Many consumers ignore commercial advertisements. In response, advertising companies have started using a new tactic, calling “buzzing.” The advertisers hire people – buzzers – who personally promote (buzz) products to people they know or meet. The key part is that the buzzers do not reveal that they are being paid to promote anything. They behave as though they were just spontaneously praising a product during normal conversation. Buzzing has generated a lot of controversy, and many critics would like to see it banned.

　　很多消费者都无视商业广告。为了应对这种情况，广告公司开始采取一种名为“托儿”的新策略。广告公司雇佣托儿，让他们向他们认识的或者遇见的人推荐产品。这种策略的关键是托儿是会隐藏他们受雇佣来推荐产品这一事实的。他们表现出他们只是在日常的交流中无意地推荐某种产品。这种营销方式引来了很多争议，而许多批评家希望能够禁止这种方式。

　　First, the critics complain that consumers should know whether a person praising a product is being paid to praise the product. Knowing this makes a big difference: we expect the truth from people who we believe do not have any motive for misleading us. But with buzzing what you hear is just paid advertising, which may well give a person incorrect information about the buzzed product.

　　首先，批评家认为消费者有权利知道向他推荐产品的人是否是有报酬的。知道真相是很重要的。我们预期真相的来源是那些我们相信他不会为任何原因误导我们的人。但是你从托儿口里听到的宣传是付费的广告，而这些宣传可能会给人提供错误的消息。

　　Second, since buzzers pretend they are just private individuals, consumers listen to their endorsement less critically than they should. With advertisements in print or on TV, the consumer is on guard for questionable claims or empty descriptions such as “new and improved.” But when consumers do not know they are being lobbied, they may accept claims they would otherwise be suspicious of. This may suit the manufacturers, but it could really harm consumers.

　　第二，鉴于托儿假装他们只是个人，消费者听到他们推荐的时候就不会像平常那样有辨别力了。对于印刷品或者电视上的广告，消费者会提防里面令人生疑的说法和诸如“新款、升级”之类的空洞描述。但是当消费者不知道他们是被人游说的，他们可能会接受本来他们不会相信的说法。这样可能满足了制造商的需求，但是却会对消费者带来伤害。

　　And worst of all is the harmful effect that buzzing is likely to have on social relationships. Once we become aware that people we meet socially may be buzzers with a hidden agenda, we will become less trustful of people in general. So, buzzing will result in the spread of mistrust and the expectation of dishonesty.

　　而最糟糕的是这种口碑营销的方式会破坏社会关系。一旦我们知道了我们在社交中遇到的人是有这隐秘目的的托儿，我们会不在那么信任别人的。所以，口碑营销对导致不信任和不忠诚的蔓延。

　　阅读部分需要提取的观点是：

　　- Main point: 口碑营销的方法问题种种，批评家希望取缔。

　　- Sub point 1: 口碑营销可能会提供错误的信息

　　- Sub point 2: 消费者容易信任口碑营销

　　- Sub point 3: 口碑营销可能会破坏社会关系