Section B: Vocabulary Directions: Complete the passage by choosing the proper words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world, in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something __41__but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertisers hoping to sell their products. The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people’s lives. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly __42__. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, __43__in the costomer giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods __44__ in almost every family are not __45__ needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the __46__, lifestyle instructors, or advisors. It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in __47__ and production help quicken the process. Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The __48__ example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. So gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing: no choice, no __49__. |