首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
It Ain’t Easy Being Green Green stories of hotels A)Over the summer, I stayed at four hotels in the United States. They were al
It Ain’t Easy Being Green Green stories of hotels A)Over the summer, I stayed at four hotels in the United States. They were al
admin
2013-10-30
31
问题
It Ain’t Easy Being Green
Green stories of hotels
A)Over the summer, I stayed at four hotels in the United States. They were all owned by different companies, but they had one thing in common: A little card on the bathroom counter telling me that the establishment was very concerned about the environment, and appealing to me to do my part to help them save the earth by hanging up my wet towels and using them again the next day. Two of the hotels also placed a card next to the bed informing me that housekeeping would not change the sheets unless I left the card on the pillow.
B)It is true that keeping all those towels clean requires an enormous amount of electricity and water and soap, and that cutting down on the number of loads of laundry would be more eco-friendly than my insisting on a new towel each day. But am I a heartless cynic for doubting that a collective environmental anxiety has seized the hotel industry?
C)Here is an alternative explanation: All that water, soap, and electricity costs a lot of money and eats into the hotel’s profits. A little card on the counter telling customers that they won’t get new towels because the hotel doesn’t want to pay for laundry wouldn’t go over very well. But by couching it as a green campaign, the hotels actually get credit for providing less service to their customers, while pocketing the difference.
D)Industry groups that advise hotels on becoming more environmentally friendly tend to stress the money they’ll save just as much as the benefits to the planet. "Why should hotels be green?" asks the Green Hotels Association’s Web site. "Haven’t you heard? Being green goes directly to your bottom line." The site explains that by getting guests to recycle towels and sheets, hotels can save 5 percent on utility bills. "Some days, housekeeping workers, who usually clean 15 rooms a day, don’t change a single bed," said one satisfied hotel owner, who estimates that "70 percent of people staying more than one night participate in the program." Another member reports that far fewer guests ask for new towels.
E)So let’s review: We give up a nice luxury to save the hotel money; the hotel congratulates itself on being green for peer pressuring us into giving up the luxury under the excuse of environmental consciousness; the hotel keeps the money. Nice work. After all, even if profit is the motive, the net result is a reduction in the hotel’s "carbon footprint". But here’s what gets me: the hotels I stayed in this summer didn’t seem all that interested in being green when it came to other things. The lobby of the big resort was air conditioned to meat locker temperatures. All day long, that frosty air rushed out the vast double doors, which were left open in the July heat. The resort also had a fleet of big, gas guzzling(耗油)vans idling at the curb to transport guests around the grounds.
Green stories of companies
F)Hotels are not the only offenders in this kind of green fakery. Some companies have embraced conservation for real. They build headquarters with solar panels and rainwater collection systems; they think of the environmental impact of every aspect of their businesses and actually change the way they do things to reduce waste. But this is labor intensive, often expensive, and takes commitment. Faced with that, many corporations take a different approach: They don’t do much of anything to change the way they do business, but make a big show of their contribution to Mother Earth.
G)It’s usually easy to spot these companies: They make their customers do the work, and then take the credit. In the name of saving the planet, my cable TV operator keeps asking for permission to stop sending paper statements in the mail each month. Instead, I’m supposed to check my statement online. The real reason, of course, is that doing so would save them paper, printing and postage. This is a perfectly reasonable reason for them to want me to switch. But when they pretend that it’s all about the environment, it just makes me hate my cable company even more than I already do.
Green stories of ad campaigns
H)Sometimes a good ad campaign does a better job of enhancing a company’s green reputation than going through the expense and difficulty of adopting actual environmentally sound practices. Billboards in Washington appeal to me to join the cause. "I will unplug stuff more," reads one. Another says, "I will at least consider buying a hybrid(合成物)." These ads are the work of Chevron, the giant oil company, whose "Will You Join Us?" ads try to convince people that saving the planet is at the top of their list. You might think that if Chevron was really worried about problems like global warming, they would spend some of those dollars lobbying Congress to adopt stricter gas mileage(英里数)requirements for automobiles. They do not do this. Instead, I’m apparently supposed to praise them as environmental heroes because they tell me to unplug my toaster and think about getting a Toyota Prius.
I)Yet ad campaigns like these work. Chevron lands at No. 371 out of 500 companies on Newsweek’s green rankings. But it claims the No. 62 spot when it comes to green reputation thanks in part to those pretty, polished ads. Green marketing has also helped Wal-Mart appear kinder and gentler in recent years. To be fair, the retailing giant has done more than redesign its logo. The company, which ranks 59th on Newsweek’s list, has embraced a series of in-house green initiatives and is demanding its suppliers do the same. The result: Wal-Mart scores first place in our reputation survey.
J)Given the power of positive marketing, it’s easy to see why those little towel cards are so popular— enough so that there are now a lot of companies that market them to hotels, along with all manner of products intended to make customers feel good about themselves while helping the hotels feel good about their bank balances. I suppose it is time that I step up and do my part. On behalf of the planet I will dutifully sleep on day-old sheets. But please, for the love of all that is good and right, keep the towels coming.
As for enhancing a company’s green reputation, it is more effective to set up an ad campaign with eco-friendly slogans than to take up actual green programs.
选项
答案
H
解析
由关键词ad campaign可将定位锁定在Green stories of ad campaigns标题下。再根据green reputation可快速查找到H段。该段第1句就总结性地指出“在提高企业环保声誉方面,广告比采取切实环保项目更佳”,其中的does a better job对应本题的more effective,故本题选H。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/NOCFFFFM
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Forsometimepastithasbeenwidelyacceptedthatbabies--andothercreatures--learntodothingsbecausecertainactsleadto
Peoplehavebeenpaintingpicturesforatleast30,000years.Theearliestpictureswerepaintedbypeoplewhohuntedanimals.T
Peoplewholivedintownsandcitiescouldeasilyrefreshthemselvesinthehotsummersjustbeforetheturnofthe【B1】______.C
Skipthatthirdhelpingofroastbeef,savetheplanetanddoyourheartafavoratthesametime.That’stheadviceofAlan
Wealwaysconvinceourselvesthatlifewillbebetterafterwegetmarried,haveababy,thananother.Thenwearefrustratedth
A、120kms.B、184kms.C、268kms.D、304kms.B由短文中提到的butitis304kilometerslongbetweenthetwocities.Thebridgewillshortenth
A、Lookingforatimetable.B、Buyingsomefurniture.C、Reservingatable.D、Windowshopping.C此对话中我们听到了和餐馆相关的内容:Haveyouatable
A、Onthejobmarket.B、Attheirformerschools.C、Intheirhomes.D、Atthelocalhighschoolsorcolleges.D事实细节题。短文最后一段指出“After
A、Listenwithoutcriticismandwithoutgivingadvice.B、Avoidtalkingaboutdeath.C、Tellhimorherthatyouknowhowheorshe
随机试题
x线诊断大叶性肺炎最主要的依据是
WhenIwaswalkingdownthestreettheotherday,Ihappenedto【C1】______asmallbrownleatherpurselyingonthesidewalk.I【C2
采用溴化钾压片法测定对氨基水杨酸钠红外光谱时,其中1680cm-1、1388m-1I强峰的归属是
鸿捷有限公司成立于2008年3月,从事生物医药研发。公司注册资本为5000万元,股东为甲、乙、丙、丁,持股比例分别为37%、30%、19%、14%;甲为董事长,乙为总经理。公司成立后,经营状况一直不错。2013年8月初,为进一步拓展市场、加强经营
同业业务的主要业务类型有()。
根据以下资料。回答下列小题。2013年1—5月,保险业平均每月业务及管理费用约为多少亿元?()
从所给的四个选项中,选择最合适的一个填入问号处,使之呈现一定的规律性。
______istheauthorofABendintheRiver.
Shehadto________inthehotelroomfortheSpringFestivalholiday.
A、Therewascrystalinallglass.B、Leadcrystalmakesgoodglass.C、Crystalisashardasskyscraper.D、Inordinaryglass,the
最新回复
(
0
)