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Do you have a lucky number? What is it? Many people have a special number that they hope will bring them good luck.

In Chinese culture, some numbers are believed to be lucky or unlucky based on (基于)the Chinese word that the number sounds similar to. For example, number 8 sounds similar to the words for “making a fortune”. Some people will even spend a lot of money to have 8s in their phone number or vehicle license plate (車牌) numbers. The opening ceremony (開幕式) of the Beijing Olympics began at 8:08 p.m. on August 8, 2008.

The number 9 is also a lucky number because of its connection to the emperors of China. There were nine dragons on emperors’ robes (長袍) and Chinese myths (神話) held that the dragon had nine children. The number 9 also stands for “l(fā)ong lasting”. That's why a man always gives a woman 99 or 999 roses.

So What’s a “bad luck” number in China? It might be 4. Many Chinese people see 4 as a “bad luck” number because it sounds similar to, the character for “death”. Because of this, many buildings skip the fourth floor, and simply call it the fifth floor. In Hong Kong, some buildings even skip all floors numbered with 4, such as,4,14,24,34 and all 40—49 floors. Some buildings also skip the 13th floor, as this is considered an unlucky number in many Christian countries. As a result, a building whose highest floor is 50 may have only 35 physical floors.

1.Why do Chinese people consider number 8 a lucky number?

2.Why does a man always give a woman 99 or 999 roses in China?

3.Is it easy for Chinese people to think of death when they see number 4?

4.Where is number 13 considered an unlucky number?

5.How many floors may a building whose highest floor is 50 have in Hong Kong?

Answer 1