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
93
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.
In America, it is common for hotels to appeal to customers to recycle towels.
选项
答案
A
解析
信息明示题。题干:在美国,酒店呼吁顾客循环使用毛巾是一种普遍做法。题干关键词是hotels和appeal to customers to recycle towels,A段讲了作者在酒店的浴室看到一张卡片,希望顾客可以循环使用毛巾,并且很多酒店都是这样做的,与题干吻合,故选A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/EYv7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
TheArtofPublicSpeakingIfyouweretotape-recordoneofDavidLetterman’scomedyroutines,memorizeitwordforword,a
A、Setanalarmclocksothatshecangetupearlyinthemorning.B、Readmoreaboutjoggingbeforeshemakesanychanges.C、Got
A、Aninterpreterworksonbothspokenandwrittenlanguages.B、Aninterpreterservesasamediumbetweenpeoplespeakingdiffere
______(假设我所做的对比是有根据的),theproblemswillbecomemoreserious.
Accordingtothereport,about60%oftrafficjamsinthiscity______(是由行车不慎造成的).
Ifyouweretoldthataparticularlydelicious-lookingice-creamcone(圆筒)containeddangerouschemicals,thentoldsoonaftertha
Itturnsoutthatagoodnight’srestisgoodforbusiness.One-thirdofAmericanworkersaren’tsleepingenoughtofunction
中医(Chinesemedicine)是世界医学的遗产。中医有比西方医学更好的治病方法。因为中医的效果和医治方式,在世界上中医现在越来越流行了。中医起源于古代,已经发展了很长一段时间,它收集了治疗不同疾病的各种方法。传统中医讲究人们身体系统的平衡。这是说
A、Reviewthedetailsofallherlessons.B、Comparenoteswithhisclassmates.C、Talkwithherabouthislearningproblems.D、Foc
Isitabird?Isitaplane?Isitsuperman?Investorscan’tseemtofigureoutwhethertherecentleapsinstockpricesreprese
随机试题
A、桔梗B、党参C、木香D、川木香E、白术含菊糖及草酸钙针晶的是()
A.端坐位B.半坐卧位C.仰卧中凹位D.右侧头低脚高位E.左侧头低脚高位抢救大出血病人给予输血时,应取()。
关于竣工初步验收,以下说法正确的是()。
2012年4月1日,甲公司签订一项承担某工程建造任务的合同。该合同为固定造价合同,合同金额为1600万元。工程自2012年5月开工,预计2014年3月完工。甲公司至2013年12月31日止累计实际发生成本1360万元,结算合同价款600万元。甲公司签订合同
甲公司为增值税一般纳税人,主要生产电动工具,2013年6月,甲公司发生如下事项:(1)6月3日,购入一批钢材,取得的增值税专用发票注明的价款为80万元,增值税额13.6万元。(2)6月11日,处理一批下脚料,取得含税销售收入3.51万元。(3)6月2
在20世纪上半叶的革命实践中,中国共产党人走出了一条属于自己的独特道路,这条道路是()。
通过摆事实讲道理,这样的德育教育方法是______。
对支气管平滑肌β2受体有较强选择性的平喘药是()。
一、注意事项1.本次申论考试是对应考者阅读理解能力、综合分析能力、提出和解决问题能力、写作能力和文字表达能力的综合测试。2.请使用简体汉字作答。二、给定资料1.2008年3月,南京市儿童医院发现10例婴幼儿泌尿结石病例,到6月共收治2
由于折旧等因素,某机器的转售价格P(t)是时间t(周)的减函数,,其中,A为机器的最初价格,在任何时间t开动机器,就能产生的利润。问机器使用多长时间后转售出去,才能使总利润最大?
最新回复
(
0
)