VOA慢速英语--是电视节目还是广告?

Do You Watch for the Game or the Ads? 是电视节目还是广告?

Out of the eight most-watched programs in U.S. television history, only one was not the Super Bowl football game.

Can you guess which television program that was?

We’ll give you the answer at the end of this story.

Back to the Super Bowl, which will be played Sunday, February 7. The number of people who watched the football game on television was larger than 100 million every year since 2010.

In the United States, watching the game with friends has become like a holiday. People gather at the home of someone with a big-screen television. Lots of food is prepared. Lots of beverages¹ are served. People often wear shirts and hats that make them look like they are players on their favorite team.

People who watch the game are not only interested in what happens on the field. The commercials and the halftime show are big draws. This year, the halftime performers are the British band Coldplay and singer Beyonce.

One poll conducted in 2013 found that only 28 percent of the respondents said they watch to enjoy the game. More people -- 39 percent -- of 500 people surveyed said they watched to see the commercials.

The Super Bowl is a major spectacle in the U.S. It is played in a huge sports arena² where almost 70,000 fans cheer and make noise. They watch the players on the field move a ball down a grassy³ field, and smash into each other to stop the advance.

Media and advertising⁴ companies measure how viewers react to the advertising during the game.

Alan Siegel is a writer for USA Today. He said he thinks fans turned their attention to the ads, or commercials, 20 years ago. Some of the games in the 1990s were not very competitive, and the winner seemed to be decided⁵ early in the game.

As a result, people started paying more attention to the commercials.

USA Today measures the most popular commercials every year. Viewers can go to USA Today’s website and vote for their favorites.

This year is the 50th Super Bowl game. Siegel put together a “tournament” among the 32 most-popular ads in Super Bowl history to honor the occasion.

His goal? To find out the best Super Bowl commercial ever.

Of the 32 finalists, one of USA Today’s favorites featured football player “Mean” Joe Greene in 1979. He got the nickname “Mean” Joe because he was a strong player who could tackle players on the opposing teams. But in the commercial, Greene shows his soft side when he trades his football shirt, or jersey⁶, for a bottle of Coca-Cola.

"The “Mean” Joe Greene Coke ad is widely considered the first real blockbuster, kind of famous Super Bowl ad. … It really kind of captured the hearts of a lot of people and that sort of was the birth of Super Bowl advertising as we know it.”

Apple Computer created an ad for the Macintosh in 1984 about oppression and mind control. Ridley Scott, who directed the movies “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” made the commercial.

"The crazy thing about that ad, is that it only aired nationally once, and people still remember it."

Another memorable⁷ ad shows a child dressed as the Star Wars character Darth Vader. It is for the car company, Volkswagen. The boy is surprised when he uses “The Force” and his father’s car starts. He does not know that his father used a remote control starter from inside his home.

"A: People love Star Wars. And B: It was cute. And C: It was clever. So, I think that ad was one of the most shared YouTube clips or shared ads of all time."

Those commercials, along with 29 others, competed in a vote. And four semifinalists emerged.

Three Budweiser commercials and the Coca-Cola commercial with Greene made it into the “Final Four.” The two finalists were Budweiser commercials that featured the brand’s famous Clydesdale horses. One also featured a puppy.

The champion turned out to be the ad featuring the horses and the puppy, called “Puppy Love.”

Siegel explains why it won.

“A startling amount of memorable ads are Budweiser ads, and they’ve sort of mastered the art of really getting people to pay attention to what they’re doing. One thing to note about those two ads is they both have animals. Especially puppies. And so people love cute animals. That ... that never fails.”

Some of this year’s Super Bowl commercials have been released on YouTube. One is for the food company, Heinz. It features a group of dogs called dachshunds. Dachshunds have long bodies but short legs, and are also known as wiener dogs.

Wiener is another word for hot dog, which is a popular food item at sporting events. It is a small serving of ground meat stuffed into a tube of skin served with bread.

In this year’s ad, the wiener dogs are running towards people dressed in costumes to look like ketchup⁸ and mustard. The dogs are wearing hot-dog costumes to complete the joke.

Another, more serious advertisement features British actress Helen Mirren. It turns out to be another Budweiser ad. But it is not funny.

Mirren is sitting at a restaurant about to eat a cheeseburger with French fries. She has a bottle of Budweiser, too. She looks at the camera and warns people against drunken driving. She calls drunken drivers “selfish cowards.”

“I do think people will remember it in a few years,” Siegel says.

And now the answer to our trivia question we promised at the beginning of this story. The only television show that had more viewers than the Super Bowl?

The last episode of the war comedy "M*A*S*H" in 1983.

Words in This Story

ad, advertisement – n. something (such as a short film or a written notice) that is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product or to make an announcement

blockbuster – n. something that is very large, expensive, or successful

commercial – n. an advertisement on radio or television

condiment⁹ – n.  something (such as salt, mustard, or ketchup) that is added to food to give it more flavor

crazy – adj.  very strange or unusual

cute – adj.  having a pleasing and usually youthful appearance

puppy – n.  a baby dog

quarterback – n.  the player in a football game who handles the ball and is in charge of the offense¹⁰

running back – n.  one of the players in a football game responsible for moving the ball forward and scoring points

startle – v.  to surprise

trivia – n.  facts about people or events that are not well-known

respondent – n.  a person who gives an answer to a question

1 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

8 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

9 condiment   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• It has long been a precious condiment.它一直都是一种珍贵的调味料。
• Fish sauce is a traditional fermented condiment in coastal areas.鱼露是沿海地区的传统发酵调味品。

10 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。