发布时间 : 星期三 文章新视野大学英语第三版读写教程Book2-UNIT5.Text-A文本更新完毕开始阅读
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 deft common sense and contradict each .The government tells us to spend or we’ll never get out of the recession. At the same time, they tell us that unless we save more, our country is in grave danger. Banks offer 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 company saying something like:
“Your failure to pay is unacceptable. Pay immediately or you'll be in trouble!” Then, as soon as we pay, we get a follow-up email in a charming tone telling us how valuable a consumer in trouble or a valued customer? The gap between these tow messages in enormous.
3.The paradox is that every day we get two sets of message at odds with each other. One is the \
get it now.The paradox is that every day we get two sets of message at odds with each other. One is the \e could call an \desires. Avoid luxuries.Control your appetite for more than you truly need.\age comes to us from many sources:from school, from parents,even from political figures referring to \pone 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 busses,trains and subways.Advertisements invade our daily lives.We are constantly surrounded by the message to spend,spend,spend.Someone recently said, \in your bed asleep!\
5.It's been calculated that by the age of 18, the average Americal will have seen 600,000 ads; by the age of 40, the total is almost one million. Each advertisement is doing its utmost to influence our diverse buying decisions,from the breakfast cereal we eat to which cruise line we will use for our vacation. There is no shortage of ideas and things to buy ! Now, of course, we don’t remember exactly what the products were, but the essential message is cemented into our consciousness, “It’s good to satisfy your desires. You should buy it - now!”A famous advertisement said it perfectly, “I love me. I’m a good friend to myself. I do what makes me feel good. I derive pleasure from nice things and feel nourished by them. I used to put things off. Not anymore. Today I’ll buy new ski equipment, look at new compact cars, and buy that camera I’ve always wanted. I live my dreans today, not tomorrow.”
6. What happens as we take in thrsr contradictory but explicit messages? What are the psychological and spcial consequences of this campaing to control our spending habits? On one hand, we want more things because we want to satisfy our material appetite. Most of us derive pleasure from treating ourselves. On the other hand, a little vioce inside us echoes those upright messages:”Whhat out, take stock of your life, don’t let your attention get scattered. Postpone your desires. Don’t fall into debt. What! Retain control over your own life. It will make you stronger.”
7. Anyway, many of the skills you need as a sucessful student can be applied to your finances. Consider your finacial well-being as a key ingredient of your university education as money worries are extremely stressful and distracting. They can make you feel terrible and hinder your ability to focus on your prime objective:successfully completing your education.
8. How can you be a smart and educated consumer? Many schools, community organizations, and even some banks offer financial literacy class. Consider consulting with your school’s financial aid office or seek input from your parents or other respected adults in sitting up a buget. An additional option is finding a partner to help you stay on track and find pleasure in the administration of your own financial affairs. Most importanly, if you find yourself gettiing into financial trouble, don’t let your ego get in your way; urgently get help with tackling your problem before it spins out of control and lands you in legal troubles.
9. All this will help you become an educated consumer and saver. As you learn to balance spending and saveing, you will become the captain of your own ship, steering your life in a successful and productive direction throgh the choppy waters.