How important is color in the business world?
Google, one of the biggest U.S. companies, is trying to find it out. The company has already found “a close connection between color and satisfaction with a person’s work area”. That’s according to its spokeswoman named Meghan Casserly.
“Color is a silent salesperson,” said Elyria Kemp. She is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of New Orleans.
Kemp is following color trends in business. She is studying the connection between feelings and color. According to Kemp, when people make an evaluation (评估) of a product, usually they do this within 90 seconds or less. Besides, more than half of their first evaluation is based on (以……为根据) color alone.
That’s why so many companies are researching their color choices. They are spending thousands of dollars on the research, too. Just think of UPS’s Pullman brown, Home Depot’s orange and Tiffany & Co.’s blue.
Joclyn Benedetto is a spokeswoman for Tiffany & Co. She said the success of the company’s jewelry (珠宝) was connected to its blue color. It is used to wrap (包装) every product. She said the color was chosen by the founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for the cover of Blue Book, Tiffany’s annual collection of beautifully hand-made jewels, which first came out in 1845.
Coca-Cola’s red color also dates back more than 100 years. The soft drink was shipped in barrels painted red.
A spokesperson for Home Depot said research showed that the first thing people thought of was orange when they heard the name of the company.
Smaller companies are also realizing the importance of color. But picking the right color is important.
“You know when something is right because you get a feeling of safety, and it’s not something that you think about. It just will hit you,” said Emil Hagopian, a distributor for Mar Plast Color Building Accessories in Ann Arbor, Mich. “And sometimes, if it’s done wrong, that also hits you.”
1.What is Google trying to find out?
A. How to create a better work area.
B. How to become the biggest U.S. company.
C. The connection between color and business.
D. The secret of success in the business world.
2.Which company does Meghan Casserly work for?
A. Tiffany & Co. B. Coca-Cola.
C. Home Depot. D. Google.
3.People usually make an evaluation of a product .
A. in a short time B. in a long time
C. based on its shape D. based on their feelings
4.What do we know about Tiffany & Co. according to the passage?
A. It only sells women’s clothes.
B. Blue is its owner’s favorite color.
C. Its products are wrapped in blue.
D. Its red color dates back over 100 years.
5.The passage is mainly about .
A. the colors which are popular in the United States
B. the importance of color in the business world
C. the relation between color and a company’s name
D. the bad influence color has on small companies
How do you like your school? Have you ever written to your headmaster to express your idea? Here are some letters written by students from different schools.
Luke, 14, from Jiangsu
I will give some suggestions about our school uniform. In our school, we students have to wear uniform every day. But the yellow and green sports kit（服装）looks really dark and old. It can’t stand for young and lively spirit. We can add some red or orange colors and make a new type of uniform. I hope our headmaster will think about it.
Danny, 14, from Zhejiang
I have two suggestions for my headmaster. First of all, I think we should have more hobby classes in science , such as plane model making class and computer programming class. It is really boring to study basic subjects all the time. And second, I hope we can have more PE lessons or more time for physical exercise. Lots of students now don’t have a strong enough body.
Sam, 15, from Shanxi
I’d like to say thank you to my headmaster. About one week ago, I got a bad cold after playing basketball. Our headmaster came to me after he knew about it. He took care of me until my parents came. I really want to thank him for that.
Helen, 14, from Shandong
In the letter I wrote, I want to talk about the possibility of personal（个性化的）classes. Now many middle schools are trying the “personal class” system. Students don’t have regular classes. They can choose lessons they want to take. I think it is more effective. And it is also good for exercise. We don’t have to stay in one classroom all the time.
1.Luke gives some suggestions about ______ in his letter.
A. hobby classes B. personal classes
C. school uniform D. basketball playing
2.The reasons why Danny gives two suggestions are that ______.
A. students have too few classes every day and they love sports
B. studying basic subjects only is boring and students are too weak
C. hobby classes are interesting and students have no PE lessons at all
D. students want to cancel the basic subjects and they want to have more sports lessons
3.All the students except ______ write to the headmaster to complain about something.
A. Luke B. Danny
C. Sam D. Helen
4.The underlined sentence “I think it is more effective” means “______”
A. Regular classes will be more vivid and lively.
B. Regular classes will help students learn better.
C. Personal classes will be more vivid and lively.
D. Personal classes will help students learn better.
5.According to the passage, most students write to their headmasters about _______.
A. personal experiences
B. how to make schools better
C. spare time activities
D. how to deal with other students
From the time each of my children started school, I packed their lunches. And in each lunch I packed, I left a note. The note might be a thank-you for a special moment, or a few words of encouragement for the coming test or sporting event.
When they were little, they loved their notes. And when I went back to teaching, they even put notes in my lunches. As they grew older, my elder son, Marc, told me that he no longer needed my daily notes. Telling him that he no longer needed to read them but I still needed to write them, I continued the tradition until the day he graduated.
Six years after high school graduation, Marc called and asked if he could stay at home for a couple of months. He had spent those years well, and he was very successful. He lived far away from home. With his younger sister leaving for college, I was especially looking forward to seeing Marc at home.
Since I was still making lunch every day for his younger brother, I packed one for Marc, too. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from my 24-year-old son, complaining (抱怨) about his lunch.
“Did I do something wrong? Aren’t I still your kid? Don’t you love me any more, Mom?” he asked.
I laughingly asked him what was wrong.
“My note, Mom,” he answered. “Where’s my note?”
This year my younger son will be in high school. He, too, has said that he is too old for notes. But like his elder brother and sister, he will receive those notes till the day he graduates.
1.Every time the writer packed lunches for her children, .
A. she wrote them a letter
B. she gave them a kiss
C. she gave some flowers to them
D. she wrote them a note
2.How many children may the writer have according to the passage?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.
3.Why did Marc call to complain about his lunch?
A. Because he didn’t like the taste of the lunch.
B. Because the lunch wasn’t enough for him.
C. Because his mother didn’t love him any more.
D. Because he didn’t find the note in the lunch box.
4. From the last paragraph we know that .
A. the writer didn’t prepare lunch for her daughter
B. the writer will continue writing notes for her younger son
C. Marc didn’t love the note in the lunch box
D. the writer’s children won’t get money from her any more
5.What is the BEST title for the passage?
A. Love notes B. Children’s complaint
C. My children’s story D. Lunches for children
Old George selected（挑选） his food in the supermarket more carefully than NASA chose its astronauts. When he left the cashier, he was ________ to think that he had saved 80 cents today.
At the exit, the cold wind made him ________ his gloves. He looked for them in his coat and pants ________ could not find them anywhere. He had bought the black gloves at a(an) ________ price, for just $35, years ago. They were ________ and very comfortable. He had taken great care looking ________them, so they were in good condition.
George, calm on the outside but mad on the inside, re-entered the ________. He followed the same route he had walked before. Several minutes of searching turned out to be in vain (徒劳). His _______ were gone. “People have changed,” he said to himself. “Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not any more!”
He stared at anybody wearing black gloves to see if they looked like ________. On his way to the dairy section, he ________ a lady wearing a pair of black gloves. He sped up and in three seconds was in front of her. But _______ the surprised woman looked over, his eyes dropped, for her gloves were just far too small to be his. He went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves, but she said no. He finally walked out ________ the street.
A few days later, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. ________ getting on the subway, he stepped into the supermarket again. He wanted to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. “What color are they?” the woman in the office asked. “Black,” he ________the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of ________ leather gloves. “Are they?”
“Yes! Those are mine,” George exclaimed, his eyes full of joy.
1.A. sad B. sorry C. pleased D. worried
2.A. think of B. think about C. think over D. think for
3.A. when B. and C. but D. so
4.A. good B. high C. cheap D. expensive
5.A. hard B. soft C. new D. small
6.A. for B. after C. at D. over
7.A. exit B. condition C. store D. office
8.A. coats B. pants C. gloves D. cents
9.A. him B. his C. them D. theirs
10.A. caught B. knocked C. held D. noticed
11.A. although B. when C. unless D. until
12.A. of B. off C. on D. into
13.A. After B. When C. While D. Before
14.A. returned B. got C. gave D. took
15.A. kid’s B. men’s C. women’s D. lady’s
—I dropped my new iPhone on the ground last night. And it doesn’t work now.
— _________.
A. That’s all right. B. I’m afraid not.
C. Sorry to hear that. D. No problem.
— Did the newspaper say _____________?
—Yes, from Hunan.
A. how the bad rice came
B. where the bad rice came from
C. how did the bad rice come
D. where did the bad rice come from
