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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  57
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.
According to one study, car buyers now______.
选项 A、regard price as nothing much
B、are more environment-conscious
C、show off with expensive luxuries
D、are more concerned with publicity
答案B
解析 题目的提示信息是one study和car buyers，指向文章第一段。选项A的“价格”被提及，但是原文并没有否定它，只是说价格因素不是主要的考量。选项B中的“环保意识”实际上就是解释原文的“绿色环保”(green)。选项C的“炫耀”没有在文中提及。D中的“曝光度”也不在句子的信息涵盖范围内。
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