There are many classic rhetorical devices in New Concept English, an authentic English learning textbook, such as metaphor, personification, exaggeration and irony. The application of these methods makes the articles in the new concept become classics. The use of puns fully embodies this point. Pun is a common figure of speech in literary works. Its purpose is to create humor, irony or convey ideas through the possible double meanings of a word in a specific context or the possible connection between a word and another word with the same or similar pronunciation. On the other hand, pun is not only a rhetorical method, but also a concentrated reflection of language and culture.

The pun dear is used in lesson 19 of Book 3 of New Concept, which makes the article very interesting. In this article, the word "dear" has two meanings: first, it means to be loved and cherished, and it means the old woman's love for the cat that lives alone with her. Second, it means high price, expensive. After the cat was kidnapped, it cost her an expensive ransom, so this dear was given this second meaning.

Puns can be seen everywhere in English, especially in advertising language, which makes advertisements more witty, humorous and vivid, thus enhancing the persuasiveness of advertisements and making product images deeply rooted in people's hearts. For example:

There is an optical company in America, whose product brand is OIC.

This advertisement vividly uses homophonic puns. These three capital letters are shaped like glasses. At the same time, this advertisement also expresses the joy of people with poor eyesight to see a clear world after wearing this brand of glasses. It's really an infectious advertisement.

Another example is the slogan of a bathing beach:

Give your son and heir more sunshine and air.

We have plenty of sunshine and fresh air here, which is of great benefit to your son, the heir to your career and property.

This advertisement skillfully uses the homonyms of Sun, Zi, Kong and Si to make the advertisement catchy and attract more tourists.

Besides homophonic puns, there are many semantic puns in English. Taking advantage of the polysemy in English, "one word here represents another word" forms a hidden expression effect and stimulates consumers' desire to buy. Please look at the advertisement below:

Money doesn't grow on trees.

But it blooms on our branches.

Money can't grow on trees, but we can.

This is an outdoor advertisement made by Lloyds Bank. Branch in the second sentence is a polysemous word, which can be understood as "branch" after trees in the first sentence; The deeper meaning is the meaning of bank branches and sub-branches in advertisements. So the real meaning of advertising is to tell people that they can increase the value of their money by depositing in Lloyds Bank.

Look at another popular cigarette advertisement:

I'm quite satisfied. Moore cigarettes, I am more satisfied.

Ask for more. One more, or Moore.

In this advertisement, the cigarette brand More means "more, more", which makes people remember the brand of cigarettes at once while remembering the advertisement, which can be described as a model of pun application in advertisements.

In short, the use of puns makes the article concise and meaningful, and it is also easy to leave a deep impression on readers. In the process of learning English, everyone can carefully understand the mystery, accumulate it in reading, or boldly use it in daily communication or writing, so that English learning is no longer a bunch of boring grammar words, but a wonderful journey full of fun and charm.