单选题 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 flair for self-promotion and because they have so much money
to throw around. "It's iniquitous," they say, "that this entirely 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 advertising 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
precisely 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. An- other equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the
knowledge we have about house- hold goods derives 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 ob- tain
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 bye-laws while waiting for a train? Would you like
to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A
cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a
newspaper full of the daily ration of calamities. We must not forget, either,
that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers,
commercial radio and television companies could not subsist 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 accomplished
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!
单选题
What is the 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.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 整篇文章都在介绍广告的益处，故选B。
单选题
The attitude of the author toward advertisers is
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.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段中第二句“Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair for self-promotion”说批评是因为广告商太会自我吹嘘。A选项说因为广告商经常吹牛，符合文章的意思。B选项说因为广告浪费钱，虽然文中有提到，但是不是批评的原因。C选项说因为顾客被鼓励去买很多不需要的东西，属于推理过度。D选项说因为顾客花的钱更多了，和B选项一样不是批评的原因。所以答案选A。
单选题
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.