Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always getting criticism. Their critics（批评家）seem to resent（对...不满） them because they have a gift for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s unjust,’ 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 panies 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. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods es 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(内部规则) 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 dull wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration(定量) of disasters.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, mercial radio and television panies could not survive without this source of revenue（收益）. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper or can enjoy so many broadcast programs 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 munity! Just about anything can be acplished 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（giving birth）, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column（读者来信专栏）. 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!
【小题1】What is main idea of this passage?A．Advertisements. B．Advertisements bring fun to readers.C．Advertisers perform a useful service to munities. D．The costs of advertisements.【小题2】The attitude of the author toward advertisers is A．appreciative.B．trustworthy.C．criticalD．dissatisfactory.【小题3】Why do the critics criticize advertisers?A．Because advertisers often brag(自夸).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.【小题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.C
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(答案→)C
解析：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、商品价格就高；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。
【小题1】主旨题：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。选C。
【小题2】作者态度题：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：欣赏/赞赏。
【小题3】细节题：从第一段的句子：Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always getting criticism. Their critics（批评家）seem to resent（对...不满） them because they have a gift for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around.可知批评家经常批评广告商，因为广告商常常爱自夸， 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。选A。
【小题4】细节题：C项说：优质产品不需要广告。而实际上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。选C。