英文杂志-Magazine：Consumer society

Consumer societyby Julie Bray“There is enough on earth for everybody’s need, but not for everyone’s greed¹.” Gandhi

If we only bought 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.

A coat
A pair of trainers
Levi’s jeans
Water
A CD player
A pair of jeans
A dental check-up
Paper
A restaurant meal
A telephone
Jewellery
Gold-coloured laces² in your trainers
Food
An appointment at the hair salon³
Paracetamol
Shampoo
An iPod
Beer
Toothpaste
A packet of M&Ms
Cushion covers
Table mats which match the curtains

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 8 hours to 6 hours. Some people are leaving very well-paid jobs to live a healthier life in the countryside or a more exciting life abroad. This is called ‘downshifting’. Parents can spend more time with their children and the unemployed⁴ are given more opportunities to work.

If we start to respect saving the earth more than spending money, we will become ‘conservers’. When we are conservers, we try to choose environmentally friendly products which are durable⁵ and last a long time. We may find growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes more rewarding than buying them.

What was the best thing you bought last week?

Could you choose from lots of different types? We like having a choice of what to buy. People who buy things are called consumers. Consumers have choices. We usually choose the colour, taste, smell or size of what we buy, but there are other choices we can make. The following questions will help you to consider these choices.

Where was it made?

If you don’t like the place it was made, you might decide not to buy that particular product. A lot of people don’t buy products from certain countries when they don’t like the way the country is run. Was it made in a factory or on a local farm? If the product was unbelievably cheap, the people who made it might not have been paid much.

Who made it?

Do you know? If a friend made it, you probably like it more and you will want to keep it for a long time. If it was made by somebody who enjoyed making it, the quality and the design are probably better. Or does it look like it might have been assembled in a large factory?

There are children in Asia who make Santa Claus dolls for European children to play with. The children who make the toys don’t celebrate Christmas because they are not Christian⁶; they think of the dolls as work. Would it be better if the children in Europe made their own Christmas dolls?

What is it made from?

One of the places where we want to buy expensive luxuries is at the airport’s duty-free shop. Next to the chocolate and cigarettes, there are beautifully shaped bottles and compact⁷ boxes full of perfumes and creams which promise to make you look and feel more beautiful. If you look at the ingredients you will find that the perfumes are mainly alcohol and the creams are mainly made of petroleum⁸!

Almost all products are sold in packaging. Some products have too much packaging, creating more rubbish and using up resources. Some use recycled packaging, which is better for the environment.

Next time you go shopping, think about what you really need to buy. Don’t deprive⁹ 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 promotions¹⁰. If it is more expensive to buy goods which don’t have much packaging and things which are more durable, 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!
 

1 greed   

n.贪食，贪心，贪婪

参考例句：

• His greed knows no limits.他的贪心永无止境。
• Greed was his only motive for stealing.贪婪是他盗窃的唯一动机。

2 laces   

蕾丝( lace的名词复数 )； 透孔织品； 鞋带； 系带

参考例句：

• He bent down and undid the laces of his shoes. 他弯腰解开鞋带。
• Wouldn't it be a giggle to tie his shoe-laces together while he isn't looking! 趁他没注意时把他的鞋带拴在一起，岂不有趣！

3 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 compact   

adj.紧密的，简明的，紧凑的；v.使紧凑，压缩

参考例句：

• It was a compact package.这是个捆得很紧的包裹。
• The article is compact and well organized.文章严密，又很有章法。

8 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

9 deprive   

vt.（of）夺去，剥夺，使丧失

参考例句：

• This law will deprive us of our most basic rights.这条法律将剥夺我们最基本的权利。
• We have no right to deprive their life.我们没有权利去剥夺它们的生命。

10 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。