Question

someone who never opens an umbrella inside, avoids walking under ladders at all costs, and always crosses their fingers when they make a wish can be called superstitious. superstitious people think or do things that are based on fear or belief rather than facts or evidence. for example, they might think that a wish is more likely to come true if they cross their fingers while making it, even though theres no evidence to suggest thats true.
superstitions have been around for thousands of years, according to historians, and for emperors in ancient china, they were no laughing matter. in fact, chinese emperors were guided and influenced by their beliefs in omens. good omens could mean that the emperor had the \mandate of heaven\ to be the sole ruler of china. bad omens could mean the opposite—that the emperor had lost the mandate of heaven—and that, the chinese emperors believed, would be disastrous.
so, the emperors and their government officials paid close attention to birds, meteorites, and strange storms, because they believed that any of these could be a harbinger that bad luck was imminent, or that the deities they believed in were upset. after seeing a bad omen, theyd try to do something to reverse it, like releasing all the prisoners from jail.
people were always vigilant for auspicious omens. if officials told an emperor that they had seen or captured a dragon, that was a very good omen, because it was supposed to be a sign that a wise person was on the throne.
it was very easy for people to fabricate bad omens to tell the emperor. if an emperor heard reports of a serious omen he would have to act. so making
question 8
which of these is a statement of opinion?
a. knocking on wood to bring good luck is a superstition that is shared by many cultures.
b. there were some ancient chinese emperors who were influenced by their belief in omens.
c. there are some curious and amusing superstitions that are shared by many cultures today.
d. seeing a dragon in ancient china was thought to be a sign that a wise person was on the throne.

Explanation:

A statement of opinion is a subjective view rather than a fact. Options B, C, and D are factual statements about historical beliefs and cultural phenomena. Option A presents a subjective belief (knocking on wood to bring good luck) as a superstition, which is an opinion.

Answer:

A. Knocking on wood to bring good luck is a superstition that is shared by many cultures.