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, god “Jupiter”, whose power stems from his trident or three-pronged thunder-stick in his hand, governs the others. Neptune, the god of the sea, relies on his three-pronged spear, and Pluto is a dog with three heads. Thus number “three” is lodged with extension of power and divinity. And the number “thirteen”, in accordance with the western myth, is an evil one, which has a similar connotation and symbolization to Christianity. It is said that twelve gods were present at a banquet held in heaven in honor of the soldiers sacrificed in the battle. During the dinner, the demoniac Rocky, an unexpected person, arrived and killed the son of the head god Austin to death. Hence, the westerners avoid number “thirteen” just like the plague [17]. All in all, the function of numbers is not limited in the calculation or mathematics. It is obvious that numbers have gradually evolved throughout the long history of humanity, in response to practical requirements for calculation, forming a special culture of numbers. From the analysis above, we know people show different attitudes and preference towards number. Thus, studying the diversity of number cults in English and Chinese not only helps us understand their specific cultures better, but also facilitates intercultural communication. 3. Vagueness of numbers in Chinese and English Vagueness and preciseness are two paradoxical characteristics of human language. Numbers, whose basic function is calculation, are integration of notion and symbol. But in most cases, a lot of numbers in idioms do not designate quantities anymore, not to say precise quantities. Some numbers in idioms mean small quantities both in Chinese and in English [18]. In Chinese, 一(one),二or两(two),三(three) are often used to indicate small quantities. For instance,“一本万利”,i.e. a small investment brings a ten-thousand fold profit. So “一” in the set phrase means a small investment or capital. And “略知一二”means “to know a little”. Compared to one，two and three, the numbers from four to ten are big numbers relatively, as well as hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million and billion. So these numbers can be used to express large quantities. For instance, in Chinese, we have set phrases:三令五申，三番五次，五光十色，五颜六色，千金买笑，千方百计，万目睽睽 and the like. In English, we can see such a sentence “The seventies saw a succession of one-hit wonders who were famous over night and then never heard of again.” Here “one-hit wonder” means the success, which lasts a short period of time. And now let’s look at another example: “They won their last game. But one swallow doesn’t make a summer, they are still bottom of the league.” “one swallow doesn’t make a summer” means one can’t be certain that more good things will happen and the whole situation will improve just because one good thing has happen. Here, “one swallow” doesn’t strictly refer to “one good thing”, but a small quantity. In English, we can see the proverb “A cat has nine lives”, which means that a cat has a vigorous life. Thus, “nine” can also express many. Chinese and English use different counting units. So, in Chinese, “万”( ten thousand), and“亿”(a hundred million) are employed to designate a very large quantities, whereas million and billion are used to achieve the same effect in English. For example, in Chinese, we say “万分感谢” while in English, “ thanks a million” is substituted. Chinese culture and English culture are quite different from each other. In turn, the differences between them influence the va