雅思基础阅读1

1、ReadingPassage1BirthdaytraditionsindifferentcountriesBirthdaysarecelebratedallovertheworld.Sometraditionsarefairlysimilarfromcountrytocountry:candles,cakesandbirthdaywishes,birthdaygamesandpinchesforgoodluck.Othercustomsarequitedifferent.Hereareafew.ArgentinaInArgentina,asinmanyLatinAmericancountrie

2、s,oneofthemostimportantbirthdaypartiesisagirlsfifteenth.When,girlstheyturnhave15ahugepartyanddancethewaltzfirstwiththeirfather,andthentheboysattheparty.ChinaThebirthdaychildpaysrespecttotheparentsandreceivesagiftofmoney.Friendsandrelativesareinvitedtolunch,andnoodlesareservedtowishthebirthdaychildal

3、onglife.DenmarkAflagisflownoutsideawindowtoshowthatsomeonewholivesinthathouseishavingabirthday.Presentsareplacedaroundthechildseethemimmediatelywhentheywakeup.sbedwhiletheyaresleepingsotheywillTheNetherlandsSpecialyearbirthdayssuchas5,10,15,20,21arecalled“crown”yearsandthebirthdaychildreceivesanespe

4、ciallylargegift.Thefamilyalsodecoratesthebirthdaychildchairwithflowersorpaperstreamers,paperflowersandballoons.IndiaUsuallyIndianchildrenwearwhitetoschool.However,ontheirbirthdaychildrenwearcolouredclothestoschoolandgiveoutchocolatestoeveryoneintheclass.Theirbestfriendhelpsthemtodothis.JapanThebirth

5、daychildwearsnewclothestomarktheoccasion.Certainbirthdaysaremoreimportantthanothersandthesearecelebratedwithavisittothelocalshrine.Thesearethethirdandseventhbirthdaysforgirlsandthefifthforboys.Questions1-5Matchthecountriesintheboxwiththeirdescriptions.1Acountrywherelongevityiscelebratedbyaspecialdis

6、h_2Acountrywherecandiesaredistributedamongpeers_3Acountrywherethebirthdayismadeknowntothecommunity_4Acountrywherethehouseholdisfullofbirthdayornaments_5Acountrywherereligiousworshipissometimesinvolved_ReadingPassage2TheAmericanRevolutionwasnotarevolutioninthesenseofaradicalortotalchange.Itwasnotasud

7、denandviolentoverturningofthepoliticalandsocialframework,suchaslateroccurredinFranceandRussia,whenbothwerealreadyindependentnations.Significantchangeswereusheredin,buttheywerenotbreathtaking.Whathappenedwasaccelerateevolutionratherthanoutrightrevolution.Duringtheconflictitselfpeoplewentonworkingandp

8、raying,marryingandplaying.Mostofthemwerenotseriouslydisturbedbytheactualfighting,andmanyofthemoreisolatedcommunitiesscarcelyknewthatawarwason.AmericasWarofIndependenceheraldedthebirthfothreemodernnations.OnewasCanada,whichreceiveditsfirstlargeinfluxofEnglish-speakingpopulationfromthethousandsofloyal

9、istswhofledtherefromtheUnitedStates.AnotherwasAustralia,whichbecameapenalcolonynowthatAmericawasnolongeravailableforprisonersanddebtors.ThethirdnewcomertheUnitedStatesbaseditselfsquarelyonrepublicanprinciples.Yeteventhepoliticaloverturnwasnotsorevolutionaryasonemightsuppose.Insomestates,notablyConne

10、cticutandRhodeIsland,thewarlargelyratifiedacolonialself-rulealreadyexisting.Britishofficials,everywhereousted,werereplacedbyahome-growngoverningclass,whichpromptlysoughtalocalsubstituteforkingandParliament.Questions6-10Whichofthefollowingwouldbethebesttitleforthepassage?ATheUnitedStates:AnIsolatedCo

11、mmunityBBreathtakingEventsDuringtheAmericanRevolutionCCanadaandtheAmericanWarofIndependenceDTheAmericanRevolution:EvolutionNotRevolutionInthefirstparagraph,whatdoestheauthorsuggestabouttheFrenchandRussianRevolutions?ATheywereexplosiveandabrupt.BTheywereineffective.CTheyinvolvedonlythosepeoplelivingi

12、nurbanareas.DTheyledtothereleaseofallpoliticalprisoners.8.Inline5,whatdoestheauthormeanby“peoplewentonworkingandpraying,marryingandpraying”?AMorepeoplegotmarriedthandivorced.BThewarcreatednewjobs.CLifewentonasusual.DPeoplehadmorethanenoughleisuretime.Inthesecondparagraph,theauthorstatesthatthecoloni

13、esstruggleforself-governmentprecededthecreationofallofthefollowingcountriesEXCEPTACanadaBTheUnitedStatesCAustraliaDTheUnitedKingdomItcanbeinferredfromthepassagethattheloyalistswhoescapedtoCanadawereRussianFrenchBritishAustralianReadingPassage3PufferyinAdvertisingA“Ourcoffeeislovedbymillionsworldwide

14、.”Doyouoftenseethiskindofadvertisinginyourcountry?Statementslikethese,thatno-onecanprove,arecalledpufferyThisisatermthathasbeendevelopedforexaggeratedclaimsthataremadeinadvertising.Pufferyislegal,eventhoughsuchclaimscannotbeproved.Infact,pufferyhasbeentermed,“asaitlicenceisvaguetolie”enoughtobeclass

15、edasopinion,anexpressionofthesalespersonsevaluationoftheproduct,ratherthananobjectivestatement.BUsingpufferytoraiseawarenessofproductsandtogenerateincreasedsalesisacommonadvertisingstrategy.Goodsandservicesaredescribedintermsofsuperlatives,subjectiveopinionsandexaggerations;variouskindsofgeneralclai

16、msaremade,withnospecificfacts.So,whydosomepeopleworryaboutpuffery?Oneoftheconcernsiswhetherconsumersaremisledbyfalseadvertising.Legalguidelinesandgovernmentcontrolsarerequiredtopreventdishonestadvertising.Companiesunderstandablyobjecttountruthfuladswhichgiveacompetitoranunfairadvantageinthemarket.Th

17、eseclaimscanbetestedinthecourts,andthedecisionsthataremadehelptomaketheboundarybetweenacceptablepufferyandillegaladvertising.CPufferyisnothingnew.Ithasbeenidentifiedindocumentsdatingfromaslongagoasthesixteenthcentury,whenthenotionof“caveatemptor”or“letthebuyerbeware”developedinbusinesstransactions.A

18、lthoughthisinitiallyappliedtopropertydeals,itcametobeusedmoregenerally.ThisLatintermbasicallymeantthatanyonebuyingaproducthadaresponsibilitytocheckitcarefullybeforepayment.Thesellerdidnotneedtotakeresponsibilityfordefects(unlessaproblemhadbeendeliberatelyconcealed).Inthosedays,ofcourse,therewasnonot

19、ionofconsumerrightsorreturnspolicies.DThesedays,however,ifacompanyclaimstosellthecountrys“best-loved”or“favourite”product,whetherabrandofcoffeeoramakeofcar,thisisheldtobepuffery,ratherthananobjectiveclaimofmarketshare.Similarly,thecompanydoesnothavetoproduceproofthatthisclaimisactuallybackedupbynumb

20、ersorfacts.Inotherwords,claimssuchas“theworldscupofcoffee”areimpossibletoprove.Theyarealsosoexaggeratedthatitisexpectedthatanyconsumerwillunderstandhowsubjectivetheyare.Ineffect,thecompanyinquestionissaidtobe“boastingrather”thanmakingobjectiveclaims.Theclaimsarethereforenotconsideredtobedeceptive.In

21、fact,pufferyisoftenconsideredtoaddtotheentertainmentvalueofadvertisements,especiallytelevisioncommercials.EOntheotherhand,acompanythatstatestheirproductisthe“safest”or“cheapest”showproof,becausetheseclaimscandirectlyaffecttheircompetitors.Statementsthatareobjectiveneedtobebackedupbyprooforstatistics

22、,asconsumerrightsorganisationscanrunteststocompareproductssuchaswashingmachinesandvacuumcleaners.Theyalsoinvestigatecompaniesinvolvedininsurance,finance,property,creditcardsandothersuchservices.Companiesandsalespeopleshouldthereforebeverycarefulwhenmakingfactualstatementsaboutaproduct,orassertionsre

23、gardingthequalityofgoodsandservices.Inmostdevelopedcountries,thereislikelytobeanofficialorganisationwhichoverseesthevalidityofadvertisingclaims.Inaddition,theremaybeagovernmentcouncilwiththeauthoritytotakelegalactionagainstcompaniesthatoverstepthelimit.FAprimaryfunctionofadvertisingistocreateproduct

24、awareness.Asconsumers,weneedtoknowaboutcompetingproducts,sowecanmakeinformeddecisionsonwhichonetobuy.Whileitisimportantthatadvertisersaremonitoredtoensuretheydonotmisleadconsumers,itcanbearguedthatpufferyisagoodtechniqueforraisingawarenessofnewproductsthatotherwisewouldgounnoticedinacrowdedmarket.As

25、longasthereareeffectivewaysofmonitoringtheclaimsofadvertisers,topreventdeliberatedeceptionintermsofsafetyorparticularaspectsofperformance,itseemsthatmostpufferyisrelativelyharmless.Rather,itshouldbeseenasanintegralpartofadvertising,whichmostconsumerscandetectandlaughatratherthanbeingmisled.Questions

26、11-16Thereadingpassagehassixparagraphs,A-EChoosethecorrectheadingforeachparagraphfromthelistofheadingsbelow.Writethecorrectnumber,i-vii,nexttotheappropriateparagraph.Therearemoreheadingsthanparagraphs.ListofHeadingsi.HistoryofPufferyChecksonDeceptiveAdvertisingExamplesofCompaniesGuiltyofDeceptiveAdv

27、ertisingReasonsforMonitoringAdvertisingSummaryofRoleofPufferyinAdvertisingDefinitionofPufferyPufferythatisAcceptableParagraphAParagraphBParagraphCParagraphDParagraphEParagraphFDothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninthereadingpassage?WriteTRUEifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationFALSEifthestatementcontradic