If we bought only things we needed, there would be enough for everybody. What do we need? What you need depends on how old you are and your way of life. Rearrange the list of things you can buy and put the things you think we most need at the top of the list.
Coat Designer jeans Water CD player
Dental check up Restaurant meal Telephone Jewelry
Food Shampoo MP3 player Beer
Toothpaste Bar of chocolate Cushion covers
If we don’t need to buy so much, we don’t need to work so much. We can take part-time jobs or reduce our working day from eight hours to six hours. Some people are leaving very well paid jobs to live a healthier life in the countryside or a more exciting life abroad. Parents can spend more time with their children and the unemployed are given more opportunities to work.
If we start to respect saving the earth more than spending money, we will become ‘conservers’ (保护者). When we are conservers, we try to choose environmentally friendly products that last a long time. We may find growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes more rewarding than buying them.
Next time you go shopping, think about what you really need to buy. Don’t deprive (剥夺) yourself of things you like, but decide what you should buy before you go out, so that you won’t be influenced by advertisements or promotions. If it is more expensive to buy goods that don’t have much packaging and things that are more durable (耐用的), buy less. If you can choose to work less, decide which things you would like to make, do or grow yourself. Even though you have less money, your life will become richer.
by Julie Bray
小题1: From the passage, we can see the author suggests us consumers ______.
| A．find out more about a product instead of buying blindly |
| B．consider what we really need before going shopping |
| C．avoid regret at not buying enough |
| D．find a real bargain |
小题2:. The writer will agree with you if you buy products that are ______.
| A．beautifully packaged | B．extremely cheap |
| C．usable for a long time | D．fashionable now |
小题3: According to the passage, if we don’t need to buy so much, the benefits
will include ______.
a. we will have more time enjoying life
b. the employment rate will increase
c. we will get better paid jobs
d. we as consumers will have more choices of what to buy
小题4:This passage is mainly written to _____.
| A．persuade people to buy less and buy environmentally friendly products |
| B．put forward some questions so that you can become a smart buyer |
| C．introduce some good ways to make a wiser choice when shopping |
| D．criticize the consumer society in which people buy too much |