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No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements.
没有人能避免受广告的影响
Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste,
尽管我们可以自夸自己的鉴赏力如何敏锐
we are no longer free to choose the things we want,
但我们已经无法独立自主地选购自己所需的东西了
for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us.
这是因为广告在我们身上施加着一种潜移默化的影响
In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product,
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
advertisers have made a close study of human nature
已经仔细地研究了人的本性
and have classified all our little weaknesses.
并把人的弱点进行了分类
Advertisers discovered years ago
做广告的人们多年前就发现
that all of us love to get something for nothing.
我们大家都喜欢免费得到东西
An advertisement which begins with the magic word FREE can rarely go wrong.
凡是用免费这个神奇的词开头的广告很少会失败的
These days, advertisers not only offer free samples
目前 做广告的人不仅提供免费样品
but free cars, free houses, and free trips around the world as well.
而且还提供免费汽车 免费住房 免费周游世界
They devise hundreds of competitions
他们设计数以百计的竞赛
which will enable us to win huge sums of money.
竞赛中有人可赢得巨额奖金
Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers
广播 电视 使做广告的人可以用这种手段
to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.
吸引成百万人的注意力
During a radio programme,
有一次 在一个广播节目里
a company of biscuit manufacturers
一个生产饼干的公司
once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory.
请听众烘制饼干送到他们的工厂去
They offered to pay 10 dollars a pound
他们愿意以每磅10美元的价钱买下
for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener.
由听众烘制的最大的饼干
The response to this competition was tremendous.
这次竞赛在听众中引起极其热烈的反响
Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes
不久 形状各异 大小不一的饼干
began arriving at the factory.
陆续送到工厂
One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow.
一位女士用手推车运来一个饼干
It weighed nearly 500 pounds.
重达500磅左右
A little later, a man came along with a biscuit
相隔不一会儿 一个男子也带来一个大饼干
which occupied the whole boot of his car.
那个饼干把汽车的行李箱挤得满满的
All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed.
凡送来的饼干都仔细地称量
The largest was 713 pounds.
最重的一个达713磅
It seemed certain that this would win the prize.
看来这个饼干获奖无疑了
But just before the competition closed,
但就在竞赛截止时间将到之际
a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit
一辆卡车驶进了工厂 运来了一个特大无比
which weighed 2400 pounds.
重达2400磅的饼干
It had been baked by a college student
它是由一个大学生烘制的
who had used over 1000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar,
用去1000多磅的面粉 800磅食糖
It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry.
饼干份量太重了 用了一台起重机才把它从卡车上卸下
The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated,
饼干公司不得不付出比他们预计多得多的钱
for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000.
因为为买下那学生烘制的饼干他们支付了24000美元
