Passage three(Advertisers Perform a Useful Service to the Community)

Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair¹ for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s iniquitous,’ they say, ‘that this entirely² unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don’t they stop advertising³ and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…’

The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products. It is precisely⁴ because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives⁵ largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.

Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty⁶ advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration⁷ of calamities⁸.

We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not subsist⁹ without this source of revenue. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!

Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine.  What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished¹⁰ through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!

1.       What is main idea of this passage?
A.  Advertisement.   
B.  The benefits of advertisement.
C.  Advertisers perform a useful service to communities.
D.  The costs of advertisement.

2.       The attitude of the author toward advertisers is
A.  appreciative.
B.  trustworthy.
C.  critical.
D.  dissatisfactory.

3.       Why do the critics criticize advertisers?
A.  Because advertisers often brag¹¹.
B.  Because critics think advertisement is a “waste of money”.
C.  Because customers are encouraged to buy more than necessary.
D.  Because customers pay more.

4.       Which of the following is Not True?
A.  Advertisement makes contribution to our pockets and we may know everything.
B.  We can buy what we want.
C.  Good quality products don’t need to be advertised.
D.  Advertisement makes our life colorful.

5.       The passage is
A.  Narration.
B.  Description.
C.  Criticism.
D.  Argumentation.

Vocabulary

1.       come in for ( sth. )                      是某事物的对象，吸引（某事物），获得

2.       flair                                      天资，天分

3.       iniquitous                              极邪恶的，极不公正的

4.       drab                                     单调的，乏味的

5.       subsist                                 活下去，生存下去，维持下去

6.       hatch                                          孵化（指生孩子）

7.       match                                  匹配，婚姻

8.       dispatch                               派遣，发送

9.       agony                                   极大痛苦，煎熬

10.   agony column                       （报刊中关于个人疑难问题征询意见的）读者来信专栏

难句译注

1.       Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism.
【参考译文】广告商总是雄心勃勃（想得很大），也许这就是为什么他们老挨批评。

2.       Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair for self-promotion.
【参考译文】他们的批评者似乎对他们很气愤，因为他们在自我抬高/标榜上很有天分。

3.       No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offer such deep insight into human nature.
【参考译文】报纸任何其他栏目都难以提供如此有趣的文章，或提供对人性的内涵如此深刻的洞察。

4.       It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is.
【参考译文】这是广告中最佳的广告。

写作方法与文章大意

  文章以因果、对比的手法写出有没有广告的后果及广告的真正作用。文章首先指出广告商遭批评的原因：广告商夸大和人们认为广告浪费钱财、商品价格就搞；然后作者以有无广告的后果突出其功能，没有广告，商品价更高，生活单调、乏味。有了广告，商品价低，生活丰富多彩，人们获取各种信息。

答案详解

1.       C. 广告对社会的服务很有用。作者从三方面来叙述广告作用：第二段点出如果广告不为产品开辟广大的市场，我们就得付出很多钱，正是因为大量的广告费用，消费者的商品才会那么便宜。广告除销售商品外，其重要的功能在通知/告诉信息，有关家用商品的许多只是来自广告，还有新产品的介绍。
第三段讲了美化环境功能。如果火车站的墙上和报上没有广告，那会怎么样。一幅悦人心目，机智的广告将改变一切。
第四段讲了它为我们省钱：别忘了广告对我们口袋作出积极的贡献。报纸、电台、电视台公司没有这笔收入很难生存。我们的报纸，我们付给很少，或者说，我们能享受那么多的节目完全是因为广告商花的钱。如果要我们付报纸的全价，那我们要花多少钱！
最后一段讲了各种专栏的功能。人们可以在这些栏目找工作、买卖房子、宣布婚丧嫁娶信息。这些都围着一个中心：广告对社会服务的有用性。
A. 广告。太笼统。B. 广告之优点。文章不是讲优点，而是讲服务于社会的功能。D. 广告费用。

2.       A. 欣赏/赞赏。从上述注释也可推知是A项。最重要的，作者提出种种功能，是为了反驳第一段内提到的论点：完全是非生产企业每年吸收几百万镑，这说明这些大公司利润有多高。最重要的是消费者付的广告费等。反驳更说明了A项对。
B. 值得信任。 C. 批评。 D. 不满意。

3.       A. 因为广告商常常爱吹，。见难句译注1.。
B. 因为批评者认为广告浪费钱。 C. 因为广告促使消费者购买不必要的东西。 D. 因为消费者支付更多。

4.       C. 优质产品不需要广告。一切产品都需要广告，新产品、老产品都需要。
A. 广告对我们的口袋作出贡献。 B. 我们可以买到我们所需的。 D. 广告使我们生活丰富多彩。这三条都提到也是真实的。