26 · 征购大饼干筒
Wanted: A Large Biscuit Tin
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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.
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整篇课文
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.
没有人能完全不受广告影响。我们或许很为自己的品味自豪，却早已不能全凭意愿选择想要的东西，因为广告正在潜移默化地影响我们。为了说服我们买这种或那种商品，广告商深入研究人性，把我们各种微小的弱点都摸得清清楚楚，还一一归了类。
广告商多年前就发现，我们都喜欢不花钱得到东西。广告只要用“免费”这个有魔力的词开头，通常就错不了。如今，他们不光送免费样品，还送汽车、房子，甚至环球旅行。他们设计出数不清的有奖竞赛，让人有机会赢取巨额奖金。借助广播和电视，广告商用这种方式，就能吸引数百万人的注意。
有一次，一家饼干生产商在广播节目中，请听众自己烤饼干，再寄到工厂。谁烤出的饼干最大，公司就按每磅十美元的价格收购。比赛反响热烈，不久，各种形状、各种大小的饼干就纷纷送到工厂。一位女士用独轮手推车推来一块饼干，重近五百磅。随后，一名男子送来的饼干，竟占满了汽车的整个后备厢。所有饼干都经过仔细称重，其中最大的一块重713磅，眼看就要获奖。可比赛快结束时，一辆卡车开进了工厂，运来一块真正大得惊人的饼干，重达2,400磅。这是一名大学生烤制的，用了一千多磅面粉、八百磅糖、二百磅油脂，以及四百磅其他配料。饼干重得只能用起重机从卡车上卸下来。最后，厂家付出的代价远超预期：他们花了24,000美元，买下了这名学生的饼干。
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译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第88—90页，2022年2月第3版。