What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, and red? If you do, you must be an optimist (乐观者), a leader, and an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer grays and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be a pessimist. At least, this is what psychologists (心理学家) tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference, as well as the effect that colors have on human beings. They tell us among other facts, that we do not choose our favorite color 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.
Color does influence our moods (情绪) ― 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 than any other bridge in the area — until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply; perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
Light and bright colors make people not only happier but also 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 gray.
1. The author regards the psychologists’ findings as _____.
A. groundless B. doubtful
C. reasonable D. unusual
2. According to the psychologists, a person’s color preference _____.
A. is formed as he grows up B. is acquired through experience
C. is decided by his surroundings D. is possessed from birth
3. It can be concluded from the passage that bright color lovers tend to be _____.
A. quiet B. active
C. depressive D. pessimistic
4. The example of the bridge is used to illustrate that _____.
A. people tend to kill themselves by jumping from bridges
B. color can affect people’s moods to a great degree
C. the bridge should have been repainted earlier
D. certain color can kill people sometimes
5. The notion that machines painted orange can reduce the risk of accidents ______.
A. is a well-accepted fact B. remains to be proved
C. is an illusion of workers D. is a good wish of scientists
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