英语美文：红色

 Red 

红色

It says poison, passion and stop right there. It is the most powerful colour on the planet and it is rife¹ with contradictions. Its universal meanings are heat, blood, danger and emotion.

红色意味着毒药、激情和立即停止。红色是世界上最有力的颜色，总是与矛盾联系在一起。红色最普遍的意思是灼热、鲜血、危险和感情。

A red light means that the doctor is in. Red cars are sexual status symbols. Red heads are supposed to be firebrands. The devil wears red and so do scarlet² women. Those with heart problems are advised to avoid the colour because it is so stimulating³. Red light has been known to accelerate plant growth.

红灯意味着 “手术中”。红色的车是性感的象征。红头发的人易怒。魔鬼就穿红色，朝三暮四的女人也是这样。心脏病患者最好避开红色，因为太刺激了。众所周知，红光可以使植物加速生长。

In China, it is a wedding colour denoting luck and happiness. According to Hebrew tradition the name Adam, the first man means both red and alive. Advertisers love red because it’s a high energy, high impact color; those attracted to it demand to be noticed.

在中国，红色是喜庆的颜色，也是婚礼的颜色。而根据希伯来人的传统，世界上第一个男人的名字“亚当”，就是“红色”和“生命”的意思。广告客户都喜欢红色，因为这是一种精力旺盛、颇具感染力的颜色，喜欢红色的人喜欢引起别人的注意。

In the past, red dyes were expensive, so red walls and fabrics⁴ suggested either luxurious⁵ wealth, importance or ill repute. Today careful use can easily suggest an Asian influence. Red’s connection with heat is so strong that it can make you feel warmer even when the temperature hasn’t changed. Too much brings associations with violent emotions leading to impatience⁶, confusion and irritability⁷. Used with caution it can enrich although it does tend to make small rooms even smaller.

过去，红色的染料都很昂贵，因此，红色的墙和织物意味着奢华、财富、重要性或坏名声。现在，谨慎地使用红色很容易让人想到亚洲的影响。红色与热的联系是如此紧密，即使气温没有改变，红色也可以使你感到更温暖。过多的红色会使人情绪浮躁，以至失去耐心，引起混乱和易怒。小心使用红色，它能使你的房间更富有情趣，尽管它会使小房间看起来显得更小。

1 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

2 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

3 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

4 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

5 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

6 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

7 irritability   

n.易怒

参考例句：

• It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
• All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。