Early in the age of affluence that followed World War II,an American retailing analyst named Victor

Early in the age of affluence that followed World War II,an American retailing analyst named Victor Lebow proclaimed,“Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life,that we convert the buying anduse of Eoods into rituals,that we seek our spiritual satisfaction,our ego satisfaction,in consumption...We need thingsconsumed,burned up,worn out,replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate.”Americans have responded to Lebow’s call,and much of the world has followed.Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded in social values.Opinion surveys in the world’s two largest economies-Japan and the United States-show consumerist definitions ofsuccess becoming ever more prevalent.Overconsumption by the world’s fortunate is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhapspopulation growth.Their surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably spoil forests,soils,water,air and climate.Ironically,high consumption may be a mixed blessing in human terms,too.The time-honored values of integrity ofcharacter,good work,friendship,family and community have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.Thus many in theindustrial lands have a sense that their world,of plenty is somehow hollow-that,misled by a consumerist culture,they havebeen fruitlessly attempting to satisfy what are essentially social,psychological and spiritual needs with material things.Of course,the opposite of overconsumption-poverty-is no solution to either environmental or human problems.It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural world too.Dispossessed peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests ofLatin American,and hungry nomads turn their herds out onto fragile African grassland,reducing it to desert.If environmentaldestruction results when people have either too little or too much,we are left to wonder how much is enough.What level ofconsumption can the earth support When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction Apart from enormous productivity,another important impetus to high consumption is___________.《》（）
A：the conversion of the sale of goods into rituals
B：the people’s desire for a rise in their living standards
C：the imbalance that has existed between production and consumption
D：the concept that one’s success is measured by how much they consume


（中学）英语学科知识与教学能力     英语     affluence     retailing     学科     American