大学四级-395及答案解析.doc
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1、大学四级-395 及答案解析(总分:693.00,做题时间:90 分钟)一、BPart Writing(总题数:1,分数:106.00)1.Current situations in the universities on compulsory courses and optional courses. 2. Reasons of having more optional courses. 3. Your answer to the question.(分数:106.00)_二、BPart Reading (总题数:1,分数:70.00)B Can Business Be Cool?Why a
2、 growing number of firms are taking global warming seriously. Companies supporting environment protection/BRupert Murdoch is no green activist. But in Pebble Beach later this summer, the annual gathering of executives of Mr Murdochs News Corporation-which last year led to a dramatic shift in the med
3、ia conglomerates attitude to the Internet-will be addressed by several leading environmentalists, including a vice-president turned climate-change movie star. Last month BSkyB, a British satellitetelevision company chaired by Mr. Murdoch and run by his son, James, declared itself “carbon-neutral“, h
4、aving taken various steps to cut or offset its discharges of carbon into the atmosphere.The army of corporate greens is growing fast. Late last year HSBC became the first big bank to announce that it was carbon-neutral, joining other financial institutions, including Swiss Re, a reinsurer, and Goldm
5、an Sachs, an investment bank, in waging war on climate-warming gases (of which carbon dioxide is the main culprit). Last year General Electric (GE), an industrial powerhouse, launched its “Ecomagination“ strategy, aiming to cut its output of greenhouse gases and to invest heavily in clean (i.e., car
6、bon-free) technologies. In October Wal-Mart announced a series of environmental schemes, including doubling the fuel-efficiency of its fleet of vehicles within a decade. Tesco and Sainsbury, two Of Britains biggest retailers, are competing fiercely to be the greenest. And on June 7th some leading Br
7、itish bosses lobbied Tony Blair for a more ambitious policy on climate change, even if that involves harsher regulation.BThe other side/BThe greening of business is by no means universal, however. Money from Exxon Mobil, Ford and General Motors helped pay for television advertisements aired recently
8、 in America by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, with the daft slogan “Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life“. Besides, environmentalist critics say, some firms are engaged in superficial “greenwash to boost the image of essentially climate-hurting businesses. Take BP, the most
9、 prominent corporate advocate of action on climate change, with its “Beyond Petroleum“ ad campaign, high-profile investments in green energy, and even a “carbon calculator“ on its websites helps consumers measure their personal “carbon footprint“, or overall emissions of carbon. Yet, critics complai
10、n, BPs recent record profits are largely thanks to sales of huge amounts of carbon-packed oil and gas.On the other hand, some free-market thinkers see the support of firms for regulation of carbon as the latest attempt at “regulatory capture“, by those who stand to profit from new rules. Max Schulz
11、of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, notes darkly that “Enron was into pushing the idea of climate change, because it was good for its business“.Others argue that climate change has no more place in corporate boardrooms than do discussions of other partisan political issues, such a
12、s Darfur or gay marriage. That criticism, at least, is surely wrong. Most of the corporate converts say they are acting not out of some vague sense of social responsibility, or even personal angst, but because climate change creates real business risks and opportunitiesfrom regulatory compliance to
13、insuring clients on flood plains. And although these concerns vary hugely from one company to the next, few firms can be sure of remaining unaffected. BThe climate of opinion/BThe most obvious risk is of rising energy costs. Indeed, the recent high price of oil and natural gas, allied to fears over
14、the security of energy supplies from the Middle East and Russianeither of which have anything to de with climate changemay be the main reason why many firms have recently become interested in alternative energy sources. But at the same time, a growing number of bosseswhatever their personal views ab
15、out the scientific evidence of climate changenow think that the public has become convinced that global warming is for real. Hurricane Katrina was particularly important in changing opinion in America. Many businessmen have concluded that this new public mood will result, sooner or later, in governm
16、ent action to control carbon emissionsmost likely, using some sort of carbon tax or Kyoto-like system of tradable caps on firms carbon emissions.A carbon-trading system is already in place in the European Union. But even in America, some influential businesses are exerting pressure on the government
17、 to control carbon emissions. One motive is to help firms facing decisions that will depend for their long-term profitability on what carbon regime, if any, is in place. “Some asset-intensive industries are making investments now that have a 30-to-50-year horizon,“ says Travis Engen, who recently st
18、epped down as boss of Alcan, a big aluminium firm. “As CEO, I wanted to make damn sure my investments were good for the future, not just today“which, for him, meant evaluating investments assuming that his firm would soon have to pay to emit carbon.Indeed, some expect President Bush to start thinkin
19、g more about climate change after Novembers mid-term elections, especially now that he has appointed a keen environmentalist as treasury secretary Hank Paulson, who as boss of Goldman Sachs was the force behind the investment banks greener stance. “American businesses are starting to realise that so
20、mething is going to happen on carbon,“ says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy, one of the countrys biggest power producers, who reckons legislation is quite likely to pass in Congress by 2009.BCompanies move/BAs firms try to do something about climate change, the typical first step is to im
21、prove their energy efficiency, by both reducing consumption and also shifting the mix of sources from hydrocarbons towards cleaner alternatives. Given high oil prices, those that have already done so have found energy efficiency to be surprisingly good for profits.“Carbon Down, Profits Up“, a report
22、 by the Climate Group, an organisation founded in 2004 by various firms and governments, listed 74 companies from 18 industries in 11 countries that are committed to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. So far, this has brought them combined savings of $11.6 billion, claims the report. Four firms- Baye
23、r, British Telecom, DuPont and Norske Canadaaccount for $4 billion of this between them.Many companies, including BP, also see the chance to make money from providing things that help reduce global warmingfrom clean coal-fired power-stations, to wind farms, to mortgages with better rates for homes t
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