Question

Everybody knows that colors are connected with certain feelings. For example, why do some people paint the walls of their rooms yellow and others pink? The same is true in stores. They want us to feel something when we look at their products.

Green, for example, tries to show the quality of a product: how good it is for us or for our environment. It also suggests that the product is healthier, has less fat and maybe fewer calories. Red, on the other hand is an aggressive color that is often used for packaging food. Red wants us to become hungry or thirsty. Purple is a kind of color that is often seen as royal. It indicates that it is something special. Producers use purple to show that something is of good quality. Blue is not very often found in food packaging because there are not very many foods that have a blue color.

Colors can also have different meaning in different cultures and countries. For example, while the color white is used in many Western countries to represent purity and innocence, it is seen as a symbol of mourning in many Eastern countries. The Egyptian pharaohs(法老) wore white crowns. A white sale is a sale of sheets, towels, and other bed and bath items. A white flag is the universal symbol for truce(休战). A white elephant is a rare, pale elephant sacred(神圣的) to the people of India, Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. In these countries, something that is a white elephant is either a possession that costs more than it is worth to keep or an item that the owner doesn’t want but can’t get rid of.

Consumers are aware that certain foods must have certain colors. When Pepsi brought out a crystal clear cola in 1992, it thought that consumers would buy it because clear meant pure and healthy. After a few months Pepsi found out that a cola had to be dark-colored. Crystal Pepsi failed and the company pulled it off the market.

Advertising professionals often need to look at a product through the consumers’ eyes when choosing a color. The right packaging colors can truly improve the sales of a product but choosing a wrong color could end in failure.

1.According to the passage, blue is rarely used in food packaging because ____.

A. most consumers dislike it

B. it matches very few foods

C. it brings people low spirits

D. it doesn’t catch people’s eyes

2.According to the passage, in India if something is expensive but useless, it can be called   ____.

A. a white flag   B. a white elephant

C. a white sale    D. a white crown

3.Pepsi’s example is used to show ____.

A. Pepsi’s success comes from failures

B. health is the main concern in drink making

C. crystal clear drinks can’t attract consumers

D. people have fixed ideas about products and colors

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Colors in advertising

B. Colors in food packaging

C. Our everyday life and colors

D. Foods in different colors

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.D

4. B                           

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲述的是各种颜色和食物包装之间的联系，一定的食物需要确定的颜色来包装。如果颜色合适，这种食品会销售得很好，如果颜色搭配不合理，可能销售量会教小。

1.B 细节题。根据文章第二段最后一句Blue is not very often found in food packaging because there are not very many foods that have a blue color.可知蓝色很少使用在包装上，主要是因为很少有食物是蓝色的。故B正确。

2.B 推理题。根据文章第3段最后3行In these countries, something that is a white elephant is either a possession that costs more than it is worth to keep or an item that the owner doesn’t want but can’t get rid of.可知在这些国家里a white elephant只那些昂贵但是又没有用处的东西。故B正确。

3.D 推理题。根据文章第4段第一句Consumers are aware that certain foods must have certain colors.可知消费者对于食物和一定的颜色的搭配是有确定的联系的。接下来就举了Pepsi的例子。说明这个例子正是为了说明消费者对于食物和一定的颜色的搭配是有确定的联系的这一观点的。故D正确。

4.B 主旨大意题。本文主要讲述的是各种颜色和食物包装之间的联系，一定的食物需要确定的颜色来包装。如果颜色合适，这种食品会销售得很好，如果颜色搭配不合理，可能销售量会教小。故B正确。

考点：考察科普类短文阅读