?Why use red logos in fast food companies？

By Greg Creed/崔海燕（譯）

◆語篇導讀

你注意過嗎？快餐店的標志大多使用了紅色。為什么呢？只是因為紅色讓人感覺溫暖或是令人醒目嗎？據說原因不僅如此。那么紅色還有哪些奧秘呢？讓我們一起閱讀下列文章來尋找答案吧！

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（中世紀的）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.

◆詞語積淀

coincidence/k??'InsId?ns/n.巧合；一致

evoke/I'v??k/v.喚起；產生；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'd?k?n/n.誘惑力；吸引力

dedicate/'dedIkeIt/v.致力于；獻身

visual/'vI?u?l/adj.視覺的；看得見的

species/'spi:?i:z/n.物種；種類

memorable/'mem?r?bl/adj.值得紀念的；難忘的

◆典句賞析

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，相較于其他顏色，人類和紅色有著更深層的聯系，而我們以某種方式對紅色的反應實際上發揮了快餐公司的優勢。

句中react to為固定搭配的動詞短語，意為“對……作出反應”；句中“that actually play to fast food companies’advantage”為that引導的定語從句，修飾先行詞ways。

【即時嘗試】他對你的建議反應怎么樣？

2.And when you pair those two together,you’ve got the perfect recipe to attract hungry customers who want food fast.當你把這兩者結合在一起時，你就有了完美的秘訣來吸引那些饑腸轆轆、希望迅速得到食物的顧客。

句中pair為動詞，意為“（使……）成對；（使……）成雙”；句子“who want food fast”為關系代詞who引導的定語從句，先行詞是customers。

【即時嘗試】昨天我幫助了一位迷路的老人。

譯文助讀

一些快餐公司如麥當勞、肯德基都有一個共同點，那就是它們的標志都是紅色的。這可不是巧合。

快餐公司都喜歡在標志上使用大面積的紅色，為什么呢？答案要追溯到幾千年前了。在字母和書寫出現之前，表示顏色的詞只有“黑”“白”和“紅”,沒有別的了。紅色是祖先們命名的第一批重要的顏色。

因此，相較于其他顏色，人類和紅色有著更深層的聯系，而我們以某種方式對紅色的反應實際上發揮了快餐公司的優勢。研究人員發現，紅色會引起緊迫感。此外，紅色還有一種特有的能力刺激我們的食欲。當你把這兩者結合在一起時，你就有了完美的秘訣來吸引那些饑腸轆轆、希望迅速得到食物的顧客。

所以，紅色標志不只是表示歡迎，還在悄悄誘惑著你的大腦。目前，我們尚不清楚為什么紅色會引發這類感受，但它也許和詞匯來源有關。在許多古老語言里，最早“紅”的詞源是“血”。幾千年來，紅色的血含義發生了變化。例如：在中世紀時期，貴族穿戴紅色來顯示自己的地位。

事實上，紅色是當今世界上少數幾種文化視為積極的顏色之一，難怪企業會把這么多想法花在他們的商標上，我們畢竟都是視覺動物。根據營銷公司WebPageFX的調查，近85%的消費者表示他們選擇一種產品而不是另一種產品的主要原因是顏色。還有80%的消費者表示品牌標志最讓人印象深刻的是顏色。