新视野大学英语读写教程(第三版)第二册课文语法讲解-Unit5.docx

新视野三版读写 B2 U5 Text A
Spend or save — The student's dilemma
1 Do you feel as confused and manipulated as I do with this question, "Should
I spend or should I save?" I think that the messages we get from our
environment seem to mon sense and contradict each other. The
government tel s us to spend or we'l never get out of the recession. At the
same time, they tel us that unless we save more, our country is
in grave offer higher interest rates so we increase
savings. Then the same banks send us credit card offers so we can spend
more.
2 Here's another familiar example: If we don't pay our credit card bil on time,
we get demanding, nasty emails from the credit pany saying
something like: "Your failure to pay is eptable. Pay immediately or you'l
be in trouble!" Then, as soon as we pay, we get a fol ow-up email in a
charming tone tel ing us how valuable a customer we are and encouraging us
to resume spending. Which depiction is correct: a failing consumer in trouble
or a valued customer? The gap between these two messages is enormous.
3 The paradox is that every day we get two sets of messages at odds with
each other. One is the "permissive" perspective, "Buy, spend, get it now. You
need this!" The other we could cal an "upright" message, which urges us,
"Work hard and save. Suspend your desires. Avoid luxuries. Control
your appetite for more than you truly need." This es to us from
many sources: from school, from parents, even from political figures referring
to "traditional values". Hard work, family loyalty, and the capacity to postpone
desires are core American values that have made our country great.
*4 But the opposite message, advertising's permissive message, is
inescapable. Though sometimes disguised, the messages are everywhere we
look: on TV, in movies on printed media and road signs, in stores, and on
buses, trains and invade our daily lives. We are
constantly surrounded by the message to spend, s