Special Consumers

Do you think you could live your life without buying anything？ There are people in the world who live in this way. They are called freegans. Freegans live a non?consumerist lifestyle—they reuse clothes， household items， and even food that other people just throw away.

Finding food plays a big part in the life of freegans. They look for food in the wild or even eat food that they take from dumpsters. When you hear the word “dumpster”， you usually think of a smelly， dirty place—but in reality， most food that is thrown away is of good quality. Many supermarkets throw away vegetables and fruits simply because they look ugly. Freegans eat this kind of food.

I used to have many misunderstandings about the freegan way of living. I thought they were poor or homeless. But in fact， most freegans have the income to live just like regular consumers. Instead， they choose to live in a way that is more eco?friendly. Many of them also spend their free time volunteering to promote a greener lifestyle.

It’s hard for many of us to live a freegan lifestyle because we are used to consumerism. This is why I really admire the freegans’ wish to protect the planet. I am now trying not to spend money on any unnecessary things. It is my first step in helping reduce global waste.

詞語(yǔ)卡片：

1. freegans 不消費(fèi)主義者

2. non?consumerist 非消費(fèi)主義的

3. dumpsters 垃圾箱

4. smelly 發(fā)臭的

5. throw away 扔掉

6. misunderstanding 誤會(huì)

7. eco?friendly 環(huán)保的

8. promote 宣傳

9. admire 敬佩

10. unnecessary 非必要的

跟蹤練習(xí)：

1. What does the word “reuse” mean in the first paragraph？

A. 利用 B. 回收 C. 重復(fù)使用

2. Why do supermarkets throw away vegetables and fruits？

A. The vegetables and fruits are smelly.

B. The vegetables and fruits look ugly.

C. The vegetables and fruits are of bad quality.

3. Why do some people live a non?consumerist lifestyle？

A. Because they are poor and homeless.

B. Because they don’t have enough income.

C. Because they want to live a greener lifestyle.

4. What can we probably do to live a greener lifestyle？

A. We can always live a poor life.

B. We can look for food in dumpsters.

C. We can spend less money on unnecessary.

【分析】文章主要介紹了非消費(fèi)主義者的生活方式以及人們對(duì)他們的認(rèn)識(shí)，并呼吁人們開(kāi)始一種更環(huán)保的生活方式。

1. 詞義猜測(cè)題。根據(jù)“They reuse clothes， household items， and even food that other people just throw away. ”可知，非消費(fèi)主義者們重復(fù)使用衣服、家具用品以及別人扔掉的食物，所以單詞reuse指的是“重復(fù)使用”。故選C。

2. 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)“Many supermarkets throw away vegetables and fruits simply because they look ugly. ”可知，許多超市扔掉蔬菜和水果僅僅是因?yàn)樗鼈兛雌饋?lái)不好看。故選B。

3. 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)“Instead， they choose to live in a way that is more eco?friendly. Many of them also spend their free time volunteering to promote a greener lifestyle. ”可知，他們想要一種更環(huán)保的生活方式。故選C。

4. 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)“I am now trying not to spend money on any unnecessary things. It is my first step in helping reduce global waste. ”可知，我們可以通過(guò)盡量不把錢花在不必要的事情上來(lái)開(kāi)始一種更環(huán)保的生活方式。故選C。