Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.

1. Word Pretest

For each italicized word, choose the best meaning below.

1. The politician’s speech obviously distorted the truth about that event; he was lying to the people.
A. revealed 　　B. twisted 　　C. interpreted 　　D. destroyed
2. His claim that he is the son of a general has been proven to be a lie.
A. statement　　 B. request 　　C. right 　　D. belief
3. The precise nature of the disease has not yet been established.
A. basic 　　B. exact 　　C. important 　　D. significant
4. My room overlooked the garden.
A. looked at 　　B. looked through　　　 C. missed 　　　D. had a view of
5. TV commercials are very annoying because they often come in the middle of an interesting program.
A. music　　 B. advertisements　　　 C. viewers　　　 D. business
6. I wanted to comfort her, but I unwittingly hurt her.
A. intentionally　　 B. comfortably　　 C. unintentionally 　　D. uncomfortably
7. The driver ignored the red traffic light and ran right into a car coming from the left.
A. misunderstood　　 B. noticed　　 C. broke 　　D. disregarded
8. Everyone says our team will win, but I’m skeptical.
A. sad 　　　B. proud　　　 C. doubtful 　　　　D. nervous

Key

Text

The Advertising Standards Authority:
An Advertising Watchdog

　　Do advertisements sometimes distor the truth? The short answer is yes, some do.
　　Every week hundreds of thousands of advertisements appear for the very first time. Nearly all of them play fair with the people they are addressed to. But a handful do not. They misrepresent the products they are davertising. The function of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is to make sure these ads are found and stopped.

What makes an advertisement misleading?

　　If a physical training course had turn a 45-kilogram weakling into a strong man, the fact could be advertised because it can be proved. But a promise to build “you” into a 95-kilogram he-man would be missleading because the promise could not always be kept.
　　“Makes you look younger” might be a reasonabel claim for a cosmetic. But promising to “take years off your life” would be an overclaim similar to a promise of eternal youth.
　　A garden centre’s claim that its seedlings would produce “a bright show of colour in just a few days” might be quite contrary to the reality. Such flowery writing would deserve to be pulled out by the roots.
　　If a brochure advertises a hotel as being “5 minutes” walk to the beach, it must not require an Olympic athlete to do it in the time. As for estate agents, people who buy  and sell houses or lands to make profits, if the phrase “overlooking the river” actually means “backing onto a ditch”, there would be nothing for it but to show their ad the door.

How does the ASA judge the ads?

　　The 500 rules of the British Code of Advertising Practice give advertisers precise guidance on what they can and cannot say. The rules are also a stnadard for media owners to judge the acceptability of any advertising they are asked to publish.
　　The Code covers magazines, newspapers, cinema commercials, brochures, leaflets, posters, circulars posted to you, and now commercials on video tapes. The ASA is not responsible for TV and radio advertising. Though the rules are very similar, they are carried out by the Independent Broadcasting Authority.

Why it’s two-way process?

　　Unfortunately some advertisers are unaware of the Code, and break the rules unwittingly. Others forget, bend or intentionally ignore the rules. That is why the ASA keeps a continuous check on advertising. But because of the large amount of advertisements, the SAS cannot watch over every advertiser all the time. So the public is encouraged to help by reporting about advertisements they think ought not to have appeared. Last year 7 500 people wrote to the ASA.

What does the ASA do to advertisers who deceive the public?

　　The first step is to ask advertisers, who the ASA or the public challenge, to support their claims with hard evidence. If they cannot, or refuse to, the ASA asks  them either to revise the ads or take them back completely. Nearly all agree without any further argument.
　　In any case the ASA informs the publishers, who will not knowingly accetp any ad which is considered as against the Code. If the advertiser refuses to take the advertisement back, he will find it hard, if not impossible, to have it published.

Whose interests does the ASA really reflect?

　　The Advertising Standards Authority was not created by law and has no legalpowers, so not unnaturally some people are skeptical about its effectiveness. In fact, the ASA was set up by the advertising business to make sure the system of self-control worked in the public’s interest. For this to be believable, the ASA has to be totally independent of the business. Neither the chairman nor the majority of the ASA council members is allowed to have anything to do with advertising. Thought the ASA uses money from the business to cover its administrative costs, no advertiser has any influence over the ASA decisions.
　　Advertisers are aware that it is as much in their own interests as it is in the public’s that honesty should be the common practice.

Total words: 680
Total reading time:          minutes          seconds          
The text is based on “Advertising Stands” in new Proficiency English, by W. S.  Fowler. Hong Kong: Nelson, 1985.

Reading Skill: Understanding Setences

Paraphrase the following sentences. Pay particular attention to the italicized part.

1. But promising to “take years off your life” would be an overclaim similar to a promise of eternal youth.

2. Agarden centre’s claim that its seedlings would produce “a bright show of colour in just a few days” might be quite contrary to the relity. Such flowery writing would deserve to be ulled out by the roots.

3. As for estate agents, people who buy and sell houses or lands to make profits, if the phrase “overlooking the river” actually means “backing onto a ditch”, there would be nothing for it but to show their ad the door.

4. If an advertiser links his claim with a scientific fact, there is even a chance we can be blinded by science.

5. Light, silky smooth make-up that lets skin breathe, yet still gives beautiful, flawless coverage.

Reading Comprehension

Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. Do advertisements distort the truth?

1. Yes, hundreds of thousands do.
2. Yes, most do.
3. Yes, some do.
4. No, none of them does.

2. It is all right for a cosmetic ad to claim to be able to          .

1. build you into a he-man
2. make you look younger
3. take years off your life
4. produce a bright show of colour

3. The rules of television advertising are carried out by          .

1. the British Code of Advertising Practice
2. the Independent Broadcasting Authority
3. the Advertising Standards Authority
4. the ASA council members

4. The main responsibility of the Advertising Standards Authoritry is          .

1. to ask the public to help maintain standards
2. to examine all new advertisements
3. to make sure that misleading advertisements are taken back
4. to draw advertisers’ attention to the content of their advertisements

5. The ASA asks the public for help because          .

1. it is unable to maintain a continuous check on advertisements
2. many advertisers are unaware of its Code of Practice
3. may advertisers intentionally break the rules
4. there are so many advertisements that it is impossible to keep a check on all  of them

6. The power the ASA has over the advertisers who break the rules is that it can          .

1. force them to take the advertisement back
2. provide evidence to show that it breaks the Code
3. remind publishers of the Code of Practice
4. make sure that publishers will not accepth the advertisement

7. “Not unnaturally some pelple are skeptical about its effectiveness.” This    sentence means that          .

1. some people think that the ASA is effective
2. some people think that the ASA is not effective
3. nobody thnks that the ASA is effective
4. nobody thnks that the ASA is not effective

8. If all the advertisers are honest with their ads, the honesty is          .

1. in the public’s interests
2. in the advertisers’ interest
3. both A and B
4. neither A nor B

Vocabulary Building

① Word Match
Match the following words with their definitions within each group of five words.

code                  speak or write (to)
address                a system of customs or laws
misrepresent            a piece of land developed for building, etc.
eternal                give a false idea of
estate                 lasting or living forever

manufacturer           connect
shade                 producer
associate              extraordinary
remarkable            play an important part
feature                slight difference
agent                adjust (an engine) to improve performance
tune-up              perfect
flawless              lawful; connected with the law
legal                a booklet tat gives details of a service
brochure             a person who acts for another in business

Complete the sentences by using the words above. Change the forms if necessary.

1. People usually          the countryside with poverty. However, things have changed; nowadays villages and small towns are enjoying every convenience of the modern world.
2. At the opening ceremony, the dean          a speech to the new students.
3. I          summer with holidays.
4. Because a circle has no beginning or end, the wedding ring is a symbol of
         love.
5. Her memory is truly          . If you give her a telephone book, the can remember all the telephone numbers on any page within two minutes.
6. A lawyer is a person who gives other people          advice and represents them in court.
7. Work          largely in her life.
8. Can you tell the difference between different          of blue? The colors look almost the same to me.

② Prefix
The prefix over- can be added to adjectives, nouns or verbs. The prefix re- can be added to verbs. Study the examples and their meanings, and then list some more words with these prefixes in the space provided. Add more if you can.

prefix        example             meaning
over-         overexcited          too excited
overdo              do too much

over-     1.          2.          3.          4.          5.          
6.          7.          8.          9.          10.          

prefix         wxample          meaning
rp-           review            view again
re-           react              act back

re-       1.          2.          3.          4.          5.          

Fill in each of the blanks with the given word in its proper form.

1. The judge would give         to his decision when new evidence came to light. (consider)
2. I think that the critics have         that book. (praise)
3. When you are finished, please         the book on the shelf. (place)
4. Tom said it was         that made his grandfather ill. (work)
5. He suffered a severe shock and did not         coonsciousness until three hours later. (gain)
6. I’m afraid the girl is a little         for her age and height. (weight)
7. Nancy’s grandmother had such a good memory that she could         stories she had heard in her childhood. (call)
8. Your son is old enough to look after himself: I think you are         about him. (anxiety)

Cloze

Fill in each of the blanks with a given word below.
attempt       money        convince     preference       advertisers
unconscious   persuade       rational      effort           growing

　　Stephen Leacock described advertising as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get         from it. In order to make the most out of advertising, those who         to influence what we buy have had to change their methods from time to time.
　　Advertisers used to         us to bry only a particular brand of product, but the growing number of products which has followed         economy has forced them to adopt many other ways. It is now admitted that even if we have a strong         for a particular brand, we still like to think about rival products, especially when they are new.
　　At a time, advertisements were filled with information about the product, because
        Thought that we decided what to buy on rational grounds. But surveys of people’s voting habits carried out by sociologists have shown that most of us vote according to our emotions, and         persuasion is wasted on us. So advertisers have tended to take up advertisements designed to play on our         motivations and associations.

Key