成人高等教育英语教材3 09
[00:00.00] UNIT 8
[00:29.00]TV Commercials
[00:33.44]Integrated Skills Development
[00:38.71]Passage
[00:43.26]An Advertising Gimmick Shown on TV
[00:49.92]Advertisement—most commonly known as "commercial" among the Americans,
[00:58.70]is a commonplace in a country where commodity economy controls.
[01:06.85]A visitor to the United States
[01:11.81]will soon find advertisements of all kinds everywhere,
[01:17.84]for example,
[01:21.01]glittering neon signs on top of high buildings and along main streets,
[01:27.95]colorful pictures painted on buses,
[01:32.92]pamphlets sent to every house,
[01:37.49]ads jammed between TV programs,
[01:42.64]various ads glutting newspapers and radio broadcast, etc.
[01:49.19]Businessmen spend lots of money advertising their products and services
[01:56.27]to promote sales.
[01:59.93]As trade war becomes increasingly intense,
[02:06.17]advertising has developed into a thriving industry.
[02:12.23]For each of its subjects,
[02:16.70]experts are now racking their brains
[02:21.56]and have invented new ideas.
[02:25.92]One of their main subjects
[02:30.28]is how to attract people's attention to their commodities,
[02:35.74]prices and services,
[02:39.69]and how to make ads appear natural
[02:44.41]so that people are impressed unconsciously
[02:49.69]with all they see and hear.
[02:53.84]Here is one example I saw on TV.
[02:59.80]The advertising gimmick called "The Price Is Right"
[03:07.17]is like a riddle game.
[03:11.61]Dozens of audience are sitting before a stage.
[03:16.78]There a variety of commodities are neatly placed
[03:23.83]and colorfully decorated with beautiful patterns and shining lights.
[03:30.78]Then come two or three pretty girls dressed in miniskirts.
[03:37.34]They stand beside the exhibits, smiling to the audience.
[03:43.69]A man speaks, through his mike,
[03:48.44]to the audience to invite four volunteers to join the game.
[03:54.92]When they step onto the stage,
[03:59.60]the man speaks in an agitating voice:
[04:04.64]"If you can tell exactly the right prices of these four items,
[04:10.88]you can win prize worth a hundred thousand dollars!"
[04:16.84]As he says this, he points to a new, smart and nice car,
[04:24.20]placed on a slowly turning platform. The audience,
[04:28.77]The audience, seeing this wonderful prize, exclaim excitedly.
[04:35.85]The volunteers take turns to make their guesses.
[04:42.10]Some guess correctly the price of two or three items,
[04:48.34]but seldom can they get all four items correct.
[04:54.30]However,in this trial,
[04:58.45]a housewife happens to tell the right prices of all four items.
[05:05.61]She is now the winner of the marvelous car!
[05:10.86]She is so excited that she seems
[05:15.69]blind and deaf when the man hands her a card and says to her:
[05:22.14]"Madame, congratulations! Now this car belongs to you!"
[05:28.80]"To me? My God!"
[05:32.67]she exclaims after she recovers from her abstraction.
[05:39.02]Not only are the audience sitting in the hall
[05:45.26]absorbed in the appealing game but also the TV-viewers of families.
[05:52.71]No wonder, they are interested in the exciting game,
[05:58.56]the beautiful exhibits,
[06:02.19]the tempting award and perhaps the charming girls,
[06:08.12]and at the same time,
[06:12.09]the commodities and their prices find their way into the audience.
[06:19.14]What do you think?
[06:23.27]Is it a successful advertising gimmick or only a trick?
