Задание
Read and match the texts to the sentences.
It can be uninteresting if there’s a lack of variety.
It has a mostly negative impact on the urban landscape.
It can damage the appearance of the countryside.
It may be a waste of energy resources.
Rob Stevenson, lorry driver
The main problem is that the location of posters can be a safety hazard if they block your view of junctions or road signs. I’m not distracted from driving by the content so much, just by the fact that a poster is there. I’ve no time to read them or study them, though the names of products must stick in your memory. Posters in fields get a lot of attention because you certainly notice them as you drive down the motorway. They must be a bonus for the farmer who gets an income from them, but I suppose they do make a bit of a mess of the rural environment. On the whole, there aren’t too many posters on the roads – not compared with some countries I’ve driven through.
Damian Stenton, lawyer
To be honest, I can take or leave street advertising – I don’t pay it much attention and posters aren’t that obtrusive. I don’t even mind posters in the countryside, though I know that’s an issue for some groups in society. Some of the paper posters are being replaced by TV screens. I guess that enables the company to make more money, as they can switch adverts easily – and it also saves paper. But it’s rather environmentally unfriendly as each advertising screen obviously has to be powered by electricity. At a time when we’re all being urged to cut down on consumption of precious resources, putting up TV screens everywhere seems rather counterproductive.
Josie Pelham, cabin crew
Walking through airports in uniform, I tend not to look around too much. That’s because I run the risk of being asked questions by confused passengers who mistake me for ground crew, but helping them is not my job. But adverts in airports have a captive audience because people end up hanging around waiting for delayed flights in lounges or at boarding gates, so in those places they must work well for the advertisers. When travelling, an amusing advert can brighten up my day, but I do tend to see endless dull adverts for banks round the airport and they don’t fit into that category! Planes are even being painted externally to carry advertising. I saw one decorated to advertise house music in Ibiza. How cool is that?
Danni Rochas, interior designer
I often feel surrounded by posters and advertising, it seems to be taking over our city. I am reminded of an episode of The Simpsons where the town’s outdoor advertising comes to life and hunts down the residents. I’m resigned to the fact that posters are ‘necessary’ commercialisation, but I find them less annoying when they ‘give’ something positive in exchange for being such an intrusive presence on the urban landscape. Occasionally, though, advertisers find a new angle on an issue that’s really thought-provoking and that must be positive. So maybe I’d prefer it to exist rather than not.