Unit 11 Advertising
Teaching Aims,
In this unit students are required to,
1) get to know some useful information concerning the topic of the reading passages in this unit and to know more about English culture;
2) do some preparation activities such as discussion,group work,etc,to practice their spoken skill and communicative skills;
3) grasp some new words and try to use these words which help them to enrich their vocabulary;
4)read the in-class reading passage in a limited time and grasp some expressions and grammatical points in the in-class reading passage to improve their reading comprehension;
5) do some post-reading exercises and some after-class reading to practice what they have got to know in class to improve their English comprehensive skills.;
6) translate some typical sentences into Chinese or English by using some expressions learned in the reading passages to acquire some translating skills and better their translating abilities.
I,Useful Information
Advertising has existed in various forms for many,many years,In previous centuries in England,for example,companies would seek to become the purveyor (supplier) of the king or the queen,In so doing,they could obtain a special mark or seal that gave their product added prestige and visibility,In North America,at the opposite end of the social scale,men would often travel with circuses to promote various healing substances such as cough medicines,Newspapers in the nineteenth century contained all sorts of ads,In fact,advertising gradually became an important source of income for newspapers,A similar phenomenon occurred with radio and then later,with television.
In one way or another,all advertisements inform potential buyers about a product or a service with the basic aim of increasing sales,Nowadays,virtually every business has to see some form of advertising or publicity,Large companies spend a significant percentage of their revenue on advertising in magazines and newspapers,on television,and on giant billboards,Where the ad is placed and the style of the ad depend on the type of clientele the company is targeting,Vast sums of money are spent on market analyses to determine how to appeal to the desired clientele best,Magazines sell their subscription lists and information about their subscribers to advertisers,Television programs provide details on their viewing audience in order to convince companies to advertise on their programs,Sponsoring a major international sporting event like the Olympic Games or the World Cup,for example,is extremely costly but large companies consider the expenditure worthwhile because of the enormous size of the viewing audience.
II,Preparation
Describing the Pictures on page 293 and 294,
Samples
Ad A,It is a striking ad because there is so little text and so much white space,All one sees is a little car in the middle of the page and slogan,Drivers wanted”,The slogan means that this new model needs drivers (buyers),This ad is of the minimalist style.
Ad B,This ad is very eye-catching,There is not too much text and a few key words stand out,Discover A World Of Travel At Hilton,Most people would recognize the name HILTON,a very well-known chain of hotels,The picture shows an oyster shell with a pearl,which is actually a globe,The analogy created by the pearl and the oyster is that Hilton offers superb service through out the world,The style of this ad is simple but elegant and efficient,
Ad C,This very striking ad shows a mouse-trap with a piece of cheese,The only words in large print are:,What a way to go” and,Behold the power of cheese”,In the West,cheese is almost always used as bait to catch mice,The slogan,What a way to go” literally means,what a way to die,In this case,it means to die eating cheese,The aim of this ad,sponsored by Dairy Farmers,is to make people think of cheese and how wonderful it is,The style of this ad is simple but humorous.
Ad D,This is an educational ad,In other words,the sponsor is informing the reader in an honest and precise manner about a specific project,In this case,the sponsor is a conservation organization called American Forests and the program they are promoting is called Global Releaf 2000,Citizens are invited to participate in the program by donating money or planting trees to help the environment,Like many ads,there is a play on words,Global ReLeaf 2000 literally means,put new leaves in the world for the year 2000; but,releaf” (a word that doesn’t exist) is pronounced like,releaf”,So the reader will understand that it is a project to help the environment,The illustration is a simple drawing showing a man with a young girl planting a tree,In this ad,the text is almost more important than the drawing.
Ad E,This is a very spectacular ad,At first,we think the ad is for the Pentium II,since the name stand out,But then,when we read the message under the snail,we realize that the ad is for the new Power Macintosh computer,The snail is normally considered to be the symbol for slowness (e.g,snail mail / e-mail),We then realize that the Pentium is being shown as slow,It is an unusual ad in that the name of the competitor is large than the name of the product being promoted,And the expression,up to twice as fast” avoids precise claims,It doesn’t say ‘twice as fast”,but anything up to it,The style of this ad is very original,The image of the snail is quite funny.
III,Reading-Centered Activities
1,Finishing the In-Class Reading passage,What Advertising Does to Us
2,Words,Phrases and Grammatical Points
1) to go out of one’s way to do sth,to make a special effort to do 特意/专门/做出努力做…
e.g,They went out of their way to help me.
Mary didn’t like Charles,and she went out of her way to say bad things about Charles.
Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners,servants,and waiters.
Whether…or not/ no
e.g,Can you tell me whether or not the train has left?(object clause)
He could not decide whether or no to return home.(object)
The moon is a moon still,whether it shines or not.(adverbial clause of concession)
I’ll do it whether you like it or not.( adverbial clause of concession)
Whether it’ll do us harm or good remains to be seen.( subject clause)
It was uncertain whether he would come or not,( subject clause)
3) to be linked to with sth to be connected with; to be related to
e.g,Fingerprints linked the suspect to the crime.
This campaign was closely linked with the struggles of colonial people against British imperialism.
I have heard his name linked with that of a well-known public figure.
Political news was often related to economic and social problems.
He was connected with the government.
4) (in) response to,( in) answer to 回答，响应，作为反应
e.g,In response to your inquiries,(询问/问题/质问)we regret to inform you that we cannot help you in this matter.
He gave no response to my question.
He went quickly to the post office in response to an urgent telegram.
to respond to,give answer to
Would you respond to my question?
A dog responds to kind treatment by loving its master.
to respond to,to react quickly 响应，有反应
The illness quickly responded to proper treatment.疾病经适当治疗后很快好转。
The plane responds well to the controls.这架飞机超纵起来反应灵敏。
5) to focus on
to concentrate on 把…集中在…,集中精力…
Please focus your minds on the following problems.
Focus your attention on your work.
to adjust the focus of调整焦点/焦距,对准
Focus your camera on the trees.
The scientist focused the telescope on the moon.
6) at the expense of,at the cost of; causing the loss of以…为代价，对…不利，不顾,牺牲
e.g,He finished the job at the expense of his health.
He devoted his time to football at the expense of his studies.
He became a brilliant scholar but only at the expense of his health.
He achieved what the set out to do,but at the cost of his life.
at great/little/almost no expense花了很多/少/几乎没花钱
at one’s expense花某人的钱
He lives at his father’s expense.
to spare no expense不惜一切代价，不惜工本
Spare no expense to make the party a success.
I want the best you can supply; you need spare no expense.
Spare no expense in helping Mary.
(expensive adj,expend vt.)
7) to put out
cause sth to stop burning; extinguish
We just managed to put out the flames before any real damage was caused.
Firemen soon put the fire out.
issue,publish or broadcast sth发布，出版或广播，（通常为有目的）发表
The police have put out a general call to all public places.
produce or generate sth
The plant puts out 500 new cars a week.
It’s a small restaurant,which puts out an excellent diner.
8) to be concerned with /about关心，担心，忧虑，对…感兴趣
e.g,We are not concerned with his motives.（动机）
Please don’t be concerned about me.
He was concerned about the level of unemployment in the country.
to be concerned with,to be about sth
His job is something concerned with computers.
The latest documentary is concerned with youth unemployment.她最近的一部纪录片是关于青年人失业的问题。
so/as far as sth/sb be concerned就…来说,就…而言
The rise in interest rates will be disastrous as far as small firms are concerned.利率增加对小的公司来说是大祸临头
As far as I am concerned some other arrangement would have be satisfactory.
9) (be) suspicious of/about,having /showing suspicion对…怀疑，表示怀疑
e.g,I am always suspicious of anyone who wants to sell me something on the cheap.
I am very suspicious about her motives.我对他的动机甚为怀疑。
The dog is suspicious of strangers.
suspect vt suspicion n.
to suspect sb of sth疑心某人做了某事
I suspect him of killing the girl.
He is suspected of being the thief.
10) to sell,be sold,find buyers被出售,有销路，有人买
e.g,Will such a long novel sell well?
The car is selling well.
(Usu,sb sells sth)
11)to appeal to sb,to attract,be attractive/interesting to sb 有吸引力，对感兴趣，投合…的兴趣/心意
e.g,Do these paintings appeal to you?
This menu doesn’t appeal to me.
The idea of camping has never appealed to me.
to appeal to sb for sth希望得到
He appealed to me for help.
They are appealing for money to build a new hall.
12) to act as sb/sth,perform the role /function of sb/sth; fulfil the purpose of 充当（某角色），起作用
e.g,A trained dog can act as a guide to a blind man.
Classroom testing,if well done,most certainly acts as a stimulus to study and real learning.
One of his friends acted as go-between.
13) to play on sth,to arouse( one’s feelings etc) for one’s own purpose（为达到目的）激发起（某人的感情），利用（别人的情绪）
e.g,They played on his fears of losing his job to get him to do what they wanted.他们利用他怕失掉工作的心理，让他做他们想做的事
She won by playing on his weak points.
It is time to cease showing sympathy when you find out it is being played on.
A skillful actor can play on the emotions of an audience.
IV Post-Reading Activities
Translation
After several months’ investigation,the police believe the motive for this murder was jealousy.
The new building was constructed from designs prepared by a famous engineer.
My original statement was completely distorted by the media.
The final technical report of the accident reinforces the findings of the initial investigations.
The shop assistant went out of her way to find what we needed.
He built up a successful business but it was all done at the expense of his health.
I don’t understand their language,so you’ll have to act as the interpreter.
Her sense of humor appealed to him enormously.
V,Further Development
Should Advertisements be Banned?
Possible answer:
Ads should be banned because:
Ads should not be banned because
---they encourage people to buy things they don’t need;
---they are useful and they inform people;
---they are often dishonest;
---they are often educational;
---they make people unhappy when they can’t afford to buy something;
---they pay for many TV programs,sports events,etc.
---they create stupid dreams and fantasies;
---companies could not expand their business without advertising;
---they encourage children to buy food that may be harmful to their health;
---they create work for many people including,graphic designers,actors,ad agents,etc,;
---people,especially youngsters,will imitate unhealthy ads.
---some ads are very inspiring.
Writing
Advertisement Should Be Banned
Sample
In my opinion,advertisement should be banned,They are a negative force in society because they create all kinds of impossible fantasies and they are often dishonest and offensive.
Ads always show happy,rich people and they make life look easy,Life is not always easy; on the contrary,it is often very difficult,Not all people live in beautiful homes and dress in fashionable clothes,Advertisement gives an untruthful picture of reality,People see this false picture and they become discouraged because they do not live that and they will never be able to afford what they see.
Television programs are constantly interrupted by ads,I find this annoying and offensive,If television stations need money from companies,then they should find a different way to give them publicity,Their names could be placed at the beginning or the end of the programs.
Advertisements are a form of pollution,They invade our visual space and they noisy interruptions.
Advertisements Should not Be Banned
Sample
I like watching advertisements on television,I think they are often clever,quite beautiful,and informative,so,in my opinion,advertisements should not be banned.
It is true that many ads exaggerate,but people should learn to see through promises and fantasies,Exaggeration is normal,If we want someone to buy something at our store or to eat at our restaurant,naturally we are going to say very positive things,Who would be interested if we said our store or our restaurant was ordinary or boring? Your common sense should tell you whether an ad is truthful or not.
China is undergoing great transformations thanks to the market economy,Advertising is an important part of these new and exciting developments,If advertisements were banned,it would stop the process of modernization,In today no company can do business without advertisement or publicity.
Teaching Aims,
In this unit students are required to,
1) get to know some useful information concerning the topic of the reading passages in this unit and to know more about English culture;
2) do some preparation activities such as discussion,group work,etc,to practice their spoken skill and communicative skills;
3) grasp some new words and try to use these words which help them to enrich their vocabulary;
4)read the in-class reading passage in a limited time and grasp some expressions and grammatical points in the in-class reading passage to improve their reading comprehension;
5) do some post-reading exercises and some after-class reading to practice what they have got to know in class to improve their English comprehensive skills.;
6) translate some typical sentences into Chinese or English by using some expressions learned in the reading passages to acquire some translating skills and better their translating abilities.
I,Useful Information
Advertising has existed in various forms for many,many years,In previous centuries in England,for example,companies would seek to become the purveyor (supplier) of the king or the queen,In so doing,they could obtain a special mark or seal that gave their product added prestige and visibility,In North America,at the opposite end of the social scale,men would often travel with circuses to promote various healing substances such as cough medicines,Newspapers in the nineteenth century contained all sorts of ads,In fact,advertising gradually became an important source of income for newspapers,A similar phenomenon occurred with radio and then later,with television.
In one way or another,all advertisements inform potential buyers about a product or a service with the basic aim of increasing sales,Nowadays,virtually every business has to see some form of advertising or publicity,Large companies spend a significant percentage of their revenue on advertising in magazines and newspapers,on television,and on giant billboards,Where the ad is placed and the style of the ad depend on the type of clientele the company is targeting,Vast sums of money are spent on market analyses to determine how to appeal to the desired clientele best,Magazines sell their subscription lists and information about their subscribers to advertisers,Television programs provide details on their viewing audience in order to convince companies to advertise on their programs,Sponsoring a major international sporting event like the Olympic Games or the World Cup,for example,is extremely costly but large companies consider the expenditure worthwhile because of the enormous size of the viewing audience.
II,Preparation
Describing the Pictures on page 293 and 294,
Samples
Ad A,It is a striking ad because there is so little text and so much white space,All one sees is a little car in the middle of the page and slogan,Drivers wanted”,The slogan means that this new model needs drivers (buyers),This ad is of the minimalist style.
Ad B,This ad is very eye-catching,There is not too much text and a few key words stand out,Discover A World Of Travel At Hilton,Most people would recognize the name HILTON,a very well-known chain of hotels,The picture shows an oyster shell with a pearl,which is actually a globe,The analogy created by the pearl and the oyster is that Hilton offers superb service through out the world,The style of this ad is simple but elegant and efficient,
Ad C,This very striking ad shows a mouse-trap with a piece of cheese,The only words in large print are:,What a way to go” and,Behold the power of cheese”,In the West,cheese is almost always used as bait to catch mice,The slogan,What a way to go” literally means,what a way to die,In this case,it means to die eating cheese,The aim of this ad,sponsored by Dairy Farmers,is to make people think of cheese and how wonderful it is,The style of this ad is simple but humorous.
Ad D,This is an educational ad,In other words,the sponsor is informing the reader in an honest and precise manner about a specific project,In this case,the sponsor is a conservation organization called American Forests and the program they are promoting is called Global Releaf 2000,Citizens are invited to participate in the program by donating money or planting trees to help the environment,Like many ads,there is a play on words,Global ReLeaf 2000 literally means,put new leaves in the world for the year 2000; but,releaf” (a word that doesn’t exist) is pronounced like,releaf”,So the reader will understand that it is a project to help the environment,The illustration is a simple drawing showing a man with a young girl planting a tree,In this ad,the text is almost more important than the drawing.
Ad E,This is a very spectacular ad,At first,we think the ad is for the Pentium II,since the name stand out,But then,when we read the message under the snail,we realize that the ad is for the new Power Macintosh computer,The snail is normally considered to be the symbol for slowness (e.g,snail mail / e-mail),We then realize that the Pentium is being shown as slow,It is an unusual ad in that the name of the competitor is large than the name of the product being promoted,And the expression,up to twice as fast” avoids precise claims,It doesn’t say ‘twice as fast”,but anything up to it,The style of this ad is very original,The image of the snail is quite funny.
III,Reading-Centered Activities
1,Finishing the In-Class Reading passage,What Advertising Does to Us
2,Words,Phrases and Grammatical Points
1) to go out of one’s way to do sth,to make a special effort to do 特意/专门/做出努力做…
e.g,They went out of their way to help me.
Mary didn’t like Charles,and she went out of her way to say bad things about Charles.
Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners,servants,and waiters.
Whether…or not/ no
e.g,Can you tell me whether or not the train has left?(object clause)
He could not decide whether or no to return home.(object)
The moon is a moon still,whether it shines or not.(adverbial clause of concession)
I’ll do it whether you like it or not.( adverbial clause of concession)
Whether it’ll do us harm or good remains to be seen.( subject clause)
It was uncertain whether he would come or not,( subject clause)
3) to be linked to with sth to be connected with; to be related to
e.g,Fingerprints linked the suspect to the crime.
This campaign was closely linked with the struggles of colonial people against British imperialism.
I have heard his name linked with that of a well-known public figure.
Political news was often related to economic and social problems.
He was connected with the government.
4) (in) response to,( in) answer to 回答，响应，作为反应
e.g,In response to your inquiries,(询问/问题/质问)we regret to inform you that we cannot help you in this matter.
He gave no response to my question.
He went quickly to the post office in response to an urgent telegram.
to respond to,give answer to
Would you respond to my question?
A dog responds to kind treatment by loving its master.
to respond to,to react quickly 响应，有反应
The illness quickly responded to proper treatment.疾病经适当治疗后很快好转。
The plane responds well to the controls.这架飞机超纵起来反应灵敏。
5) to focus on
to concentrate on 把…集中在…,集中精力…
Please focus your minds on the following problems.
Focus your attention on your work.
to adjust the focus of调整焦点/焦距,对准
Focus your camera on the trees.
The scientist focused the telescope on the moon.
6) at the expense of,at the cost of; causing the loss of以…为代价，对…不利，不顾,牺牲
e.g,He finished the job at the expense of his health.
He devoted his time to football at the expense of his studies.
He became a brilliant scholar but only at the expense of his health.
He achieved what the set out to do,but at the cost of his life.
at great/little/almost no expense花了很多/少/几乎没花钱
at one’s expense花某人的钱
He lives at his father’s expense.
to spare no expense不惜一切代价，不惜工本
Spare no expense to make the party a success.
I want the best you can supply; you need spare no expense.
Spare no expense in helping Mary.
(expensive adj,expend vt.)
7) to put out
cause sth to stop burning; extinguish
We just managed to put out the flames before any real damage was caused.
Firemen soon put the fire out.
issue,publish or broadcast sth发布，出版或广播，（通常为有目的）发表
The police have put out a general call to all public places.
produce or generate sth
The plant puts out 500 new cars a week.
It’s a small restaurant,which puts out an excellent diner.
8) to be concerned with /about关心，担心，忧虑，对…感兴趣
e.g,We are not concerned with his motives.（动机）
Please don’t be concerned about me.
He was concerned about the level of unemployment in the country.
to be concerned with,to be about sth
His job is something concerned with computers.
The latest documentary is concerned with youth unemployment.她最近的一部纪录片是关于青年人失业的问题。
so/as far as sth/sb be concerned就…来说,就…而言
The rise in interest rates will be disastrous as far as small firms are concerned.利率增加对小的公司来说是大祸临头
As far as I am concerned some other arrangement would have be satisfactory.
9) (be) suspicious of/about,having /showing suspicion对…怀疑，表示怀疑
e.g,I am always suspicious of anyone who wants to sell me something on the cheap.
I am very suspicious about her motives.我对他的动机甚为怀疑。
The dog is suspicious of strangers.
suspect vt suspicion n.
to suspect sb of sth疑心某人做了某事
I suspect him of killing the girl.
He is suspected of being the thief.
10) to sell,be sold,find buyers被出售,有销路，有人买
e.g,Will such a long novel sell well?
The car is selling well.
(Usu,sb sells sth)
11)to appeal to sb,to attract,be attractive/interesting to sb 有吸引力，对感兴趣，投合…的兴趣/心意
e.g,Do these paintings appeal to you?
This menu doesn’t appeal to me.
The idea of camping has never appealed to me.
to appeal to sb for sth希望得到
He appealed to me for help.
They are appealing for money to build a new hall.
12) to act as sb/sth,perform the role /function of sb/sth; fulfil the purpose of 充当（某角色），起作用
e.g,A trained dog can act as a guide to a blind man.
Classroom testing,if well done,most certainly acts as a stimulus to study and real learning.
One of his friends acted as go-between.
13) to play on sth,to arouse( one’s feelings etc) for one’s own purpose（为达到目的）激发起（某人的感情），利用（别人的情绪）
e.g,They played on his fears of losing his job to get him to do what they wanted.他们利用他怕失掉工作的心理，让他做他们想做的事
She won by playing on his weak points.
It is time to cease showing sympathy when you find out it is being played on.
A skillful actor can play on the emotions of an audience.
IV Post-Reading Activities
Translation
After several months’ investigation,the police believe the motive for this murder was jealousy.
The new building was constructed from designs prepared by a famous engineer.
My original statement was completely distorted by the media.
The final technical report of the accident reinforces the findings of the initial investigations.
The shop assistant went out of her way to find what we needed.
He built up a successful business but it was all done at the expense of his health.
I don’t understand their language,so you’ll have to act as the interpreter.
Her sense of humor appealed to him enormously.
V,Further Development
Should Advertisements be Banned?
Possible answer:
Ads should be banned because:
Ads should not be banned because
---they encourage people to buy things they don’t need;
---they are useful and they inform people;
---they are often dishonest;
---they are often educational;
---they make people unhappy when they can’t afford to buy something;
---they pay for many TV programs,sports events,etc.
---they create stupid dreams and fantasies;
---companies could not expand their business without advertising;
---they encourage children to buy food that may be harmful to their health;
---they create work for many people including,graphic designers,actors,ad agents,etc,;
---people,especially youngsters,will imitate unhealthy ads.
---some ads are very inspiring.
Writing
Advertisement Should Be Banned
Sample
In my opinion,advertisement should be banned,They are a negative force in society because they create all kinds of impossible fantasies and they are often dishonest and offensive.
Ads always show happy,rich people and they make life look easy,Life is not always easy; on the contrary,it is often very difficult,Not all people live in beautiful homes and dress in fashionable clothes,Advertisement gives an untruthful picture of reality,People see this false picture and they become discouraged because they do not live that and they will never be able to afford what they see.
Television programs are constantly interrupted by ads,I find this annoying and offensive,If television stations need money from companies,then they should find a different way to give them publicity,Their names could be placed at the beginning or the end of the programs.
Advertisements are a form of pollution,They invade our visual space and they noisy interruptions.
Advertisements Should not Be Banned
Sample
I like watching advertisements on television,I think they are often clever,quite beautiful,and informative,so,in my opinion,advertisements should not be banned.
It is true that many ads exaggerate,but people should learn to see through promises and fantasies,Exaggeration is normal,If we want someone to buy something at our store or to eat at our restaurant,naturally we are going to say very positive things,Who would be interested if we said our store or our restaurant was ordinary or boring? Your common sense should tell you whether an ad is truthful or not.
China is undergoing great transformations thanks to the market economy,Advertising is an important part of these new and exciting developments,If advertisements were banned,it would stop the process of modernization,In today no company can do business without advertisement or publicity.
