They started back in 1957,when one charity（慈善机构）,Christian Aid, decided to make all its money-raising efforts on one time of year. It was thought that by doing this they would get more publicity for their cause. They were right, and soon other charities and campaign groups followed them. These days, most donations to charity are not collected on the streets. So instead of just asking for money, charities prefer to spend their time “raising awareness”—spreading knowledge of the work they do or the cause they support. They also compete with businesses and trade groups who use awareness weeks as marketing campaigns for their products. There are now 500 awareness weeks held every year in the UK. No week goes by without one group or another trying to make the British public aware of something, with most held in May or October. The danger with all these awareness weeks is that people start to become cynical(不信任).Take National Smile Week, it seems like a great idea. Let's all make each other's life a little bit happier with a friendly smile. But really it's just a group of dentists and cosmetics companies trying to sell us toothpastes. It's enough to make you want to start National Forget About It Week. “People feel that many awareness campaigns are just marketing exercises,” says Ms Ormiston, who edits the Awareness Campaign Register, a newsletter which encourages people who run Awareness Weeks to become more aware of each other.“But 90 per cent of campaigns are run by traditional charities or not for groups to make money.” “There's still no official group for awareness campaigns,” says Ms Ormiston.“People can do what they like, whatever the size of their budgets（经费）or their public relations machines allows.” This situation has led to calls for laws to stop real charities having their efforts overshadowed by marketing campaigns. This could be done by making the two groups hold their weeks at different times or stopping businesses running imitation(模仿) charity campaigns. But there is another way. Maybe it's time for National Weak Awareness Week, especially for people whose awareness of Awareness Weeks is weak. 【小题1】What's the main purpose of awareness weeks run by charities in Britain?

Awareness Weeks（认知宣传周）have become a regular part of Britain's cultural landscape over the past few years. They started back in 1957,when one charity（慈善机构）,Christian Aid, decided to make all its money-raising efforts on one time of year. It was thought that by doing this they would get more publicity for their cause.
They were right, and soon other charities and campaign groups followed them. These days, most donations to charity are not collected on the streets. So instead of just asking for money, charities prefer to spend their time “raising awareness”—spreading knowledge of the work they do or the cause they support. They also compete with businesses and trade groups who use awareness weeks as marketing campaigns for their products.
There are now 500 awareness weeks held every year in the UK. No week goes by without one group or another trying to make the British public aware of something, with most held in May or October.
The danger with all these awareness weeks is that people start to become cynical(不信任).Take National Smile Week, it seems like a great idea. Let's all make each other's life a little bit happier with a friendly smile. But really it's just a group of dentists and cosmetics companies trying to sell us toothpastes. It's enough to make you want to start National Forget About It Week.
“People feel that many awareness campaigns are just marketing exercises,” says Ms Ormiston, who edits the Awareness Campaign Register, a newsletter which encourages people who run Awareness Weeks to become more aware of each other.“But 90 per cent of campaigns are run by traditional charities or not for groups to make money.”
“There's still no official group for awareness campaigns,” says Ms Ormiston.“People can do what they like, whatever the size of their budgets（经费）or their public relations machines allows.”
This situation has led to calls for laws to stop real charities having their efforts overshadowed by marketing campaigns. This could be done by making the two groups hold their weeks at different times or stopping businesses running imitation(模仿) charity campaigns.
But there is another way. Maybe it's time for National Weak Awareness Week, especially for people whose awareness of Awareness Weeks is weak.
【小题1】What's the main purpose of awareness weeks run by charities in Britain?

• A. To raise money for charities.
• B. To spread knowledge of charities.
• C. To take up marketing campaigns.
• D. To advertise their goods for sale.

【小题2】Why do people start to become cynical about awareness weeks?

• A. Too many awareness weeks make people feel bored.
• B. People feel many awareness weeks are just for marketing exercises.
• C. People have a weak awareness of awareness weeks.
• D. Awareness weeks are held too often and too much money is raised.

【小题3】What does Ms Ormiston think about awareness weeks?

• A. Most of the awareness weeks should not be for making money.
• B. Official groups should take the place of charities in awareness campaigns.
• C. People can do what they like in awareness weeks.
• D. People can get larger budgets through awareness campaigns.