题文
I once had a house guest from Cuba. During his visit, I happened to throw an old broken blender (搅拌机) in the trash. The next day it was sitting on my counter – in working order. In his world, people simply cannot afford to replace an item which doesn't work properly. They take the time and figure out how to fix it. In Cuba, they are still driving cars from the 1960’s, mainly because they do not have a choice.In contrast, the U.S. is a “throw-away society.” Statistics show that each American produces six pounds of trash per day. I believe a combination of factors has contributed to this phenomenon.
“Planned obsolescence(废弃)” is not a secret. It is a manufacturing (制造业) philosophy developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s, when mass production became popular. The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. This pressures the consumer to buy again.
Planned obsolescence does keep costs down. Instead of making an expensive product that will last a long time, businesses produce more affordable, disposable(一次性的) items. Some electronic items have become so inexpensive that it is cheaper to replace them than to repair them.
Busy people often value their time and convenience more than money. If a car starts to have mechanical problems, replacing it with a newer, more reliable model may be more appealing than tolerating it being in the garage for a week.
In addition, advertising trains consumers to want what is new and improved. It convinces them that the more they have, the happier they will be.
Unlike people in many developing countries, we live in a world of abundance. A study by Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona also found that in the U.S., 40-50 percent of all food ready for harvest is wasted. Abundance and waste soon became closely associated in the American way of life.
小题1:In Cuba, people usually fix a broken item instead of buying a new one because __________.A．wasting is prohibited thereB．they are poor C．they are interested in fixing thingsD．they live a low-carbon life小题2:According to the article, planned obsolescence ___________.A．began before mass production became popularB．is intended to encourage consumers to buy more thingsC．results in higher prices of itemsD．requires factories to produce high-quality products小题3:Which of the following is NOT true about the “throw-away society” in the U.S.?A．People prefer to buy a new blender rather than repair the broken one.B．A large quantity of food has been wasted.C．People believe that the more they have, the happier they will be.D．People all hold the belief that money comes first.小题4:What may be the writer’s attitude towards a throw-away society?A．Supportive.B．Critical.C．Tolerant.D．Optimistic. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:B
解析
试题分析:一次作者在扔掉用坏的搅拌机时，碰巧家里有一位来自古巴的房客，房客第二天把作者扔掉的搅拌机给修理好，拿了回来。由此作者比较古巴和美国两个社会的异同，认识到了在贫穷的国家，人们过的非常节俭，而在美国这个物质极大充足的社会，浪费现象非常严重。
小题1:B细节理解题。根据文章首段 In his world, people simply cannot afford to replace an item which doesn't work properly.可知在古巴人们买不起东西，才会对用坏的东西进行修理，所以选B。
小题2:B推理判断题。根据文章第三段The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. This pressures the consumer to buy again.可以判断选B。
小题3:D 推理判断题。根据文章第五段Busy people often value their time and convenience more than money.可知忙碌的人们把时间和便捷看的比金钱更重要，所以D选项内容错误。
小题4:B 推理判断题。根据文章末段40-50 percent of all food ready for harvest is wasted. Abundance and waste soon became closely associated in the American way of life.可知作者认为物质的充足造成了浪费现象，所以对于美国这个“a throw-away society”是持批判态度的。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“I once had a house g.....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。社会现象类阅读
社会现象类阅读概念：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。
社会现象类阅读解题技巧：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。
6、认真复读，验证答案。
要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未打上的题目，确保理解无误。
