Advertisement is the difficult business of bringing information to great numbers of people.The purpose of an advertisement is to make people respond to make them react to an idea，such as helping prevent forest fires，or to make them want to buy a certain product or service.At the beginning of the 20th century，advertisement was described as“salesmanship in print”.If this definition were expanded to include radio and television，it would still stand today.The most effective way to sell something is through person-to-person contact.But the cost of person-to-person selling is high because it takes a great deal of time，and it increases the cost of the product or service.Advertising distributes the selling message to many people at one time.The first printed advertisement in the English language appeared in 1278，more than a century before Shakespeare’s first play was produced.This early advertisement was the work of William Caxton，England’s first printer，who used it to advertise religious books from his own workshop Caxton posted small printed notices along London’s main streets．Besides advertising his product，he identified his shop with a red-striped shield(盾形徽章)so that customers could find it easily．
This same sort of simple informational advertising is still used.Examples are the roadside signs that tell travelers that they can buy fresh corn just down the road or that there is a restaurant in the next town.
The Industrial Revolution，in the 18th and 19th centuries，brought a new kind of advertising.Large factories took the place of small workshops and goods were produced in large quantities.
Manufacturers used the newly built railroads to distribute(递送)their products over wide areas.They had to find many thousands of customers in order to stay in business.They couldn’t simply tell people where shoes or cloth or tea could be bought---they had to learn how to make people want to buy a specific product. Thus modern advertising was born．
Advertising created new markets and helped to raise standards of living as people came to feel that they had a right to new and better products.
【小题1】The passage mainly talks about .A．the development of advertisementB．the first advertisement in the worldC．the difficulty in advertisingD．the advantages of advertisements【小题2】Why is advertisement accepted by people?A．Because it can help to prevent forest fires.B．Because it cand make people want to buy a certain product or service.C．Because it can bring information to great numbers of people.D．Because it can help people live longer.【小题3】Modern advertisement was born as a result of .A．the Industrial RevolutionB．the newly built railroadsC．the appearance of the first printer advertisementD．people’s need【小题4】We can conclude from the passage that .A．red-striped shield is the best thing to use in advertisingB．main streets and television are used in advertisingC．person-to-person selling is the best way in advertisingD．people show little interest in advertisementA
网友回答
(答案→)A
解析：
【小题1】通读全文，主要讲述了广告业的发展史。
【小题1】从文章最后一句可知，广告使人们获取了大量信息，人们可有选择地购买商品或接受服务，从而生活水平得以提高。
【小题1】从文章第三段可知，由于工业革命的发展带来新型的广告业，即现代广告。
【小题1】从文章中可知，red-striped shied是首次做广告时用的东西，不是最佳方式，而B项才是现代发布广告的途径，通过街道或电视做广告省钱高效。