【题目】Apple’s so-called iPhone 4 “Death Grip” ----where holding the phone in the left hand weakens the signal ---- may rank among the top marketing failures of the 2010s.

Frustrated iPhone 4 owners don’t need to wait around for Apple to handle the problem. They can solve the calling problems on their own. I’ve got five guaranteed solutions, but you probably won’t like them.

1】________________. In most US states, purchasers can return phones within 14 days - 30 days in states like California. It’s the “buyer’s regret” period, and for some people who can’t make clear calls there surely is some kind of regret. Apple’s newest handset may be the most fashionable phone on the planet, but it is by no means the only choice. Yes, you can use another smart phone and find happiness.

2】________________. OK, so this might seem like an extreme choice, but, hey, aren’t all those phone calls annoying? I’ve dramatically reduced the number of phone calls and must say it feels good to be free of them. The iPhone has a touchscreen for a reason. Use it. But, please, don’t text and drive.

3】________________. If you must make phone calls, change your location. Repeatedly test for the Death Grip, but don’t let the sellers know the real reason for moving. Surely they’ll think that anyone willing to wait all night in a line to buy a cell phone is some one who is easily tricked or taken in. Don’t let your iPhone 4 enthusiasm drive up the seller’s counter offer.

4】________________. Hey, why should Apple be the only one who makes money? The iPhone 4 eBay auctions(拍卖)are crazy. There are “buy it now” prices of $1,000 and auctions with bids(出价)starting above $800. While writing this post, I watched one auction count down 7 minutes to zero, where in the final seconds the winning bid was $1,300 for the 32GB black model, unopened.

5】_______________. It’s surprising how effectively some people can just ignore problems like they don’t exist. No matter what the situation, they ignore it. “Hey, Johnny, don’t you know Toyota recalled(召回) a bazillion cars for accelerator pedal defects?” You know his answer: “Toyota is the best company on the planet. There is no problem with my car.” I’ve seen this kind of denial behavior among some Mac enthusiasts, too. About Death Grip, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is on record firmly stating: “Just avoid holding it in that way.” Apple claims the problem really isn’t iPhone 4 but you. Hey, you can choose to believe that. Denial will fix your problem, because you’ll never admit to having one.

A. Live in denial

B. Sell your iPhone

C. Stop making phone calls

D. Purchase a car rather than an iPhone

E. Move to a location with strong carrier signal

F. Return the phone and get one from a different manufacturer(制造商)

【题目】You hear the comment all the time: the U.S. economy looks good by figures, but it doesn’t feel good. Why doesn’t ever-greater wealth promote ever-greater happiness? It is a question that dates at least to the appearance in 1958 of The Wealthy Society by John Kenneth Galbraith, who died recently at 97.

The Wealthy Society is a modern classic because it helped describe a new moment in the human condition. For most of history, “hunger, sickness, and cold” threatened nearly everyone, Galbraith wrote. “Poverty (贫穷) was found everywhere in that world. Obviously it is not of ours.” After World War II, the fear of another Great Depression gave way to an economic growth. In the 1930s unemployment had averaged 18.2 percent; in the 1950s it was 4.5 percent.

To Galbraith, materialism (物质主义) had gone mad and would cause discontent. Through advertising, companies conditioned consumers to buy things they didn’t really want or need. Because so much spending was artificial, it would be unsatisfying. Meanwhile, government spending that would make everyone better off was being cut down because people wrongly considered government only as “a necessary bad.”

It’s often said that only the rich are getting ahead; everyone else is standing still or falling behind. Well, there are many undeserving rich overpaid chief managers, for instance. But over any meaningful period, most people’s incomes are increasing. From 1995 to 2004, people feel “squeezed” because their rising incomes often don’t satisfy their rising wants for bigger homes, more health care, more education, and faster Internet connections.

The other great disappointment is that it has not got rid of insecurity. People regard job stability as part of their standard of living. As company unemployment increased, that part has gradually become weaker. More workers fear they’ve become the disposable American,” as Louis Uchitelle puts it in his book by the same name.

Because so much previous suffering and social conflict resulted from poverty, the arrival of widespread wealth suggested utopian (乌托邦式的) possibilities. Up to a point, wealth succeeds. There is much less physical suffering than before. People are better off. Unfortunately, wealth also creates new complaints.

Advanced societies need economic growth to satisfy the multiplying wants of their citizens. But the search for growth cause new anxieties and economic conflicts that disturb the social order. Wealth sets free the individual, promising that everyone can choose a unique way to self-accomplishment. But the promise is so unreasonable that it leads to many disappointments and sometimes inspires choices that have anti-social consequences, including family breakdown. Figures indicate that happiness has not risen with incomes.

Should we be surprised? Not really. We’ve simply confirmed an old truth: the seeking of wealth does not always end with happiness.

【1The Wealthy Society is a book ________.

A. about poverty in the past

B. written by Louis Uchitelle

C. indicating that people are becoming worse off

D. about why happiness does not rise with wealth

【2According to Galbraith, people feel discontented because ________.

A. materialism has run wild in modern society

B. they are in fear of another Great Depression

C. public spending hasn’t been cut down as expected

D. the government has proved to be necessary but ugly

【3Why do people feelsqueezedwhen their average income rises considerably?

A. They think there are too many overpaid rich.

B. There is more unemployment in modern society.

C. Their material demands go faster than their earnings.

D. Health care and educational cost have somehow gone out of control.

【4What does Louis Uchitelle mean by “the disposable American” ?

A. People with a stable job.

B. Workers who no longer have secure jobs.

C. Those who see job stability as part of their living standard.

D. People who have a sense of security because of their rising incomes.

5What has wealth brought to American society?

A. Stability and security.

B. Materialism and content.

C. A sense of self-accomplishment.

D. New anxiety, conflicts and complaints.

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