高危雅思真題之廣告的利弊

These days it is easy to find faults with advertising, and yet none can deny entirely that this art of persuasion is good for economy. By circulating information mixing half truth with half lying, advertising can nevertheless penetrate the public mind with desires even for something worthless. All told, however, advertising is doing more good than evil.

今天如果想挑廣告事業的弊病簡直是輕而易舉，話又説回來，對於這種具有説服力的藝術誰也不能不承認其經濟利益。靠着傳播消息半真半假，廣告居然能夠滲透大眾人心，興起慾望購物，甚至使人買到毫無用途的東西。儘管如此，廣告帶來的好處總比壞處多。

To think that advertising is bad is understandable, and indeed there seems to be a common perception growing increasingly negative. Perhaps history will see advertising as one of the real evil factors of modern time because it is stimulating people to constantly want things; want this and want that. It is true that many consumers are convinced to spend money they do not have for things they really do not need. It is also true that the high sales of popular consumer goods is a reflection of the power of advertising rather than the real needs of the society in which they are sold. That kind of "impulsive buying" as consumer behavior can easily turn need into greed. Apart from misleading people to desire something not necessary or completely useless, advertising is surrounding them nearly everywhere and anytime on the point of boring them to death.

認為廣告會帶來不良的影響，想來也不無道理，好像就是越來越有對廣告產生反感的概念。也許將來歷史可以證明現代真正之弊病之一就是廣告，主要是因為廣告不斷地刺激人的需要，又要這個又要那個。千真萬確，很多消費者沒錢了還被引誘去買他們不是真正需要的東西。同樣一點兒都不假地，大眾消費貨品所以如此暢銷，無非是反應廣告的威力，而不是反應消費市場實際的需求。廣告把那種“衝動採購”的消費行為輕而易舉地從需要改變成貪婪。廣告誤導購物慾望，害人購買了不需要或毫無用途的東西，不僅如此，廣告甚至於無時無地包圍消費者，真是令人煩不勝煩。

The good news is that advertising serves market economy well, thanks in part to the media outlets like television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. Through the media, particularly television, advertising gives people a chance as consumers. People are told about new products and services that improve their lives. In fact, economy is at its best when the advertising industry is booming, imagining that when people are starving and freezing there should be no advertising whatever to sell food and fuel. Advertising holds a mirror to an affluent society in a virtuous cycle benefitting many sectors. More advertisements mean more money to all media outlets, which in turn boosts more sales, which in turn pushes more production and creates more jobs and therefore more buying power.廣告帶來的好消息是其工作符合市場經濟的運行，這

還得部分歸功於大眾媒體如電視，收音機，報紙，雜誌與因特網。透過媒體廣告，特別是電視，廣告提供給消費者大好機會。消費者因此得知新產品與服務的信息而得以改善生活。事實上，當廣告事業特別興旺的時候，也正是經濟的佳期，這點可以想象得到，因為假如人人又捱餓又寒冷，哪裏有需要靠打廣告來賣食品與爐油。所以廣告像是一面鏡子反射富足社會的`良性循環，因而造福各行各業。廣告賣得越多，媒體的收入也越多，接着更加督促生產，創造更多的就業機會，同時也就促成更大購買力。

Those who think that advertising is bad must think again about the value of a market system which thrives on economic prosperity. Contrary to popular belief, it seems that most consumers do not hate advertising because of their own foolish desires. They are aware that probably half the money they spend on advertising is wasted, without knowing clearly which half.

認為廣告事業危害不淺的人應該再想一想市場經濟的價值何在，就是促進經濟繁榮。也許一切反感都是錯覺，到底多數消費並不怨恨廣告的不利影響，到頭來都終於覺悟到一切都是出自自己愚蠢的慾望。受廣告影響而買東西也許真會造成大約一半的無謂浪費，可是又好像搞不清楚到底是那一半。