unit 4: consumer society

من طرف **jaki_hicham** الأربعاء أبريل 30, 2008 8:15 am

Consumer society
By Julie Bray

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. 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 unemployed 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 durable 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 Christian; 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 compact 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 petroleum!

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 deprive 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 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!

Read the text and answer the questions.

Reading comprehension questions

1. What is ‘downshifting’?

2. What is the definition of ‘conservers’?

3. What is the definition of ‘consumers’?

4. What criteria do we use when we make choices about buying things

according to the article?

5. What are perfumes and creams usually made of?

6. What will happen to us if we have less money according to the article?