❶Why use red logos in fast food companies？

By Greg Creed/崔海燕（译）

◆语篇导读

你注意过吗？快餐店的标志大多使用了红色。为什么呢？只是因为红色让人感觉温暖或是令人醒目吗？据说原因不仅如此。那么红色还有哪些奥秘呢？让我们一起阅读下列文章来寻找答案吧！

Some fast food companies like McDonald’s and KFC have something in common.That’s their logos are all red.And it’s not a coincidence.

Fast food companies all use the red heavily in their logos,why?The answer goes back to thousands of years.Before alphabets and writing,there were only words for“black”“white”and“red”but not much else.Red is one of the first colors our ancient ancestors thought important eough to name.

As a result,we have a deeper connection to red than any other color and we react to it in certain ways that actually play to fast food companies’advantage.Researchers have found that red can evoke a sense of urgency.Besides,it also has an innate ability to whet our appetites.And when you pair those two together,you’ve got the perfect recipe to attract hungry customers who want food fast.

So that red logo isn’t just a welcoming sign,it’s a sly seduction for your brain.Now,it’s unclear why red makes us feel this way.But perhaps it has something to do with where the word comes from.Many ancient languages first named red from their word for“blood”.But the meaning of red blood has transformed over millennia（一千年）.During medieval（中世纪的）times,for example,red was worn by royals as a status symbol.

In fact,red is one of the few colors today that cultures all over the world view positively.And it’s no wonder companies dedicate so much thought to their logos.After all,we’re a visual species.And according to marketing company WebPageFX,nearly 85%of consumers say the main reason they choose one product over the other is color.Another 80%said that colors are what give brands that memorable stamp of recognition.

◆词语积淀

coincidence/kəʊ'InsIdəns/n.巧合；一致

evoke/I'vəʊk/v.唤起；产生；引起

innate/I'neIt/adj.天生的；特有的

whet/wet/v.引起；刺激（食欲等）

sly/slaI/adj.暗中的；偷偷摸摸的

seduction/sI'dʌkʃn/n.诱惑力；吸引力

dedicate/'dedIkeIt/v.致力于；献身

visual/'vIʒuəl/adj.视觉的；看得见的

species/'spi:ʃi:z/n.物种；种类

memorable/'memərəbl/adj.值得纪念的；难忘的

◆典句赏析

1.As a result,we have a deeper connection to red than any other color and we react to it in certain ways that actually play to fast food companies’advantage. 因此，相较于其他颜色，人类和红色有着更深层的联系，而我们以某种方式对红色的反应实际上发挥了快餐公司的优势。

句中react to为固定搭配的动词短语，意为“对……作出反应”；句中“that actually play to fast food companies’advantage”为that引导的定语从句，修饰先行词ways。

【即时尝试】他对你的建议反应怎么样？

2.And when you pair those two together,you’ve got the perfect recipe to attract hungry customers who want food fast.当你把这两者结合在一起时，你就有了完美的秘诀来吸引那些饥肠辘辘、希望迅速得到食物的顾客。

句中pair为动词，意为“（使……）成对；（使……）成双”；句子“who want food fast”为关系代词who引导的定语从句，先行词是customers。

【即时尝试】昨天我帮助了一位迷路的老人。

译文助读

一些快餐公司如麦当劳、肯德基都有一个共同点，那就是它们的标志都是红色的。这可不是巧合。

快餐公司都喜欢在标志上使用大面积的红色，为什么呢？答案要追溯到几千年前了。在字母和书写出现之前，表示颜色的词只有“黑”“白”和“红”,没有别的了。红色是祖先们命名的第一批重要的颜色。

因此，相较于其他颜色，人类和红色有着更深层的联系，而我们以某种方式对红色的反应实际上发挥了快餐公司的优势。研究人员发现，红色会引起紧迫感。此外，红色还有一种特有的能力刺激我们的食欲。当你把这两者结合在一起时，你就有了完美的秘诀来吸引那些饥肠辘辘、希望迅速得到食物的顾客。

所以，红色标志不只是表示欢迎，还在悄悄诱惑着你的大脑。目前，我们尚不清楚为什么红色会引发这类感受，但它也许和词汇来源有关。在许多古老语言里，最早“红”的词源是“血”。几千年来，红色的血含义发生了变化。例如：在中世纪时期，贵族穿戴红色来显示自己的地位。

事实上，红色是当今世界上少数几种文化视为积极的颜色之一，难怪企业会把这么多想法花在他们的商标上，我们毕竟都是视觉动物。根据营销公司WebPageFX的调查，近85%的消费者表示他们选择一种产品而不是另一种产品的主要原因是颜色。还有80%的消费者表示品牌标志最让人印象深刻的是颜色。