? ? ? What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow,orange,or red? If you do, you must be an optimist(樂(lè)觀主義者), a leader, an active person who enjoys life，people and excitement. Do you prefer greys and blues? Then you are probably quiet,shy, and you would rather follow than lead.
You tend to be a pessimist(悲觀主義者). At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of colours preference, as well as the effect that colours have on human beings. They tell us, among other facts, that we do not choose our favourite colour as we grow up—we are born with our preference. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes,or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
Colours do influence our moods—there is no doubt about it. A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing. A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides(自殺) than any other bridge in the area—until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell down sharply; perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
Light and bright colours make people not only happier but more active. It is an established fact that factory workers work better,harder,and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.
問(wèn)題：
1.The sentence “you would rather follow than lead” in paragraph 1 means that you would __________.
A.like to lead followers
B.be afraid of following others
C.be a member rather than a leader
D.like to be a leader rather than a follower
【參考答案】C
[考點(diǎn)]詞語(yǔ)理解題?
【精析】C 首先要知道句中would rather…than…的意思為“寧愿……而不愿……”。此處指“寧愿追隨而不喜歡領(lǐng)導(dǎo)?！庇纱丝赏浦司湓捪氡磉_(dá)的意思是“你寧愿當(dāng)一個(gè)追隨者(成員)，而不愿當(dāng)一名領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者”，與C項(xiàng)表達(dá)的意思一致。
2.If one enjoys life,one is sure to prefer __________.
A.red to yellow
B.blue to orange
C.blue to yellow
D.red to grey
【參考答案】D
[考點(diǎn)]推理判斷題
【精析】D 由文章首段第二、三句話可知，喜歡黃色、橘色、紅色的人是樂(lè)觀主義者、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者、享受生活的積極人士。由此可推知，如果一個(gè)人很享受生活的話，他一定更喜愛(ài)這三種顏色。另外，由第一段第四、五、六句可知，悲觀主義者喜歡灰色和藍(lán)色。所以D項(xiàng)說(shuō)法正確。
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A.People’s preference of one colour to another is instinct.
B.People’s preference of one colour to another is acquired as they grow up.
C.Factory workers meet fewer accidents when their machines are painted grey.
D.More people happen to love brown because they saw it when they were born.
【參考答案】A
[考點(diǎn)]?事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題
【精析】A 由文章第一段最后兩句話可知，我們并非在成長(zhǎng)的過(guò)程中選擇最喜愛(ài)的色彩，因?yàn)樵缭谖覀兂錾鷷r(shí)就已經(jīng)確定了喜好(we are born with our preference),因此A項(xiàng)符合文義，B項(xiàng)不正確;由文章最后一段最后一句可知，C項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤;由第一段最后一句可知，如果你碰巧喜歡棕色，那么在你出生時(shí)就已經(jīng)是這樣了(did so=loved brown),而并非因?yàn)槟愠錾鷷r(shí)看到了棕色才喜歡它，故D項(xiàng)也不正確。
4. Those who committed suicide preferred the bridge over the Thames River to others because of its __________.
A.shape
B.colour
C.structure
D.materials
【參考答案】B
[考點(diǎn)]推理判斷題
【精析】B 由文章第二段第四、五句可知，自殺者都愿意選擇Thames River上的黑色橋作為自殺地，它被刷成綠色后，企圖自殺的人數(shù)就急劇下降了(The number of suicide attempts immediately fell down sharply…)。由此可推知，colour(色彩)是自殺者選擇在泰晤士河上的橋上自殺的重要因素。
5.The main idea of the passage is that __________.
A.colours affect people’s mood
B.colours affect people’s character
C.bright colours make people more active
D.colours preference shows people’s courage
【參考答案】A
[考點(diǎn)]主旨大意題
【精析】A 文章通篇都在講人們對(duì)色彩的喜好，第二段又著重講述了色彩對(duì)人們情緒(mood)的影響。因此綜合可知，文章大意是色彩對(duì)人們情緒的影響。故選A。