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  3. Shoppers choose hybrid cars, "green" washing-up liquid and energy-saving devices over cheaper but dirtier alternatives partly to

Shoppers choose hybrid cars, "green" washing-up liquid and energy-saving devices over cheaper but dirtier alternatives partly to

admin2014-02-27  98
问题     Shoppers choose hybrid cars, "green" washing-up liquid and energy-saving devices over cheaper but dirtier alternatives partly to improve their social status, according to a new study published today.
    Bram Van den Bergh of Rotterdam School of Management, one of the study’s authors, said: "Driving a luxurious non-green car, like a Hummer, communicates one’s wealth, but also suggests that the buyer is a selfish and uncaring individual who is concerned primarily about his own comfort rather than the welfare of society. Driving a hybrid, like a Prius, not only displays one’s wealth as it costs many thousands of dollars more than a conventional but highly fuel-efficient car, but also signals the owner cares about others and the environment."
    Adam Corner, a research associate at Cardiff University and expert on the psychology of communicating climate change, said social status is a key driver of behaviour: "It’s not surprising that people might choose to try and signal their social status through the conspicuous consumption of ’green products’. Even if people don’t care about climate change, they care about what other people think of them." He added that one of the most important aspects of the research is that the power of social status could be harnessed to become a critical tool in promoting wider changes in pro-environmental behaviour, such as voting for the greenest party in an election or engaging in environmental activism.
    The study does come with one important warning — no one was actually dipping into their wallet. Michael Valvo, a spokesperson for Toyota UK, said that the company’s market research indicated the attraction of advanced technology and the cost of the ownership, not the environment or social status, were the main reasons drivers bought the Prius hybrid car. "Paying ￡20,000 for a car is a pretty expensive way to make a statement about being green, it’s the second biggest purchase after a house," he said.
    The research also failed to reflect the complexity of ethical consumer activity, said Rob Harrison, the editor of Ethical Consumer magazine. "Ethical buying behaviour is far more complicated. If you look at the Co-Operative Bank’s report on ethical spending, a third of that annual spend is on investment and banking, which you can’t do conspicuously unless you leave investment brochures lying around on your coffee table. Our readers say they buy green and ethical products because they want to be instrumental about a goal, such as helping a farm in Kenya by buying fair trade Kenyan coffee." He said only a minority of green shoppers buy green products for status reasons.
Judging from the context, "no one was ...dipping into their wallet"(Para.4)probably means that______.
选项 A、technology is the first consideration
B、social status is easily purchased
C、being green is too dear to afford
D、wallet is better covered in hard times
答案C
解析 从第四段的上下文来看，人们虽然认同环保，但是真正掏钱包搞环保的人并不多。A在下文出现了，但是没有解释问题句子的信息。B中的“社会地位”被提及，但是“被购买”没有来源。C中的too…to结构是考查点，表示“太……而不……”，对应原文的“不掏钱包”。D值得关注：直接使用了wallet的字面信息，在这种问题中很常见，一般首先排除。
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