[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-486633-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-486633-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","where-superstitions-come-from-reading-comprehension-questions","Where Superstitions Come From - Reading Comprehension Questions","","Reading comprehension material exploring the origins and persistence of superstitions, including common examples like knocking on wood, avoiding ladders, and the fear of Friday the 13th. The passage explains how early stories and practical warnings blend together, why broken mirrors were linked to seven years of bad luck, and why people remember “hits” while forgetting “misses.” It also connects superstition to brain-based needs for control in uncertain moments.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/where-superstitions-come-from-reading-comprehension-questions/486633/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/where-superstitions-come-from-reading-comprehension-questions/486633.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"CatatanPagi","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the passage say superstitions are?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Superstitions are beliefs that some action or object can change your luck even when there is no real connection between the two.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the passage explain the origin of fear related to Friday the 13th?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It states that no single event created the fear; rather, the number 13 was treated as unwelcome and Friday was already considered unlucky in several traditions, so the two concerns combined.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why do superstitions persist according to the passage and scientists studying the brain?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"They give people a feeling of control when life feels uncertain, and people tend to remember the times the “lucky” ritual seemed to work while forgetting when it did not.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},486633,1790873466,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,95,100,105,110,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":111,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":118,"preview_page_count":4},962090894170,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Have you ever crossed your fingers before a big test, or refused to step on a crack in the sidewalk? If so, you are joining a club that stretches back thousands of years and includes almost everyone you know. Superstitions are beliefs that some action or object can change your luck, even when there is no real connection between the two. They come in every flavor: horseshoes nailed above doorways, coins tossed into fountains, and the nervous knock on a wooden table. The strangest part is not the beliefs themselves, but how stubbornly they cling to us.  \nThat stubborn wooden table has a story of its own. People once told a tale that  \nspirits lived inside trees, so touching or knocking on wood was a way to thank them or ask for protection. Ladders carry a legend too: a ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangle, and to some early Christians that shape stood for something sacred, so walking through it felt disrespectful. There is also a plainer reason to avoid ladders that any construction worker will tell you today, because something might fall on your head. Sometimes the practical warning came first, and the spooky story grew around it later.  \nBroken mirrors got an even gloomier reputation than broken ladders. Long ago, the Romans believed a mirror captured a piece of your very soul, so cracking one damaged part of you, and they added that the harm would last seven years. Why seven? They thought the body renewed itself every seven years, so that was how long your rotten luck was sentenced to stay. A horseshoe, on the other hand, was a lucky charm, partly because iron was thought to scare off evil and partly because blacksmiths were respected as nearmagical workers.  \nThe unluckiest idea of all may be Friday the 13th, a date some people dread so much they will not fly or sign contracts on it. No single event created this fear, but the number 13 has long been treated as an unwelcome guest, arriving right after the tidy, comfortable number 12. Friday was already considered an unlucky day in several old traditions, so pairing it with 13 stacked one worry on top of another. There is even a tongue-twisting name for the fear of this date: paraskevidekatriaphobia. Try saying that three times before your next unlucky Friday!  \nSo why do smart people keep believing things that make no logical sense? Scientists who study the brain say superstitions give us a feeling of control when life feels uncertain, like a security blanket you can carry into a scary moment. We also fall for a trick of memory: we notice the times the lucky socks worked and quietly forget the many times they did not. That habit of remembering the hits and ignoring the misses is exactly how a harmless ritual grows into a rule we obey. The next time you knock on wood, you will be repeating a gesture older than any country on Earth, all because your brain loves a good story.  \nWhere Superstitions Come From  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) What is the central idea of this passage?\u003Cbr>A. Superstitions only involve objects like horseshoes, ladders, and broken mirrors.\u003Cbr>B. Superstitions come from old stories, and our brains keep them alive for real psychological reasons.\u003Cbr>C. Superstitions are dangerous beliefs that scientists are working hard to erase from society.\u003Cbr>D. Superstitions were invented by the Romans and later spread to every country on Earth. |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.  \u003Cbr>4.  \u003Cbr>5.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 2) How does the passage describe the origin of the fear of Friday the 13th?\u003Cbr>A. Blacksmiths refused to work on that day, spreading the fear widely.\u003Cbr>B. A famous disaster on that exact date frightened people for generations.\u003Cbr>C. The Romans declared it unlucky when they broke a sacred mirror.\u003Cbr>D. No single event created it; an unlucky number and an unlucky day were combined. |  |  |  |  | 6.  \u003Cbr>7.  \u003Cbr>8.   |  |  |","cbCaimwxHcxx7eaW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimwxHcxx7eaW","pdf",102966,"English","# Reading Comprehension\n## Questions (1-7)\n## Questions (8-10)","[{\"question\":\"What does the passage say superstitions are?\",\"answer\":\"Superstitions are beliefs that some action or object can change your luck even when there is no real connection between the two.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the passage explain the origin of fear related to Friday the 13th?\",\"answer\":\"It states that no single event created the fear; rather, the number 13 was treated as unwelcome and Friday was already considered unlucky in several traditions, so the two concerns combined.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do superstitions persist according to the passage and scientists studying the brain?\",\"answer\":\"They give people a feeling of control when life feels uncertain, and people tend to remember the times the “lucky” ritual seemed to work while forgetting when it did not.\"}]","Where Superstitions Come From - Reading Comprehension Questions | PDF",1790806817]