Question

Advertisements are everywhere, TV, newspapers, magazines and of course, on the Internet. Is advertisement really necessary? Billions of dollars are spent on it every year, so it must be important. After all, it’s a busy world. You have to advertise to get people’s attention to sell products!

Not every company thinks that way, however. The NO-AD company doesn’t advertise in traditional ways. It sells its products by word of mouth. In this way, they can save money and keep costs down, which makes their products cheaper for customers.

“Word-of-mouth advertising” happens when one person tells another about a good experience with a product or service. That next person then tells another friend, family member, or colleague (同事). And so a chain of information is created.

Usually, advertisers talk about how good their product is. Although they say things like “Studies show that our product is the best,” or “Everyone loves this product,” it can sound unconvincing. It’s much more believable to hear about a product from a family member or friend who has used it and liked it. Our loved ones’ opinions are very important to us, so we often listen to their advice about a product.

Word-of-mouth advertising has other advantages, too. It’s cost-effective (after all, it’s free) and a company doesn’t have to create a complex business plan to do it. Here is some advice for small businesses about word-of-mouth advertising.

● Be prepared to talk about your company at any time. You never know who you will meet. Always carry business cards.

● Only say good things about your company. Don’t say bad things about your competition.

● Help other companies by recommending people to them. The more you help others, the more good luck will come back to you and that’s good business.

1.Why do some companies spend lots of money on advertisements?

A.To make their products very useful.

B.To make the environment beautiful.

C.To tell people the names of their companies.

D.To attract people to their products.

2.Which of the following may be a word-of-mouth advertising?

A.Telling people how good the product is on TV.

B.Recommending the product you like to your friends.

C.Telling people the product is the best in the newspaper.

D.Showing people how popular the product is on the Internet.

3.What does the underlined word “unconvincing” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A.Uncomfortable. B.Unimportant. C.Unbelievable. D.Unusual.

4.What might NO-AD companies do according to the passage?

A.Create complex business plans.

B.Say bad things about other companies.

C.Provide cheaper products for customers.

D.Help other companies by wishing them good luck.

5.The writer writes the passage to ________.

A.find out the value of making advertisements

B.introduce people a new way of advertising

C.tell people to care more about advertisements

D.show how to sell products by advertising on TV

Answer 1