[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"external-lt-355":3},{"payload":4,"id":45,"user":46,"level":52,"course":53,"activity":54,"activity_slug":55,"title":6,"topic":56,"tone":57,"stats":58,"created":61,"score":62,"is_favorite":63,"public":64,"is_external":64},{"text":5,"title":6,"answers":7,"questions":38},"On a wet Saturday morning, the community hall in my neighbourhood looks unusually busy. People arrive carrying objects that, in another decade, might already have been thrown away: a lamp that flickers, a toaster that refuses to pop, a jacket with a broken zip, a radio that only works when you hold it at a particular angle. They queue politely, clutching their items like patients in a waiting room, and then sit down with volunteers who are ready to take things apart.\n\nThis is a repair café, a pop-up workshop where local residents can bring broken household goods and try to fix them with the help of someone more experienced. The idea began in the Netherlands, but it has spread quickly across Europe, partly because it offers something many people miss: practical skills shared face to face. It also appeals to those who are tired of being told that the only sensible response to a fault is to replace the whole product.\n\nThe volunteers are not miracle workers, and they make that clear from the start. A repair café is not a free shop, and it is not a guarantee. Sometimes the problem is too complicated, or the spare part is impossible to find, or the item was designed in a way that makes repair almost pointless. Yet even when nothing is fixed, people often leave feeling they have gained something. They have learned why the object failed, what a reasonable repair would involve, and whether it is worth trying again.\n\nWhat surprises first-time visitors is the atmosphere. Instead of the awkward silence you might expect, there is a steady hum of conversation. While one person searches online for a wiring diagram, another explains how to sew a button properly, and someone else offers advice on where to buy a replacement cable. The café becomes a place where knowledge travels quickly, not through formal lessons but through small, confident suggestions.\n\nOf course, repair cafés are not only about saving money, although that matters. They are also a response to a wider problem: modern products are often cheap to buy but expensive to maintain. Many are glued shut, use unusual screws, or come with instructions that assume you will never open them. In that context, repairing something can feel like a small act of independence.\n\nStill, it would be unrealistic to claim that repair cafés alone will change consumer culture. They run for a few hours a month, depend on volunteers, and cannot compete with the convenience of online shopping. Their real value may be more subtle. By making repair visible and social, they remind people that objects have a life beyond the moment they stop working. And perhaps, after watching a stranger patiently bring a lamp back to life, you think twice before throwing the next one away.","The Quiet Return of Repair Cafés",{"1":8,"2":13,"3":18,"4":23,"5":28,"6":33},[9,10,11,12],"They come mainly to socialise with neighbours.","They bring items that might otherwise be thrown away.","They are hoping to sell old objects for cash.","They arrive because shops are closed at weekends.",[14,15,16,17],"To argue that Dutch products are easier to repair.","To explain that the writer recently travelled there.","To suggest repair cafés are only popular in one country.","To show where the idea originally started before spreading.",[19,20,21,22],"They are run like professional repair shops with guaranteed results.","They mainly exist to provide free spare parts to visitors.","They usually fix everything as long as the owner is patient.","They cannot promise success, but people still benefit from the experience.",[24,25,26,27],"It is tense because people worry about being judged.","It is competitive, with volunteers racing to finish first.","It is friendly and talkative rather than uncomfortable or silent.","It is quiet because everyone concentrates without speaking.",[29,30,31,32],"Because manufacturers provide excellent repair instructions.","Because many products are designed to discourage owners from repairing them.","Because repair cafés refuse to help unless you pay a membership fee.","Because repairing is always cheaper than buying a new product.",[34,35,36,37],"They won’t transform society on their own, but they can influence attitudes towards waste.","They are mostly pointless because modern products cannot be repaired.","They exist mainly as entertainment for people who like tools.","They are a complete solution to over-consumption and should replace shops.",{"1":39,"2":40,"3":41,"4":42,"5":43,"6":44},"What does the writer emphasise about the people arriving at the community hall?","Why does the writer mention the Netherlands in the second paragraph?","What point is made about repair cafés in the third paragraph?","What is the writer suggesting about the atmosphere at the repair café?","According to the fifth paragraph, why can repairing feel like “a small act of independence”?","Which statement best summarises the writer’s overall view of repair cafés?",355,{"id":47,"username":48,"first_name":49,"last_name":50,"image":51},21636,"alex-sharopov","Alexandre","Sharopov","https://storage.googleapis.com/uoepro_files/prod/useofenglish_ai/users/avatar/21636-jtongQ.jpg","B2","Reading","Long Text","long-text","Generate a B2 Reading & Use of English long-text exercise modelled after the original Cambridge English exam.","Standard",{"times_played":59,"num_favorites":60},0,2,"2026-04-16T11:05:44",null,false,true]