SWT一直都是PTE考试的重中之重，由于PTE的交叉打分机制，SWT一定程度上也决定着阅读分数的高低。但因为机经命中率比较高，考生往往忽略了练习的重要性，背一遍机经就去考试了。考试的时候如果纯靠回忆，很容易在高度紧张的时候忘记，而且一旦题目稍有变化将会不知所措，大大影响作文成绩。所以在备考阶段，对每篇SWT真题进行透彻的学习和分析，才是正确的复习方法。
以下是高频考题 conspicuous consumption 的分析，并附上高分参考答案。
（7plus原创,谢绝转载,违者必究）
Almost 120 years ago, during the first Gilded Age, sociologist Thorstein Veblencoined the term “conspicuous consumption”. He used it to refer to rich people flaunting their wealth through wasteful spending.Why buy a thousand-dollar suit when a hundred-dollar one serves the same function? The answer, Veblen said, was power. The rich asserted their dominance by showing how much money they could burn on things they didn’t need.
While radical at the time, Veblen’s observation seems obvious now.In the intervening decades, conspicuous consumption has become deeply embedded in the texture ofAmerican capitalism. Our new Gilded Age is even more Veblenian than the last. Today’s captains of industry publicize their social position with private islands and superyachts while the president of the United States covers nearly everything he owns in gold.
But the acquisition of insanely expensive commodities isn’t the onlyway that modern elites project power .More recently, another form of status display has emerged.In the new Gilded Age, identifying oneself as a member of the ruling class doesn’tjust require conspicuous consumption. It requires conspicuous production. If conspicuous consumption involves the worship of luxury, conspicuous production involves the worship oflabor. It isn’t about how much you spend. It’s about how hard you work.Nowhere is the cult of conspicuous production more visible than among America’s CEOs.
这篇文章分析一道SWT新题，话题是关于早在120年前就出现的一个现象“炫富”。这个话题非常能引起现代人的共鸣，相信大家只要稍微熟悉一下陌生的词汇，应该可以理解全文的主要思路。接下来进入分析：
Almost 120 years ago, during the first GildedAge, sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption”. He used it to refer to rich people flaunting their wealth through wasteful spending. Why buy a thousand-dollar suit when a hundred-dollar one servesthe same function? The answer, Veblen said, was power. The richasserted their dominance by showing how much money they could burn on things theydidn’t need.
大约120年前，在第一个镀金时代，社会学家托尔斯坦·凡勃伦（Thorstein Veblen）创造了“炫耀性消费”这一术语。他用它来指富裕的人通过浪费性的支出炫耀他们的财富。为什么购买一千美元的西装，当一百美元的衣服具有相同的功能？凡勃伦说，答案就是财势。富人通过展示他们可以在他们不需要的东西上浪费多少钱来展示他们的主导地位。
While radical at the time, Veblen’s observation seems obvious now.In the intervening decades, conspicuous consumption has become deeply embedded inthe texture of American capitalism. Our new Gilded Age is even more Veblenian than the last.Today’s captains of industry publicize their social position withprivate islands and superyachts while the president of the United States coversnearly everything he owns in gold.
当时看来虽然属于很激进，但现在凡勃伦的观察显而易见。在这几十年间，炫耀性消费已深深植根于美国资本主义的格局中。我们新的镀金时代比上一次更甚。今天的行业领袖们宣扬他们的私人岛屿和超级游艇以展示社会地位，而美国总统拥有的东西几乎全部都是黄金做的。
But the acquisition of insanely expensive commodities isn’t the onlyway that modern elites project power. More recently, another form of status display has emerged.In the new Gilded Age, identifying oneself as a member of the ruling class doesn’t just require conspicuous consumption. It requires conspicuous production.If conspicuous consumption involves the worship of luxury, conspicuous production involves the worship of labor. It isn’t about how much you spend.It’s about how hard you work. Nowhere is the cult of conspicuous production more visible than among America’s CEOs.
但购买极其昂贵的商品不是现代精英阶层们展示能力的唯一途径。最近，出现了另一种形式的展示途径。在新的镀金时代，一个人将自己视为上层阶级的一员并不仅仅只靠炫耀性的消费。他可能还会展示出显著劳动力。如果炫耀性的消费涉及对奢侈品的崇拜，那么显著劳动力就涉及对劳动的崇拜。这不是你花的钱多或少，这是关于你工作有多努力。对于显著劳动力的崇拜，在美国的首席执行官中最为明显。
以下是文章重点部分：
Almost 120 years ago, during the first Gilded Age, sociologist Thorstein Veblencoined the term “conspicuous consumption”. He used it to refer to rich people flaunting their wealth through wasteful spending.Why buy a thousand-dollar suit when a hundred-dollar one servesthe same function? The answer, Veblen said, was power. The rich asserted theirdominance by showing how much money they could burn on things they didn’t need.
While radical at the time, Veblen’s observation seems obvious now.In the intervening decades, conspicuous consumption has become deeply embedded in the texture ofAmerican capitalism. Our new Gilded Age is even more Veblenian than the last.Today’s captains of industry publicize their social position with private islands and superyachts while the president of the United States coversnearly everything he owns in gold.
But the acquisition of insanely expensive commodities isn’t the onlyway that modern elites project power.More recently, another form of status display has emerged.In the new Gilded Age, identifying oneself as a member of the ruling class doesn’tjust require conspicuous consumption. It requires conspicuous production.If conspicuous consumption involves the worship of luxury, conspicuous production involves the worship oflabor. It isn’t about how much you spend. It’s about how hard you work.Nowhere is the cult of conspicuous production more visible than among America’s CEOs.
以下为主要信息点：
120 years ago, “conspicuousconsumption” was a term used by sociologist Thorstein Veblen to refer to richpeople flaunting their wealth through wasteful spending so as to show power.
Veblen’s observation,which has become deeply embedded in the texture of American capitalism, seems obvious now.
Modern elites projectpower also through conspicuous production which involves the worship oflabor and is more visible among America’s CEOs.
参考答案：（见本文评论区）
Architecture is abstract and nonrepresentational, involving the manipulation of the relationships of different elements, and no one vantage point can be understood; the analysis of building type provides an insight into past cultures and ears, because greater styles which lies on serious and urgent experimentation directed towards answering the needs of life are aided by the discovery of new construction methods but reduced by social changes or new building techniques.
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