Question

Many daily American expressions are based (以……为基础) 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 “look 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.

阅读短文，选择最佳选项。

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. 灯火管制   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.C

2.D

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文讲述的是美国英语中很多表达都是跟颜色有关的，短文中的作者给我们总结了很多关于颜色的表达，如红色、蓝色、绿色和黑色。这些表达都跟他们字面的意思是不同的。

1.细节理解题。根据短文第三段中People sometimes say “I’m in the pink” when they are in good health.可知当人们身体健康的时候，他们会说I’m in the pink，所以这个短语的意思是身体健康。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据短文第六段中People may say “it’s a black day” when everything goes wrong on that day.可知，如果那天一切都不顺利，都出了错误，人们就会说It’s a black day。故应该选D。

3.细节理解题。根据短文的最后一段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，在二战期间，晚上的时候城市里所有的灯都被关掉，这是为了让敌人的飞机在黑暗中不容易发现他们的目标。由此可知blackouts是灯火管制的意思。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据Red is a hot colour. Americans often use it to represent heat可知A不对；根据Blues is slow and sad. Someone who is “blue” is very sad.可知B不对；根据Blue is a cool colour.可知C不对；根据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是正确的。故选D。

考点：文化类短文阅读。