2019专八作文题目.doc

2019 专八作文 Read carefully the following two excerpts on consumption, and then write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should: Summarize the main message of the two excerpts, and then Comment on the role of consumption in human society, especially on whether consumption may lead to desirable or undesirable results. You can support yourself with information from the excerpts. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Excerpt 1 Consequences of consumerism保护消费者利益活动 In human development report 1998 overview by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), “World consumption has expanded at an unprecedented pace over the 20th century, with private and public consumption expenditures reaching ＄24 trillion in 1998, twice the level of 1975 and six times that of 1950. In 1900 real consumption expenditure was barely ＄1.5 trillion.” In September 2001, the BBC aired a documentary called “shopology ,” where psychologist looked into the psychology of shopping and consumerism in countries like Britain, USA and Japan and asked if it was healthy for consumers. Or the many points they raised, they observed that: Consumption now helps to define who we are; We essentially “buy” a lifestyle; Consumerism can increase stress for various reasons; To deal with social and consumerism pressures and their effects, people may on occasion consume even more to feel better. Rising consumer debt puts pressure on families Two years later, the BBC aired another documentary called “Spend, Spend, Spend.” It looked at the issues of whether or not the increased wealth and consumerism had led to more content and satisfied individuals. The documentary observed that research evidence seemed to suggest that increased wealth drew Oswald of Warwick University said that the key reason for this was because as we get wealthier there is often a tendency to compare mo