The Meaning of Repair

yī一zhǎn盏yòng用le了duōnián多年de的táidēng台灯huài坏le了，wǒ我zuìchū最初xiǎngdào想到de的shì是huàn换yī一zhǎn盏xīn新de的。

When a lamp I had used for years broke, my first thought was to replace it.

fùjìn附近de的wéixiū维修shīfu师傅jiǎnchá检查hòu后gàosu告诉wǒ我，zhǐ只xūyào需要gēnghuàn更换yī一gè个kāiguān开关。

After inspecting it, a local repairer told me that only the switch needed replacing.

xiū修hǎo好yǐhòu以后，táidēng台灯kànqilai看起来méiyou没有biànhuà变化，wǒ我duì对tā它de的tàidu态度què却biàn变le了。

After the repair, the lamp looked the same, but my attitude towards it had changed.

yuánlái原来，bèi被chēngwéi称为huài坏le了de的wùpǐn物品，wèibì未必yǐjīng已经shīqù失去le了quánbù全部jiàzhí价值。

It turned out that an object described as broken had not necessarily lost all its value.

wéixiū维修ràng让wǒmen我们kànjian看见chǎnpǐn产品nèibù内部bùtóng不同bùjiàn部件de的shòumìng寿命，ér而bù不shì是bǎ把zhěngtǐ整体shìwéi视为yīcìxìng一次性yòngpǐn用品。

Repair reveals the different lifespans of components instead of treating the whole product as disposable.

bùguò不过，yuànyi愿意wéixiū维修bìng并bù不yìwèizhe意味着wéixiū维修yīdìng一定huásuàn划算。

However, a willingness to repair does not mean that repair is always worthwhile.

pèijiàn配件nán难zhǎo找、bào报jià价bù不tòumíng透明yǐjí以及děngdài等待shíjiān时间guò过zhǎng长，dōu都kěnéng可能ràng让rén人fàngqì放弃。

Hard-to-find parts, unclear pricing and long waits may all lead people to give up.

yīncǐ因此，jiǎnshǎo减少làngfèi浪费bù不néng能zhǐ只yīkào依靠xiāofèizhě消费者de的nàixīn耐心。

Reducing waste therefore cannot depend solely on consumers' patience.

chǎnpǐn产品shèjì设计yīngdāng应当kǎolǜ考虑chāi拆xiè卸，shāng商jiā家yě也xūyào需要tígōng提供qīngchu清楚de的wéixiū维修tiáojiàn条件。

Product design should take disassembly into account, and retailers need to provide clear repair terms.

duì对shèjí涉及ānquán安全de的shèbèi设备，hái还yīng应pànduàn判断wéixiū维修hòu后shìfǒu是否néng能kěkào可靠shǐyòng使用。

For equipment involving safety, it is also necessary to assess whether it can be used reliably after repair.

xiūlǐ修理de的yìyì意义bìngfēi并非yāoqiú要求suǒyǒu所有jiù旧wù物yǒngjiǔ永久liúxià留下，érshì而是ràng让jìxù继续shǐyòng使用chéngwéi成为yī一gè个kěxíng可行xuǎnxiàng选项。

The point of repair is not to keep every old object forever, but to make continued use a practical option.

dāng当zhè这gè个xuǎnxiàng选项zúgòu足够fāngbiàn方便，rénmen人们cái才gèng更kěnéng可能zài在diūqì丢弃zhīqián之前tíngxià停下lái来xiǎng想yī一xiǎng想。

When that option is convenient enough, people are more likely to pause before throwing something away.