Go with God”. Others were careful not to mention the precise destination of trips so as not to attract the attention of the evil eye.
We knew other Russians who, Orientals, put their faith in the zodiac names of the years. Still others, including intellectuals, swore that leap year is unlucky and attributed all calamities to the cause. The coming of anything as precious as a child invokes all manner of precautions. It is bad luck to pick a name in advance, bad luck to buy a present ahead of time, even worse to discuss the likely date. Russians also regard it as a bad sign, perhaps more out than conformity than superstition, if a child is a left-handed. The moment they catch it starting eat, or draw with left hand, they correct it into the right handedness.
Russians do not knock on wood so much as we but they spit figuratively over their left shoulders for the same purpose. Thirteen persons is bad luck at a table though Russian engineers do dare to put 13th floors in their buildings.
What intrigued me was that Monday is so widely regarded as inauspicious for launching a new undertaking. Not until some friendly Russian journalist put me wise did I understand why trips for foreign correspondents so often began late Sunday rather than Monday Morning.
Any cat, not just a black cat, is a bad omen crossing ones path. But when you gat a new home, Russians said a cat should be the first creature to enter. If a bird flies in a window, it is a very bad portent of impending tragedy, possibly death or jail.
The roots of many of these superstitions seem to lie in the country-side, like the Russian fondness for proverbs or their belief in folk remedies. City people as well as peasants often prefer medicinal herbs and grasses or mustard plaster over modern drugs for simple ailments. An American friend was advised to apply a copper coin to reduce swelling. We saw Russians wearing garlic cloves around their necks to fight off a cold.
So strong are the inhibitions against shaking hands across the threshold, for fear that it foreshadows a quarrel that I came home to America hesitating to reach my hand through the open door.
(О. Леонтович. Введение в Межкультурную коммуникацию, 2007)
Task II. Translate the sentences, using the text lexis:
1.Русские избегают хвалить маленьких детей, потому что это может подвергнуть их опасности сглаза; Russians avoid to praise children so as not to attract the attention of the evil eye.
2.Конечно, это можно предотвратить, если вы сделаете вид, что вы трижды плюете через левое плечо, чтобы не сглазить, произнося при этом «тьфу, тьфу, тьфу», подобно тому, как на Западе стучат по дереву; Of course, this can be prevented if you will pretend that you spit figuratively three times over your left shoulder not to attract the attention of the evil eye by saying this "ugh, ugh, ugh", just as in the West people knock on wood.
3.В России на каждом шагу сталкиваешься с так называемой дурной приметой; In Russia at every step you run into a so-called bad omen;
4.Например, считается дурной приметой, если женщина с пустым ведром пресекает вам дорогу; For example, it is considered a bad omen if a woman with an empty bucket crosses your path.
5. Как и в других странах, плохо, если черная кошка пересекает вам дорогу; As in other countries, it's bad if a black cat crosses your path
6.Русские стараются не ставить пустые бутылки на стол, а если вы остригли ногти с пальцев ног, их не надо выбрасывать в туалет, только в мусорное ведро; Russians try not to put empty bottles on the table, and if you have cut your nails from your toes, they should not be thrown into the toilet, only in the rubbish bin.
7.Разбитое зеркало предсказывает чью-то смерть, а не семь неудачных лет, как это считается в западных странах; A broken mirror predicts someone's death, not seven unsuccessful years, as it is believed in Western countries
8.Русские обязательно посоветуют вам осмотреться в зеркало, если вы забыли что-нибудь и возвращаетесь домой; Russian necessarily advise you to look around in the mirror, if you forget something and come back home.
9. Если в дом залетела птица, произойдет что-то нехорошее. Но если на вас упадет птичий помет, это к деньгам; If a bird has flown into the house, something bad will happen. But if a bird drops on you, it's for money.
10.Свистеть в помещении – не к добру; денег не будет. Whizzing indoors is not good; it’s not for money.
Task III. Translate the sentences, and fill in the empty spaces with your personal ideas upon each statement:
Появление на свет драгоценного ребенка также ведет к всевозможным препятствиям и предубеждениям.
The coming of anything as precious as a child invokes all manner of precautions. It is bad luck to pick a name, to buy a present in advance, even worse to discuss the likely date.
Если вы хотите начать какое-нибудь предприятие, лучше это сделать в воскресенье, а не в понедельник
If you want to start an enterprise, it's better to do it on a Sunday instead of on Monday. The guests came on Monday - wait for guests every day all week.It is believed that on Monday, in no case can anyone give money in debt. If you do not follow this omen, it does not matter what you planned to spend money on this month. They will disperse not at all on what was planned. .
Високосный год ведет за собой всевозможные катаклизмы и неприятности
A leap year leads to all sorts of cataclysms and troubles. Some mythical and historical persons, according to the beliefs associated with the devil, were born on 29.02. In the course of history, there are a lot of terrible events that occurred exactly in a leap year.
Плохая примета, если кошка перебежала вам дорогу, или птица залетела в окно
Bad sign, if the cat ran across the road, or the bird flew out the window. It is believed that animals feel a manifestation of impure forces, so people have followed the behavior of animals and correlated it with superstitions.
Не только крестьяне, но и городские жители используют травяные лекарства, и даже горчичный пластырь