英语六级篇章阅读练习：生活消费
Early in the age of affluence(富裕)that followed World War II, an American retailing analyst named Victor Lebow proclaimed, "Our enormously productive economy... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate."
Americans have responded to Lebow's call, and much of the world has followed.
Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded in social values.
Opinion surveys in the world's two largest economies-Japan and the United
States-show consumerist definitions of success becoming ever more prevalent.
Overconsumption by the world's fortunate is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhaps population growth. Their surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably spoil forests, soils, water, air and climate.
Ironically, high consumption may by a mixed blessing in human terms, too.
The time-honored values of integrity of character, good work, friendship, family and community have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.
Thus many in the industrial lands have a sense that their world, of plenty is somehow hollow-that, misled by a consumerist culture, they have been fruitlessly attempting to satisfy what are essentially social. psychological and spiritual needs with material things.
Of course,. the opposite of overconsumption-poverty-is no solution to either environmental or human problems. It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural world too. Dispossessed(被剥夺得一无所有的) peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests of Latin American, and hungry nomads (游牧民族) turn their herds out onto fragile African grassland, reducing it co desert.
If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we arc left to wonder how much is enough. What level of consumption can the earth support? When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction?
测试题
1. The emergence of the affluent society after World War II__________.
A) gave birth to a new generation of upper class consumers
B) gave rise to the dominance of the new egoism
C) led to the reform of the retailing system
D) resulted in the worship of consumerism
2. Apart from enormous productivity, another important impetus co high consumption is___________.
A) the conversion of the sale of goods into rituals
B) the people's desire for a rise in their living standards
C) the imbalance that has existed between production and consumption
D) the concept that one's success is measured by how much they consume
3.Why does the author say high consumption is a mixed blessing?
A) Because poverty still exists in an affluent society.
B) Because moral values are sacrificed in pursuit of material satisfaction.
C) Because overconsumption won't last long due to unrestricted population growth.
D) Because traditional rituals are often neglected in the process of modernization.
4.According to the passage, consumerist culture________.
A) cannot thrive on a fragile economy
B) will not aggravate environmental problems
C) cannot satisfy human spiritual needs
D) will not alleviate poverty in wealthy countries
5.It can be inferred from the passage that___________.
A) human spiritual needs should match material affluence
B) there is never an end to satisfying people's material needs
C) whether high consumption should be encouraged is still an issue
D) how to keep consumption at a reasonable level remains a problem
答案详解
1.第二次世界大战后富裕社会的出现_________。
A)导致新一代上层消费者的产生 B)导致新利己主义占据主导地位
C)导致零售系统的改革 D)导致消费主义崇拜
[D]文章前几段提到“Lebown呼吁我们生产力极高的经济要求我们将消费作为我们的生活方式，将购买和使用商品看成是生活的惯例，并要求我们在消费中寻求精神满足和自我满足”，“美国人响应他的号召，世界上大部分人也尾随其后”，“在工业国家中消费已成为生活的中心支柱，甚至渗透到社会的价值观中”。而这种种均是二战后富裕社会的出现带来的结果，亦是崇尚消费主义的表现，因此D正确。
2.除了巨大的生产能力，导致高消费的另一个重要推动力是_______。
A)商品的销售转变为一种惯例
B)人们渴望生活水平提高
C)生产和销售之间存在的不平衡
D)个人成功由他消费多少商品衡量这一观念
[D]文章第3段提到“在日本和美国这两个最大的经济强国，民意调查表明对成功从消费主义角度所下的定义日益得到广泛认同”，由此可见，“成功是由他们高消费多少来衡量的”这一概念对人们的高消费起着重要的推动作用。因此D正确。
3.为什么作者说高消费好坏参半7
A)因为在富裕社会依然存在贫穷。
B)因为人们在追求物质满足中舍弃了道德观念。
C)因为在不受限制的人口增长情况下，过度消费不会长久。
D)因为在现代化过程中传统惯例总是被忽视。
[B]文章第5段提到“长期以来人们推崇的种种价值观，如诚实的品格、好的工作、以及友谊、家庭和社区等，都在追逐财富的过程中被舍弃了”，B是其中一个方面，因此B正确。
4.根据文章，消费主义文化___________。
A)不可能在薄弱的经济中繁荣 B)不会使环境问题恶化
C)不能满足人类的精神需求 D)不会缓和富裕国家的贫穷问题
[C]文章第6段提到“工业国家的很多人感觉到他们物质丰富的世界不知怎地变得空洞了——受消费主义观念的误导，他们一直试图用物质来满足社会、心理和精神上的需求，而这毫无效果”，因此C正确。
5.由文章可以推断_____________。
A)人的精神需求应当与物质的富裕保持一致
B)人的物质需求永远无法满足
C)高消费是否应受到鼓励仍是个问题
D)怎样将消费保持在合理的水平依然是个问题
[D]文章最后一段提到“人们消费过多或过少都会破坏环境，我们纳闷究竟多少才算足够。地球能承受什么样的消费水平呢?”，因此D正确。
参考译文
在随第二次世界大战之后来临的富裕年代的早期，有位名叫维克多·勒波的美国零售业分析师声称：“[1]我们巨大的、多产的经济……要求我们把消费当做我们的生活方式，要求我们把商品的购买和使用变成生活习惯，要求我们在消费的过程中寻求精神满足和自我满足……我们需要以越来越快的速度消耗、燃掉、用掉、替换并扔掉物品。”
[1]美国人响应了勒波的号召，世界各地许多人紧随其后。
[1]在工业社会，消费成为了生活的中心支柱，甚至还成为社会价值观的一部分。[2]在日本和美国这两个世界最大的经济强国，民意强调表明对成功从消费主义的角度所下的定义日益得到广泛认同。
世界上那些幸运儿们的过度消费，成了一个极其严重的环境问题，其严重程度除人口增长之外没有其他问题能与之相比。对资源的过度开发利用给人类带来资源被耗尽的威胁，将使森林、土壤、水、空气和气候遭到不可逆转的破坏。
具有讽刺意味的是，高消费的生活方式对人类好坏参半。[3]长期以来人们推崇的种种价值观，如诚实的品德、好的工作以及友谊、家庭和社区等，都在追逐财富的过程中被牺牲掉了。
因此，[4]工业社会的许多人都觉得他们这个富足的世界不知怎么地有些空虚了——由于消费文化的误导，他们在试图用物质来满足社会上的、心理上的以及精神上的种种需求，结果毫无成效。
当然，进度消费的反面——贫穷——也决非环境问题或人类问题的解决之道。贫穷对人来说比富足更糟糕很多，对自然世界也有害。在拉丁美洲，被剥夺得一无所有的农民刀耕火种，一路破坏着雨林;而在非洲，饥饿的游牧民族在贫瘠的草地上放牧，使它遂渐退化成沙漠。
[5]人们拥有的财富过多或者过少都会破坏环境，我们纳闷究竟拥有多少才算足够。地球能承受什么样的消费水平呢?什么时候开始，拥有更多的财富不会明显增加人们的满足感呢?