双十一那天晚上，我在购物车里放了三十多件东西，付钱之前忽然问自己：这些我真的需要吗？
On the night of Double Eleven, I had put more than thirty items in my shopping cart, and just before paying I suddenly asked myself: do I really need these?
广告总是告诉我们：买了这个，你会更漂亮、更成功、更幸福。
Advertisements always tell us: buy this and you will be more beautiful, more successful, happier.
心情不好？买点儿东西吧；心情很好？那更要买点儿东西庆祝一下。
In a bad mood? Buy something. In a great mood? Then all the more reason to buy something to celebrate.
这就是消费主义：它让购物从满足需要，变成了证明自己。
This is exactly what consumerism is: it turns shopping from satisfying needs into proving yourself.
我有个朋友，工资不低，却每个月都花光，甚至借钱买最新的手机。
I have a friend whose salary is not low, yet he spends it all every month, even borrowing money to buy the newest phone.
他说：“别人都有，我没有，多没面子。”
He says: "Everyone else has one and I don't — how embarrassing would that be."
问题是，这种快乐来得快，去得也快，新手机三个星期后就变成了普通的旧手机。
The problem is, this kind of happiness comes fast and goes fast: after three weeks the new phone becomes just an ordinary old phone.
那天晚上，我关掉手机先睡觉，第二天再看购物车，最后只留下了一双确实需要的运动鞋。
That night I turned off my phone and went to sleep first; the next day I looked at the cart again, and in the end kept only one pair of sneakers I truly needed.
少买东西以后，我并没有觉得生活变差，反而觉得轻松了不少。
After buying less, I did not feel my life got worse at all — on the contrary, I felt a great deal lighter.
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Key words 生词
消费主义xiāofèi zhǔyìconsumerism
双十一Shuāng ShíyīDouble Eleven — Nov 11 online shopping festival
购物车gòuwùchēshopping cart
面子miànziface; social prestige
庆祝qìngzhùto celebrate
反而fǎn'éron the contrary; instead
Grammar note 语法点
反而
'On the contrary / instead' — the result is the opposite of what you'd expect: 少买东西以后，我反而觉得轻松了。
吃了药，病反而更重了。— After taking the medicine, the illness got worse instead.
甚至
'Even (to the point of)' — introduces an extreme example: 他每个月都花光工资，甚至借钱买手机。
他忙得甚至忘了吃饭。— He was so busy that he even forgot to eat.
Check yourself 小测验
1. What method did the narrator use before deciding what to buy?
2. Why does the narrator's friend borrow money to buy the newest phone?
3. How did the narrator feel after starting to buy less?
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