Weaving It Together

or examples does he or she give to support
the belief that the superstition is true?
Culture Cue
Remind students that although they may
not believe in a particular superstition, it
may have deep signifi cance to a person
from another culture. It is important to be
sensitive to the feelings of others who have
belief systems different from our own.
Internet Activity
If students are interested, suggest that they
research the numbers of a famous person’s
birth date as well as the numbers of their
own birth date.
Suggested keywords:
numerology
lucky numbers
number superstitions
lucky dates
Predicting, p. 14
Answers will vary.
Vocabulary
A. Vocabulary in Context, p. 16
1. a 2. a 3. b 4. b 5. d 6. a 7. d
B. Vocabulary Building, p. 17
1. a. superstitious b. superstitions
2. a. lucky b. luck 3. a. believe
b. belief
C. Vocabulary in New Context, p. 18
Answers will vary.
20 Unit 1
Reading Comprehension
A. Looking for the Main Ideas, p. 18
1. b 2. a 3. d
B. Looking for Details, p. 19
1. A seventh child had special gifts.
2. A dream repeated three times will
come true. 3. The seventh year in a
person’s life brought great change.
4. Three was lucky because it symbolized
birth, life, and death. 5. Five is
considered a holy and lucky number
in Egypt. 6. Four symbolized unity,
endurance, and balance. 7. One of the
earliest written stories about the number
13 appeared in Norwegian mythology.
8. The thirteenth day of the month is
considered unlucky for new enterprises
or journeys. 9. They give a room the
number 12A or 14 instead of 13.
C. Making Inferences and Drawing
Conclusions, p. 20
Answers will vary. Possible answers:
1. Pythagoras stated that things
happen in sets of three. 2. A seventh
child might be thought of as special
because the number seven was thought
to govern the lives of human beings.
3. People might not want to stay in
a room with the number 13 assigned
to it. 4. Belief in the power of numbers
has persisted in spite of the advances
made by science and technology.
5. People believe in superstitions
because they are a way of making the
world feel safer and more controllable.
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