[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-486635-105":59,"doc-detail-486635-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","where-superstitions-come-from-worksheet-reading-comprehension-questions","Where Superstitions Come From - Worksheet: Reading Comprehension Questions","","Explains how superstitions begin and persist, describing examples such as black cats, crossing under ladders, walking under ladder triangles, and cracking mirrors. Covers Roman beliefs about mirrors and the “seven years of bad luck,” plus comforting customs like knocking on wood and hanging horseshoes. Discusses Friday the 13th and scientific reasons people keep these habits, including feeling in control and remembering “hits” while forgetting “misses.” Includes reading comprehension questions and answer choices.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/where-superstitions-come-from-worksheet-reading-comprehension-questions/486635/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/where-superstitions-come-from-worksheet-reading-comprehension-questions/486635.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"CatatanPagi","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",14,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What is the main idea of the passage?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Superstitions are beliefs about luck that started somewhere and have surprising true stories behind them.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"According to scientists, why do people keep superstitions today?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"They can help people feel in control when life feels uncertain. People also notice the times superstitions seem to work and forget the times they do not.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"Why did ancient people think walking under a ladder was risky?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Because the ladder formed a sacred triangle; passing through it was believed to break something holy and invite trouble, and there was also a practical safety risk from ladders and tools falling.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},486635,1790873093,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":39,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":46,"preview_page_count":4},962090894170,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Why would anyone believe that a black cat crossing the road could ruin their whole day? Superstitions are beliefs that a certain action or object brings good luck or bad luck, even when there is no real proof it does anything at all. Some are cheerful, like crossing your fingers or wishing on a falling star, while others make people nervous, like spilling salt. Every one of them started somewhere, and the true stories behind them are stranger than the beliefs themselves.  \nTake one of the oldest bad-luck beliefs of all: walking under a ladder. Long before people worried about paint cans falling on their heads, a ladder leaning against a wall formed a triangle, a shape that many ancient people, including the Egyptians, treated as sacred. Passing through that triangle, folks once said, meant breaking something holy and inviting trouble. There was a practical reason to steer clear, too, since workers and tools really can tumble off a ladder onto whoever is standing below.  \nBroken things worried people just as much as ladders did, and nothing worried them more thana shattered mirror. The ancient Romans believed a mirror captured a piece of your very soul, so cracking one could damage you. They also decided that the body renews itself every seven years, which is how the famous \"seven years of bad luck\" got its number. Mirrors were once so costly that breaking one truly was a small disaster, so the warning may have started as a clever way to make people handle them carefully.  \nNot every superstition brings dread, though, and knocking on wood is one people still do for comfort. Some historians think it goes back to old European beliefs that spirits or good luck lived inside trees, so touching wood was like asking them for help. A horseshoe hung over a door became another good-luck charm, partly because iron was thought to keep bad spirits away, and partly because seven nails held it on. Even the fear of Friday the 13th mixes old ideas, since some groups long treated both Fridays and the number 13 as unlucky on their own.  \nSo why do smart people keep these habits alive today? Scientists say superstitions can make us feel in control when life feels uncertain, like wearing\"lucky\" socks to a big test. Our brains also play a trick called noticing the hits and forgetting the misses, so we remember the one time our lucky charm \"worked\"and forget the many times it didn't. That means the next time you knock on wood, you are joining a habit older than your great-great-grandparents, kept alive by the very way your mind remembers the world.  \nWhere Superstitions Come From  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) What is the main idea of the first paragraph?\u003Cbr>A. Cheerful superstitions are far more common than the nervous kinds of beliefs.\u003Cbr>B. Superstitions are beliefs about luck that all began somewhere and have surprising stories behind them.\u003Cbr>C. Black cats are the most feared animals in the whole world of superstitions.\u003Cbr>D. Most superstitions were invented by ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago. |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 2) According to scientists, why do people keep superstitions today?\u003Cbr>A. They were required by ancient laws that people still follow.\u003Cbr>B. They guarantee that good luck will always come to those who use them.\u003Cbr>C. They can help people feel in control when life feels uncertain.\u003Cbr>D. They protect valuable objects like mirrors from being broken. |  |  |  |  | 4.  \u003Cbr>5.  \u003Cbr>6.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 3) Why did ancient people think walking under a ladder was risky?\u003Cbr>A. Walking under one was said to trap a piece of a person's soul.\u003Cbr>B. Ladders were owned only by kings and were forbidden to ordinary people.\u003Cbr>C. The leaning ladder made a triangle shape that many treated as sacred.\u003Cbr>D. People believed spirits lived inside the wooden steps of every ladder. |  |  | ","cbCaibPDyVBmVeb7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibPDyVBmVeb7","pdf",101783,"English","# Reading Comprehension Questions\n## Main idea and definitions\n## Scientist explanations and memory bias\n## Ladder, mirror, and Friday the 13th beliefs\n## Horseshoe and “seven years” origins","[{\"question\":\"What is the main idea of the passage?\",\"answer\":\"Superstitions are beliefs about luck that started somewhere and have surprising true stories behind them.\"},{\"question\":\"According to scientists, why do people keep superstitions today?\",\"answer\":\"They can help people feel in control when life feels uncertain. People also notice the times superstitions seem to work and forget the times they do not.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did ancient people think walking under a ladder was risky?\",\"answer\":\"Because the ladder formed a sacred triangle; passing through it was believed to break something holy and invite trouble, and there was also a practical safety risk from ladders and tools falling.\"}]","Where Superstitions Come From - Worksheet: Reading Comprehension Questions | PDF",1790806817]