‘Clink’ for Luck

Western people usually ‘clink’ their glasses when proposing a toast. It is assumed that the ‘clinking’
sound of the glasses will scare off the evil spirits and bring good luck to the guests.
How did this tradition begin? Well, it was started by people from the olden days. During those days,
ancient people believed that when they drank alcohol the ‘spirits’ would enter their bodies together
with the drink. They also believed it was the spirits that made them talk rubbish and made some
mischief.
Moreover, the word ‘spirits’ happen to have the same spelling as a colorless liquid found in wine that
makes the person gets drunk. The same word is also meant for the soul. Consequently, some people
concluded that the spirit is the soul that enters humans’ bodies through liquor.
These people believed that if they clink the glasses, the noise would frighten the devils away and bring
them good luck. Therefore, it was claimed that the louder someone clinks his/her glass the better
he/she would scare off the devil spirits.

A. Find the synonym of these words on the text.

1. Suggesting
2. Wickedness
3. Ghost
4. Come into
5. Chat
6. Nonsense
7. Trouble
8. Fluid
9. Identical
10. Carry

B. Answer the questions based on the text.

1. What is the text about?
2. According to the passage above, what would the spirits do when they entered humans’ bodies?
3. Why did people perceive alcohol as spirits?
4. According to the text, what make the devils frighten away?
5. ‘How did this tradition begin? Well, it was started by people from the olden days.’ (paragraph 2)
It refers to….