对于那些患有数字13恐惧症的人们来说，今年可真是难熬的一年。

　　While the superstitious folks afflicted with this problem can easily stay home on Friday the 13th, it’s going to be a lot harder to stay inside for another 362 days.

　　以往迷信的人可以在家躲过每个13号的周五，但剩下362天难道也在家宅过去吗？

　　Why is 13 considered unlucky, anyway?

　　那么为什么13会被认为是不吉利的数字呢？

　　原因1：

　　There were 13 people at the Last Supper.

　　最后的晚餐有13个人

　　It's said that Judas Iscariot and the one who betrayed Jesus - was the 13th man to take his place at the table.

　　据说背叛耶稣的信徒犹大就坐在饭桌的第十三个位子上。

　　原因2：

　　Similarly, there’s a Norse legend that has 12 gods sitting down to a banquet when the 13th (uninvited) god, Loki, shows up.

　　同样，在北欧神话中有12个神的宴会，结果第十三个到来的就是不请自来的洛基（最会惹麻烦的神）。

　　Loki killed one of the other gods, which led to events that eventually resulted in Ragnarok - the death of a bunch of gods, a slew of natural disasters, and the eradication of everything on earth save for two human survivors. There's a lot more to the story than that, but you get the general idea.

　　洛基杀了其中一个神引发了一系列事件，最终导致世界毁灭：众神的死亡、自然灾害和地球上一切的消亡（仅幸存2名人类）。这个故事远没有这么简单，但你能差不多明白个大概。

　　原因3：

　　Many Christians also believe that the Cain and Abel debacle took place on that date

　　很多基督徒认为该隐和他弟弟亚伯是在13号决裂的。

　　Let's go back to Christianity for a moment. Many Christians believe that Jesus was crucified on Friday.

　　我们回头再来看一下基督教，基督徒认为耶稣是周五被钉在十字架上处死的。

　　Researchers, however, believe that it wasn't a case of Friday the 13th lore - it was possibly something like Friday, April 3, 33 A.D. But that doesn't mean the 13th is off the hook.

　　然而研究者认为并不是像传言中在一个13号的周五——有可能是公元33年4月3号星期五。但这也不能排除13这个数字的不祥之兆。

　　原因4:

　　Traditionally, there used to be 13 steps leading up the gallows.

　　传统中通往绞刑台有13个阶梯。

　　There's also a legend that a hangman's noose traditionally contained 13 turns, but it's actually more like eight.

　　原因5：

　　Apollo 13 is the only unsuccessful moon mission (intended to get men on the moon, anyway) thus far.

　　阿波罗13号是目前为止唯一失败的登月计划（试图送太空员登月）。

　　An oxygen tank exploded and the survival of the astronauts on board was pretty touch-and-go for several days, but they did all come home safely in the end (but you already knew that).

　　阿波罗13号氧气罐爆炸，舱内的宇航员要想生存好几天真是难上加难，他们想尽一切办法最终安全回到地面（也许你已经知道这件事）。

　　原因6：

　　There was a mass arrest and execution of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307.

　　1307年十月13号，星期五，有一次大规模的圣殿骑士追捕执行活动。

　　原因7：

　　Apollo 13 is the only unsuccessful moon mission (intended to get men on the moon, anyway) thus far.

　　阿波罗13号是目前为止唯一失败的登月计划（试图送太空员登月）。

　　An oxygen tank exploded and the survival of the astronauts on board was pretty touch-and-go for several days, but they did all come home safely in the end (but you already knew that).

　　阿波罗13号氧气罐爆炸，舱内的宇航员要想生存好几天真是难上加难，他们想尽一切办法最终安全回到地面（也许你已经知道这件事）。

　　原因8：

　　it was once believed that a coven was made up of exactly 13 members.

　　曾一度认为巫师会里有13个成员。

　　Although a coven is now just considered to be any group of witches (or vampires, if you’re into a certain young adult series about sparkly supernaturals)

　　如果你是对超自然系列迷恋的年轻人，现在的巫师会不过是一群巫师（或吸血鬼）的集会而已。

　　原因9：

　　There’s an old superstition that says if you have 13 letters in your name, you’re bound to have the devil’s luck.

　　老的传言中说如果你的名字里有13个字母，那么你注定有魔鬼的运气。

　　Silly, yes, but slightly more convincing when you consider that Charles Manson, Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all contain 13 letters (I know, I know, what about their middle names?).

　　听起来是挺傻，但想想这些有13个字母的人名Charles Manson, Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy 和 Albert De Salvo是不是有点说服力了？（我当然知道，他们的全名是什么来着？）

　　原因10：

　　Kids officially become teenagers at the age of 13, and we all know that’s a scary phase.

　　官方认为小孩于13岁成为青少年，我们都知道这是个恐怖时期。

　　原因11：

　　In numerology, the number 12 is considered to be the representation of perfection and completion.

　　数字学中，12被认为代表着完美和完整。

　　It stands to reason, then, that trying to improve upon perfection by adding a digit is a very bad idea indeed - your greed will be rewarded with bad luck.

　　这是有道理的，想在完美上锦上添花本就是个馊主意——你的贪心只会带来厄运。

　　原因12：

　　In numerology, the number 12 is considered to be the representation of perfection and completion.

　　数字学中，12被认为代表着完美和完整。

　　It stands to reason, then, that trying to improve upon perfection by adding a digit is a very bad idea indeed - your greed will be rewarded with bad luck.

　　这是有道理的，想在完美上锦上添花本就是个馊主意——你的贪心只会带来厄运。

　　原因13：

　　Friday, October 13, 1972, was a bad day in the history of aviation.

　　1972年10月13号星期五，对于航空来说是个灾难日。

　　That's the day that Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 infamously crashed in the Andes, killing 29 people. On the exact same day, 174 people were killed when a Soviet Aeroflot crashed in a lake about a kilometer from the runway.

　　那一天乌拉圭空军571坠毁于安第斯山脉造成29人死亡。同日，前苏联俄罗斯航空坠毁于跑到一公里以外的湖里，造成174人死亡。