【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[听力原文] One danger we should be concerned about is the increase in advertising. You see, the media is not only interested in providing information or entertainment, but also selling space or time to advertisers. You used to be able to enjoy a TV show, or relax and read a magazine, and there wasn't too much advertising. Now, however, it seems that advertising is the main goal. The content of a TV program or a magazine is just an excuse, or a kind of wrapping, for the advertising. There's an essential marketing relationship between the media, the advertiser, and the user, and it exists whatever the media. Even print media, which is one of the least technological forms of communication, has a high percentage of ads. On TV, of course, we're used to being bombarded by endless commercials every eight minutes. Many of us use our remote control to zap out the advertising with the "mute" button, or simply channel-surf to find someplace we can escape from the ads. But the advertisers have found many ways to get their message across to you, anyway. They use what is called "product placement," which means that they put products right in the middle of a show. For example, the hero of the show might be drinking a particular soft drink, like Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper. Or he might be wearing a pair of shoes with the name Nike or Adidas. You can't escape from this form of advertising unless you just turn off your set. The problem is not just that we are being bombarded by advertising, but that the media is invading our privacy. Advertisers are more and more interested in getting private information about individuals. Every time you use your credit card, you're giving away information about yourself. Advertisers have the ability to gather statistical data about people like you: potential consumers. Think about this for a moment: Have you ever gotten junk mail from a company you never heard of? Where did they get your address? Have you ever gotten a phone call during dinner from some company trying to sell you something? Where did they get your telephone number? Well, information about you can be compiled and sold to other companies. And advertisers can study what you buy, where you buy it, and how much of it you buy, and figure out the best way to make you buy more! On the Internet, many websites are working extra hard to collect information about you. You can be tracked if you make a few visits to any website, and the data can be used to learn more about your habits, interests, and other behavior. We are surrounded everywhere by a message that tells us that we can be better, more successful, more popular, and altogether happier if we just have more. I believe we need to step back once in a while and ask ourselves if this message is true. Is it true? Are we what we buy? What if we couldn't buy anything, ever? Who would we be? What danger should we be concerned about now according to the talk?