What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow,orange,or red? If you do, you must be an optimist(乐观主义者), a leader, an active person who enjoys life，people and excitement. Do you prefer greys and blues? Then you are probably quiet,shy, and you would rather follow than lead.
You tend to be a pessimist(悲观主义者). At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of colours preference, as well as the effect that colours have on human beings. They tell us, among other facts, that we do not choose our favourite colour as we grow up—we are born with our preference. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes,or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
Colours do influence our moods—there is no doubt about it. A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing. A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides(自杀) than any other bridge in the area—until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell down sharply; perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
Light and bright colours make people not only happier but more active. It is an established fact that factory workers work better,harder,and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.
问题：
1.The sentence “you would rather follow than lead” in paragraph 1 means that you would __________.
A.like to lead followers
B.be afraid of following others
C.be a member rather than a leader
D.like to be a leader rather than a follower
【参考答案】C
[考点]词语理解题
【精析】C 首先要知道句中would rather…than…的意思为“宁愿……而不愿……”。此处指“宁愿追随而不喜欢领导。”由此可推知，此句话想表达的意思是“你宁愿当一个追随者(成员)，而不愿当一名领导者”，与C项表达的意思一致。
2.If one enjoys life,one is sure to prefer __________.
A.red to yellow
B.blue to orange
C.blue to yellow
D.red to grey
【参考答案】D
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】D 由文章首段第二、三句话可知，喜欢黄色、橘色、红色的人是乐观主义者、领导者、享受生活的积极人士。由此可推知，如果一个人很享受生活的话，他一定更喜爱这三种颜色。另外，由第一段第四、五、六句可知，悲观主义者喜欢灰色和蓝色。所以D项说法正确。
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A.People’s preference of one colour to another is instinct.
B.People’s preference of one colour to another is acquired as they grow up.
C.Factory workers meet fewer accidents when their machines are painted grey.
D.More people happen to love brown because they saw it when they were born.
【参考答案】A
[考点]事实细节题
【精析】A 由文章第一段最后两句话可知，我们并非在成长的过程中选择最喜爱的色彩，因为早在我们出生时就已经确定了喜好(we are born with our preference),因此A项符合文义，B项不正确;由文章最后一段最后一句可知，C项错误;由第一段最后一句可知，如果你碰巧喜欢棕色，那么在你出生时就已经是这样了(did so=loved brown),而并非因为你出生时看到了棕色才喜欢它，故D项也不正确。
4. Those who committed suicide preferred the bridge over the Thames River to others because of its __________.
A.shape
B.colour
C.structure
D.materials
【参考答案】B
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】B 由文章第二段第四、五句可知，自杀者都愿意选择Thames River上的黑色桥作为自杀地，它被刷成绿色后，企图自杀的人数就急剧下降了(The number of suicide attempts immediately fell down sharply…)。由此可推知，colour(色彩)是自杀者选择在泰晤士河上的桥上自杀的重要因素。
5.The main idea of the passage is that __________.
A.colours affect people’s mood
B.colours affect people’s character
C.bright colours make people more active
D.colours preference shows people’s courage
【参考答案】A
[考点]主旨大意题
【精析】A 文章通篇都在讲人们对色彩的喜好，第二段又着重讲述了色彩对人们情绪(mood)的影响。因此综合可知，文章大意是色彩对人们情绪的影响。故选A。