Question

【题目】Every person has their own way of saying things, their own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

Red is a hot colour. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their colour and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixicland jazz.

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they’re in the pink when they’re in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the 20th century. It probably came from many babies who were born with a nice pink colour showing good health.

Blue is a cool colour. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song---Mood Indigo—about the deep blue colour, indigo. In the words of the song: “You aren’t blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.” Someone who is blue is very sad.

The colour green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural colour for humans. A person who has a sick feeling in his stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as his friend’s, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars of greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the colour of the back side of the paper money.

The colour black is often used in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

【1】If you had your wallet stolen while doing some shopping, you may call it ________.

A. a white day B. a green day

C. a red day D. a black day

【2】Suppose Mr. Brown says his three children are all in the pink. This means they are ________.

A. fit and healthy B. gentle and modest

C. creative and energetic D. lucky and wealthy

【3】When she got home and found nothing had been done by her husband, Jane was really ________.

A. blue B. red hot

C. green D. black

【4】In the follow paragraph, the writer might tell the reader something about ________.

A. people’s response towards a black day

B. more words about a colour, such as brown

C. the influence of the traditional blues

D. unpopular organizations in the world

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】A

【3】B

【4】B

【解析】本文主要介绍了在美国文化中与色彩相关的习语。美国的很多日常表达都与颜色有关，例如red（红色）表示热、愤怒还有流行等意思；pink（粉色）指代健康的；blue（蓝色）表示忧郁的等等。

【1】推理判断题。根据最后一段中People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day.可知，人们把什么事儿都不对劲的那一天称为“黑色的日子”。买东西的时候钱包被人偷了，属于倒霉的事情，所以那一天称为“黑色的日子”。故选D。

【2】推理判断题。从第三段中People sometimes say they’re in the pink when they’re in good health可知，人们认为“粉色”代表健康。故选A。

【3】推理判断题。根据第二段中When they are red hot they are very angry about something.可知，人们会用red hot表示“生气”。根据题干可知妻子回到家里发现丈夫什么事情都没有做，所以推测出妻子十分生气。故选B。

【4】推理判断题。根据文章开头Many everyday American expression are based on colors可知，美国的很多日常表达都与颜色有关。接下来文章介绍了与red、pink、blue、green、black这些颜色相关的习语，所以推测出下文应该是继续介绍与其他颜色相关的习语。故选B。