阅读理解。
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they're always coming in for (getting) criticism.
Their critics 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 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. Another equally important
function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods comes 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, commercial radio and television companies could not subsist (survive) 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(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!
1. What is 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.
2. The attitude of the author toward advertisers is
A. appreciative.
B. trustworthy.
C.critical.
D. dissatisfactory.
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.
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.
5. The passage is .
A. Narration(记叙文).
B. Description.
C. Criticism.
D. Argumentation.
