“Achoo!”
“Bless you.”
This is a common exchange in English-speaking countries. When you hear someone else sneeze (打喷嚏), it is polite to say “bless you”, to which they should reply with “thank you”. But where does this custom (习俗) come from?
In fact, it dates back to medieval (中世纪的) Europe, specifically, the time of the bubonic plague (黑死病). The plague killed nearly one-third of Europe’s population within six years (1347-1353). The first symptom (症状) of the bubonic plague was sneezing. At that time, people believed that if you sneezed, your soul (灵魂) might leave your body.
People didn’t know how to treat the bubonic plague. They were simply encouraged to say “God bless you” and do other superstitious (迷信的) things, hoping the soul would go back into the body. And over time, “God bless you” was shortened to “bless you”.
Of course, in modern times, we know that sneezing has nothing to do with the soul or any other superstitious things. But just like so many other customs from the past, saying “bless you” has stayed with us for hundreds of years.
But you may be wondering — what if someone sneezes more than once? Well, you don't have to keep saying “bless you”. In fact, if someone sneezes more than twice, or sneezes especially loudly, you may want to ask them if they’re OK.
Then again, you don’t really need to say anything at all. People won't think you’re impolite if you forget to say “bless you”. But they will also thank it if you do.
21. Where does the custom “bless you” come from?
____________________________________________________________________22. How did people treat the bubonic plague in the past?
____________________________________________________________________23. How long has “bless you” stayed with us?
____________________________________________________________________24. 将文中画线的句子翻译成汉语。
____________________________________________________________________25. 给文章拟一个合适的标题。
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