英検1級空所補充 2015年第3回 大問2 復習 その2
Humanized Mascots
In marketing, companies frequently use anthropomorphism - the practice of giving anmals or inanimate objects human characteristics - to promote their brands. Examples of such anthropomorphic mascots include sponges, raisins, and candy-coverd chocolates, depicted with appealing faces and humanlike limbs. The creation of such mascots, it has long been presumed, will encourage consumers to forge a personal or emotional connection with the brand. This has been shown to attract buvers to a specific product and encourage brand loyalty.
語注
☆anthropomorphism 擬人化
☆inanimate 生命のない
☆depicted depict 描く 描写する
☆limbs 肢（あし）
☆presumed presume 仮定する 推定する
☆forge 鍛える つくる
☆loyalty 忠実 忠誠
A recent study has revealed that (29) . Marina Puzakova, an assistant professor of marketing at Lehigh Universtiy in the United States, and her colleages condcted experiments in which partcipants were familiarized with products both with and without anthropomorphized mascots. They were then shown news reports about how the products had failed in some way, such as by not living up to their advertised claims. The participants' reactions were significanly more negative when products with humanized mascots performed unsuccessfully. According to Puzakova, consumers feel such products (30). She says this notion "can be extremely strong." with consumers developing "negative sentiments toward the brand," as if, for example, the humanlike chocolates in an advertisement had intentionally let down the brand's customers by not satisfying their taste buds.
☆unsuccessfully 失敗して
☆notion 観念 考え
☆intentionally 意図的に
☆let down (人)を失望させる
☆buds 芽
(29)
1.other types of mascots have the same effect
2.devotion to mascots also has a downside
3.mascots are not as memorable as once thought
4.not all humanized mascots are the same
(29)の解答を導くたぶん根拠
空所の次の文以降Marina Puzakovaと同僚たちが行った実験について、述べられていて、青字の部分のように、
products with humanized mascotsが失敗したとき
The participants' reactions were significanly more negativeとあるように、devotion（献身 愛情） to mascots also has a downside（下降する）「マスコットへの献身は下方する」ので、答えは2。
(30)
1.have somehow betrayed them
2.are worth buying despite the rise
3.havean unfair advantage over other products
4.should have an actual human mascot
(30)の解答を導くたぶん根拠
had intentionally let down the brand's customers「意図的にブランドのお客様を失望させた≒have somehow betrayed them「どうにかして消費者を裏切った」となるので、答えは1。
Another study by Puzakova showed that brand humanization also has important implications for perceptions of price fairness. In particular, it suggested companies should clearly communiate that (31) price increases. In the study, household products in six different categories were independently categorized as humanized or nonhumanized. Shoppers in the states of Wisconsin and Massachusetts were then asked how they would respond if the prices of those products were either rased or lowered. Results revealed a heightened sensitivity to price in brands with anthropomorphized mascots; demand was reduced when prices rose, and increased when prices fell, to a much greater extent with those brands,Puzakova believes that this is because customers are less likely to attribute price increases to impersonal market forces, and more likely to put the blame on a brand's humanlike mascot.
☆implications implication for ～ ～ための意味
☆perceptions perception of ～ ～の知覚
☆categorized categorize 分類する
☆sensitivity 敏感さ
☆impersonal 非個人的な 客観的
☆market forces 市場原理
☆blame 責任
(31)
1.they have the power to predict
2.the media focuses too much on
3.external causes are behind
4.consumers must voice their concerns about
(31)の解答を導くたぶん根拠
空所(31) の前後の
companies should clearly communiate that (S'+V’) price increases.
「会社らは、S'値上げをV'することをはっきりと示すべきだ」
「べきだ」と述べて、赤の部分で「お客は値上げの原因を客観的な市場原理だとは思わない」と言っているので,「価格上昇の原因は市場原理（外的要因＝external causes）である」ということで、答えは3。
以上解いてみた方はお疲れ様でした
解答の根拠については、個人的な見解ですので参考程度にお願いします
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さらに
速読速解のトレーニングについて
先日、私のお気に入りブログのyukarinさん記事で、
速読の訓練で、「要約読み」のような、つまり、英文を読む際に副詞句、副詞節除いて、文の骨格部分を読み解くやり方、きっとTOEICでも英検でも大事なので、現在目下練習中です
詳しくはyukarinさんのブログへこちらです