7. “Red” in names and acronyms – match with the explanations:

1. Red Bus Rover	1. informal for the People's Republic of China. The term "mainland China" is coming to be preferred
2. Red Leicester	2. a character in the children's story. A reindeer, called Rudolf, had a shiny red nose. The other rein­deer thought his nose looked silly, but in spite of this Santa Claus chose him to pull his sledge. In the US the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a character in a children's television cartoon and has a nose that lights up
3. Red Riding Hood (also Little Red Riding Hood)	3. the emblem of the House of Lancaster in the War of the Roses. That was the struggle (1455—1485) between the no­ble family of Lancaster, represented by a red rose, and the noble family of York, represented by a white rose, to make their man king of England. The war ended when Henry, a Lancastrian, married Elizabeth of York and so united the two houses
4. Red Rum	4. a terrorist group operating in Italy from the early 1970s
5. The Red Cross	5. a) an international organization having for its ob­jective the humane treatment of animals; it had its inception in Switzerland. b) a British parcel and letter delivery service which uses trains to transport the parcels and letters
6. The Red Devils	6. the badge of Northern Ireland, in origin that of the O'Neill clan. It is shown heraldically as an upright red hand severed at the wrist (hence its alternative name is of "Bloody Hand")
7. The Red River	7. a campaign against radicals and dissenters which took place in the US after the First World War and the Russian Revolution, during a period of labour disorders. A wave of strikes in 1919 was seen as a prelude to revolution and violently suppressed. Thousands of people were arrested on suspicion, and communists were banned from entry to the country. Foreigners who had recently settled in the US, were deported for fear that they were communists and would per­suade others of the worth of their ideas
8. The Red Sea	8. a ticket that gives unlimited travel for one day on any of the red (city) buses operated by London Re­gional Transport. (London's red buses run chiefly in the ur­ban areas of London, while green buses — Green Line coaches — travel on routes out into the country)
9. Red China	9. a sea between North-Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, joined with the Mediterranean Sea (by the Suez Canal) and the Indian Ocean. It is an important pas­sage for many shipping companies. The Bible tells a story of God parting the Red Sea, allowing Moses and the Jews who had been in Egypt to escape by walking across the sea bed. (The Red Sea was probably named so for the red algae, very simple plants that live in or near water.)
10. Red Rose	10. a long river in the south of the US, which forms part of the border between the states of Oklahoma and Texas. There is a popular American folk song called "The Red River Valley", which begins: "From this valley they may say you are going"
11. Red Star	11. a type of English cheese (red in colour)
12. The Red Scare	12. a charac­ter in a children's story of the same name. In the story a wolf eats Little Red Riding flood's grandmother and puts on her clothes. When Little Red Riding Hood goes to visit her grandmother, she is surprised by her appearance and says, "Oh, Grandma, what big teeth you've got!" "All the better to eat you with," says the wolf. A woodcutter kills the wolf, cuts open its stomach, and saves Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother
13. Red-Nosed Reindeer	13. a) the semi-official nickname of the Para­chute Regiment of the British Army (apparently first called this by the Germans in the Second World War). b) a special British Army team who give public performances of skydiv­ing (making movements before opening a parachute).
14. The Red Brigades	14. a famous British racehorse
15. The Red Hand of Ulster	15. part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement whose aim is to offer protection and help to people suffering as a result of wars, natural disasters, etc. Its sign, a red cross on a white background, is recognized under the Geneva Conventions and protects the people using it from being attacked or harmed

8. Make up little dialogues, using different word combinations with “red”.

9. Remember other colour idioms with “red” in your language.

10. What do you know about:

a) Eric the Red (940-1010);

b) Redgrave, Vanessa (1937-…);

c) The Red Baron (1882-1918)?

11. Read the following text.

BLUE

The man bent over his guitar,

A shears man of sorts. The day was green.

They said, “You have a blue guitar,

You do not play things as they are.”

The man replied, “Things as they are

Are changed upon the blue guitar.” (Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)“The man with the blue guitar”)

Over three million years ago, the first creatures arose in the aquatic depths of the primitive world. Among them were microscopic algae filled with all the colors that would one day light up the earth. Slowly they refined the free oxygen in the atmosphere and opened the way for the plants that would follow. They created the conditions conducive to the appearance of new forms of life and, for the first time, these single-cell organisms developed pigmentary color. It was blue, and these algae are called “blue-green algae.”

Greek mythology tells how the color of the sea was created by the undulations of the long azure tresses belonging to the young ocean nymphs – the Nereids.

Calm and Cool : Blue is calming. It can be strong and steadfast or light and friendly. Almost everyone likes some shade of the colour blue.

Nature of Blue: A natural colour, from the blue of the sky, blue is a universal colour. The cool, calming effect of blue makes time pass more quickly and it can help you sleep. Blue is a good colour for bedrooms. However, too much blue could dampen spirits.

Culture of Blue: In many diverse cultures blue is significant in religious beliefs, brings peace, or is believed to keep the bad spirits away. Blue conveys importance and confidence without being somber or sinister, hence the blue power suit of the corporate world and the blue uniforms of police officers. Long considered a corporate colour, blue, especially darker blue, is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism.

Just as seeing red alludes to the strong emotions invoked by the colour red, feeling blue or getting the blues represents the extremes of the calm feelings associated with blue, i.e. sadness or depression, lack of strong (violent) emotion. Dark blue is sometimes seen as staid or stodgy — old-fashioned. In Iran, blue is the colour of mourning while in the West the something blue bridal tradition represents love.

Good blue

• True blue - someone loyal and faithful

• Out of the blue - unexpected (could be positive or negative)

• Blue ribbon - first rate, top prize

• Blueblood - person of noble birth, royalty

• Bluestocking - well-read or scholarly woman

• Bluebook - register of socially prominent people

• The Blues (capitalized) - popular style of music sometimes characterized by melancholy melodies and words

• Baby blues - Blue eyes (also see Bad blue words)

Bad blue

• Feeling blue - feeling sad or depressed

• Blue devils - feelings of depression

• The blues (not capitalized) - depression, state of sadness

• Blue Monday - feeling sad

• Baby blues - post-partum depression

• Singing the blues - bemoaning one's circumstances

• Blue laws - laws originally intended to enforce certain moral standards

• Blue language - profanity

• Bluenose - puritanical individual

• Into the blue - entering the unknown or escape to parts unknown

• Out of the blue - unexpected (could be positive or negative)

12. Find the following synonyms of “blue”: Azure, cobalt, indigo, navy, cyan, sapphire, beryl, cerulean, royal, sky blue, steel blue, cornflower blue

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