Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.
Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste.
Pink is a lighter kind of color. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Someone who is blue is very sad.
The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. If a person is green at his job, he may be a newcomer and inexperienced. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a new sports car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because their friend has more dollars.
The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day.
【小題1】If a person feels blue, he is _____.

Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

    Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste.

    Pink is a lighter kind of color. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

    Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Someone who is blue is very sad.

    The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. If a person is green at his job, he may be a newcomer and inexperienced. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a new sports car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because their friend has more dollars.

    The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day.

1.If a person feels blue, he is _____.

A. annoyed  B. depressed  C. stressed   D. encouraged

2.If someone says “you are still green”, he probably means that _______.

A. you are very young   B. you are in a bad mood C. you are inexperienced D. you are in good health

3.Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the passage?

A. After two days’ rest, the soldiers were all in the pink.

B. They had a fierce quarrel so they all felt black about it.

C. David got hurt by a bike so his face looked blue.

D. When we meet something unfair, we feel very green.

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Different colors have different meanings. 

B. What different colors stand for.

C. The story about different colors.        

D. Colors used in American expressions.

Many everyday American expressions are based on colors. Red is a hot color; Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair, when they are red hot, they are very angry about something.

       People sometimes say they are 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 color that shows that they are in good health.

       Blue is a cool color. The traditional 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 color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the backside of the paper money.

       People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. Blackouts were coming during World WarⅡ. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

1．The underlined expression “red hot” in the third paragraph is used to           .

       A．describe fast happy music                    B．express happiness or anger

       C．describe something unfair                     D．express pride and confidence

2．Which of the following expressions is correctly used?

       A．Sandy feels very blue today because he won the first prize.

       B．Sandy feels very blue today because he failed in the exam.

       C．Sandy is in the pink because he seldom takes exercise.

       D．Sandy feels in the pink because he has a headache today.

3．The color green is often used in the following situations EXCEPT            .

       A．to describe plants in the spring              B．to describe a very sick feeling

       C．to describe an expensive new car          D．to describe an upset feeling

4．What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．Meaning of different colours

       B．Differences between different colours

       C．Origins of some American expressions

       D．Stories of some American expressions

Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

In some cases, colors describe a situation. A brown out is an expression for a reduction in electric power. Brown outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity. The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area. Black outs are common during World War two. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

61. Americans use “red hot” to describe the following EXCEPT____.

   A. something unfair                                                      B. small hot-tasting peppers

   C. the person who is very angry                                 D. popular music like Dixieland jazz

62. People use “in the pink” to express they are in good health because____.

   A. the expression has a very long history                B. the color pink makes people feel happy

   C. people think the color pink is gentler than red    D. healthy babies are born with nice pink skin

63. When we say someone feels a little green, it means he/she____.

   A. enjoys himself in boating                                         B. is hit by a high wave

   C. has a stomach ache                                                           D. likes trees and grass

64. In the writer’s eyes，what is related to a black day?

   A. Being sent a beautiful gift                                      B. Passing a very difficult test

   C. Being refused during an important interview   D. Being invited to an exciting party

65. The writer wants to tell us ______in American everyday expressions

   A. the most popular colors                          B. different meanings of colors   

   C. how to use colors correctly                        D. why Americans like to use colors

Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

In some cases, colors describe a situation. A brown out is an expression for a reduction in electric power. Brown outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity. The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area. Black outs are common during World War two. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

61. Americans use “red hot” to describe the following EXCEPT____.

   A. something unfair                                                      B. small hot-tasting peppers

   C. the person who is very angry                                 D. popular music like Dixieland jazz

62. People use “in the pink” to express they are in good health because____.

   A. the expression has a very long history                B. the color pink makes people feel happy

   C. people think the color pink is gentler than red    D. healthy babies are born with nice pink skin

63. When we say someone feels a little green, it means he/she____.

   A. enjoys himself in boating                                         B. is hit by a high wave

   C. has a stomach ache                                                           D. likes trees and grass

64. In the writer’s eyes，what is related to a black day?

   A. Being sent a beautiful gift                                      B. Passing a very difficult test

   C. Being refused during an important interview   D. Being invited to an exciting party

65. The writer wants to tell us ______in American everyday expressions

   A. the most popular colors                          B. different meanings of colors   

   C. how to use colors correctly                        D. why Americans like to use colors

Every people have its own way of saying things, its own special expressions．Many everyday American expressions are based on colors．

Red is a hot color．Americans often use it to express heat．They may say they are red hot about something unfair．When they are red hot they are very angry about something．The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste．Fast loud music is popular with many people．They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz．

Pink is a lighter kind of red．People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health．The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century．It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health．

Blue is a cool color．The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music．Blues is slow, sad and soulful．Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song - Mood Indigo -about the deep blue color, indigo．In the words of the song: "You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo．" Someone who is blue is very sad．

The color green is natural for trees and grass．But it is an unnatural color for humans．A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green． A passenger on a boat is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green．

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car．That person may say he is green with envy．Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks．Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money．

The color black is used often in expressions．People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day．The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day．A blacklist is illegal now．But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations．

1.If you had your wallet stolen while doing some shopping, you may call it __________．

    A．a(chǎn) white day                      B．a(chǎn) black day                 

    C．a(chǎn) red day                        D．a(chǎn) green day

2.Suppose a Mr．Brown says he is very happy because his three children are all in the pink, this means all his children are ________________．

    A．lucky and wealthy                B．gentle and modest

    C．fit and healthy                                    D．creative and energetic

3.When she got home and found nothing had been done by her husband, Jane was really____________．

    A．red hot        B．green          C．blue           D．black

4.In the following paragraph, the writer might tell the reader something about __________．

    A．unpopular organizations in the world

    B．people's response towards a black day

    C．the influence of the traditional blues

    D．more words about color, such as brown