| Q9 to Q12:
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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:
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