Question

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 (評(píng)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……為根據(jù)) 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 (珠寶) was connected to its blue color. It is used to wrap (包裝) 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

Answer 1