13 Colour

Speaking and Listening Vocabulary

1 Work in small groups and discuss these questions.
1 Which apple looks the most appealing to you and why?
2 Look at the colours below. What do you associate them
with? It could be things, people, feelings or situations.
Vocabulary spot
In English, words with the same meaning sometimes
have different spellings depending on whether
they are the verb or the noun. For example, in the
recording you heard Some of the top stores pay huge
amounts of money for the advice of design consultants.
The word advice is a noun and is pronounced
/ədvaɪs/. However, the verb form is advice and is
pronounced /ədvaɪz/.

1 What is the verb form of these nouns?

2 You are going to listen to a talk. bath belief licence relief proof
1 Look at the left column of the outline below. How many loss life practice effect
sections will Jessica’s talk have, and what are they?
2 Look at the right column and predict what Jessica is going 2 Which words have the same pronunciation
to say. in their noun and verb forms?

3 2 01 Listen to Jessica’s talk and complete gaps 1–10.
1 Which answers did you predict?
2 What do you think about Jessica’s views on the use of
colour in retail?
Introduction
Instinctive reactions to colour:
Colour has psychological and
physiological influences.
Percentage of information we get
through our eyes:
Psychological influences
People feel comfortable when colour
suggests something familiar.
Children prefer:
Cultural variations:
Variations according to climate:
Variations according to era:
Physiological influences
Red results in:
White/grey results in:
Food retailing
Reasons for fast-food outlets using red:
Sophisticated restaurants use:
Conclusion
3 Some words have the same pronunciation
but there is a difference in spelling and in
meaning. Try to work out the difference in
meaning between the underlined words in
these sentences.
e.g. (1) 1 a It’s important that colours in a store or
café complement other elements, such
as product displays and lighting.
b My wife likes it when I compliment
(2) %
her on her new clothes.
2 a The city council is responsible for
keeping the streets clean.
(3) colours b In my job I counsel unemployed
e.g. (4) people about how to find work.
e.g. (5) 3 a Is it true that colour affects people’s
e.g. (6) mood?
b I think I’m suffering from the effects
(7)
of spending too much time in this
(8)
bright red room.
4 a The organisation works on
(9)
(10) colours the principle that all members have
the same rights.
b That was my principal reason for
moving.

82 UNIT 13
Reading
1 You are going to read a blog written by Martin,
who has colour vision deficiency (CVD), sometimes
known as colour blindness. Discuss these questions
with a partner.
1 Make a list of situations when it is important to
be able to tell different colours apart.
2 Look at the two photos of a stir-fry meal. The
second shows the meal as seen by someone with
CVD. What are the main differences?
3 How do you think having CVD might affect
someone’s life?
2 Read Martin’s blog to find out what he says about
the topics in exercise 1.

I’ve just had a brilliant weekend despite my CVD. Let me explain. Well, for a start, you’ll have noticed
that I prefer to call it colour vision deficiency rather than colour blindness. CVD is the inability or
decreased ability to see colour, or perceive colour differences, under normal lighting conditions. There
is no actual blindness, but there is a lack of normal colour vision. In northern Europe it affects about
8% of the male population and 0.5% of the female population. And it’s usually a genetic thing. Now
that I’ve got that basic stuff off my chest, I want to tell you about my weekend.

I’ve been going out with Emma for about four months now and I decided that this week I’d invite
her round to my flat and cook her a meal. Now, you might just be thinking, that’s nice … but I wonder
if he can cook, but cooking a meal when you’ve got CVD is not exactly straightforward. I have
problems with reds and greens. So, making sure that meat is thoroughly cooked and there are no
unintended pink bits left is a bit tricky. So I decided to play it safe and cook a veggie stir fry and serve
it with rice. I thought I’d be OK with rice because it’s white – no problems there.

I’d got all the ingredients listed in the recipe from the market and I was assured they were really
fresh. I had to trust the stall holder because quite honestly the red peppers, carrots, broccoli and
other vegetables I’d bought all looked an unappealing shade of dull green. And I must admit at that
point I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of my offer to cook dinner.

Anyway, Emma came round and looked happy. OK, she was puzzled when I said her blue jeans
looked great and she had to reveal that they were purple. She knows I’ve got CVD and just accepts
that she should never take my compliments about clothes seriously.

I started cooking and the recipe said I should make sure not to overcook the veg. I cooked them
for just a couple of minutes and they still looked terrible to me. But when Emma saw the dish served
up, she looked really impressed. And I know she wasn’t just being polite because she asked for
seconds.

So it was a wonderful success! Well it was until I went to turn on a lamp (to enhance the romantic
atmosphere). I’d bought this really cool antique lamp and had had to put a new plug on it. And in
the UK, you have to know which is the red wire and which is the green/yellow wire. Well, when I
switched on the lamp it exploded and my flat was plunged into darkness! The next 30 minutes were
spent trying to find a torch and fix everything. Anyway, Emma seemed happy. But she did seem a bit
worried when I told her that I was going to start driving lessons next week, and mentioned something
about red and green traffic lights …

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 Past tenses and the
present perfect
1 In Martin’s blog, a variety of past tenses
was used. Look at this extract and
underline the past tense verbs.
4 Work with a partner. Look at the pictures and say what you
think the person has done or has been doing.
A He’s been studying all night. / He’s been up all night.
A

I’d got all the ingredients listed in

the recipe from the market and I was
assured they were really fresh. I had
to trust the stall holder because quite
honestly, the red peppers, carrots,
broccoli and other vegetables I’d
bought all looked an unappealing
shade of dull green. And I must admit
at that point, I was beginning to doubt B C
the wisdom of my offer to cook dinner.

2 When do we use the past simple and

when do we use the past continuous?

3 Eight of these sentences contain a

mistake. Find the mistakes and correct
them.
1 I read several recipes before I had D E
decided to cook a stir fry.
2 I decided that this week I’ve invited
her round to my flat and cook her a
meal.
3 Kate bought a new computer because
she was been accepted on an Interior
Design course.
4 The novel had been made into a TV
drama last year. F G
5 My neighbour was owning an
interesting collection of antiques.
6 Harry asked if he could borrow my
laptop to do his essay, because his had
crashed.
7 I’ve finished painting the kitchen just
as Karen came in from work.
8 I worked as a marketing executive for
two years. H I
9 The first paragraph of the blog was
seeming very interesting, that’s why I
read all of it.
10 Are you sure Martin cooked the
dinner? I thought it had been Emma.

84 UNIT 13
 Speaking
Corpus spot 1 Work with a partner. Choose two of the photos
Take care when using the present perfect simple and the to discuss.
present perfect continuous. The Cambridge English Corpus shows
that exam candidates often make mistakes with this. 1 Look at the photos and describe the colours in
Weather patterns have been changing for many years. each one.
NOT Weather patterns have changed for many years. 2 Discuss how people might feel if they were in
these places. Describe how the colours might
5 Complete the sentences using the present perfect affect a person’s mood.
simple or continuous. 3 Say why the colours in each photo might have
1 He (go out) with Emma for four been chosen.
months now.
2 I (go) to English lessons for about
three years.
3 I (not use) my bicycle for a long
A
time. I really should start again.
4 He (always be) careful with money
– that’s just his nature.
5 They (play) that music for three
hours now. When are they going to stop?
G page 169

Vocabulary

Vocabulary spot
B
The most usual order of adjectives is: opinion, size, age, colour,
origin, material, purpose, and then the noun, for example, cool
antique lamp. We usually use only one, two or three adjectives to
describe a noun.
However, the order can be changed when a writer wants to
emphasise one of the adjectives, e.g. It was an antique lamp,
really cool. Looking at how writers use adjectives could help you
to improve your own writing.

1 Put these adjectives in the most usual order.

1 a vegetarian delicious stir-fry
2 a red beautiful silk dress
3 a black shabby suit
4 an extensive new exciting menu C
5 a pale small face
2 Describe the photos. Here are some phrases and
adjectives to get you started.
sterile elegant clean lines friendly
inviting modern and efficient
low-key natural colours

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