The Hidden Meaning of Colors 南海一中 梁超颖. Objectives 1.To learn the hidden meaning of different colors; 2.To practice reading strategies for prediction;

The Hidden Meaning

of Colors

南海一中梁超颖

Objectives

1.To learn the hidden meaning of different colors;

2.To practice reading strategies for prediction;

3.To practice defining words by their usage in context;

4.To learn how to describe our favorite colors;

5.To compare different hidden meaning of colors in different cultures.

What is your favorite color?

Before you start

Do you like wearing dark colors (black, brown, gray, dark blue, and so on)? When? Where?

Do you like wearing bright colors (pink, yellow, red, bright blue, and so on)? When? Where?

Is there a color you never wear? What is it?

Can you guess what they mean?

The students are still green.A. excited B. young C. creative

The future looks pretty black, I’m afraid.

A. hopeful B. hopeless C. unsure

He’d been feeling blue all week.

A. happy B. free C. sad

Suppose there are some candies, which are of different colors, on the table. Which one would you like to have first?

A. whiteB. yellowC. pinkD. blackE. green

white: purity

yellow: excitement and desire

pink: love

black: power

green: creativity

Do you know? _____ and _____ are the two colors

which are considered lucky in Japan.

In Japanese weddings, for guests, men shouldn’t wear _____ ties; while ladies shouldn’t wear _____ dresses.

White red

blackwhite

My name is Ed. I manage a college bookstore. Once a year, students can bring their old textbooks to the bookstore. We buy the used books from the students. Later, we sell them again for a very low price.

This year I asked my student aide, Jim, to help me. Jim sat at a table and took the students’ books. The students had to sign their names on a form. Then they took the form to the cashier. The cashier gave them money.

Most of the students signed the forms and got their money. But some students just stood at the table. They looked upset. They didn’t sign the forms. Jim was puzzled. He asked me what was wrong.

Read the storyIn the Red

Can you guess?

Work in groups. Answer these questions.• Why the students didn’t sign the forms?• Didn’t they want the money?• Can you think of an explanation?

Key wordsJim red pens Korean Buddhists culture

write a name die

Let’s find out

Jim put some pens on the table for the students to use. They were red pens. Some of the students were Korean Buddhists. These students were upset. In their culture, they write a person’s name in red when the person dies. These students did not want to sign their names in red. Signing their names in red was like asking for death.

Ed explained the students’ problem to Jim. Immediately, Jim removed the red pens. He put blue pens on the table. The students were relieved. They signed their names in blue and got their money.

The Explanation

VocabularyPlease find these words in the story. Guess their meanings from the context. Then match them with the correct definitions.manage

student aide

cashier

Buddhist

remove

be relieved

direct the business of

a college student who has a part-time job in the college

people who believe in the teachings of Buddha

feel better

take sth. away from one place to another

a person whose job is to receive or pay out money

Story RetellingWork with your partner. Student A retells Ed’s

story. Student B retells the explanation.

Student B: Jim, pens, Korean Buddhists, upset, culture, write, name, red, die, removed, blue pens, relieved

Student A: Ed. bookstore, students, textbooks, buy, sell, low price, student aide, sat, took, sign, names, form, cashier, money, upset, puzzled

Would you like to tell us what your favorite color is?

And why do you like it?

Our Own StoriesOur Own Stories

Example Red has always been my favorite color, and I thi

nk it will continue to be so.

I have several reasons for this preference. First of all, red is vivid （生动的） and energetic…

Another reason is that it is the color of courage…

In my eyes, red is a noble color…So I like red. confidence, intelligence, purity, goodness, peace, hope, joy, energy, passion, danger, love, excitement, creativity, death, elegance, mystery, youth

Some colors have special meanings in the United States. Wedding dresses are white because white means goodness and purity. Babies and children also wear white at special times. Black makes people think about death. People wear black clothing to funerals.

Culture Capsule

Colors can have more than one meaning.

In the United States, a day when good things happen is a “red-letter day.” Red roses mean love. But teachers use red pens to show mistakes on students’ papers. And when a business is “in the red,” it is losing money.

Culture Exchange What do different colors mean in the countries

you know about? Work in groups and share what you know, then complete the form.

Color Meaning in USA

Meaning in China

White

Black

Red

_________

Follow UpA reporter from New York Times wants to interview

you on the hidden meaning of colors in your culture.

And he has prepared some questions to ask you:

1. Which color is considered the luckiest?

2. What color do people wear at festivals? To weddings? To funerals?3. Are there any Chinese sayings related to colors?

AssignmentAnswer these questions and rewrite it in a way of a composition.