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 Isn’t Easy Being Green Green stories of hotels A)Over the summer, I stayed at four hotels in the United States. They wer
It Isn’t Easy Being Green Green stories of hotels A)Over the summer, I stayed at four hotels in the United States. They wer
admin
2014-11-27
24
问题
It Isn’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 meet 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(耗油的)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, firms are 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 fist. 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, firms are 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 ranks. 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.
Some companies actually change the way they do things to reduce waste, while others are just green fakeries.
选项
答案
F
解析
综合推断题。题干:一些公司采取实际行动来减少浪费,而另一些公司只是假装环保。根据题干关键词reduce waste和green fakeries可定位到F段,F段第一句概括整段意思,指出除酒店外,也有公司假装环保。接下来第二句说一些公司在真正搞环保,倒数第一句说了一些只是做做样子的公司,与题干吻合,故选F。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/bp9FFFFM
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Swimmingandjogging.B、Joggingandweight-lifting.C、Weight-liftingandswimming.D、Joggingonly.C事实细节题。男士说他每天早上花半个小时举重,并且每隔
HappinessandSadnessHappinessandsadnessaretwomostbasicandfamiliarfeelingsforhumanbeings.Recently,peoplehave
HappinessandSadnessHappinessandsadnessaretwomostbasicandfamiliarfeelingsforhumanbeings.Recently,peoplehave
HappinessandSadnessHappinessandsadnessaretwomostbasicandfamiliarfeelingsforhumanbeings.Recently,peoplehave
FreeSchoolMealsMillionsofAmericanschoolchildrenarereceivingfreeorlow-costmealsforthefirsttimeastheirparen
A、Stophiscarforadrink.B、Havearestatonce.C、Drivedirectlytothehotel.D、Haveadrinkinthehotel.C行动计划题。女士建议停车喝点东西
A、Hedoesn’tthinkit’sagoodidea.B、Hethinksashowerwouldbebetter.C、Hebelievesthatlightningstrikescleansurface.D
中国武术(ChineseKungFu)已有数千年的历史,包含有众多搏击方式,是中国传统文化的重要组成部分。其诞生是出于古时对自我防卫、狩猎技巧及军事训练的需要。历史上,中国武术的影响可在书本及亚洲独有的表演艺术中见到。近来,其影响还扩展到目标受众宽广得
Aleadingbiologisthascomparedthephysiology(生理学)offlightedspecieswiththerepresentationsofspiritualandmythicalcreat
Isitabird?Isitaplane?Isitsuperman?Investorscan’tseemtofigureoutwhethertherecentleapsinstockpricesreprese
随机试题
行政法规可以在法律设定的行政许可事项范围内,对实施该行政许可作出具体规定()
哪项不是孤独症的治疗原则
35岁初产妇,现孕33周,血压130/80mmHg,发现尿蛋白微量,50g葡萄糖筛查9.8mmol/L。新生儿出生后,护理应注意的首要问题是
患者男性,35岁,急性胆囊炎,该患者的体位是
钢筋工程中,预制构件的吊环必须采用()制作。
重点向国家基础设施、基础产业和支柱产业项目以及重大技术改造和高新技术产业化项目发放贷款的银行是()
材料2:在一次阶段测验中,某班级的3个学习小组测验成绩记录如下(其中一个数字缺失,用△表示):A组:83、82、90、98、67(小组平均84分)B组:82、83、85、82(小组平均83分)C组:99、△、85、90、95(小组
保险的最大诚信原则,是指保险双方当事人在签订和履行保险合同的整个过程中,必须诚实守信,以最大的诚意恪守信用,如实告知重要情况,不欺骗不隐瞒,并保证正确履行各自的权利和义务。下列选项中,投保人没有履行最大诚信原则的是( )。
How’sthisforacoincidence?CharlesDarwinandAbrahamLincolnwereborninthesameyear,onthesameday:Feb.12,1809.Alt
Whatdoesthepassagemainlydiscuss?Theword"settled"inline15isclosestinmeaningto
最新回复
(
0
)