Question

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. It's time to upgrade(更新）my phone.”

Li’s impatience is shared by many. Shortly after the season when new products are released（发布，发售）, 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 Apple’s 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 today’s 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---they’re 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, they’ll 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, Apple's profit margin(利润) was more than 21 percent. At Hewlett-Packard, the world’s biggest PC maker, it was only 7 percent.

Apple’s annual upgrades of its products create sales of millions of units as owners of one year’s 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 hardware to run,” said Li. “If you don't join in, you lose part of the connection to your friends.”

1.What’s the author’s attitude towards people’s greed for new products?

A. Supportive.    B. Optimistic.

C. Critical.    D. Unclear.

2.How do the electronics companies successfully promote their latest products?

A. They make full use of the “planned obsolescence” strategy.

B. They make a fool of customers by recycling their old products.

C. They control the customers’ way of thinking while shopping.

D. They invent new products to attract the youth like Li Jijia.

3.Why is Apple Company interested in producing latest version of its product?

A. To provide customers with better service.

B. To defeat other competitors like Hewlett-Packard.

C. To establish a favorable image of itself among its customers.

D. To make huge profits out of its business.

4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Li Jijia feels the need to replace his smart-phone as a result of____.

A. new psychology    B. peer pressure

C. life style    D. friends' expectation

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文主要讲述电子产品特别是手机为什么更新太快的原因就是因为他们瞄准顾客心理，仅仅是在产品上做的小手脚就能吸引顾客，最终目的是提高利润。

1.推理判断题。由文中作者对人们想要换新手机原因的分析及引用Norman的话可知，作者不支持这种行为，故A项正确。

2.细节理解题。由文中的"‘planned obsolescence （淘汰）'is the trick behind the upgrading culture of today's consumer electronics industry"可知商家充分利用淘汰策略，电子产品厂家是玩的新把戏来吸引消费者，其实产品并没有多大的改观，故C项正确。

3.推理判断题。由文中的"Apple's annual upgrades of its products create sales of millions of units as owners of one year's MacBook or iPhone line up to buy the newest version"可知，苹果公司因每年产品的更新卖出了数以百万的产品，从而获得了巨大的利益，有利可图才会让它对更新产品感兴趣，故选B。

4.细节理解题。由文中的"As to Li Jijia，the need for upgrading his smart-phone comes mainly from friends and classmates．"及"he worries about feeling left out"可知，李担心自己赶不上朋友的步伐。选D。