Unit 3
Book 3
Unit 3
Famous
Brand
Names
Title
I.Introduction
II. Text
III. Language Points
IV. Exercises
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II
Passage A
Bathtub Battleships from Ivorydale
American mothers have long believed that
when it comes to washing out the mouths of
naughty (1) children, nothing beats Ivory Soap
(a registered trademark of the
Proctor & Gamble Company).
This is because its reputation
for being safe, mild, (2) and
pure is as solid and spotless (3) as the
marble of the Lincoln Memorial. It doesn’t
even taste all that bad. And should you drop
it into a tubful of cloudy, child - colored water,
not to worry --- it floats.
Ivory Soap is an American
institution, about as wildly recognized
as the Washington Monument and far
more well respected than Congress.
It had already attained this noble
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status (4) when Theodore Roosevelt was
still a rough- riding cowboy in North Dakota.
Introduced in 1879 as an inexpensive white soap
intended to rival (5) the quality of imported (6)
soaps, it was mass marketed by means of
(7) one of the first nationwide
advertising campaigns. People
were told that Ivory was
“so pure that it floats,”
and the notion (8)
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took hold. As a result, (9) at least half a
dozen generations of Americans have gotten
themselves clean with Ivory.
So many hands, faces, and baby bottoms
have been washed with Ivory that their numbers
Beat the imagination. Not even
Proctor & Gamble knows how
many billions of bars (10)
of Ivory have been sold.
The company keeps a precise count,
however., of the billions of dollars it earns. Annual sales of Ivory Soap, Ivory Snow, Crest toothpaste,
Folger’s coffee, and the hundreds of other products
now marketed under the Proctor& Gamble umbrella exceed (11) thirty billion dollars.
The company has grown a bit since it was founded
in 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by a
pair of immigrants named William
Proctor and James Gamble, each of
whom pledged $3596.47to the enterprise.
For decades Proctor & Gamble
manufactured (12) candles and soap in relatively
modest (13) quantities. It took more than twenty
years for sales to top one million dollars, which
they did shortly before the Civil War. The company’s
big break came with the introduction of its floating
soap and the realization that an
elaborate (14) advertising
campaign could turn a
simple, though high- quality,
Product into a phenomenon. (15)
The soap’s brand name was lifted from “ out of
ivory palaces,” a phrase found in the Bible. So
successful was this new product and the marketing
effort that placed it in the hands of nearly every
American that the company soon built an enormous
new factory in a place called Ivorydale.
Proctor & Gamble never
forgot the advertising lessons
it learned with Ivory. For
instance, it was among the first
manufacturers to use radio to reach consumers
nationwide. In 1933 Proctor & Gamble’s Oxydol
soap powder sponsored (16) a radio serial
called Ma Perkins, and daytime dramas were
forever after known as “ soap operas.” Over the
years the company added
dozens of new product lines
such as Prell shampoo, Duncan
Hines cake mixes, and the
ever- present Tide, “new and
improved” many a time. To this day, however, Ivory
Soap remains a Proctor & Gamble backbone product.
Ivory remains a favorite among consumers,
too, and no wonder. With a bar of Ivory Soap
in your hand, you are holding a chunk of American
history. If you like, you can
even wash your hands and face
with it and be assured (17)
that it is “ninety- nine and
forty- four – one – hundredths
percent pure.” And it floats.
The latter (18) quality of Ivory Soap
is especially attributive to children. Generations of
little boys armed with toothpicks, miniature (19)
flags, or leftover parts from model ships--- there
are always a few--- have converted bars of Ivory
Soap into bathtub battleships.
A note of warning for any
small boys who may be
reading this: mothers tend
to frown on (20) the practice.
III. Language points
(1). naughty: adj.(esp. of children) behaving badly and not being obedient; (of behavior) bad
eg. A ~ boy; It was rather ~ of you to deceive the tax inspector.
(2). mild: adj. gentle, not violent
eg. She can’t accept even ~ criticism
of her work.
(3). spotless: adj. extremely clean
eg. a ~ reputation;
(4).status: n. 1) high social position; recognition and respect by
others
2) one’s legal position, or condition
(5).rival: v. equal; to be as good as
or reach the same standard as
eg. No computer can ~a human brain.
(6).import: v. to buy or bring in from another country
eg. After entering into WTO, China will ~more agricultural products.
(7).by means of: by using, through
eg.The foreigner tried to make himself understood ~body language.
(8).notion: n. an idea, belief, or opinion; concept
eg. Some conservatives reject the
~ that reform is now inevitable.
(9).as a result: consequently, therefore, thus
eg. Sales dropped. ~ , profits declined.
(10). bar: n. 1).a piece of solid material that is longer than it is
wide eg. What’s your favorite chocolate ~?
2). (a place with)a counter where drinks, especially alcoholic
drinks are served
eg. Most ~s in the hotels serve not only drinks but also light meals
(11).exceed: v. to be greater than
eg. The budget of the research project ~s $700 million a year.
(12).Manufacture: v. to make or produce
in large quantities, esp. using machines
eg. TV sets ~d in China are competitive
abroad in price and quality.
(13).modest: adj. not large in quantity, size, value, etc.
eg. They live in a fairly ~ house, considering their wealth.
(14).elaborate : adj. carefully worked out
eg. The company offers an ~ training scheme for new
employees.
(15).phenomenon: n. a remarkable or
unusual person, thing, event, etc.
eg. A child who could play the piano
at the age of two would indeed be a ~.
(16).sponsor: v. to support an activity
by paying for its expenses
eg. The contest was ~ed by an auto manufacturer.
(17).assure: v. to give confidence, to convince
eg. We would like to ~ our customers of the best possible service.
(18). Latter: adj. the second (of two people or things just mentioned)
eg. There are plastic and steel chairs
but the ~ are much heavier.
(19).miniature: adj. very small
eg. The ~ furniture matches the room.
(20). Frown on /upon: to disapprove of
eg. Every teacher would ~ cheating
in examinations.
Unit 3
:
I. Introduction:
The passage traces the history of Ivory Soap, first produced in 1879, and discusses the slogans which were used to promote it. These slogans, particularly the idea that the soap is so pure that it floats, proved so successful that they are still used today. The passage also examines the development of P&G itself, from a small-scale operation founded by two immigrants to a multinational empire of today. At the same time we also learn about the origin of the expression “soap opera”, in itself another modern global phenomenon.
Proctor and gamble was founded by William Proctor and James Gamble in 1837.
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The source of “soap operas”:
In 1933, Proctor & Gamble’s Oxydol soap powder
sponsored a radio serial called Ma Prekins, and daytime
dramas were forever after known as “soap operas.”
“Soap operas”
IV. Exercises
4. Fill in the blanks with the words given below.
Make changes where necessary.
1).I don’t think that the amount of studying you
did in high school would be sufficient for you
to __________good marks in university.
2). Because of the impact of poor sales in other
Asian countries, there has been _____ decrease
in house sales in China this year.
3). Some young people find computer games so
attain
modest
___________ that they can hardly pull
themselves away to tend to other matters.
4). The victim was able to give __________ description
of the drunken driver, which was rather helpful to
the police.
5). Some non-governmental organizations are planning
public _______________to awaken people to the
problem of noise pollution.
6). The cost of producing a tube of toothpaste is
about 3 yuan, so we will __________it at 5.50 yuan to
attractive
precise
campaign
market
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to ensure our profits.
7). Mike is now the director of a factory which
__________________canned food.
8).Plenty of football and basketball clubs are
eager to _________ young athletes if they show
great promise.
9). The sweaters are made of wool _______________
from Australia.
10). According to a recent survey, youths are
beginning to have a lot of influence on the
manufactures
sponsor
imported
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a lot of influence on the products and ________
their parents choose.
brands
The important products made in P &G:
1.Ivory Soap 2.Crest toothpaste
3.Folger’s coffee 4.Tide Detergent
5.Prell Shampoo 6.safeguard