Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they wanted to get married. The young people’s parents shook their heads. "You can’t get married yet," they said. "Wait till you get a good job with good prospects." So the young people waited until they found good jobs with good prospects and they were able to get married. They were still poor, of course, but large organizations lent him the money he needed to buy a house, some furniture, all the latest electrical appliances and a car. The couple lived happily ever after, paying off debts for the rest of their lives. And so ends another modern romantic fable. We live in a materialistic society and when we grow old enough to earn a living, it does not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of the money you earn. We spend the whole of our lives keeping up with the Joneses. If we buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will go on better and get two new cars: one for his wife and one for himself. The most amusing thing about this game is that the Joneses and all the neighbors who are struggling frantically to keep up with them are spending borrowed money kindly provided, at a suitable rate of interest, of course, by friendly banks, insurance companies, etc. It is not only in affluent societies that people are obsessed with the idea of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and modern industry deliberately sets out to create new markets. Gone are the days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheel of industry must be kept turning. "Built-in obsolescence" provides the means: goods are made to be discarded. Cars get tinnier and tinnier. You no sooner acquire this year’s model than you are thinking about its replacement. From the first paragraph, we can infer that ______.
A. good job with good prospects can have a good marriage
B. those who are poor can’t get married
C. parents should be responsible for planning their children’s future
D. even marriage is closely related with money
Occasional self-medication has always been part of normal living. The making and selling of drugs have a long history end are closely linked, like medical practice itself, with the belief in magic. Only during the last hundred years or so has the development of scientific techniques made it possible for some of the causes of symptoms to be understood, so that more accurate diagnosis has become possible. The doctor is now able to follow up the correct diagnosis of many illnesses with specific treatment of their causes. In many other illnesses, of which the causes remain unknown, it is still limited, like the unqualified prescriber, to the treatment of symptoms. The doctor is trained to decide when to treat symptoms only and when to attack the cause: this is the essential difference between medical prescribing and self-medication. The advance of technology has brought about much progress in’ some fields of medicine, including the development of scientific drug therapy. In many countries public health organization is improving and people’s nutritional standards have risen. Parallel with such beneficial trends have two adverse effects. One is the use of high-pressure advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, which has tended to influence both patients and doctors and has led to the overuse of drugs generally. The other is the emergence of the sedentary society with its faulty ways of life: lack of exercise, over-eating, unsuitable eating, insufficient sleep, excessive smoking and drinking. People with disorders arising from faulty habits such as these, as well as from unhappy human relationships, often resort to self-medication and so add the taking of pharmaceuticals to the list. Advertisers go to great lengths to catch this market. Clever advertising, aimed at chronic sufferers who will try anything because doctors have not been able to cure them, can induce such faith in a preparation, particularly if steeply priced, that it will produce--by suggestion--a very real effect in some people. Advertisements are also aimed at people suffering from mild complaints such as simple colds and coughs, which clear up by themselves within a short time. These are the main reasons why laxatives, indigestion remedies, painkillers, tonics, vitamin and iron tablets and many other preparations are found in quantity in many households. It is doubtful whether taking these things ever improves a person’s health; it may even make it worse. Worse because the preparation may contain unsuitable ingredients; worse because the taker may become dependent on them; worse because they might be taken in excess; worse because they may cause poisoning, and worse of all because symptoms of some serious underlying cause may be masked and therefore medical help may not be sought. Advertisements are aimed at people suffering from mild complaints because ______.
A. they often watch ads on TV
B. they are more likely to buy the drugs advertised
C. they generally lead a sedentary life
D. they don’t take to sports and easily catch colds