Reading

In an effort to encourage ecologically sustainable forestry practices, an international organization started issuing certifications to wood companies that meet high ecological standards by conserving resources and recycling materials. Companies that receive this certification can attract customers by advertising their products as eco‐certified. Around the world, many wood companies have adopted new, ecologically friendly practices in order to receive eco‐certification. However, it is unlikely that wood companies in the United States will do the same, for several reasons.

First, American consumers are exposed to so much advertising that they would not value or even pay attention to the eco‐certification label. Because so many mediocre products are labeled 'new" or improved,'' American consumers do not place much trust in advertising claims in general.

Second, eco‐certified wood will be more expensive than uncertified wood because in order to earn eco‐certification, a wood company must pay to have its business examined by a certification agency. This additional cost gets passed on to consumers‐American consumers tend to be strongly motivated by price, and therefore they are likely to choose cheaper uncertified wood products. Accordingly, American wood companies will prefer to keep their prices low rather than obtain eco‐certification.

Third, although some people claim that it always makes good business sense for American companies to keep up with the developments in the rest of the world, this argument is not convincing. Pursuing certification would make sense for American wood companies only if they marketed most of their products abroad. But that is not the case—American wood businesses sell most of their products in the United States, catering to a very large customer base that is satisfied with the merchandise.

Listening

Well, despite what many people say, there is a good reason to think that many American wood companies will eventually seek eco‐certification for the wood products.

First off, companies in the United States don't treat all advertising the same. They distinguish between advertising claims that companies make about their own products and claims made by independent certification agencies. Americans have a lot of confidence in independent agencies. Thus ecologicalminded Americans are likely to react very favorably to wood products ecologically certified by independent organization with an international reputation for trustworthiness.

Second point, of course it is true that American consumers care a lot about price ,who doesn't? But studies of how consumers make decisions show that price alone determines consumers' decisions only when the price of one competing products is much higher or lower than the other. When the difference between two products is small, say, less than 5 percent, as is the case with certified wood, American often do choose on factories other than price. And Americans are becoming increasingly convinced of the value of preserving and protecting the environment.

And third, US Wood companies should definitely pay attention what is going on in the wood business internationally. Not because of foreign consumers but because of foreign competitors. As I just told you, there is a good chance that many American consumers will be interested in eco‐certified products, and guess why? If American companies are slow capturing those consumers, you can be sure that foreign companies will soon start crowding into the American markets ,offering eco‐certified wood that domestic companies don't.

閱讀聽(tīng)力要點(diǎn)概括

Reading Passage

Main points: US companies may not adopt the eco‐certification.

Sub point 1: US consumers would not value or pay attention to the label.

Sub point 2: Certified wood will be more expensive and US consumers are strongly motivated by price.

Sub point 3: American wood companies sell products in the US.

Lecture

Attitude: US wood companies will eventually seek eco‐certification.

Sub Point 1: Lot of confidence in independent agencies. (React favorably to certified product.)

Sub Point 2: American value preserving and protecting the environment.

Sub Point 3: Wood companies should pay attention internationally. (Foreign competitors, consumers need brands.)

范文逐段賞析

Paragraph 1

The lecture and the reading passage present contradictory opinions on the topic of eco‐certification, a form of accreditation conferred by on international agency in recognition of a company’s ecofriendly practices. The reading passage explains that it is not necessary for American lumber companies to pursue eco‐certification, while the lecture provides several counterarguments for why the opposite is the case.

此段功能：

(Listening passage 后文提到用L 代替)

(Reading passage 后文用R 代替)

開(kāi)頭段說(shuō)道L 和R 關(guān)于一個(gè)環(huán)保牌照持相反意見(jiàn)，隨后解釋了環(huán)保牌照是一家國(guó)際環(huán)保機(jī)構(gòu)頒發(fā)的。R 認(rèn)為美國(guó)木材公司不需要此牌照，但是L 認(rèn)為相反。

此段結(jié)構(gòu)：

開(kāi)頭段作者先展示了L 和R 的對(duì)立關(guān)系，解釋了對(duì)立的原因和分別復(fù)述了L,R 各自的立場(chǎng)。

Paragraph 2

First, the lecturer argues that the reading passage is too general in its statement that American consumers reject advertising completely. He asserts that Americans do not trust advertising claims for a product when these claims are made by the company that sells the product. When a claim is made by an independent third party, such as a wood certification company, he posits, consumers respond very positively with a stronger acceptance of the certified product.

此段功能：

在第一點(diǎn)的論證上，作者說(shuō)R 認(rèn)為美國(guó)顧客排斥廣告太泛泛了。L 解釋美國(guó)人不相信那些自己公司做廣告賣(mài)自己產(chǎn)品的，但是當(dāng)證明是第三方機(jī)構(gòu)，例如一個(gè)木材驗(yàn)證公司，顧客還是反應(yīng)十分積極的。

此段結(jié)構(gòu)：

此段為分總結(jié)構(gòu)，作者先陳述了R 的想法，然后用一系列的L 的證明來(lái)說(shuō)明R 的想法太空洞。

Paragraph 3

The lecturer also refutes the second point in the reading: that price‐sensitive American consumers are likely to choose inexpensive wood products regardless of certification. The professor contends that certified wood is only slightly (less than 5%) more expensive than uncertified wood, and therefore, he argues, consumers will tend to ignore the price difference and choose the eco‐friendly product.

此段功能：

作者先寫(xiě)L 繼續(xù)反駁R 的第二點(diǎn)：價(jià)格敏感的美國(guó)人只會(huì)選便宜的木頭而忽視牌照。L 說(shuō)，環(huán)保牌照木頭和普通木頭差價(jià)在5%內(nèi)，顧客不會(huì)注意這種價(jià)格差所以會(huì)選環(huán)保產(chǎn)品。

此段結(jié)構(gòu)：

為了寫(xiě)出L 反駁R，作者還是先列舉了R 的論點(diǎn)，用接下來(lái)一系列L 的新證據(jù)，推翻了R。

Paragraph 4

Finally, receiving eco‐certification is, according to the professor, an effective strategy used by American wood companies to ensure that their products can compete against ecocertified wood products imported into the domestic market from foreign countries. According to the reading, however, this strategy is unnecessary because American consumers are likely to prefer domestically manufactured products, even if they are not ecocertified.

此段功能：

在第三論段里，L 和R 繼續(xù)爭(zhēng)論牌照的重要性。作者先說(shuō)L 覺(jué)得需要牌照，這樣才能保證美國(guó)木材企業(yè)能在本土市場(chǎng)和國(guó)際產(chǎn)品競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。R 認(rèn)為不必要，因?yàn)槊绹?guó)顧客就是喜歡國(guó)內(nèi)自產(chǎn)的，無(wú)論有沒(méi)有牌照。

此段結(jié)構(gòu)：

此段為分分結(jié)構(gòu)，作者表達(dá)了LR 在市場(chǎng)問(wèn)題理解上的對(duì)立情緒后，陳列了雙方證據(jù)。

范文全篇總評(píng)

1、 邏輯結(jié)構(gòu)

全文遵從總分結(jié)構(gòu)，開(kāi)頭段說(shuō)明雙方關(guān)于牌照需要問(wèn)題成對(duì)立狀態(tài)，在接下來(lái)的三個(gè)論段中，依次陳列雙方意見(jiàn)，L 中做出了推翻性結(jié)論的，就如實(shí)陳述。在第三點(diǎn)上，L 并不能說(shuō)嚴(yán)格的推翻了R 的觀點(diǎn)，所以作者也就只陳列雙方意見(jiàn)，沒(méi)有自己增加主觀臆斷。

2、語(yǔ)言表達(dá)

文章語(yǔ)言表達(dá)樸實(shí)，經(jīng)常用小段的插入句補(bǔ)充論點(diǎn)，或者補(bǔ)充解釋，這樣使文章面面俱到又不累贅�？梢越梃b的詞句有:

1. Lumber: 木材 /timber/

2. Posit: 假設(shè)，安置 /Postulate/ Religion posits the existence life after death.

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