Lesson 26
Wanted: a large biscuit tin
Language points to the passage:
1. No one can avoid being influenced by ….
avoid
1) to prevent sth bad from happening:
They narrowly avoided defeat.
They built a wall to avoid soil being washed away.
2) to keep away from sb/sth; to try not to do sth:
He’s been avoiding me all week.
She kept avoiding my eyes (= avoided looking at me).
avoid sb/sth like the 'plague: to try very hard not to meet sb, do sth, etc.
avoidable  [adj.]
avoidable  [n.]
2. Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste.
much as: although
Much as I like Bob, I wouldn't want to live with him.
pride yourself on sth / on doing sthweigh形容词: to be proud of sth
She had always prided herself on her appearance.
3. …, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us.
exert
1) to use power or influence to affect sb/sth:
He exerted all his authority to make them accept the plan. (exert sth. to do…)
The moon exerts a force on the earth that causes the tides. (exert sth. on …)
2) exert yourself: to make a big physical or mental effort:
In order to be successful he would have to exert himself.
    exertion  [n.]
4. In their efforts to persuade …
effort
to make an effort (to do…): to try very hard to …
His company has laid off 150 workers in an effort to save money.
The local clubs are making every effort to interest more young people. (=to try all that they can do)
5. … which begins with the magic word FREE
* This is an attributive clause, used to modify the word “advertisement”.
begin with
Shall we begin with a prayer?  (= Shall start from a prayer?)
to begin with
1) used to introduce the first and most important point you want to make
Well, to begin with, he shouldn't even have been driving my car.
2) used to say that something was already in a particular condition before something else happened 原先就是那样的
I didn't break it! It was like that to begin with.
6. … which will enable us to win huge sums of money.
* This is an attributive clause, which is used to modify the word “competitions”.
enable: to make it possible for sb to do sth
enable sb. to do …
The software enables you to access the Internet in seconds.
The new train line enables an easier access to the stadium.
7. Before long, …
before long: very soon
We will know the result before long. (= We will know the result very soon.)
It was not long before …: very soon
It was not long before we reached the coast. (= We reached the coast very soon.)
long before: long time ago
This happened long before your birth.
8. It weighed nearly 500 pounds.
weigh
How much do you weigh (= how heavy are you)?
She weighs 60 kilos.
These cases weigh a ton (= are very heavy)
She weighed the stone in her hand (= estimated how heavy it was by holding it).
weigh sth (up) = weigh (up) sth (against sth): to consider sth carefully before making a decision
You must weigh up the pros and cons (= consider the advantages and disadvantages of sth).
9. … which occupied the whole boot of his car.
* This is an attributive clause which is used to modify the word “biscuit”.
occupy
The following are some examples of “occupy”:
Football occupies most of my leisure time. (= I spend most of my time on football.)
occupy somebody with (doing) something
Half of his spare is occupied with flower-watering.
The enemy troops occupied the city on Monday.
Family photos occupied almost the entire wall. (= There are many photos on the wall)
occupy somebody's mind/thoughts/attention
Work will occupy your mind and help you forget about her.
10. … of various other ingredients.
Iingredient 可数名词
Coconut is a basic ingredient for lots of food. 成分
Our skin cream contains only natural ingredients.  成分
It has all the ingredients of a good mystery story.  要素
11. … to pay more than they had anticipated, …
anticipate [vt.]
1) to expect that something will happen and be ready for it
Sales are better than anticipated. 销售比我们预期的要好。
The schedule isn't final, but we don't anticipate many changes.
We don't anticipate any problems.  (=We don’t hope there will be any problems.)
anticipate that…
This year, we anticipate that our expenses will be 15% greater.
It is anticipated that the research will have many different practical applications.
anticipate doing …
I didn't anticipate having to do the cooking myself! (= I don’t want to cook by myself.)
2) to think about something that is going to happen, especially something pleasant