Mary didn’t understand such sentences as “She is blue today”, “You are yellow”, “He has a green thumb”, “He has told a white lie” and so on. And she went to the teacher Mrs. James for help.
Mary: Mrs. James, there is a colour in each of the sentences. What do they mean?
Mrs. James: In everyday English, Mary, blue sometimes means sad, yellow afraid. A person with a green thumb grows plants well and a white lie is not a bad one.”
Mary: I’m afraid I don’t understand them all. Would you give me an example for “a white
lie”?
Mrs. James: Certainly. Now I just give you some cakes. In fact you don’t like it, but you don’t want to let me know it. Instead you say, “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.” That’s a white lie.
Mary: It sounds very interesting. Thanks very much.
Mrs. James: You are welcome. Colours are meaningful. I think you will meet more sentences like these in the future. Please come to me if you have any questions.
Blue sometimes means sad in _______________ English.
A.good | B.spoken | C.usual | D.poor |
I don’t have a green thumb, so all my plants ________________.
A.die off | B.grow well | C.look nice | D.are good |
David is yellow and he is ___________ to climb the tall tree!
A.happy | B.clever | C.brave | D.afraid |
He didn’t like me to know ___________ of the accident. He told me a white lie at last.
A.the reason | B.the true story | C.the meaning | D.the answer |
He is ______________today. He is told that his father is seriously ill.
A.blue | B.yellow | C.green | D.white |