1 . The color blue is very rare in nature, with fewer than one in 10 plants sporting the common human favorite. To present this color, they have to perform tricks to make themselves blue to the human eyes. In some lowers like bluebells, it primarily occurs when naturally occurring pigments (色素) are mixed the way you can mix different paints to change the color.
For blueberries, the blue comes on the naturally produced thin layer of wax (蜡) on their skin, which often serves as a self-cleaning coating or for added protection in the plant kingdom. “The blue of most fruits is in their pigmented juices. That isn’t the case with blueberries,” says Rox Middleton, co-author of a study published in Science Advances.
In the study, Middleton and his team examined the wax of a blueberry using an electron microscope. They found that the layer of wax is composed of tiny structures that work by scattering (散射) blue and UV light from the sun, while absorbing most of other colors of light. The arrangement makes the berries appear blue to humans and blue-UV to birds and other species that can see UV light, despite not having blue pigments in the waxy skin itself.
To look closer, they removed the outer wax and reshaped it on a black card. They created a new blue-UV coating and removed a very thin substance that creates color called a colorant from the skin. “The colorants scatter blue and UV, letting the other colors pass through without absorption,” says Middleton. “That’s why it’s so important that there are dark pigments underneath to ‘mop up’ the rest of the light. If there was a bright pigment or white scattering material underneath, that light would come through, and the color would look mixed or washed out.”
The study does show that nature has developed a “really neat trick” in the form of a very thin layer for an important colorant. Reproducing this colorant in the lab could make a way for new methods of creating pigments.
1. How do bluebells present blue to humans?| A．By blocking natural light. | B．By combining the pigments. |
| C．By changing the outer colour. | D．By producing various paints. |
| A．Its colorful pigments. | B．Its internal mechanism. |
| C．Its chemical changes. | D．Its unique components. |
| A．Mix. | B．Reflect. | C．Recognize. | D．Absorb. |
| A．The Science Behind Plant Colors | B．The Invisible Pigments Of Blueberries |
| C．Technically, Blueberries Aren’t Blue | D．Indeed, Color Blue Is Human Favorite |
2 . Have you ever paid attention to the color of the airplane seats? They’re almost always blue and there are very few exceptions to this rule. Some people think it reminds us of the sky. But the explanation isn’t that simple!
It is calming.
Color psychology plays an important role in selecting the fabric for airplane seats. “The idea is to help passengers feel at home, with relaxing colors and restful designs,” explained Shelly Zundell in a Boeing press release.
In a study reported by Popular Science, 48 percent of participants thought soda in a blue glass was more thirst-quenching (解渴的) than that served in glasses of other colors, probably because they connected blue with cold. Colors such as red and orange can make people feel warmer. Although it’s not unheard of, red is a less common color for airplane seats.
It is a universally well-liked color.
The right shade hides stains (污渍) well.
Dark blue seats are also just practical. Imagine how many people sit in them per day.
Darker shades are better at hiding stains and don’t show their wear as easily. Those dark blue seats will look fresher and newer for longer.
| A．It physically feels cooler. |
| B．It reflects a cool professionalism. |
| C．But is there any other explanation? |
| D．And who knows what gets spilled on them? |
| E．People often connect certain colors with certain feelings. |
| F．Feeling hot when you board an airplane is good for no one. |
| G．It’s hard to find someone who has strong feelings against the color blue. |
3 . Can the colors you choose for your home affect (影响) your feelings? Of course! Believe it or not, colors can have a great effect on how you feel, from your energy levels (精力水平) to happiness.
Red: The Color of Being Successful.
Red is a kind of color full of energy. It can raise your energy levels.
Yellow: The Color of Happiness.
Blue: The Color of Rest and Beauty.
Blue is the color of the sea and the sky. It makes you comfortable and always slows you down.
| A．It’s a color like fire. |
| B．I don’t like this color at all. |
| C．You’d better not choose this color. |
| D．It can be a perfect color for a room. |
| E．Blue can bring you the feeling of peace. |
| F．Yellow is known to be an exciting color. |
| G．There are three kinds of colors for your home. |
4 . Have you ever felt that your feelings and state of mind sometimes can be influenced by places? Have you ever noticed that certain paces especially upset you? Or that certain places are especially relaxing and peaceful? Well, there’s a good chance that the colors in those places are playing apart.
Scientists have studied, the influence of colors on our feelings, health and the way of thinking for many years. For example, some studies show that blue is a relaxing color. Blue reminds us of the ocean and sky. Pleasant dreams might be the end result of painting the bedroom blue. It has a calming influence on the body, lowering the blood pressure and heart rate (心率), and has a cooling influence in hot and humid (潮湿的) weather. Another study shows that blue in the classroom can be a good thing. An angry child would become calmer after being in a classroom painted blue.
But red has the opposite influence. It is an energetic color that can excite and warm the body, and increase the heart rat. Therefore, it may not be, so great for bedrooms where you are trying to relax, since it can cause the difficulty in sleep.
Yellow is a very welcoming color. It makes people feel cheerful energetic (充满活力的) and happy. It is a perfect co or for a sunroom. Since yellow is easy to be noticed, is a so one of the most a tent on-getting colors. Yellow can be used to draw notice, such as on traffic signs or advertisements.
Green is the most relaxing color on the color wheel. Green reminds us of spring and new beginning. It brings calmness and hope, and it has a relaxing influence on the body as well as the mind. That’s why it’s suitable for almost any room in the house. The color green can lead to more creative thinking, so green is a good choice for of ices.
1. How does the writer lead readers to the introduction about colors?| A．By telling a story. | B．By giving some examples. |
| C．By asking some questions. | D．By showing the study result. |
| A．People like to dream during their sleep. |
| B．Blue is the dream color for many people. |
| C．Blue bedrooms may bring more pleasant dreams. |
| D．People can’t sleep well in their bedrooms painted blue. |
| A．Because yellow can brighten your day. |
| B．Because yellow-makes people feel joyful. |
| C．Because yellow is the most beautiful color. |
| D．Because yellow is easier to be noticed by people. |
| A．Green can relax the mind and bring creative thinking. |
| B．It’s perfect to have a bedroom painted red and a sunroom painted yellow. |
| C．Blue can excite and warm the body and increase the blood pressure and heart rate. |
| D．An angry child will turn into a happy one after being in a classroom painted blue. |
5 . If you are shopping in any toy store, you can easily find the different games and toys for boys and girls: There are a lot of pink toys on one side of the store for girls and dark-colored toy cars, toy guns, and toy soldiers for boys. Some big stores with toys may even have a pink floor for girls and a blue floor for boys.
Some people think that too much pink is bad for girls. Sue Palmer, the writer of Toxic Childhood, is very worried that most girls over the age of three are crazy about the color. This may happen for two reasons. Firstly, most companies offer too many products in pink.
| A．Some parents are worried, too. |
| B．Blue says that you are strong and powerful. |
| C．Why do parents prefer to choose pink for their girls? |
| D．Different colors may have different influence on children. |
| E．In fact, it is difficult to buy a toy for a girl that is not pink. |
| F．But not everyone thinks there’s something wrong with pink. |
| G．Besides, many parents think their little daughter looks cute in pink. |
6 . Colour saturation(饱和) refers to the intensity(强度) of the reds, greens and blues. Photos high in colour saturation make food look fresher and tastier to viewers, which increases their willingness to order the menu items, a new study suggests. “In the restaurant business, these results provide a simple method to increase sales,” said Stephanie Liu, lead author of the study and associate professor of hospitality management at the Ohio State University. “On Instagram, it means using the ‘X-Pro Ⅱ’ filter(滤镜) on your food photos rather than the ‘Early bird’ filter. It costs nothing, so it’s an easy win for restaurant marketers.
In one survey, 267 participants were asked to imagine themselves looking through options on an online food-ordering platform. They were shown photos of a poke bowl, a Hawaiian dish featuring fish, vegetables and sauce over rice. They were randomly asked to view one of the four different photos with either high or low colour saturation and either close or farther away visual distance. The food in the more highly-saturated photos looked fresher and tastier to participants, and that led them to be more likely to purchase the food. But colour saturation had a stronger effect when the food appeared more distant in the photos. “When the food is shown close up, it’s already easy for the viewers to imagine how fresh and tasty the food would be,” Liu said. “Colour saturation is not as necessary.”
In the second survey, 222 online participants were asked to imagine they were looking through photos of pizza from a restaurant near their home. They were told they would either be eating alone or with their family. As in the previous study, the food in the colour-saturated photo was always seen as fresher and tastier and one that people would be more likely to buy. But that effect was stronger for people who were told they would be eating alone. “When people are eating with others, the social experience is a big part of what people look forward to,” Liu said. “But when they are eating alone, they focus more on the food itself.”
“These findings are more important now than ever before,” Liu said. “With people ordering online, restaurants have to post pictures of their food on online ordering platforms. They should pay more attention to the photos they post as they do to the text. Colour saturation is one key element they need to focus on.”
1. What is a direct effect of the “X-Pro Ⅱ” filter according to Stephanie Liu?| A．Strengthening the “Early bird” filter. |
| B．Keeping colour saturation low. |
| C．Making food in photos more appealing. |
| D．Increasing the variety of menu items. |
| A．When the food appears farther to the observer. |
| B．When the poke bowl contains more food. |
| C．When the food is fresher and tastier in reality. |
| D．When the visual distance of the food is shorter. |
| A．They take social experience into consideration. |
| B．They choose food that is easier to obtain. |
| C．They want the food to be fresher and tastier. |
| D．They pay more attention to colour saturation. |
| A．How Colour Speaks for Menu Items Online |
| B．How Colour Saturation Affects People |
| C．How Colour Brings Benefits to Ordering Platforms |
| D．How Colour in Photos Makes Food Look Tastier |
7 . Colors can affect (影响) our feelings. Blue is a calm (冷静的) color. If you are feeling nervous (紧张), you can wear blue clothes or stay in a blue room. Blue is also the color of sadness. When someone says he’s feeling blue, he means he is sad.
White can also make you feel calm. So you can wear white too if you are nervous. And white often means a new beginning.
Green is the color of nature. It can give us more energy when we are feeling tired.
Some colors can make you feel warm. In cold areas, people usually use warm colors in their homes, like orange and yellow. Yellow is also the color of wisdom. Some people prefer this color when they study for exams. For example, they may use yellow school things.
Red is one of the strong colors. It often makes us feel active. But this color can also mean danger. So it is often used in stop signs (停车标志) and lights.
1. Which may be NOT good for you if you are nervous?| A．Wear white clothes. | B．Wear blue clothes. |
| C．Stay in a red room. | D．Stay in a blue room. |
| A．I like blue. | B．I’m feeling white. |
| C．I like white. | D．I’m feeling blue. |
| A．Yellow and blue. | B．Yellow and orange. |
| C．White and green. | D．Blue and white. |
| A．智慧 | B．消极 | C．愉快 | D．正义 |
| A．White can make us feel tired. | B．Red is often used in stop signs. |
| C．Orange can mean danger sometimes. | D．Green symbolizes a new beginning. |
8 . Color may influence the way food tastes for picky (挑剔的) eaters, according to a new study published in the journal Food Quality and Preference.
Stafford’s research team did an experiment with about 50 participants, who were mostly young adults around 20 years old. The study divided the individuals into picky and non-picky eaters, based on their responses to a certain measure. Both groups then tasted the same snacks served in red, white and blue bowls.
The results showed the color of the bowls influenced how the picky group perceived (感知) the saltiness and desirability of the foods — but did not influence the non-picky group. The picky group thought that the snack served in the red bowl was least desirable and the snack was higher in saltiness in the red and blue bowl — compared with the white bowl.
“Picky eating usually starts in childhood,” Dr. Lama Bazzi said. She explained that if picky eating is not solved properly as a child, it can be developed later into certain eating disorders.
All of this is because of a sense of control and a sense of safety. So when talking about the colors of the bowls in the research study, it probably has to do with what makes that person feel safe, such as what colors are connected with safety. The colors blue, green and purple are considered “safer” colors, while the color red is usually connected with “stop”.
Supermarkets use similar psychology (心理学) to catch people’s attention. Children’s cups are colorfully designed to entice kids, giving them a sense of safety and making it fun for them to drink something. When advertisers want customers to buy chips or food, the packaging (包装) tends to use warm and inviting colors that remind people of their childhood.
Stafford noted that the research is primary, yet the data may help picky eaters to eat various food.
1. What do we know about the experiment?| A．The participants were all young adults. |
| B．Different snacks were served in different colors of bowls. |
| C．Color of the bowls didn’t influence the non-picky group. |
| D．The picky group thought the snacks in the white bowl saltier. |
| A．Blue. | B．Red. |
| C．Green. | D．Purple. |
| A．Attract. | B．Force. |
| C．Admit. | D．Warn. |
| A．To remind people of their childhood. |
| B．To give people a sense of safety. |
| C．To solve people’s eating disorders. |
| D．To attract people to buy goods. |
9 . Our selection of a favorite color is something that tends to appear in childhood. Babies have variable preferences for colors. But the more time children spend in the world, the more they start to develop stronger fondness for certain colors. They are more likely to link bright colors like orange, yellow, purple or pink to positive rather than negative emotions.
It is commonly believed that as children enter their teenage years, their color choices take on a darker style. Adolescent girls in the UK, for example, have been found to be attracted to purples and reds, while boys favor greens and browns.
These color palettes (调色板) seem to gather as people grow into adulthood. Interestingly, while the majority of adults say they prefer blue colors, they’ll likely also dislike the same color too: a dark yellowish brown is identified as least popular.
But why do we have favorite colors? Put simply, we have favorite colors because we have favorite things. At least, that’s the cause of ecological valence theory (生态价值论), an idea put forward by Karen Schloss. Her experiments showed that humans put meanings onto colors, mostly drawn from our subjective histories, and so create high personal reasons for likes and dislikes.
Scholss’s work on color preferences may also explain blue’s position as such a widespread favorite by accident. And most of our experience with the color are likely to be positive, like clear oceans or skies.
The environment we live in inspires our color preference in other ways too. Another study Schloss conducted looked at students at University of California-Berkeley and Stanford, showing that the varsity (代表队) colors of a college influenced the colors they picked as favorites. The more a student said they embraced the spirit of the school, the higher that preference rose.
1. What colors will children prefer in their teens?| A．Bright colors. | B．Light colors. | C．Darker colors. | D．Variable colors. |
| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To make comparisons. |
| C．To attract readers’ attention. |
| D．To inform the recent findings. |
| A．To adapt to the adulthood. |
| B．To live in variable environment. |
| C．To select them when we were born. |
| D．To put subjective meanings onto them. |
| A．Have a preference of same colors. |
| B．Choose their varsity colors as favorites. |
| C．Like the color of blue best. |
| D．Create high personal reasons for colors. |
10 . You probably like blue, and you’re not alone. Across the globe, a majority of people tend to select blue as their favourite colour. A new study from University of Wisconsin found that not only do we adore blue, but we start to give meaning to colours as we age.
During the study conducted by psychology professor Karen Schloss at the University of Wisconsin in 2019, the researchers investigated the science of how different people perceive colour. They noted that subjects with a preference for a sports team found their favourite team’s colours more favourable. The more they valued their team, the more they favoured the specific colour. “It tells us that our experiences with the world are constantly influencing the way we view colour,” Schloss says.
So, why does blue dominate lists of favourites? From previous surveys the researchers found that blue has been a favourite colour. Even the earliest-recorded colour studies from the 1800s show that blue is universally loved, due at least in part to our fondness for blues in nature. Many colours in nature that we love are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is enough to make many people very happy. It’s possible then, that blue offer plenty of positive experiences, which we unconsciously link to our favourite colour.
But blue isn’t the only attention-grabbing colour. The other finding of the research was that our colour interests change as we gain new experiences. The younger you are, for instance, the more likely you are to enjoy a brighter colour. As you age, you’re more likely to take on darker colours as your favourites; younger women, according to the researchers, tend to enjoy purples and reds, while younger men may lean toward green or yellow-green. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world’s least liked colour.
Simply put, the things we enjoy most in our lives will drive our colour preferences.
1. What does the underlined word “It” refer to in paragraph 2?| A．The specific sports team. | B．A subject’s personality. |
| C．People’s preference of a colour. | D．The feature of colours. |
| A．Human beings are fully linked to nature. |
| B．Our preference for blue is longstanding. |
| C．It’s a coincidence that blue is our favourite. |
| D．Blue is associated to the sky and the sea. |
| A．Our colour preferences may shift over time. |
| B．We may prefer brighter colours as we age. |
| C．We tend to stick with just one colour in our lives. |
| D．Blue is a top choice for favourite colour in the world. |
| A．Older people can understand the colours better. |
| B．More mysteries remain to be seen about colour. |
| C．Colour preferences change our view of the world. |
| D．Colour preferences are shaped by our experiences. |
