Today advertising can be seen everywhere in daily life. It has influenced what people think is important and sometimes has negative effects on people’s life. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

 

本次考试是关于广告和我们思维方式之间的关系，是2013年5月16日的原题重现。纵观雅思近年考试，广告类话题出现频率很高，大家备考应该多关注这个话题。以下是唐老师收集的近5年雅思广告类作文题：

 

Researchers show that overeating is as harmful as smoking. Therefore, advertising for food products should be banned, in the same way as the cigarette advertising is banned in many countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?(2014/11/13)

食品广告是否应该和香烟广告一样被禁止？

 

Today advertising can be seen everywhere in daily life. It has influenced what people think and has negative effects. Give your opinion on this topic.(2013/5/16)

广告是否影响到人们的思维方式，产生负面作用？

 

Nowadays consumers are faced with the advertisements from competitive companies. To what extent do you agree that consumers are influenced by advertisements? What measures should be taken to protect them? (2012/5/10)

用户会受广告影响吗？如何保护用户不受广告影响？

 

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Advertising usually encourages consumers to buy a product or service in quantity rather than promoting its quality.(2012/7/7)

广告旨在增加产品销售数量，而不是推广其质量。你觉得这个说法有道理吗？

 

Advertising discourages us from being different individuals by making us all want to be and to look the same. Do you agree or disagree?(2012/10/27; 2015/7/11)

广告让我们变得相同，从而失去个性，你同意吗？

 

We are surrounded by all kinds of advertising, which significantly influence our lives. Do the positive effects of advertising outweigh its negative effects? (2011/6/25)

广告到处都是，极大影响了我们的生活。那么，广告的积极作用多，还是消极作用多？

 

Nowadays, there is a large amount of advertising aimed at children. Some people think they have negative effects on children and should be banned. To what extent do you agree or disagree?(2016/2/20; 2014/4/24；2016/7/9)

针对孩子的广告应该禁止吗？

 

Some people think advertising may have positive economic effects. Others think it has negative social effects because advertising makes individuals not satisfied with what they are and what they have. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. （2017/4/22)

广告对经济和社会的影响。

 

 

广告话题，唐老师总结以下观点，供烤鸭参考。

 

Ø  广告可传递信息（informative)

Ø  广告鼓励人们消费，有利于社会经济发展 （advertising can boost economy by encouraging consumption)

Ø  而且设计美观，可以给我们的生活增添亮色，具有美学效果（well-designed advertisements have aesthetic values, making the world more beautiful)

Ø  广告往往夸大其辞（exaggerating），误导性强（misleading），从而让消费者上当受骗。

Ø  广告往往通过各种方式制造消费欲望，让消费者花钱购买很多不必要的商品（buy things they do not really need），从而引发一系列社会问题(social problems)。

Ø  广告往往显示社会差异，容易让人失去心理平衡。

 

本次考试要求我们讨论广告与我们的思维方式之间的关系。具体地说，本次考试要求大家讨论广告如何影响我们对“生活中什么是重要的”这一问题的思考，同时讨论这如何对我们的生活产生消极影响。因此，本题一定要切入讨论“生活中什么是重要的”，广告如何影响我们对这个问题的思考并由此给我们的生活带来什么样的负面作用。

 

可能很多同学没有认真阅读题目的前面部分，只将重点放在后半部分，只讨论广告的消极影响而不联系“生活中什么是重要的”，这样就很容易偏题。

 

那么，广告如何影响我们对“生活中什么是重要的”（what we think is important）这个问题的思考呢？我们知道广告在给我们提供商品信息的同时，也在无形中制造了我们的欲望，让我们养成消费的习惯，认为不停消费就是生活，但事实上，过分的消费主义让我们产生无休止的渴望，从而对自己的生活现状不满足，产生不幸福的感觉，同时还可能让我们为了满足物质需要而犯罪。因此，广告的确是必要的，但作为消费者，我们应与广告保持一定距离，避免被被广告洗脑而进行非理性消费。

 

 

老师笔记

 

01

 

Nowadays we cannot go anywhere without seeing advertisements of one kind or another. The penetration of advertising into our life has gone so far that sometimes we even feel amazed by its ubiquity. Advertising is, of course, very useful, informing us about what to buy, where to buy and how to buy, but it also has negative effects, especially by transforming what we regard as important in our life. 

 

如今，我们到处都能看到这样或那样的广告。广告已经渗透到我们的生活中去了，有时我们甚至对它的无处不在感到惊讶。广告当然是非常有用的，它告诉我们该买什么，在哪里买，怎样买，但它也有负面影响，尤其是通过改变我们认为在生活中重要的东西。

 

解析

 （1）本段为开头段，通过论说广告的普遍性和无处不在来引入话题，然后提出广告的有用之处，并过渡到广告可能通过改变我们的思维方式来产生消极影响。

（2）penetration 渗透

（3）ubiquity 无处不在(n.)

（4）transform 改变

 

02

 

Surrounded by advertisements, we can easily be led to a belief that our life is all about buying things. This widespread consumerism can persuade us into buying many things we do not really need on the one hand, and make us less content withwhat we have on the other, and crave hopelessly for those unattainablecommodities. I still remember a few days ago when walking in front of a supermarket, I saw how a little girl, with her eyes glued to an advertising board,pestered her mother for the expensive toy on it that her mother apparently could not afford. Advertising, then, while providing us with useful commodities information, also creates the unwanted desire at our heart and makes us unhappy.

 

被广告所包围的我们，很容易就相信我们的生活就是买东西。这种广泛的消费主义一方面可以说服我们购买许多我们并不真正需要的东西，另一方面也让我们对自己拥有的东西不那么满意，而对那些无法得到的商品孜孜以求。我还记得几天前，当我走过超市门口，看到一个小女孩，眼睛盯着广告牌，缠着她妈妈买显然买不起的昂贵玩具。因此，广告在为我们提供有用的商品信息时，也在我们的心中制造了不必要的欲望，使我们不快乐。

 

解析

 （1）本段论述广告可能引起的消极后果之一：让我们深陷消费主义而不快乐。

（2）consumerism 消费主义

（3）persuade someone into... 劝某人做......

（4）be content with... 对......满意

（5）crave for... 渴望......

（6）unattainable 无法获得的

（7）glue to... 粘在......上

（8）pester for 缠着要......

（9）apparently 明显的(=obviously)

 

03

 

Meanwhile, lured by the promises of advertising, some people may choose to commit crimes, which then causes a lot of social problems. A student, for instance, may rob his classmate of an iPhone 8, for he has been told by advertising that iPhone 8 is superior to its previous versions. Likewise, an official may take bribery to buy an expensive house by the lake because the advertising says the luxury of living there is superb.

 

同时，在广告承诺的诱惑下，有些人可能会选择犯罪，这就造成了很多社会问题。例如，一个学生可能会抢劫他的同学的iPhone 8，因为他从广告中得知，iPhone 8比以前的版本优越。同样地，一位官员可能会接受贿赂，在湖边买一套昂贵的房子，因为广告上写着住在那里可以尽享奢华。

 

解析

（1）本段写广告可能给我们造成的更严重的影响：让我们犯罪。

（2）lure 诱惑

（3）be superior to... 比......更好

（4）luxury 奢华

（5）superb 绝妙的；的

 

04

 

Seen in this light, advertising can affect our way of thinking about life and we, therefore, should be cautious about its negative influences while enjoying the benefits it brings us. 

 

从这个角度看，广告会影响我们对生活的思考方式，因此，我们在享受广告给我们带来的好处的同时，也应该谨慎对待它的负面影响。

 

解析

（1）结尾段，总结前文观点。

（2）seen in this light 从这个角度看

（3）cautious 谨慎小心的

 

 

 

本场考试范文

 

Nowadays we cannot go anywhere without seeing advertisements of one kind or another. The penetration of advertising into our life has gone so far that sometimes we even feel amazed by its ubiquity. Advertising is, of course, very useful, informing us about what to buy, where to buy and how to buy, but it also has negative effects, especially by transforming what we regard as important in our life.

 

Surrounded by advertisements, we can easily be led to a belief that our life is all about buying things. This widespread consumerism can persuade us into buying many things we do not really need on the one hand, and make us less content with what we have on the other, and crave hopelessly for those unattainable commodities. I still remember a few days ago when walking in front of a supermarket, I saw how a little girl, with her eyes glued to an advertising board, pestered her mother for the expensive toy on it that her mother apparently could not afford. Advertising, then, while providing us with useful commodities information, also creates the unwanted desire at our heart and makes us unhappy.

 

Meanwhile, lured by the promises of advertising, some people may choose to commit crimes, which then causes a lot of social problems. A student, for instance, may rob his classmate of an iPhone 8, for he has been told by advertising that iPhone 8 is superior to its previous versions. Likewise, an official may take bribery to buy an expensive house by the lake because the advertising says the luxury of living there is superb.

 

Seen in this light, advertising can affect our way of thinking about life and we, therefore, should be cautious about its negative influences while enjoying the benefits it brings us. 

(296 words)