Advertisement can be thought of "as the means of making known in order to buy or sell goods or services ". Advertisement aims to increase people"s awareness and arouse interest. It tries to inform and to persuade. The media are all used to spread the message. The press offers a fairly cheap method, and magazines are used to reach special sections of the market. The cinema and commercial radio are useful for local market. Television, although more expensive, can be very effective. Public notices are fairly cheap and more permanent in their power of attraction. Other ways of increasing consumer interest are through exhibitions and trade fairs as well as direct mail advertisement.
There can be no doubt that the growth in advertisement is one of the most striking features of the western world in this century. Many businesses such as those handling frozen foods, liquor, tobacco and medicines have been built up largely by advertisement.
We might ask whether the cost of advertisement is paid for by the producer or by the customer. Since advertisement forms part of the cost of production, which has to be covered by the selling price, it is clear that it is the customer who pays for advertisement. However, if large scale advertisement leads to increased demand, production costs are reduced, and the customer pays less.
It is difficult to measure exactly the influence of advertisement on sales. When the market is growing, advertisement helps to increase demand. When the market is shrinking, advertisement may prevent a bigger fall in sales than would occur without its support. What is clear is that businesses would not pay large sums for advertisement if they were not convinced of its value to them.
单选题
Advertisement is often used to ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 答案依据第一段第一句话:Advertisement can be thought of “as the means of making known in order to buy or sell goods or services.”“广告可以被认为是为了买卖商品或服务而做宣传的手段。”因此D项“(广告常常被用来)当做促销商品的手段”最恰当。
单选题
The word "media"(in the first paragraph) includes ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] media:媒体。作者在其后的句子中紧接着列举子press,magazines.the cinema and commercial radio,television,exhibitions等词,因此可以断定media应当包括the press, television,and radio。
单选题
Advertisement is mainly paid for by ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 答案依据第三段第二句:…it is clear that it is the customer who pays for advertisement.(详见长难句分析),因此广告的费用主要是由顾客来付。
单选题
Advertisement can increase demand ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 答案在第四段:“When the market is growing,advertisement helps to increase demand.”因此,如果市场扩大了,广告有助于增加需求。
单选题
From the last sentence of this passage we conclude that ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后一句话What is clear is that businesses would not pay large sums for advertisement if they were not convinced of its value to them.的意思是:很明显,如果商家对产品的利润没有把握的话,是不会花很多钱投资广告的。因此,商家非常清楚广告会给他带来更大的利润,所以选B项。