No one knows for sure when advertising first started. It is possible that it grew out of the discovery that some people did certain kinds of work better than others did them. That led to the concept of specialization, which means that people would specialize, or focus, on doing one specific job.

Let’s take a man we'll call Mr. Fielder, for example. He did everything connected with fanning. He planted seeds, tended the fields» and harvested and sold his crops. At the same lime, he did many other jobs on the farm. However, he didn't make the bricks for his house, cut his trees into boards, make the plows (犁) , or any of the other hundreds of things a farm needs. Instead, he got them from people who specialized in doing each of those things.

Suppose there was another man we shall call Mr. Plowright. Using what he knew about fanning and working with iron, Mr. Plowright invented a plow that made fanning easier. Mr. Plowright did not really like fanning himself and wanted to specialize in making really good plows. Perhaps, he thought, other farmers will trade what they grow far one of my plows.

How did Mr. Plowright let people know what he was doing? Why, he advertised, of course. First he opened a shop and then he put up a sign outside the shop to attract customers. That sign may have been no more than a plow carved into a piece of wood and a simple arrow pointing to the $hop door. It was probably all the information people needed to find Mr, Plowright and his really good plows.

Many historians believe that the first outdoor signs were used about five thousand yean; ago. Even before most people could read, they understood such signs. Shopkeeper« would carve into stone, clay, or wood symbols for the product they had for sale.

A medium, in advertising talk, is the way you communicate your message. You might say that the first medium used in advertising was signs with symbols. The second medium was audio, or sound, although that term is not used exactly in the way we use it today. Originally, just the human voice and maybe some kind of simple instrument, such as a bell, were used to get people's attention.

A crier, in the historical sense, is not someone who weeps easily. It is someone, probably a man, with a voice loud enough to be heard over the other noises of a city. In ancient Egypt, shopkeepers might hire such b person to spread the news about their products. Often this earliest form of advertising involved a newly arrived ship loaded with goods. Perhaps the crier described the goods, explained where they came from, and praised their quality. His job was, in other words, not too different from a TV or radio commercial in today's world.

41. What probably led to the start of advertising?

A. The discovery of iron.                      B. The specialization of labor.

C. The appearance of new jobs.             D. The development of fanning techniques.

42. To advertise his plows, Mr. Plowright ______.

A. praised his plows in public                 R. placed a sign outside the shop

C. hung an arrow pointing to the shop     D. showed hut products to the customers

43. The writer makes up the two stories of Mr. Fielder and Mr. Plowright in order to ______.

A. explain the origin of advertising          B. predict the future of advertising

C. expose problems in advertising           D, provide suggestions for advertising

44. In ancient Egypt, a crier was probably someone who ______.

A. owned a ship

B. had the loudest voice

C. ran a shop selling goods to fanners

D. functioned like today's TV or radio commercial

45. The last two paragraphs are mainly about ______.

A. the history of advertising                   B. the benefits of advertising

C. the early forms of advertising             D. the basic design of advertising

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Pulling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work，especially when you're a thin 14-year-old．That was me in 1940the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City's Pennsylvania Railway Station．

　　After just a few r days on the job，I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging passengers．I'd like to join them，thinking，“Everyone else is doing it．”

　　When I got home that night，I told my dad what I wanted to do．“You give an honest day's work，” he said，looking at me straight in the eye “They're paying you．If they want to do that，you let them do that．”

　　I followed my dad's advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since．

　　Of all the jobs I've had，it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me．Now l teach my players to have respect for other people and their possessions．Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience．If one person steals，it destroys trust and hurts everyone．I can put up with many things，but not with people who steal．lf one of my Players were caught stealing，he'd be gone．

　　Whether you're on a sports team，in an office or a member of a family, if you can't trust one another，there's going to be trouble．

1．What can be inferred about the baggage boys？

[　　]

A．They could earn much，but they had to work hard．

B．Many of them earned money in a dishonest way．

C．They were all from poor families．

D．They were all thin，young boys．

2．What does the father's advice imply？

[　　]

A．It is wrong to give more pay to the passengers．

B．Don't believe them if they are paying you more．

C．Don't follow others to overcharge the passengers．

D．It is difficult to work hard and live as an honest boy．

3．The writer can't put up with stealing because he thinks that________．

[　　]

A．it is a totally shared experience

B．it is considered as the most dangerous

C．it does great harm to human relationship

D．it may lead to the loss of his sports team

4．It can be concluded from the text that________．

[　　]

A．his father's advice helped him to decide which job to take up

B．working in the sports team was his most important experience

C．he learnt much from his shared experience with his team members

D．his experience as a baggage boy had a great influence on his later life