姿势的英文四级真题解析之阅读理解(2)

2021年1月19日发(作者：library是什么意思)
TEXT3


“There is on and only one social responsibility of business,” wrote Milton Friedman, a Nobel
prize-
winning economist, “That is, to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its
profits.” But even if you accept Friedman’s
premise and regard corporate social responsibility (CSR)
policies as a waste of shareholders’ money, things may not be absolutely clear
-cut. New research suggests
that CSR may create monetary value for companies-at least when they are prosecuted for corruption.


The largest firms in America and Britain together spend more than $$15 billion a year on CSR,
according to an estimate by EPG, a consulting firm. This could add value to their businesses in three ways.
First, consumers may take CSR spending as a “signal” that a company’s products are of high quality.
Second, customers may be willing to buy a company’s products as an indirect way to donate to the good
causes it helps. And third, through a more diffuse “halo effect,” whereby its good deeds earn it grea
ter
consideration from consumers and others.


Previous studies on CSR have had trouble differentiating these effects because consumers can be
affected by all three. Al recent study attempts to separate them by looking at bribery prosecutions under
America
’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It argues that since prosecutors do not consume a
company’s products as part of their investigations, they could be influenced only by the halo effect.


The study found that, among prosecuted firms, those with the most comprehensive CSR programmes
tended to get more lenient penalties,. Their analysis ruled out the possibility that it was firm’s political
influence, rather than their CSR stand, that accounted for the leniency: Companies that contributed more to
political campaigns did not receive lower fines.


In all, the study concludes that whereas prosecutors should only evaluate a case based on its merits,
they do seem to be influenced by a company’s record in CSR. “We estimate that either eliminating a
substantial labour-rights concern , such as child labour, or increasing corporate giving byabout20% results in
fines that generally are 40% lower than the typical punishment for bribing foreign officials”, says one
researcher.


Researchers admit that their study does not answer the question of how much businesses ought to spend
on CSR. Nor does it reveal how much companies are banking on the halo effect, rather than the other
possible benefits, when they decide their do-gooding policies. But at least they have demonstrated that when
companies get into trouble with the law, evidence of good character can win them less costly punishment.


author views Milton Friedman’s statement about CSR with



[A]tolerance.


[B]skepticism.


[C]uncertainty.


[D]approval.

ing to Paragraph 2,CSR helps a company by


[A]winning trust from consumers.


[B]guarding it against malpractices.


[C]protecting it from being defamed.


[D]raising the quality of its products.


33. The expression “more lenient ”(line 2,para.4)
is closest in meaning to


[A]more effective


[B]less controversial


[C]less severe


[D]more lasting


34. When prosecutors evaluate a case, a company’s CSR regard



[A]has an impact on their decision


[B]comes across as reliable evidence


[C]increases the chance of being penalized


[D]constitutes part of the investigation


of the following is true of CSR, according to the last paragraph?
[A] Its negative effects on businesses are often overlooked.


[B] The necessary amount of companies’
spending on it is unknown.


[C] Companies’ financial capacity for it has been overestimated.



[D] It has brought much benefit to the banking industry.


31.
答案

B Skepticism


解析：作者观点态度题。题干问的是作者对有关
CSR
方面
Milton Friedman
的说法是什么态度。
根据大写
Milton Friedman这个人定位到定位到首段首句。注意题干问的是作者的看法，因此定位到
后一句
but转折处。转折处的主题句式
“things may not absolutely clear
-
cut”
，作者持的是否定态度，选
择答案
B
。
C
选项是作者态度不明确，不能选择。



32.
答案

A winning trust from consumers


解析：
根据题干找到第二段
.
根据第二段内容
,CSR could add value to their business in three ways.
从
而定位下面三点。
First
后面出现了
high qualit y
，但是它是在从句中，从句修饰

而本句谓语动
词是
take
，与
D
中

raising
并不是同义词，故排除。
Second,
和
third
都与消费者购买心态有关，和
A
选项

winning trust from consumers
相对应。而
B
，
C
选项的
malpractices
和
defamed
在原文中并未出
现，且没有同义 词，故排除。



33.
答案

C less severe


解析：根据题干找到第四段对应处。可见题干的

more lenient
是作为修饰

penalties(
惩罚
)
的，
故推测本句在讨论

CSR
和

penalties
有什么联系。而本段与惩罚相关的词只有最后一个词

fines(
罚
金
)
，修饰它的形容词是
lower,
故可推测

more lenient
与降低惩罚有关，只有
C
选项满足。

34.
答案
A has an impact on their decision


解析：
题干中问的是

CSR record
与

prosecutors evaluate a case
的关系，
根据题干内容到对应点：
第五段第一句。本句说，
...they do seem to be influenced by a company's recore in CSR.
这里的

be
influenced
与
A
选项

has an impact
对应，故选
A.
而
B
选项中的

reliable evidence, C
选项中的

the
chance of being penalized
在原文中没有体现。
D
选项中的

investigation
与题干中的

When prosecutors
evaluate a case
明显对应不上，故不予考虑。



35.
答案
B The necessary amount of com
panies’ spending on it is unknown



解析：该题是一道判断题，题干问的是有关
CSR
哪个是对的。先根据CSR
回到最后一段，定位
到末段首句。
首句提到
“
研究人员承 认到其研究没有回答如下问题：
公司应该在
CSR
方面花费多少钱
”
。
选项
B
的意思是公司在其方面的花费是未知的，属于原文的同义替换。

Text4


There will eventually come a day when The New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint.
Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. “Sometime in the future”, the paper’s publisher said
back in 2010.


Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside, there’s plenty of in
centive to ditch print. The
infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper
—
printing presses, delivery trucks
—

isn’t just
expensive; it’s excessive at a time when online
-
only competitors don’t have the same set of financial
constraints. Readers are migrating away from print away. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online
and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.


Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a
mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO JoahPeretti.


Peretti says the Times shouldn’t waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about
doing it the right way.” Fighting out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense of them,” he said,
“but if

you discontinue it, you’re going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you.”



Sometimes that’s worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example seen as a blunder,” he said.
The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti would raise pricesand make it into more of a legacy
product.”

The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they’d feel like they were
helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. “So if you’re overpaying for pr
int, you could feel