【一起听英语】粉色是最适合女生的颜色

 粉色是最适合女生的颜色吗？

Yvonne: Hello - I'm Yvonne Archer¹, this is "6 Minute English" - and thanks to Rob for

joining me today.

Rob: It's good to be here, Yvonne.

 

Yvonne: Great. Rob – how do you feel about the colour pink?

Rob: Pink? Well, it's not my colour but my four-year-old daughter loves it.

Yvonne: Well, she's got good taste because pink is the colour of choice for today's

programme. But before we find out why, it's time for today's question. Are you

ready, Rob?

Rob: I'm ready and waiting!

Yvonne: Good. In 1918, according to an article that appeared in The Ladies' Journal,

what was thought to be the most suitable colour for girls? Was it

a) red

b) pink or

c) blue

Rob: Hmm… 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Yvonne: a) red

b) pink or

c) blue

Rob: I guess as we're talking about pink, I'd say pink.

Yvonne: As usual, I'll have the answer for you later on in today's “6 Minute English”!

Now, recently, a BBC Radio 4 programme called "Fight the Power of Pink"

investigated why little girls have a preference for the colour pink, like young

Imogen. She spoke² to the BBC Breakfast team about her love of pink.

Insert 1: Imogen

It's not really an obsession³, it's when you like, look at it, you feel like, quite dizzy and

you go on day dreaming. It's like you're in heaven!

Yvonne: Imogen says her love of pink isn't really 'an obsession' - she's not so passionate⁴

about it that she doesn't have time for any other interests. But looking at pink

has a physical effect on her.

Rob: Yes, Imogen says she feels quite 'dizzy' - weak and shaky as though she might

faint. So, pink has quite a dramatic effect on her, doesn't it?

Yvonne: It definitely does, Rob. It gets her daydreaming⁵ - but what does she mean by

'daydreaming'?

Rob: Well, she imagines things and situations and can't concentrate or focus on

what's actually happening around her. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Yvonne: For example, a little girl might be thinking about having a big pink wedding

instead of thinking about her school work. So everything would be pink at her

wedding, everyone would be dressed in pink, including the men and boys…

Rob: You wouldn't catch me wearing pink!

Yvonne: Oh no, Rob! I bought you a pink shirt for your birthday.

Rob: Oh no. Have you got the receipt?

Yvonne: Hmm - I'd better take it back! Anyway, we might be thinking that a preference

for pink is only a problem for parents' bank accounts.

Rob: Yes, buying all those pink goods could be very costly⁶ for us parents. My

daughter has convinced us to buy a pink doll's house.

Yvonne: No! How expensive was that?

Rob: Very expensive.

Yvonne: But a child's firm belief that pink is only for girls can also lead to more serious

problems. Here's BBC Breakfast's Charlie Stayt with a story from a viewer:

Insert 2: Charlie Stayt, BBC Breakfast

Mrs Davies got in touch, she's in Kent, she says: "My 4-year old grandson refused to

take his antibiotic⁷ medicine given by his doctor because it was pink! He said pink was

for girls. He was really upset."

Yvonne: As we heard, Mrs Davies' four-year old grandson refused to take his antibiotic

medicine. He didn't want to take it even though he was quite ill. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Rob: No, he believes that anything pink is for girls, even medicine - so that can be

difficult for parents and perhaps dangerous in some cases.

Yvonne: That's true - but in this case, I'm happy to say that he did finally did take his

medicine. Well, Greg Hodge, a research director, says that businesses certainly

make use of the fact that children generally believe that anything pink is only

for girls.

Insert 3: Greg Hodge, Research Director

People like what their friends like and retailers⁸ and manufacturers aren't silly with that,

and they look to build on that and get children to buy stuff that their parents like. So if

you're merchandising in a store, if you can persuade the parent that it's good as well and

that they want to buy it, then you can also trick the child as well.

Yvonne: Retailers and manufacturers - the people who sell and make goods - try to get

children to buy things that their parents like and as we'll all have noticed, a lot

of it is pink.

Rob: And the way stores or shops show - or merchandise⁹ - their stuff helps to sell

more goods. Both parents and children can be convinced that they want to buy

the pink stuff that they see.

Yvonne: And it's interesting that Greg Hodge, a research director, says merchandising

can 'trick' children into getting their parents to buy what they see.

Rob: Yes, the word 'trick' suggests that there's something slightly dishonest about

merchandising which makes children want to buy things that they might not

really want. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

Page 5 of 6

Yvonne: So do girls prefer pink for scientific or cultural reasons?

Rob: Well, the debate will probably continue for quite some time.

Yvonne: Oh, that's a good job, then because we've got to deal with today's question, Rob.

Earlier, I asked: in 1918, according to an article that appeared in The Ladies'

Journal, what was thought to be the most suitable colour for girls? Was it red,

pink or blue?

Rob: And I said it had to be pink.

Yvonne: And you were absolutely…wrong.

Rob: Oh, dear!

Yvonne: They felt that blue was a dainty and delicate colour so it was prettier for girls.

Rob: Hmm – I like blue. Good choice!

Yvonne: But that's all for today and we hope you'll join us again soon for more "6

Minute English" - from BBC Learning English!

Both: Goodbye! 

1 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

5 daydreaming   

v.想入非非，空想( daydream的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stop daydreaming and be realistic. 别空想了，还是从实际出发吧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework. 比尔坐着空想， 他母亲要他面对现实，去做课外作业。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

8 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

9 merchandise   

n.商品，货物；v.经营，推销，销售，经商

参考例句：

• There's no use in manufacturing an item unless you can merchandise it.除非能够销售得出，否则生产产品就没有价值。
• Please don't handle the merchandise.请不要摸这些商品。