Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they're always coming in for criticism. Their critics（批评家）seem to hate them because they have so much money to throw around. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays.
The poor old consumer! He'd have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn't create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods is largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a dull wall or a newspaper full of the incidents and disasters.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmers is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn't forget is the “small ads.” What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the “hatch, match and dispatch” column(栏目) but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or “agony” column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It's the best advertisement for advertising there is!
1.  What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Advertisements steal money from our pockets
B. The critics get the wrong idea of advertisements.
C. Advertisers perform a useful service to communities.
D. Advertisements are everywhere.
2. What is the attitude of the author toward advertisements?                
A. He appreciates the role of advertisements.
B. He doubts the effect of advertisements.
C. He believes what is said in advertisements.
D. He complains too many advertisements in daily life.
3.  Which of the following is Not True?
A. The personal or “agony” column makes us know more about human nature.
B. The only purpose of advertising is to sell goods.
C. A newspaper will cost us more if there is no advertisement on it.
D. Advertisement makes our life colorful.
4.  Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
A．              B．              C．             D．
①           ①                ①                ①

 
②            ②  ③          ② ③ ④
                 
    ③    ④       ④   ⑤
⑤                           ⑤            ② ③ ④ ⑤
( ①=" Paragraph" 1, ②=" paragraph" 2,  ③=" paragraph" 3,   ④=" paragraph" 4   ⑤=" paragraph" 5 )                     

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