Questions 34-44 are based on the following passage.
A Quick Fix in a Throwaway Culture
Planned obsolescence, a practice 34 at which
products are designed to have a limited period of
35 usefulness, has been a cornerstone of manufacturing
strategy for the past 80 years. This approach increases
sales, but it also stands in 36 austere contrast to a time
when goods were produced to be durable. Planned
obsolescence wastes materials as well as energy in making
and shipping new products. It also reinforces the belief
that it is easier to replace goods than to mend them, as
repair shops are rare and 37 repair methods are often
specialized. In 2009, an enterprising movement, the
Repair Café, challenged this widely accepted belief.
[1] More like a 38 fair then an actual café, the first
Repair Café took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
[2] It was the brainchild of former journalist Martine
Postma, 39 wanting to take a practical stand in a
throwaway culture. [3] Her goals were
40 straightforward, however: reduce waste, maintain
and perpetuate knowledge and skills, and strengthen
community. [4] Participants bring all manner of
damaged articles—clothing, appliances, furniture, and
more—to be repaired by a staff of volunteer specialists
including tailors, electricians, and carpenters. [5] Since
the inaugural Repair Café, others have been hosted in
theater foyers, community centers, hotels, and
auditoriums. [6] While 41 they await for service, patrons
can enjoy coffee and snacks and mingle with their
neighbors in need. 42
Though only about 3 percent of the Netherlands’
municipal waste ends up in landfills, Repair Cafés still
raise awareness about what may otherwise be mindless
acts of waste by providing a venue for people to share and
learn valuable skills that are in danger of being lost. 43 It
is easy to classify old but fixable items as “junk” in an era
that places great emphasis on the next big thing. In
helping people consider how the goods they use on a
daily basis work and are made, Repair Cafés restore a
sense of relationship between human beings and material
goods.
Though the concept remained a local trend at first,
international Repair Cafés, all affiliated with the Dutch
Repair Café via its website, have since arisen in France,
Germany, South Africa, the United States, and other
countries 44 on top of that. The original provides a
central source for start-up tips and tools, as well as
marketing advice to new Repair Cafés. As a result, the
Repair Café has become a global network united by
common ideals. Ironically, innovators are now looking
back to old ways of doing things and applying them in
today’s cities in an effort to transform the way people
relate to and think about the goods they consume.