时间:2018-12-18 作者:英语课 分类:新编大学英语阅读部分


英语课

Unit 11
Advertising 1


After-Class Reading

PASSAGE I Advertising: The Selling of a Product

New Words

cavity *
n. a hole in a tooth caused by decay 龋齿

detergent 2
n. a liquid or powder that contains soap used for washing clothes, dishes, etc. 洗涤剂

dissatisfied
adj. not contented 3 or pleased 不满的
e.g. If you're dissatisfied with the service, why don't you complain to the hotel manager?

giant *
adj. extremely big 巨大的

identical *
adj. exactly the same 相同的
e.g. No two people have identical fingerprints 4.

imperfect *
adj. not completely correct or perfect 不完美的

inform *
v. give knowledge of a fact to (someone); tell 告诉,告知
e.g. We informed them about our plan.

laundry *
n. 洗涤

misinformation
n. 错误信息

roommate
n. 室友

self-image
n. the idea that one has about one's abilities, appearance and character 自我形象

shampoo
n. 洗发剂,洗涤剂

shiny *
adj. smooth and bright 有光泽的

toothbrush
n. 牙刷

unpopular *
adj. not liked by most people 不受欢迎的
e.g. The tax increase was an unpopular action.

Advertising: The Selling of a Product

A consumer walks into a store. He stands in front of hundreds of boxes of laundry detergent. He chooses one brand, pays for it, and leaves. Why does he pick that specific kind of soap? Is it truly better than the others? Probably not. These days, many products are nearly identical to each other in quality and price. If products are almost the same, what makes consumers buy one brand instead of another? Although we might not like to admit it, commercials[1] on television and advertisements in magazines probably influence us much more than we think they do.
Advertising informs consumers about new products available on the market. It gives us information about everything from shampoo to toothpaste to computers and cars. But there is one serious problem with this. The "information" is actually very often "misinformation." It tells us the products' benefits but hides their disadvantages. Advertising not only leads us to buy things that we don't need and can't afford, but it also confuses our sense of reality. "Zoom 5[2] toothpaste prevents cavities and gives you white teeth!" the advertisement tells us. But it doesn't tell us the complete truth: that a healthy diet and a good toothbrush will have the same effect.
Advertisers use many methods to get us to buy their products. One of their most successful methods is to make us feel dissatisfied with ourselves and our imperfect lives. Advertisements show us who we are not and what we do not have. Our teeth aren't white enough. Our hair isn't shiny enough. Our clothes aren't clean enough. Advertisements make us afraid that people won't like us if we don't use the advertised products. "Why don't I have any dates?" a good-looking girl sadly asks in a commercial. "Here," replies her roommate, "try Zoom toothpaste!" Of course she tries it, and immediately the whole football team falls in love with her. "That's a stupid commercial," we might say. But we still buy Zoom toothpaste out of fear of being unpopular and having no friends.[3]
If fear is the negative motive 6 for buying a product, then wanting a good selfimage is the positive reason for choosing it. Each of us has a mental picture of the kind of person we would like to be. For example, a modern young woman might like to think that she looks like a beautiful movie star. A middle-aged 7 man might want to see himself as a strong, attractive athlete. Advertisers know this. They write specific ads to make certain groups of people choose their product. Two people may choose different brands of toothpaste with the identical price, amount, and quality; each person believes that he is expressing his personality by choosing that brand.
Advertisers get psychologists to study the way consumers think and their reasons for choosing one brand instead of another. These experts tell advertisers about the motives 8 of fear and self-image. They also inform them about recent studies with colors and words. Psychologists have found that certain colors on the package of an attractive product will cause people to reach out and take that package instead of an identical product with different colors. Also, certain words attract our attention. For example, the words "new," "improved," "natural," and "giant size" are very popular and seem to pull our eyes and hands toward the package.
Many people believe that advertising does not affect them. They know that there is freedom to choose, and they like to think they make wise choices. Unfortunately, they probably don't realize the powerful effect of advertising. They may not clearly understand that advertisers spend billions of dollars each year in aggressive competition for our money, and they are extremely successful. Do you believe that ads don't influence your choice of products? Just look at the brands in your kitchen and bathroom. (632 words)

Phrases and Expressions

be identical to
be exactly the same as or very similar to
e.g. The tests are identical to those carried out last year.

fall in love with
start to love someone or something very much
e.g. I had fallen in love with this beautiful new house.

feel dissatisfied with
feel that something is not as good as it should be 对......感到不满
e.g. He seemed dissatisfied with my explanation.

reach out
stretch out the hand in order to get something 伸手,伸手拿
e.g. The child reached out and picked up the kitten (小猫).

PASSAGE II Should Advertising Be Banned?

Proper Names

Allie
艾莉(文中为猴名)

Arkansas
(地名)阿肯色州(美国州名)

Henderson State University
汉得森州立大学(阿肯色州)

Jennifer Hurley
(女子名)詹妮弗.赫莉

Marian Bailey
(女子名)玛丽安.贝利

Morris Berkowitz
(男子名)莫里斯.伯克威兹

Santa Cruz
(地名)圣克鲁斯(美国加利福尼亚州西部城市)


New Words

adapt *
v. make or become suitable 使适应,使适合
e.g. The world will be different, and we will have to be prepared to adapt to the change.

assist *
v. help someone to do something 帮助,协助
e.g. You will be expected to assist the editor with the selection of illustrations (插图) for the dictionary.

behaviorist
n. 行为科学家

beneath *
prep.under 在......下面
e.g. She found pleasure in sitting beneath the trees.

canine 10
adj. & n. 犬(的)

capuchin
n. 僧帽猴

collapse 11 *
v. fall down suddenly 倒塌
e.g. Thousands of buildings collapsed 12 in the earthquake.

collapsed
adj. 倒塌的

command *
n. an order that should be obeyed 命令
e.g. Since he was the head of the family, his wish was a command.

conditioning
n. 训练,条件反射作用

disc
n. 磁盘

earthquake *
n. 地震

floppy 13
adj. soft and often hanging loosely downwards 14 松软的

floppy disc
软盘

helpmate
n. 助手,帮手

highway *
n. 公路

itch 9
n. 痒

locker 15
n. 可锁的衣物柜

nerve *
n. 神经

olfactory 16
adj. connected with the sense of smell 嗅觉的

opposable
adj. 可相对的,与其他手指相对的

paralyzed *
adj. 瘫痪的

phase *
n. a part of a process of development or growth 阶段,时期
e.g. This autumn, 6,000 residents will participate in the first phase of the project.

primate 17
n. 灵长目动物

quadriplegic
n. 四肢瘫痪者

reinforcement *
n. 强化

retrieve 18 *
v. (formal) find something and bring it back 取回,收回

reward *
v. & n. 奖励
e.g. I ) All his hard work was rewarded when he saw his book in print.
II) My mother used to give me chocolate as a reward when I was good.

rubble 19
n. 碎石,碎砖

sniffer
n. 嗅探者,嗅探器

socialized
adj. 社交化的

stimulus 21 *
n. (plural stimuli 22) 刺激物
e.g. It is through our nervous system that we adapt ourselves to our environment and to all external stimuli.

superior *
adj. better, more powerful, more effective. etc. 较好的,优良的
e.g. It makes her very angry when he says that men are intrinsically (本质上地) superior to women.

thumb *
n. 拇指

towel
n. 毛巾

trait *
n. (formal) a particular quality in someone's character 特征,特性

unscrew *
v. 拧开

video *
adj. 录像的,录影的

video camera
摄像机

videotape
n. 录像带

washcloth *
n. 浴巾

washroom *
n. 盥洗室,厕所

whale
n. 鲸鱼

Should Advertising Be Banned?

Advertising is a powerful medium for manipulating people's desires, values, and lifestyles. In general, advertising is done hypocritically, manipulating people without regard for their good.[1] Advertising causes people to want things that they do not need, distracts them from values of life that do not involve buying and consuming products, and weakens traditional symbols.
Those who control advertising control culture by controlling what we spend our money on and what our values and lifestyles are. Almost any message can be packaged [2] in the language of advertising. Charities and good causes project the same stereotyped 23 images and values that products do.[3] With the right advertising, who knows what people could be persuaded to believe? Advertising could be used as easily to support racial violence or violence against police as to support sentiments like saying no to drugs or loving your children.[4] The medium is perfect for propaganda.
There are also clearly some cases where, although the thing advertised is not bad, it is made worse when packaged in advertising. For example, the advertising agency [5] for a political candidate discovers what slogans and symbols voters respond positively 24 to and then packages the candidate in those things. The candidate is associated with images with positive emotional value—the family dog, the American flag, and so on—and the right words are put into her mouth or said in the voice-over. In the thirty-second television slot we see the candidate with her husband and children and pet dog and it tells us that we should vote for her because she loves America. Advertisements show the candidate as a person who looks as if she has the right virtues 25 for the office. The commercials show the candidate talking to workers, minorities, or senior citizens[6] to convince us that ordinary people just like ourselves will vote for her and she cares for our concerns. Thus, in the short advertising message, too short to communicate any real content, the candidate tells the viewers what her market researchers say the viewers already believe, and shows the viewers images of voters backing[7] the candidate for them to identify with. This is the same thing that advertisements for products do. They reflect the average consumer back at himself, using the product.[8]
This sort of advertising corrupts 26[9] the political process by showing us the candidate, not as she is, but packaged to appeal. Thus, it shares in the general atmosphere of hypocrisy 27 and dishonesty of advertising. The political process has been corrupted 28 by letting political issues be reduced to which market researcher is the most skillful in constructing an appealing image, and which candidate has the most money to throw into ads. When we vote for a candidate because of her television commercials, we are voting for an advertising package, not for the individual and her true political convictions.
Some want to blame the advertising professionals for the corrupting 29 influence of advertising. They say that advertising artists and copywriters should consent to persuade people only of things that are good for them. But what is good for people? At the moment, business and industry control advertising and hence control culture. It is up to them to determine how advertising is used. It is business and industry that pay artists and copywriters to package their messages, and mass media[10] to distribute them. Blaming advertising specialists for the negative impact of advertising is like blaming the messenger when you don't like the message[11]. If we want to blame someone we should blame business and industry.
Some suggest that instead of allowing business and industry so much freedom in advertising, there should be some sort of governmental regulations banning advertising for potentially harmful products, such as cigarettes or alcohol. Everyone agrees that some advertising should be kept away from children, but perhaps we should be keeping some of it away from adults as well.
However, even if we were to restrict advertising to products that are not harmful, restrict the advertising that is targeted at children, and stop political advertising, advertising would still be bad for us. It is not that an advertisement for a single product corrupts us, it is rather that the cumulative 30 effect of seeing great quantities of advertisements corrupts us.[12] Advertising provides an atmosphere of hypocrisy and a background of manipulative messages and distorted images. It makes us anxious and suspicious. It weakens our cultural and religious symbols. Advertising promotes material solutions to all problems. It creates false needs. It keeps us daydreaming 31 about products, which is bad for our ability to think clearly. It is hard to think rationally against a background of advertising fantasy. Thus, advertising has a negative cumulative effect on us. (777 words)

Phrases and Expressions

adapt to
change something or someone to suit different conditions or uses
e.g. The good thing about children is that they adapt very easily to a new environment.

based on 以......为基础
e.g. The figures are based on average market prices.

head up
be in charge of a government, organization or group of people
e.g. He was chosen to head up the team investigating the situation.

in response to 作为反应
e.g. In response to your inquiries 32, we regret to inform you that we cannot help you in this matter.

lend... a (helping 33) hand
help
e.g. I'd be glad to lend a helping hand.

seek out
keep looking for someone or something until you find them 找出
e.g. Now is the time for local companies to seek out business opportunities in Europe.

sniff 20 out
find something (as if) by smelling
e.g. I ) A police dog, trained to sniff out explosives (炸药), found evidence of a bomb in the apartment.
II) Her job is to go around the big fashion shows sniffing 34 out talent for a modeling agency (模特代理公司).

speaking of 说到
e.g. Well, speaking of vegetables, do you want more carrots?

take... in 接纳,吸收
e.g. The new town takes in three former villages.

track down
find someone or something that is difficult to find 找到,捕获
e.g. I finally managed to track down the book you wanted in a shop near the station.



1 advertising
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
2 detergent
n.洗涤剂;adj.有洗净力的
  • He recommended a new detergent to me.他向我推荐一种新的洗涤剂。
  • This detergent can remove stubborn stains.这种去污剂能去除难洗的污渍。
3 contented
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
4 fingerprints
n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )
  • Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
  • They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套,以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 zoom
n.急速上升;v.突然扩大,急速上升
  • The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
  • I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近,昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。
6 motive
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
7 middle-aged
adj.中年的
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
8 motives
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 )
  • to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
  • His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。
9 itch
n.痒,渴望,疥癣;vi.发痒,渴望
  • Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
  • He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。
10 canine
adj.犬的,犬科的
  • The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
  • Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。
11 collapse
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
12 collapsed
adj.倒塌的
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
13 floppy
adj.松软的,衰弱的
  • She was wearing a big floppy hat.她戴了顶松软的大帽子。
  • Can you copy those files onto this floppy disk?你能把那些文件复制到这张软盘上吗?
14 downwards
adj./adv.向下的(地),下行的(地)
  • He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
  • As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。
15 locker
n.更衣箱,储物柜,冷藏室,上锁的人
  • At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
  • He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。
16 olfactory
adj.嗅觉的
  • He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
  • Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现,凯勒推断,每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。
17 primate
n.灵长类(目)动物,首席主教;adj.首要的
  • 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
  • The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。
18 retrieve
vt.重新得到,收回;挽回,补救;检索
  • He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
  • The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
19 rubble
n.(一堆)碎石,瓦砾
  • After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后,花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
  • After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。
20 sniff
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视
  • The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
  • When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候,他们会彼此嗅一会儿。
21 stimulus
n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物
  • Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
  • Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。
22 stimuli
n.刺激(物)
  • It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
  • My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。
23 stereotyped
adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的
  • There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子,左不过是些才子佳人,最没趣儿。
  • He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物,并且与我们的祖先有着明显的(虽然可能没有科学的)联系。
24 positively
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
25 virtues
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处
  • Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
  • She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。
26 corrupts
(使)败坏( corrupt的第三人称单数 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏
  • The unrighteous penny corrupts the righteous pound. 不正当得来的便士使正当得来的英镑也受到玷污。
  • Blue cinema corrupts the souls of people. 黄色电影腐蚀人们的灵魂。
27 hypocrisy
n.伪善,虚伪
  • He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
  • He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。
28 corrupted
(使)败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏
  • The body corrupted quite quickly. 尸体很快腐烂了。
  • The text was corrupted by careless copyists. 原文因抄写员粗心而有讹误。
29 corrupting
(使)败坏( corrupt的现在分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏
  • It would be corrupting discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏风纪。
  • It would be corrupting military discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏军纪。
30 cumulative
adj.累积的,渐增的
  • This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
  • The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。
31 daydreaming
v.想入非非,空想( daydream的现在分词 )
  • Stop daydreaming and be realistic. 别空想了,还是从实际出发吧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework. 比尔坐着空想, 他母亲要他面对现实,去做课外作业。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
32 inquiries
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
33 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
34 sniffing
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
  • We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了,一个劲地抽鼻子,打喷嚏。
  • They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了,呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
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