[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"exercise-966":3},{"payload":4,"id":15,"user":16,"level":22,"course":23,"activity":24,"activity_slug":25,"title":6,"topic":26,"tone":27,"stats":28,"created":31,"score":32,"is_favorite":33,"public":34,"is_external":34},{"text":5,"title":6,"choices":7},"For years, the conventional wisdom was simple: when something breaks, you replace it. Phones are sealed, appliances are difficult to open, and even shoes are sometimes designed to be discarded rather than resoled. Yet in many cities, a different attitude has been gaining ground—one that treats repair as a skill worth preserving, and objects as things with stories rather than expiry dates.\n\n(1) ..........\n\nThe first time you walk into one of these events, the atmosphere can be surprisingly calm. There is none of the frantic consumer energy of a sale; instead, there are people patiently waiting with a kettle, a blender, a lamp, or a torn jacket. Someone offers tea. Someone else is already unscrewing a plastic casing with the careful concentration of a surgeon.\n\n(2) ..........\n\nThese repair sessions are not run like conventional workshops where you hand something over and come back later. The expectation is that you stay, watch, and—if possible—learn. That detail matters, because the point is not simply to save money; it is to rebuild confidence in dealing with everyday technology.\n\n(3) ..........\n\nOf course, repair culture runs into obstacles that are bigger than a missing screw or a frayed cable. Modern products often arrive with proprietary parts, glued casings, and software locks that make even basic fixes risky. And while manufacturers argue that this protects safety and quality, critics note that it also protects sales.\n\n(4) ..........\n\nThe effect is especially visible in electronics. A cracked screen can be more expensive to replace than a new device, and a battery that should be a simple swap can require specialist tools. In that context, the idea of “right to repair” has become more than a slogan; it is a political demand that aims to shift power back to users.\n\n(5) ..........\n\nYet the movement is not only about individual consumers. When repair becomes normal, it changes how communities think about waste, skills, and local economies. A neighbourhood with people who can mend and maintain things is less dependent on distant supply chains, and more resilient when prices rise or deliveries fail.\n\n(6) ..........\n\nNone of this means we will stop buying new things. But it does suggest a modest correction to a culture that treats convenience as the highest value. Learning to repair, even badly at first, is a reminder that ownership can involve responsibility—and that progress does not have to mean throwing the past away.","The Quiet Rise of Repair Culture",[8,9,10,11,12,13,14],"That confidence can be surprisingly fragile. Many people have grown up believing that devices are essentially magic: you press a button and it works, and if it doesn’t, you blame yourself or assume it is beyond help.","It also has an environmental logic. Extending the life of a product delays the moment it becomes waste, and reduces the demand for raw materials and energy needed to manufacture replacements.","The volunteers are usually a mix of retired engineers, hobbyists, cyclists who can true a wheel, and people who simply hate waste. What they share is a willingness to explain what they are doing, rather than performing repairs in silence.","Some governments have begun to respond by proposing rules that require spare parts, clearer manuals, and longer software support. The details vary, but the direction is the same: making repair possible again.","In the 19th century, many towns had specialist craftsmen who could repair almost anything, from clocks to umbrellas, and they often belonged to strict guilds that controlled training and prices.","This is where “repair cafés” and community fix-it sessions come in: informal gatherings where volunteers help strangers troubleshoot broken items, often for free, using shared tools and a lot of conversation.","Perhaps the most interesting result is what happens after the repair. People leave not only with a working toaster or stitched seam, but with a changed relationship to their possessions—and often with the urge to try fixing the next thing themselves.",966,{"id":17,"username":18,"first_name":19,"last_name":20,"image":21},21831,"vladana-kostic","Vladana","Kostić","https://api.useofenglish.ai/static/img/users/default-profile-picture.jpg","C1","Reading","Missing Paragraphs","missing-paragraphs","Anything","Standard",{"times_played":29,"num_favorites":30},2,1,"2026-05-25T15:39:31",null,false,true]