| [00:01.080] |
--- lesson 26 Wanted: a large biscuit tin |
| [00:07.600] |
--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below. |
| [00:13.040] |
--- Who won the prize for the biggest biscuit? |
| [00:18.360] |
No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements. |
| [00:22.640] |
Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, |
| [00:29.440] |
for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us. |
| [00:34.240] |
In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, |
| [00:38.520] |
advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses. |
| [00:46.640] |
Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. |
| [00:52.600] |
An advertisement which begins with the magic word FREE can rarely go wrong. |
| [00:59.120] |
These days, advertisers not only offer free samples, but free cars, free houses, and free trips round the world as well. |
| [01:10.920] |
They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. |
| [01:17.440] |
Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way. |
| [01:26.280] |
During a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufacturers once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. |
| [01:36.600] |
They offered to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. |
| [01:43.160] |
The response to this competition was tremendous. |
| [01:46.680] |
Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory. |
| [01:53.040] |
One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. |
| [01:57.240] |
It weighed nearly 500 pounds. |
| [02:00.360] |
A little later, a man came along with a biscuit which occupied the whole boot of his car. |
| [02:07.320] |
All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed. |
| [02:11.440] |
The largest was 713 pounds ， |
| [02:15.880] |
It seemed certain that this would win the prize. |
| [02:19.560] |
But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds. |
| [02:31.040] |
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. |
| [02:45.200] |
It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry. |
| [02:50.720] |
The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000. |
