The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects. Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example, some advertisers have appealed to people’s desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers’ money.

Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago a brand of bread was offered to dieters with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic, but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin, but there were the same number of calories in every loaf.

On the positive side, emotional appeals may respond to a consumer’s real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as well as the message in the ads, they will benefit from the advertising.

Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers, but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision.

1. Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by      .

A. maintaining a balance between quality and price

B. convincing him of their low price

C. appealing to his buying motives

D. stressing their high quality

2. The reason why the bread advertisement is misleading is that        .

A. the total number of calories in the loaf remained the same

B. thin slices of bread could contain more calories

C. the loaf was cut into regular slices

D. the bread was not genuine bread

3. The passage tells us that        .

A. advertisements occasionally force consumers into buying things they don’t need

B. the buying motives of consumers are controlled b advertisements

C. sometimes advertisements really sell what the consumer needs

D. fire insurance is seldom a worthwhile investment

4. It can be inferred from the passage that a smart consumer should          .

A.   be familiar with various advertising strategies

B.   think carefully about the benefits described in the advertisements

C.   guard against the deceiving nature of advertisements

D.  avoid buying products that have strong emotional appeal

5. The passage is mainly about         .

A.   ways to protect the interests of the consumer

B.   how to make a wise buying decision

C.   the function of advertisements in promoting sales

D.  the positive and negative aspects of advertising

参考答案：C A C B D

广告对购买动机的诱惑既有正面效果，也有负面作用。顾客可能听信广告买一件劣质或高价的产品。例如，某些广告商为提高汽油行驶里程的汽车产品打广告，煽起人们节油的欲望。有些产品有用，有些产品没有用，完全是浪费顾客的钱。
有时广告是故意误导。几年前，一种品牌的面包向节食者推荐说每片面包里的卡路里量少。结果这种面包不是适合节食的食品，只是一般面包。卡路里量少是因为面包切得很薄，但每块面包的卡路里量是一样的。
从积极的方面来看，广告可以对消费者真正关心的事动之以情。想一想火险的情况。火险可能是通过唤起对损失的担心而售出的。不过害怕损失是投保火险的真正原因。对大多数人来说，知道财产得到保险的安全感使购买火险成为很合算的投资。如果消费者考虑到广告宣传以及保险计划的品质，他们会从广告中获益。
每位消费者必须权衡自己的情况。产品的好处是否重要到足以证明值得购买？做广告的意图是吸引消费者，但并没有强迫消费者购买产品。消费者依然掌握着最后的购买权。