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
39
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.
Industry groups tend to emphasize the money hotels can save along with the benefits to the environment.
选项
答案
D
解析
信息明示题。题干:行业组织往往在强调对环境有益的同时,也强调酒店能从中节省的开支。首先找到题干关键词Industry groups和money hotels can save,根据关键词定位到D段第一句。行业组织在建议酒店更加环保的时候,总是强调在对地球有益的同时,他们可以节省的费用,与题干吻合,故选D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/BYv7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Humansaresocialanimals,andmostofustreasureourrelationshipswithfamilyandfriends.An【B1】_____lineofresearchsugges
HappinessandSadnessHappinessandsadnessaretwomostbasicandfamiliarfeelingsforhumanbeings.Recently,peoplehave
Tourismreallyisabigbusinessthesedays.It’s【B1】______.Itinvolveshotels,transportation,【B2】______,shops,andthousands
FreeSchoolMealsMillionsofAmericanschoolchildrenarereceivingfreeorlow-costmealsforthefirsttimeastheirparen
Noonelikestomakemistakes.Butanewstudysaysorganizationslearnmorefromtheirfailuresthantheirsuccesses,andkeep
______(直到实现大学梦)didherealizethathehadexperiencedtoomanydifficulties.
Itturnsoutthatagoodnight’srestisgoodforbusiness.One-thirdofAmericanworkersaren’tsleepingenoughtofunction
Drinkfromplasticbottlescanraisethebody’slevelsofacontroversial"gender-bending"chemicalbymorethantwothirds,acc
A、Theyhavealreadymadegreatprogress.B、Thereisstillalotofworkneededtobedone.C、Theyhavealreadydoneenoughfort
Ifyouweretoldthataparticularlydelicious-lookingice-creamcone(圆筒)containeddangerouschemicals,thentoldsoonaftertha
随机试题
简述第一次世界大战对中国的影响。(2007年统考真题)
患者,男性,60岁,无痛性血尿1周,膀胱镜检查发现距左输尿管口外侧0.5cm处有一2cm×3cm的菜花样肿瘤,呈暗红色,蒂部看不清,肿瘤周围黏膜有水肿。活检为:移行上皮细胞癌Ⅱ级。宜选用哪种治疗方法
A.JPB.USPC.BPD.Ch.PE.Ph.Eur以下外国药典的缩写是美国药典
A、上市后药品的再审查B、上市后药品的再评价C、非预期药物作用D、药物警戒E、药物临床评价根据医药学最新学术水平对老药进行的再评价为()。
资产风险管理模式强调商业银行最经常性的风险来自()。
教育评价的功能包括()。
在服务改进项目的检查中,当服务改进项目实施完成后,()核对服务改进活动的目标达成情况,会同相关人员对实施效果进行验证,并记录验证或验收评价结果。
仕事がたくさんあった。()忙しかった。
SusanBaronessGreenfieldisaBritishinstitution.Inacountrythatperceivesitsscientistsaswhite-coatedeccentrics,andp
TrafficisaperennialprobleminHongkong.Overtheyearsmanysuggestionshavebeen【1】toeasetransportdifficulties.Thesein
最新回复
(
0
)