Joy English · Level C1 · Technologyjoy-english.com
The quiet rise of repair culture
Name:Date:
Follow a talk with contrast words and long lists of examples.
Listen to each sentence and write what you hear.
Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening-lessons/the-quiet-rise-of-repair-culture
Words to know
- manufacturer
- A company that makes goods.
- volunteer
- A person who works without being paid.
- mend
- To fix something that is broken.
- trend
- A general change in what people do.
Answer key
- For years, manufacturers designed devices that were cheaper to replace than to repair, and consumers largely accepted this.'Cheaper to replace than to repair' uses two infinitives: 'to' is weak, 'tuh'. 'Largely' means mostly.
- Lately, however, community workshops have appeared where volunteers teach strangers how to mend everything from toasters to laptops.'However' marks a change of direction after a pause. 'Everything from ... to ...' is a range.
- Part of the appeal is financial, but many participants say that understanding an object changes how they value it.'Part of the' links as 'par-tuv-the'. 'Appeal' is stressed on the second syllable: a-PEAL.
- Some manufacturers are also beginning to provide spare parts and repair instructions for several years after a sale.'Spare parts' are replacement pieces. 'Several' is often said in two syllables: SEV-ral.
- If this trend continues, the throwaway habits of the last few decades may come to seem rather strange.'Throwaway' can be written as one word, hyphenated or as two words. 'Come to seem' means gradually seem.