Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Shopping centres are good. They are a sign of dizzying economic growth, and a demonstration of how far Asians have come, in such a short time. For many of the older generation who can remember a time when everyone lived in villages and there was no running water, the multilevel air-conditioned mall represents comfort, choice, luxury and better times. But many Asian metropolises with growing middle classes now have such a great number of malls – all full with outlets of Marks & Spencer, Gap, Starbucks, Bulgari, Cartier, Mont Blancthat they appear to have long crossed saturation point. Nowadays, it seems our default place for every activity is the mall–it’s where we shop, eat, watch movies, bowl, arrange to meet our friends, have a romantic date or just generally lie around.
Many young people shop for clothes at the mall so that they can look good when they meet their friends – at the mall. My main argument with shopping centres is not that they are often massive concrete blocks that don’t take into account the architectural nuances or cultural backdrop of a city, or that they promote ultra-consumerism at a time when our planet can ill afford it. My main protest with the excess of malls is that they don’t seem to make us happy. Oh, the large advertisements outside the stores could persuade us to think that if we only had this pair of jeans, or if we hung out at this café, then we could feel more satisfied. But once we buy something, we only want to buy something more.
Shopping malls, even though they try to look as showy and as welcoming as possible, can be unkind places. The very concept of the mega-mall plays on human feelings of inadequacy and competitiveness. To make us buy, it must make us feel that we lack something, or that everyone else has something we do not yet own. We must consume to surpass others or, at the very least, to keep up. We purchase to fit in. How can this constant undercurrent of competitiveness of us always trying to be “cool,” bring us true joy ?
The saddest thing is that the modern mall, basically an American import, has made us put aside a whole array of beautiful, worthwhile – and yes, cheaper-activities, many of them inherent to our own culture or region. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Instead of shopping, we could be cooking, visiting a nearby waterfall, beach or temple, reading a novel, writing poetry, starting a blog, making music, taking a long walk, playing a game, learning a dance or – here’s a fundamental idea-visiting a friend.
Every time there’s a spare piece of land, all we can think of building on it is yet another mall. This way, we show not only our affluent status but also demonstrate our poverty in terms of imagination, adventure and passion. Perhaps instead, we should be building libraries, or theatres, art galleries, museums, sports halls, public swimming pools, parks, animal sanctuariesthe list is endless.
1. What should we be building instead of malls ?
2. What are the shopping centres a sign of ?
3. What do we generally do at malls ?
4. Why do many people shop at malls ?
5. What is the main protest of the author with the excess of malls ?
