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Ecoefficiency (measures

to minimize environmental

impact through the reduction

Line or elimination of waste from

(5) production processes) has

become a goal for companies

worldwide, with many realizing

significant cost savings from

such innovations. Peter Senge

(10) and Goran Carstedt see this

development as laudable but

suggest that simply adopting

ecoefficiency innovations could

actually worsen environmental

(15) stresses in the future. Such

innovations reduce production

waste but do not alter the number

of products manufactured

nor the waste generated from

(20) their use and discard; indeed,

most companies invest in ecoefficiency

improvements in

order to increase profits and

growth. Moreover, there is

(25) no guarantee that increased

economic growth from ecoefficiency

will come in similarly

ecoefficient ways, since in

today’s global markets,

(30) greater profits may be turned

into investment capital that

could easily be reinvested

in old-style eco-inefficient

industries. Even a vastly

(35) more ecoefficient industrial

system could, were it to grow

much larger, generate more

total waste and destroy more

habitat and species than would

(40) a smaller, less ecoefficient

economy. Senge and Carstedt

argue that to preserve the

global environment and sustain

economic growth, businesses

(45) must develop a new systemic

approach that reduces total

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material use and total accumulated

waste. Focusing

exclusively on ecoefficiency,

(50) which offers a compelling

business case according

to established thinking, may

distract companies from

pursuing radically different

(55) products and business

models.

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Q9:我选C

The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. explain why a particular business strategy has been less successful than was once

anticipated

B. propose an alternative to a particular business strategy that has inadvertently

caused ecological damage

C. present a concern about the possible consequences of pursuing a particular

business strategy

D. make a case for applying a particular business strategy on a larger scale than is

currently practiced

E. suggest several possible outcomes of companies’ failure to understand the

economic impact of a particular business strategy

Answer:

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Q10:我选A

According to the passage, an exclusive pursuit of ecoefficiency may cause companies to

A. neglect the development of alternative business models and products

B. keep the number of products that they manufacture unchanged

C. invest capital from increased profits primarily in inefficient and outmoded

industries that may prove unprofitable

D. overemphasize the production process as the key to increasing profits and growth

E. focus more on reducing costs than on reducing the environmental impact of

production processes

Answer:

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Q11:我选D

The passage mentions which of the following as a possible consequence of companies’

realization of greater profits through ecoefficiency?

A. The companies may be able to sell a greater number of products by lowering

prices.

B. The companies may be better able to attract investment capital in the global

market.

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C. The profits may be reinvested to increase economic growth through ecoefficiency.

D. The profits may be used as investment capital for industries that are not

ecoefficient.

E. The profits may encourage companies to make further innovations in reducing

production waste.

Answer:

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Q12:我选B

NOTE: You must scroll to read the answer choices for this question.

The passage implies that which of the following is a possible consequence of a

company’s adoption of innovations that increase its ecoefficiency?

A. Company profits resulting from such innovations may be reinvested in that

company with no guarantee that the company will continue to make further

improvements in ecoefficiency.

B. Company growth fostered by cost savings from such innovations may allow that

company to manufacture a greater number of products that will be used and

discarded, thus worsening environmental stress.

C. A company that fails to realize significant cost savings from such innovations

may have little incentive to continue to minimize the environmental impact of its

production processes.

D. A company that comes to depend on such innovations to increase its profits and

growth may be vulnerable in the global market to competition from old-style ecoinefficient

industries.

E. A company that meets its ecoefficiency goals is unlikely to invest its increased

profits in the development of new and innovative ecoefficiency measures.

Answer: