Question

Many daily American expressions are based (以……為基礎(chǔ)) on colours.

Red is a hot colour. Americans often use it to represent heat. When they say “red-hot”, that means they are very angry about something. Loud music is popular with many people. Some may say that such music is red-hot.

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say “I’m in the pink” when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the 20th century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink colour that shows that they are in good health.

Blue is a cool colour. The old Blues music in the United States is the opposite of red-hot music. Blues is slow and sad. 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 an upset stomach may say “I’m feeling a bit green”. A person on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves can be said “l(fā)ook very green”. Sometimes a person may be very jealous because he does not have anything as nice as someone has, like a fast new car. That person may say “I’m green with envy”. Some people are green with envy because someone has more dollars or “greenbacks”. Dollars are called greenbacks in American slangs because that is the colour of the bottom of their bank notes.

The colour black is used often in expressions. People may say “it’s a black day” when everything goes wrong on that day.

In some cases, colours describe a situation. Blackouts were common during the World War II. All the lights in a city were turned off at night to make it difficult for enemy planes to find their aims in the dark.

閱讀短文，選擇最佳選項(xiàng)。

1. What does “I’m in the pink” mean?

A. I’m sad. B. I’m happy.

C. I’m healthy. D. I’m worried.

2. We describe a day on which everything goes wrong as ______.

A. a red day B. a green day

C. a pink day D. a black day

3. What does the underlined word, “blackouts” mean in Chinese?

A. 漆黑的夜晚 B. 穿黑衣服外出

C. 燈火管制 D. 去掉黑色

4.Which of the following sentences is TRUE, according to the passage?

A. People in the USA use the colour black to express heat.

B. If you are blue, you are very happy.

C. Blue and red are both warm colours.

D. If someone is very rich, you may be green with envy.

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：這篇短文講述的是美國(guó)英語(yǔ)中很多表達(dá)都是跟顏色有關(guān)的，短文中的作者給我們總結(jié)了很多關(guān)于顏色的表達(dá)，如紅色、藍(lán)色、綠色和黑色。這些表達(dá)都跟他們字面的意思是不同的。

1.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文第三段中People sometimes say “I’m in the pink” when they are in good health.可知當(dāng)人們身體健康的時(shí)候，他們會(huì)說(shuō)I’m in the pink，所以這個(gè)短語(yǔ)的意思是身體健康。故選C。

2.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文第六段中People may say “it’s a black day” when everything goes wrong on that day.可知，如果那天一切都不順利，都出了錯(cuò)誤，人們就會(huì)說(shuō)It’s a black day。故應(yīng)該選D。

3.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文的最后一段Blackouts were common during the World War II. All the lights in a city were turned off at night to make it difficult for enemy planes to find their aims in the dark.可知，在二戰(zhàn)期間，晚上的時(shí)候城市里所有的燈都被關(guān)掉，這是為了讓敵人的飛機(jī)在黑暗中不容易發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的目標(biāo)。由此可知blackouts是燈火管制的意思。故選C。

4.推理判斷題。根據(jù)Red is a hot colour. Americans often use it to represent heat可知A不對(duì)；根據(jù)Blues is slow and sad. Someone who is “blue” is very sad.可知B不對(duì)；根據(jù)Blue is a cool colour.可知C不對(duì)；根據(jù)Sometimes a person may be very jealous because he does not have anything as nice as someone has, like a fast new car. That person may say “I’m green with envy”可知D是正確的。故選D。

考點(diǎn)：文化類短文閱讀。