Read the following text carefully and then translate the
underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on
ANSWER SHEET 2. 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 61. Although we might not like to
admit it, commercials 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. 62. 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
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 aren’ t and what we don’ t 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 tooth paste!" 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.
63. If fear is the negative motive for buying a product, then wanting a
good self-image is the positive reason for choosing it. Each of us has
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 man might want to see himself as a strong attractive athlete,
Advertisers know this. They write specific ads to make certain group 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 of fear and self-image. They also inform them
about recent studies with colors and words. 64. 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 buying 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 probably don’ t realize the powerful effect of
advertising. 65. 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.