Color and Life

梁小明

What is your favorite color？ Do you like yellow， orange， red？ If you do， you must be an optimist1， a leader， 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 pessimist2. At least， this is what psychologists3 tell us， and they should know， because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference4， 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.

Colors do influence our moods—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 depressing5. A black bridge over the Thames River， near London， used to be the scene of more suicides6 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 more active. It is an established7 fact that factory workers work better， harder， and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or gray.

你最喜歡什么顏色？你喜歡黃色，橙色和紅色嗎？倘若如此，你準是一個樂觀的人，一個領導者，一個享受人生、樂于交往、容易激動、積極向上的人。你偏愛灰、藍系列色彩嗎？那么，你很可能緘默、羞怯，你寧愿被別人領導而不愿意領導別人。你有悲觀者的傾向。至少，這是心理學家告訴我們的——心理學家應該是這方面的專家，因為他們一直在認認真真地研究色彩偏愛的意義以及各種色彩對人的不同影響。他們告訴我們許多東西，其中之一是我們并不是在成長過程中挑選自己偏愛的色彩——我們的這種偏愛與生俱來。假設你碰巧喜歡褐色，當初你一睜眼看到這個世界，或至少當你看清這個世界的時候，你就喜歡上褐色了。

色彩的確影響我們的情緒——這一點毫無疑問。大多數人在一個黃色的房間比在一個深色的房間更感到愉悅松弛；一件紅色的衣服在最凄涼的冬日也能給人溫暖和振奮。而黑色卻使人壓抑。倫敦附近的泰晤士河上曾經有一座黑色的橋，在這座橋上自殺的人數比這一地區(qū)任何一座橋都多。后來人們把它漆成綠色，企圖自殺的人數立刻驟減；倘若將這座橋漆成粉紅色或淺藍色，下降幅度也許會更大。

淺色或艷麗的色彩不僅使人們更加愉悅也更積極向上。事實證明，如果把工廠里的機器油漆成桔黃色而不是黑色或灰色，工人就會干得更勤奮、更出色，事故也會更少。

[1] optimist n. 樂觀主義者，樂觀者 [2] pessimist n. 悲觀主義者，厭世者

[3] psychologist n. 心理學家 [4] preference n. 選擇，優(yōu)先，偏愛

[5] depressing adj. 令人壓抑的；令人憂郁的 [6] suicide n. 自殺

[7] established adj. 建立的；確定的； 既定的