The Reading / Listening - The Colour Blue - Level 2

Everyone has a favourite colour. We usually like it throughout our lives. A new study found the most common favourite colour is blue. The BBC looked at why people like one colour more than another. They found two things. One was that people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that we change the colours we like as we get older. Our experiences in life also change the way we feel about colour. People often like darker colours as they get older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world's least liked colour.

The BBC found that blue has been a favourite since research on colour began in the 1800s. Most people's experiences of blue are positive. Many colours in nature are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and flowers. A blue sky makes many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only negative associations with blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "have the blues" or are "feeling blue". This means they feel sad. One factor in having a favourite colour is sport. Many people like the colour of their favourite sports team.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    The Colour Blue - Level 0 The Colour Blue - Level 1   or  The Colour Blue - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220601-what-your-favourite-colour-says-about-you
  • https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a40207932/why-blue-is-probably-your-favorite-color/
  • https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/blue-is-probably-your-favorite-color-heres-why-according-to-science/ar-AAY9c7t


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Everyone has
  2. throughout our
  3. why people like one colour more
  4. we change the colours we like
  5. Our experiences
  6. change the
  7. People often like darker colours
  8. dark yellowish-
  1. way we feel
  2. as they get older
  3. as we get older
  4. lives
  5. brown
  6. a favourite colour
  7. than another
  8. in life

Paragraph 2

  1. since research on colour
  2. people's experiences of blue
  3. A blue sky makes many
  4. negative
  5. have the
  6. This means they feel
  7. One factor in
  8. the colour of their favourite
  1. associations
  2. having a favourite colour
  3. are positive
  4. sad
  5. began in the 1800s
  6. sports team
  7. people very happy
  8. blues

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Everyone has a favourite colour. We usually (1) ________________ our lives. A new study found the most common favourite colour is blue. The BBC (2) ___________________ people like one colour more than two things. (3) ___________________ people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that we change the colours we like as (4) ___________________. Our experiences in life also change the way (5) ___________________ colour. People often like darker colours as they get older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world's (6) ___________________.

The BBC found that blue has been (7) ___________________ research on colour began in the 1800s. Most people's experiences of blue are positive. Many (8) ___________________ are blue, especially a blue sky, the (9) ___________________. A blue sky makes many people very happy. The researchers say one of (10) ___________________ associations with blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "have the blues" or are "feeling blue". This means (11) ___________________. One factor in having a favourite colour is sport. Many people like the colour of (12) ___________________ team.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Everyonehasafavouritecolour.Weusuallylikeitthroughoutourlives.A
newstudyfoundthemostcommonfavouritecolourisblue.TheBBClook
edatwhypeoplelikeonecolourmorethananother.Theyfoundtwothing
s.Onewasthatpeoplearoundtheworldlikethecolourbluemost.Theoth
erfindingwasthatwechangethecolourswelikeaswegetolder.Ourexpe
riencesinlifealsochangethewaywefeelaboutcolour.Peopleoftenliked
arkercoloursastheygetolder.Thestudiesshowedthatdarkyellowish-
brownwastheworld'sleastlikedcolour.TheBBCfoundthatbluehasbee
nafavouritesinceresearchoncolourbeganinthe1800s.Mostpeople'se
xperiencesofbluearepositive.Manycoloursinnatureareblue,especiall
yabluesky,theseaandflowers.Ablueskymakesmanypeopleveryhapp
y.Theresearcherssayoneoftheonlynegativeassociationswithbluewa
sintheEnglishlanguage.InEnglish,peoplesaythey"havetheblues"ora
re"feelingblue".Thismeanstheyfeelsad.Onefactorinhavingafavourit
ecolourissport.Manypeoplelikethecolouroftheirfavouritesportsteam
.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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