阅读理解
When you turn on the radio, you hear an advertisement. When you watch television, you hear and
see an advertisement. If you turn the pages of a newspaper or magazine, again you find an advertisement.
If you walk down the street, you see one advertising board after another. All day, every day, people who want to sell you something compete to catch your attention. As a result, advertisements are almost
everywhere.?
In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work. Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned. The government does not give them money. So where does
the money come from? From advertisements. Without advertisements, there would not be these private
businesses.?
Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different
answers to the question. For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of "keeping your name
before the public." And some people thought that advertising was "truth well told." Now more and more
people describe it in this way: Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive description of
goods, services and ideas by identified sponsors (明确的出资者) through various media.
First, advertising is usually paid for. Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and
hear over the various media. Second, advertising is non-personal. It is not face to face communication.
Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in reality, it is
directed at large groups of people. Third, advertising is usually persuasive. Directly or indirectly it tells
people to do something. All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service
advertised can do good to them. Fourth, the sponsor of the advertisement must be identified. From the
advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or an organization, or an individual. Fifth,
advertising reaches us through traditional and nontraditional mass media. Included in the traditional
media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and films. Nontraditional media include the mail,
matchbox covers, and billboards.?
1. The existence of the privately-owned mass media depends financially on _______.
A. the government
B. advertisements?
C. their owners' families
D. the audience
2. According to the passage, who are most probably paying for the advertisements?
A. Companies.
B. Organizations.
C. Individuals.
D. All of the above.?
3. Which of the following is considered nontraditional mass media?
A. Newspapers
B. Magazines
C. The mail
D. Films?
4. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the features of advertisements
is NOT true??
A. The sponsors are always mentioned in the advertisements.
B. Advertising is meant for large groups of people.?
C. Advertising tells people to do something directly or indirectly.?
D. Advertising must be honest and amusing.?
