Lesson 26 Wanted: a large biscuit tin

No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements. Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us. In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.

Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. An advertisement which begins with the magic word FREE can rarely go wrong. These days, advertisers not only offer free samples but free cars, free houses, and free trips round the world as well. They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.

During a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufacturers once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. They offered to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. The response to this competition was tremendous. Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory. One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. It weighed nearly 500 pounds. A little later, a man came along with a biscuit which occupied the whole boot of his car. All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed. The largest was 713 pounds. It seemed certain that this would win the prize. But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds. It had been baked by a college student who had used over 1,000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of fat, and 400 pounds of various other ingredients. It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry. The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000.

【New words and expressions】

●influence v. 影响

●pride v. 骄傲

●taste n. 鉴赏力

●exert v. 施加

●subtle adj. 微妙的，难以捉摸的

●advertiser n. 做广告的人

●classify v. 分类

●magic adj. 有奇妙作用的

●sample n. 样品

●devise v. 设计，想出

●capture v. 吸引，赢得

●manufacturer n. 生产厂家，制造商

●wheelbarrow n. 独轮手推车

●boot n. （汽车尾部的）行李箱

●ingredient n. 配料

●crane n. 起重机

●anticipate v. 预期，预料

重点词汇

1. influence v. 影响

联想记忆——“影响”的表达

have effect on

Eg.: Literature and art have great influence of people’s idelogy.文学和艺术对人的影响评判有很大的影响。

Don’t be influenced by bad examples.

under the influence of受…影响

Eg.: We are under the influence of advertisements.

have influence over sb 有左右某人的能力

Eg.: A teacher has influence over his students.

on sb's behalf 为某人的利益

exercise influence on sb's behalf 为某人而尽力

Eg.: The boss exercises influence on his employee’s behalf.

比较记忆——influence / affect

influence:通过劝说，行为，榜样来改变一个人的行为或思想，是潜移默化的影响力

affect: 强调对......产生不良影响

Eg.: The bad examples will affect a lot number of students .

influential adj.有影响力的

2. pride v./n 骄傲

pride oneself on 为…感到骄傲、夸耀＝take pride in / be proud of （不能用于进行时态或被动语态）

Eg.:He prided himself on his driving skill.

in the pride of 处于最佳状态（顶峰）

Eg: She is still young and in the pride of her beauty.

put one’s pride in one’s pocket:控制自尊心 （很形象的表达哦）

3. taste n. 鉴赏力

常用短语

have excellent taste in sth 在…上有极高的品位

Eg.: She has excellent taste in dress.

have /take a taste of 尝一口，尝一点

Eg: Oh,let me have a taste of your coffee.

in good/bad taste: 文雅，得体/庸俗，不得体

Eg: The beautiful girl is in good taste.

to one's taste: 合某人的口味，称某人的心愿

Eg: He did what he wanted to do to his taste.

There is accounting for taste. 人各有所好。

He who has never tasted bitter knows not what is sweet.不知黄连苦怎知蜂蜜甜呢。

近义表达

have appreciation of sth.

He shows little appreciation of good music. 他对优美的音乐几乎没有欣赏能力。

have an ear for (idm)很有鉴赏力

Jack really have an ear for classical musice, though he told me he likes modern melody best. Jack 对古典音乐真的很有鉴赏力，虽然他告诉我他最喜欢现代旋律。

have an eye for (idm)能欣赏（判断 ）

She has an eye for color and style in clothes.她对衣服的色彩和款式有鉴赏力。

4. exert v. 施加

近义表达

exert sth on sb /sth to do sth： bring (a quality,skill,pressure,etc) into use; apply sth.

Eg.: His wife exerted a lot of pressure on him to change his job.

He likes to exert his authority on us.

exert oneself 努力，尽力(不能用于被动)

Eg.: He never exerted himself to study hard.

exert/make every effort 尽一切努力

5. subtle adj. 微妙的，难以捉摸的=hardly noticeable;敏感的，敏锐的

Eg.: Advertisements exert subtle influence on us.新概念英语第三册课文

He is a subtle observer.

联想记忆

subtly adv.微妙地，敏锐地

subtleness == subtlety

6． classify v. 分类

Eg.: The books have been classified according to subjects.

形变：

classification n.分类，分级

classified v.分类的，adj.机密的

classifiable adj. 可分类的

classifier n. 分类者

7． capture v. 吸引，赢得，捕获，俘获

Eg.: His wonderful performance captured my attention.

The police captured the two thieves.

8. anticipate v. 预期，预料

区别记忆：

anticipate / expect

anticipate : 预料到

Eg.: Our attack failed because the enemy anticipated.

anticipate:期待，指望，预料

Eg.:We anticipated the enemy would try to cross the river, so we decided to destory the bridge.

expect: 期待，希望某事发生（不能表示“预料到”这一含义）；期待，指望，anticipate ==expect

Eg.: I am not expecting any trouble.

We are anticipating ( expecting ) a large crowd of people at tonight’s meeting.

He is the man who is always anticipating trouble.

anticipate:注重强调的内容以高兴和恐惧的心情，期待所想之事或预料之事的发生

Eg.: The students are anticipating a wonderful vocation.