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参考答案:Disagree: Nineteenth-century farm families had the same cultural opportunities as city residents:...farm families felt that they weren’t keeping up with the urban population, which had electric lights, telephones, and access to the latest goods in department stores. Farm families were isolated, often with limited funds, and few could afford the time or the expense of shopping in the city.
Agree: Mail-order companies changed the lives of farm families across the country: This contact with the outside world broke their isolation and changed the outlook of rural America. Thanks to the mail-order houses of Montgomery Ward and Sears and Roebuck, no farm was too isolated to be aware of the latest clothing, furniture, farm equipment, music, and literature.
Disagree: Clothing ordered from mail-order catalogs was more fashionable than clothing bought in department stores: Sears didn’t pretend to be a leader in fashion, but it did try to provide what average Americans wanted.
Agree: The Sears catalog provided an important illustration of American life: And for immigrants who wanted to become Americans, the Sears catalog was a textbook. Here they learned how to dress, how to furnish their homes, and.., how to cook American food. (B.D)