Whatever may be said against mass circulation magazines and newspapers, it can hardly be a

rgued that they are out of touch with their readers' daydreams, and therefore the inducements they hold out to them must be a near accurate reflection of their unfulfilled wants and aspirations. Study these and you will assuredly understand a good deal of what it is that makes society tick.

Looking back, for example, to the twenties and thirties, we can see that circulation managers unerringly diagnosed the twin obsessions which dominated that era of mass unemployment -- economic insecurity and a passionate concern for the next generation. Thus it was that readers were recruited with offers of free insurance policies for the one, and free instant education for the other. The family whose breadwinner lost an eye in a double railway derailment, or an arm in a flood, could confidently expect to collect several hundred pounds from the Daily This or the Evening That. The family who could not afford to send their son to grammar school could find consolation in equipping him with the complete works of Shakespeare in one magnificent, easy-to-read volume.

After the war the need to fall into step with the new consumer society was soon realized. If you were flanked by neighbors who, unlike you, could afford a holiday abroad, then winning an easy competition could set you up with a fortnight in an exotic sunspot. Dishwashers, washing machines, slow-cookers and deep-fat-friers were -- and still are -- available by the same means.

The writer finds the study of gifts and prizes interesting because it______

A．reveals social trends

B．exposes journalistic dishonesty

C．confirms his view of human nature

D．shows the power of the popular press