-
Unit 5 Section A
Spend or save
—
The student's dilemma
花钱还是存钱，学生进退维谷
1
Do you feel as confused and manipulated as I do
with this question,
I
spend
or
should
I
save?
I
think
that
the
messages
we
get
from
our
environment
seem
to
defy
common
sense
and
contradict
each
other.
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
higher
interest
rates
so
we
increase
savings.
Then
the
same
banks send us credit card offers so we can spend
more.
1
你是不是跟我一样
对“我应该花钱还是存钱”这个问题感到困惑，且有被操
纵的感觉？
我觉
得我们从生活的环境里所
获得的信息似乎是有违常识、互相
矛盾的。
政府告诉我们要花钱，
否则我们将永
远走不出衰退；与此同时，他
们又告诉我们，
除非我们节省更多
的钱，
否则我
们的国家会处于严重危险之中。
银行提供较高的利率以增加储蓄。
然后，同样是这些银行
又提供信用卡让我
们可以花更多的钱。
2 Here's another familiar
example: If we don't pay our credit card bill on
time,
we
get
demanding,
nasty
emails
from
the
credit
card
company
saying
something like:
be in
trouble!
tone telling us how valuable a
customer we are and encouraging us to resume
depiction is correct: a failing
consumer in trouble or a valued
customer? The gap between these two
messages is enormous.
2
这里还有一个大家熟悉的例子：如果我们不按时支付信用卡账单，我们会收
到从信用卡
公司发来的类似这样的令人讨厌的催缴账单的
电子邮件：不还款是
不可接受的。请立即缴付，
否则后果自负！
之后，一旦还款，我
们就会收到
一封跟进的电子邮件，语气和蔼可亲，说
我们是多么宝贵的客户，并鼓励我们
继续花钱。
到底哪一个描述是正确的？有麻烦的失败
消费者还是宝贵的客
户？
这两者之间可是天壤之别！
3
The
paradox
is
that
every
day
we
get
two
sets
of
messages
at
odds
with
each other. One is the
need
this!
The
other
we
could
call
an
message,
which
urges
us,
hard
and
save.
Suspend
your
desires.
Avoid
luxuries.
Control
your
appetite for more than you truly
need.
sources:
from
school,
from
parents,
even
from
political
figures
referring
to
values
Hard
work,
family
loyalty,
and
the
capacity
to
postpone
desires are core
American values that have made our country great.
3
自相矛盾的情况还有，
我们每天都收到彼此相左的两种信息。
一种从
“纵容”
的角度，让我
们“买东西，花钱，现在就得到它。你需要这个！
”
另外一种，
我们可称之为“正直”的信息，
它力劝我们：
“努力工作，把钱存起来。控制
你的欲望，不要买奢侈品，不要垂涎那些你并
不真正需要的东西。
”
这类信息
来源甚多，有学校方面的，有家长方面的，甚至还来自提及
传统价值观的政治
人物。
艰苦创业，忠于家庭、能推迟欲望是美国价值观的核心，它使我
们的
国家变得强大。
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.
Advertisementsinvade
our
daily
lives.
We
are
constantly
surrounded by the message to spend,
spend, spend. Someone recently said,
4
但相反的信息，即那些纵容人们不断花钱的广告，无所不在。
虽然此类信息
有时经过了
乔装打扮，但仍随处可见，电视、电影、印刷媒介和路牌、商店，
及公共汽
车、火车和地铁
上，比比皆是。
广告侵入了我们的日常生活。
我们<
/p>
时时被包围在花钱，花钱，花钱的信息
中。最近有人说：
“唯一可以逃脱广告
的时候是当在床上睡着时
！
”
5
It's been calculated that by the age of 18, the
average American 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
whichcruise
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,
good
to
satisfy
your
desires.
You
should have what you want. You deserve
the best. So, you should buy it
—
now!
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 dreams today, not
tomorrow.
5
据计算，普通的美国人到
18
岁时，会看过
60
万则广告；到
40
岁时，看
过的广告总数近
百万。
每个广告都在尽最大努力影响
我们形形色色的购买决
定——从我们吃的早餐麦片到
我们的假期将使用哪条邮轮线路。
决
不会缺少
怎么花钱和买什么东西的广告！
现在，我们
当然不能确切地记得广告
上的产
品，但重要的信息已凝聚在我们的意识里：
“要满足你的
愿
望。你应该拥有你
想要的。你应该
得到最好的。所以，你应该买下它——现在！
”一个著名
的广
告诠释得很完美：
“我爱自己。我是自
己的好朋友。我做让我感觉舒服的事。我
从精美
的东西里得到乐趣，并感觉到它们给我的滋养。我过去常想着等一下再
买，现
在再也不会了。今天，我会购买全新的滑雪装备，看看新型的小巧灵便
的轿车，买下那台
我一直想要的相机。
我今天就要实现我的梦想，不会等到明<
/p>
天。
”
6
What
happens
as
we
take
in
these
contradictory
but
explicit
messages?
What
are
the
psychological
and
social
consequences
of
this
campaign
to
control our spending
habits? On one hand, we want more things because
we