英語四級長篇閱讀專項訓練題原文

　　Green Growth

　　A. The enrichment of previously poor countries is the most inspiring development of our time. It is also worrying. The environment is already under strain. What willhappen when the global population rises from 7 billion today to 9.3 billion in 2050, as demographers(人口統計學家) expect, and a growing proportion of these people can'afford goods that were once reserved for the elite? Can the planet support so much economic activity?

　　B .Many policymakers adopt a top-down and Western-centfic approach to such planetary problems. They discuss ambitious regulations in global forums, or look to giant multinationals and well-heeled (富有的) NGOs to set an example. But since most people live in the emerging world, it makes sense to look at what successful companies there are doing to make growth more sustainable.

　　C. A new study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identifies 16 emerging-market firms that they say are turning eco-consciousness into a source of competitive advantage. These highly profitable companies (which the study calls "the new sustainability champions") are using greenery to reduce costs, motivate workers and forge relationships. Their home-grown ideas will probably be easier for their peers to copy than anything cooked up in the West.

　　D. The most outstanding quality of these companies is that they turn limitationsof resources, labor and infrastructure) into opportunities. Thus, India's Shree Cement, which has tong suffered from water shortages, developed the world's most water-efficient method for making cement, in part by using air-cooling rather than water-cooling. Manila Water, a utility in the Philippines, reduced the amount of water it was losing, through wastage and illegal tapping, from 63% in 1997 to 12% in 2010 by making water affordable for the poor.

　　Broad Group, a Chinese maker of air conditioners, taps the waste heat from buildings to power its machines. Zhangzidao Fishery Group, a Chinese aquaculture (水產養殖) company, recycles uneaten fish feed to fertilize crops.

　　E.Setting green goals is a common practice. Sekem, an Egyptian food producer, set itself the task of reclaiming ( 開墾) desert land through organic farming. Florida Ice & Farm, a Costa Rican food and drink company, has adopted strict standards for the amount of water it can consume in producing drinks.

　　F.These firms measure themselves by their greenery, too. Florida Ice & Farm, for example, links 60% of its boss's pay to the triple bottom line of "people, planet and profit". The sustainability champions also encourage their workers to come up with green ideas. Natura, a Brazilian cosmetics company, gives bonuses to staff who find ways to reduce the firm's impact on the environment. Masisa, a Chilean forestry company, invites employees to "imagine unimaginable businesses" aimed at poorer consumers. Woolworths, a South African retailer, claims that many of its best green ideas have come from staff, not bosses.

　　G.In emerging markets it is hard for companies to stick to one specialism, because they have to worry about so many wider problems, from humble infrastructure to unreliable supply chains. So the sustainability champions seek to shape the business environment in which they operate. They lobby (游說) regulators: Grupo Balbo, a Brazilian organic-sugar producer, is working with the Brazilian government to establish a certification system for organic products. They form partnerships with governments and NGOs. Kenya's Equity Bank has formed an alliance with groups such as The International Fund for Agricultural Development to reduce its risks when lending to smallholders. Natura has worked with its suppliers to produce sustainable packaging, including a new "green" plastic derived from sugar cane.

　　H. The firms also work hard to reach and educate poor consumers, often sacrificing short-term profits to create future markets. Masisa organizes local carpenters into networks and connects them to low-income furniture buyers. Broad Group has developed a miniature device for measuring air pollution that can fit into mobile phones. Jain Irrigation, an Indian maker of irrigation systems, uses dance and song to explain the benefits of drip irrigation to farmers who can't read. Suntech, a Chinese solar-power company, has established a low- carbon museum to celebrate ways of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions.

　　Rich became green, or green became rich?

　　I.One could quibble (爭辯)with BCG's analysis. Phil Rosenzweig of Switzerland's IMD business school has argued that management writers are prone to "the halo effect": they treat the temporary success of a company as proof that it has discovered some eternal principle of good management. The fact that some successful companies have embraced greenery does not prove that greenery makes a firm successful. Some firms, having prospered, find they can afford to splurge ( 揮霍) on greenery. Some successful firrns pursue greenery for public-relations purposes. And for every sustainable emerging champion, there are surely 100 firms that have prospered by belching ( 噴出 ) fumes into the air or pumping toxins into rivers.

　　J.Nonetheless, the central message of the WEF-BCG study--that some of the best emerging-world companies are combining profits with greenery--is thought-provoking. Many critics of environmentalism argue that it is a rich-world luxury: that the poor need adequate food before they need super-clean air. Some even see greenery as a rich-world conspiracy ( 陰謀): the West grew rich by industrializing (and polluting ), but now wants to stop the rest of the world from following suit. The WEF-BCG report demonstrates that such fears are overblown. Emerging-world companies can be just as green as their Western rivals. Many have found that, when natural resources are scarce and consumers are cash-strapped ( 資金短缺的 ), greenery can be a lucrative(利潤豐厚的) business strategy.

　　英語四級長篇閱讀專項訓練題選項

　　46. An air-conditioner manufacturer uses the waste heat from buildings to supply its machines with power.

　　47. Many critics of environmentalism hold the view that greenery is a rich-world luxury because that's not what the poor people badly want.

　　48. Workers of the sustainability champions are motivated to bring forward green ideas.

　　49. It is meaningful to study what successful companies in the emerging world are doing to achieve more sustainable growth, since most people live there.

　　50. It's difficult for companies in emerging markets to keep focusing on one specific problem because they have many wider problems to worry about.

　　51. Although some successful firms have embraced greenery, it doesn't mean that greenery will lead to the success of a firm.

　　52. It will probably be easier for companies to follow the home-grown ideas than those invented in the West.

　　53. It has been found that greenery can be profitable when natural resources are scarce and consumers are short of cash.

　　54. Sekem, which produces food in Egypt, set a goal to reclaim desert land through organic farming.

　　55. To create future markets, the firms also make effort to reach and educate poor consumers, often at the cost of short-term profits.

　　英語四級長篇閱讀專項訓練題答案

　　46.D

　　解析：題干意為，一家空調制造商利用建筑物中的廢熱來為機器提供動力。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息air-conditionermanufacturer和wasteheatfrombuildings。文中D段倒數第二句提到，中國的空調制造商遠大集團利用建筑物中的廢熱來為機器提供動力。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為D。

　　47.J

　　解析：題干意為，批判環保主義的人認為，環保是發達國家才能有的奢侈品，因為那不是窮人最急需的。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息critics of environmentalism和a rich.world luxury。文中J段第二句提到，許多批判環保主義的人認為，環保是發達國家才能有的奢侈品：窮人首先要解決溫飽問題，然后才能談及對超潔凈空氣的需求。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為J。

　　48.F

　　解析：題干意為，可持續發展先進企業的員工被鼓勵提出環保的想法。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息workers和motivatedtobringforwardgreenideas。文中F段第三句提到，這些“可持續發展先進企業”還鼓勵員工提出環保創意。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為F。

　　49.B

　　解析：題干意為，研究新興世界的成功企業為促進可持續發展做了些什么是很有意義的，因為大多數人生活在那里。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息successful companies in the emerging world和sustainablegrowth。文中B段末句提到，鑒于大多數人都生活在新興世界，因此研究一下這些國家的成功企業為促進可持續發展做了些什么是很有意義的。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為B。

　　S0.G

　　解析：題干意為，新興市場中的企業有許多更廣泛的問題需要考慮，所以它們很難持續專注于某一個特定的問題。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息difficult、companiesin emergingmarkets和widerproblems。文中G段首句提到，在新興市場中，企業很難專注于某一特定領域，因為它們還得考慮從糟糕的基礎設施到不穩定的供應鏈等很多更廣泛的問題。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為G。

　　51.I

　　解析：題干意為，盡管一些成功的企業支持環保事業，但這并不意味著環保事業能夠引領企業取得成功。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息embracedgreenery和the SUCCESS ofafirm。文中I段第三句提到，一些成功的企業支持環保事業的事實并不能證明是環保事業使這些企業取得成功。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述。故答案為I。

　　52.C

　　解析：題干意為，本土思維可能比西方國家憑空想象的做法更容易被各企業所效仿。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息beeasier、home—grownideas和West。文中C段末句提到，比起西方國家臆想出來的對策，起源于本土的理念可能更容易為其他企業所效仿。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為C。

　　53.J

　　解析：題干意為，有人發現，當自然資源匱乏而消費者又資金短缺時，環保事業將會十分有利可圖。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息greenery、profitable和natural resources are scarce。文中J段末句提到，很多人發現，當自然資源匱乏而消費者又資金短缺時，環保事業不失為一項利潤豐厚的企業發展戰略。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為J。

　　54.E

　　解析：題干意為，埃及的一家食品生產商Sekem設定了通過有機.農業改造沙漠化土地的目標。注意抓住題干中的關鍵信息Sekem、reclaimdesertland和organicfarming。文中E段第二句提到，埃及的一家食品生產商Sekem以通過有機種植來改造沙漠化的土地為己任。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述。故答案為E。

　　55.H

　　解析：題千意為，為了開拓未來市場，這些企業常常會努力接觸并培養低收入消費者，而這常常以犧牲一些短期利益為代價。注意抓住題千中的關鍵信息futuremarkets、educatepoor consumers和short-termprofits。文中H段第一句提到，這些企業還努力接觸、培養低收入消費者，時常為了開拓未來市場而犧牲短期利益。由此可知，題干是對原文的同義轉述，故答案為H。