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语篇导读：本文是一篇说明文。生活中，广告处处可见。本篇文章主要说明广告对人的行为的影响。广告商通过研究人性，发现人性的弱点。“免费”便是广告商屡试不爽的手段，往往能够吸引人们的眼球。本文举例生产饼干的公司征购大饼干筒的故事，讲述广告商有时会遭遇失手，增强了文章的趣味性。
文章简短有趣，行文结构和写作手法可圈可点。本文的词汇学习主要与“广告”相关，特别留意表达广告对人产生影响的搭配。
学习重点：重点短语【写作推荐】
阅读方法推荐：
1：阅读原文
2：阅读精读注解
3：回头阅读原文，检测理解程度
精读原文
No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements. Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us. In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.
Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. An advertisement which begins with the magic word FREE can rarely go wrong. These days, advertisers not only offer free samples, but free cars, free houses, and free trips round the world as well. They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.
During a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufacturers once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. They offered to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. The response to this competition was tremendous. Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory. One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. It weighed nearly 500 pounds. A little later, a man came along with a biscuit which occupied the whole boot of his car. All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed. The largest was 713 pounds. It seemed certain that this would win the prize. But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds. It had been baked by a college student who had used over 1,000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of fat, and 400 pounds of various other ingredients. It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry. The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000.
精读注解
Wanted: a large biscuit tin
wanted:征求，征购。广告常用语
参考译文：征购大饼干筒
①No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements.②Much as we may pride ourselves onour good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts asubtle influence on us.③ In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product,advertisershave made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.
语篇导读：第一段开篇点题。①直接说明中心观点，即广告影响着每一个人。②进一步说明广告对人们造成微妙的影响。③广告商研究人性，对人性的弱点进行分类。最后一句不但表明广告商能够影响人们的原因，在结构上引出下文。
avoid doing sth.: The refugees left to avoid getting bombed. 难民为躲避轰炸纷纷离去。
influence/'ɪnflʊəns/：If someone or something influences a person or situation, they have an effect on that person's behaviour or that situation. 影响，如：We became the best of friends and he influenced me deeply. 我们成了最好的朋友，而他深深地影响了我。
pride oneself on：以……自夸；自夸，如：Mary prides herself on her skills as a violinst.玛丽对自己弹小提琴的技巧感到自豪。
no longer：不再，表达否定意义，如：The order was no longer effective. 这项命令已不再生效。
be free to do sth.：自由地做，不受约束地做，如：I am free to do what I want. 我可以自由地做我想做的事。
exert influence on：对……施加影响，如：Its objective was to exert influence on both the US as well as the foreign media. 它的目的是影响美国和外国的媒体。【写作推荐】
subtle /'sʌtl/：not easy to notice or understand unless you pay careful attention难以察觉[理解]的；微妙的，细微的，如：The dish had a subtle hint of ginger. 这道菜微微带点姜的味道。
【难句解析】Much aswe may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us.：①as为从属连词，引导让步状语从句，表示“尽管”，再如：Cold as it was, we went out.(=Although it was cold…)尽管天气很冷，我们还是出门了；②for为并列连词，引导原因状语从句
persuade sb to do sth.：说服某人做某事，如：I finally managed to persuade her to go out for a drink with me. 我终于说服她跟我出去喝一杯。【写作推荐】
advertiser/ˈædvətaɪzə/：a person or company that advertises something登广告者；广告商，如：If I was an advertiser I would be fighting already. 如果我是广告客户我早就反抗了。
classify /'klæsɪfaɪ/：to decide what group something belongs to将……分类，如：Families are classified according to the father’s occupation. 各个家庭按父亲的职业分类。
参考译文：没有人能避免受广告的影响。尽管我们可以自夸自己的鉴赏力如何敏锐，但我们已经无法独立自主地选购自己所需的东西了。这是因为广告在我们身上施加着一种潜移默化的影响。做广告的人在力图劝说我们买下这种产品或那种产品之前，已经仔细地研究了人的本性，并把人的弱点进行了分类。
①Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. ②An advertisement which begins withthe magicword FREE can rarely go wrong. ③These days, advertisers not only offer free samples, but free cars, free houses, and free trips round the world as well. ④They devisehundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. ⑤Radio and television have made itpossible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.
语篇导读：第二段讲述广告商利用“免费”的广告手段常常获得成功。①广告商发现人们喜欢免费得到东西。②套上“免费”的广告往往取得效果。③④⑤这三句则说明广告商提供免费的物品，设计大额奖金的比赛，以及借助广播和电视媒介将这种“免费”的广告散播到人群。
get something for nothing：免费得到；白拿东西，这里的for含有“以……为代价”之意
begin with：以……开头，如：We begin with something for the children. 让我们从孩子的用品开始吧。
magic /'mædʒɪk/：You use magic to describe something that does things, or appears to do things, by magic. 有魔力的，有奇妙作用的，如：So it's a magic potion? 这么说它是一种魔药？
rarely：很少，难得。副词状语，类似的单词还有seldom、scarely、hardly、barely等，如：He rarely mingles with other students on the campus. 他很少和校园里的其他学生交往。
go wrong：出毛病；弄错；发生故障，如：You'd take the whole blame if anything should go wrong. 要是有个闪失， 你要负全部责任。
sample /'sɑːmp(ə)l/：a small part or amount of something that is examined in order to find out something about the whole样本，样品，货样，如：I’d like to see some samples of your work. 我想看看你做的一些样品。
devise /dɪ'vaɪz/: to plan or invent a new way of doing something想出，设计，发明〔新的方法〕，如：Devise a new instrument. 设计一台新仪器。
capture /'kæptʃə/：to make someone feel very interested in something引起某人想象/吸引某人注意等，如：His stories of foreign adventure captured my imagination. 他的外国历险故事使我心驰神往。
…made it possible…：本句中的it是形式宾语，避免头重脚轻。逻辑宾语是：for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way【写作推荐】
参考译文：做广告的人们多年前就发现我们大家都喜欢免费得到东西。凡是用“免费”这个神奇的词开头的广告很少会失败的。目前，做广告的人不仅提供免费样品，而且还提供免费汽车，免费住房，免费周游世界。他们设计数以百计的竞赛，竞赛中有人可赢得巨额奖金。电台、电视使做广告的人可以用这种手段吸引成百万人的注意力。
①During a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufacturersonce asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. ②They offered to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. ③The response to this competition was tremendous.④Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory.⑤One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. ⑥It weighed nearly 500 pounds. ⑦A little later, a man came alongwith a biscuit which occupied the whole bootof his car. ⑧All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed. ⑨The largest was 713 pounds.⑩It seemed certain that this would win the prize. ⑪But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds.⑫It had been baked by a college student who had used over 1,000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of fat, and 400 pounds of various other ingredients. ⑬It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry.⑭The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000.
语篇导读：第三段采取打比方的手法，说明广告商虽然达到一定的宣传效果，但是有时付出的成本会出乎意外，大大增加了文章的趣味性。①②一名生产饼干的公司通过广播向听众发出消息，愿意以每磅10美元的价钱购买最大的饼干。③④活动受到人们的热烈反应，该生产商收到各式各样的饼干。⑤—⑬三个例子，分别是来自一名老太太、一名男士和一名大学生的饼干。最后花落到学生头上。⑭表明生产商为本次活动支付了超乎预想的价钱，即24,000美元。
manufacturer /,mænju'fæktʃərɚ/：a company that makes large quantities of goods制造商；制造公司，制造厂，如：The fridge was sent back to the manufacturers. 那台冰箱被退还给厂家了。
The response to this competition：对这一竞赛的反响
Before long：不久以后，介词短语，在句中作时间状语。如：Before long, I leaned over and put my head on her shoulder. 不久之后，我就俯下身去，把我的头搁在了她的肩膀上。
wheelbarrow /'wiːlbærəʊ/：a small cart with one wheel and two handles that you use outdoors to carry things, especially in the garden独轮手推车，如：Next to her is a wheelbarrow full of flowers for planting. 在她身边的是一个装满要种的花的手推车。
came along：到来，如：I will come along in a few minutes.我一会就来。
boot /buːt/：an enclosed space at the back of a car, used for carrying bags etc〔汽车后部的〕行李箱，如：The new model has a bigger boot. 新型号的行李箱更大。
ingredient/ɪn'griːdɪənt/:one of the foods that you use to make a particular food or dish〔烹调用的〕成分，食材，如：The food is home-cooked using fresh ingredients. 这种食物是用新鲜的食材在家里烹制的。
crane /kreɪn/：a large tall machine used by builders for lifting heavy things起重机，吊车，如：The Mi-10 is a flying crane. 米-10就是一架飞行的起重机。
anticipate /æn'tɪsɪpeɪt/：to expect that something will happen and be ready for it预期，预料，如：Sales are better than anticipated. 销量比预期要好。
参考译文：有一次，在电台播放的节目里，一个生产饼干的公司请听众烘制饼干送到他们的工厂去。他们愿意以每磅10美元的价钱买下由听众烘制的最大的饼干。这次竞赛在听众中引起极其热烈的反响。不久，形状各异，大小不一的饼干陆续送到工厂。一位女士用手推车运来一个饼干，重达500磅左右。相隔不一会儿，一个男子也带来一个大饼干，那饼干把汽车的行李箱挤得满满的。凡送来的饼干都仔细地称量。最重的一个达713磅，看来这个饼干获奖无疑了。但就在竞赛截止时间将到之际，一辆卡车驶进了工厂，运来了一个特大无比、重达2,400磅的饼干。它是由一个大学生烘制的，用去1,000多磅的面粉、800磅食糖、200磅动物脂肪及400磅其他各种原料。饼干份量太重了，用了一台起重机才把它从卡车上卸下。饼干公司不得不付出比他们预计多得多的钱，因为为买下那学生烘制的饼干他们支付了24,000美元。
Summary writing：(last paragraph)
用不多于80个单词描述生产饼干的公司所组织的竞赛。（摘自新概念英语教师用书新版3）
A biscuit company asked its customers to bake biscuits and send them to the factory. As a prize, they offered $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit they received. The response was tremendous, with one biscuit weighing 500 pounds and another weighing 713 pounds. They thought that was the winner until a lorry delivered one which weighing 2,400 pounds baked by a college student. A crane lifted it from the lorry and the manufacturers paid the student $24,000.
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