2014届高三英语二轮专题复习拔高训练：社会现象类阅读理解34.docVIP

2014届高三英语二轮专题复习拔高训练：社会现象类阅读理解34 1.根据短文内容，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。 Although his 1-year-old smart-phone still works perfectly, Li Jijia already feels the need to replace it. “There are many better ones available now. Its time to upgrade(更新）my phone.” Lis impatience is shared by many. Shortly after the season when new products are released, many consumers feel the urge to upgrade their electronic equipment, even though the ones they have still work just fine. As consumers minds are occupied by Apples newly released products and debate whether the Google tablet is better than the new Amazon Kindle, it might be time to take a step back and ask: “Do we really need the latest upgrades? According to Donald Norman, an American author, “planned obsolescence (淘 汰）” is the trick behind the upgrading culture of todays consumer electronics industry. Electronics producers strategically release new upgrades periodically, both for hardware and software, so that customers on every level feel the need to buy the newest version. “This is an old-time trick- theyre not inventing anything new,” Norman said. “This is a wasteful system through which companies-many of them producing personal electronics - release poor-quality products simply because they know that, in six months or a year, theyll put out a new one.” But the new psychology of consumers is part of this system ，as Norman admitted， “We now want something new ，something pretty, the next shiny thing.” In its most recent year, Apples profit margin was more than 21 percent. At Hewlett-Packard ，the worlds biggest PC maker ，it was only 7 percent. Apples annual upgrades of its products create sales of millions of units as owners of one years MacBook or iPhone line up to buy the newest version, even when the changes are slight. As to Li Jijia ，the need for upgrading his smart-phone comes mainly from friends and classmates. When they are switching to the latest equipment, he worries about feeling left out. “Some games require better