Question

 

Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers’ desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.

Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.

This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.

Harry Morrison, chief executive（主管）of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes：“I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking—we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”

Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions（排放）. Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.

The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. “When companies are granted（授予）the standard, they can use a logo（标识）in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions,” Mr. Morrison said.

1.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers.

B．Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions.

C．Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home.

D．Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers’ environmental awareness.

2.The underlined word “inform” in Paragraph 2 probably means“       ”.

A．affect        B．change       C．disturb        D．reject

3.According to Harry Morrison, businesses          .

A．will benefit from cutting carbon emissions

B．should buy carbon allowances for shoppers

C．are required to make up for their carbon emissions

D．have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere

4.We can learn from the passage that businesses will         .

A．have a strong desire to reduce costs

B．use the same logo in their marketing

C．gain advantages by taking early action

D．attract more shoppers by storing goods

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.答案 D。

【解析】主旨大意题。根据第一段最后一句“However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns”及最后一段第一句可知，企业因购买者的环保意识而去减排。故选D项。

2.答案 A。

【解析】词义猜测题。由本段中“while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy”可知，现在三分之二的顾客在购物时对环境的考虑比一年前程度加深了。因此A项符合句子意思

3.答案 A。

解析】推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句“cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand”可以推断出：商业会受益于减排。因此A项符合文章。

4.答案 C。

【解析】推理判断题。根据第五段最后一句“This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers”可知，早采取行动减排的企业可以更好地吸引顾客。因此可以推断出C项。