2 . Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers, desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.

Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.

This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.

Harry Morrison, chief executive (主管) of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes: “I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking — we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”

Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions (排放). Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.

The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. “When companies are granted (授予) the standard, they can use a logo (标识) in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions,” Mr. Morrison said.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers.

B．Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions.

C．Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home.

D．Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers, environmental awareness.

2. The underlined word “inform” in Paragraph 2 probably means “      ”.

A．affect	B．change
C．disturb	D．reject

3. According to Harry Morrison, businesses       .

A．will benefit from cutting carbon emissions

B．should buy carbon allowances for shoppers

C．are required to make up for their carbon emissions

D．have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere

4. We can learn from the passage that businesses will       .

A．have a strong desire to reduce costs

B．use the same logo in their marketing

C．gain advantages by taking early action

D．attract more shoppers by storing goods

3 . Melissa Poe was 9 years old when she began a campaign for a cleaner environment by writing a letter to the then President Bush. Through her own efforts, her letter was reproduced on over 250 donated billboards across the country.

The response to her request for help was so huge that Poe established Kids For A Cleaner Environment (Kids F.A.C.E.) in 1989. There are now 300,000 members of Kids FACE worldwide and is the world's largest youth environmental organization.

Poe has also asked the National Park Service to carry out a "Children's Forest" project in every national park. In 1992, she was invited as one of only six children in the world to speak at the Earth Summit in Brazil as part of the Voices of the Future Program. In 1993, she was given a Caring Award for her efforts by the Caring Institute.

Since the organization started, Kids F.A.C.E. members have distributed and planted over 1 million trees! Ongoing tree-planting projects include Kid's Yards – the creation of backyard wildlife habitats (栖息地) and now Kids F.A.C.E. is involved in the exciting Earth Odyssey, which is a great way to start helping.

"Starting the club turned out to be a way to help people get involved with the environment. Club members started doing things like recycling, picking up litter and planting trees as well as inviting other kids to join their club."

"We try to tell kids that it's not OK to be lazy," she explains. "You need to start being a responsible, environmentally friendly person now, right away, before you become a resource-sucking adult."

1. Kids F.A.C.E is _____.

A．a program to help students with writing

B．a project of litter recycling

C．a campaign launched by President Bush

D．a club of environmental protection

2. What can we learn about Poe?

A．She was awarded a prize in Brazil.

B．She donated billboard across the country.

C．She got positive responses for her efforts

D．She joined the National Park Service.

3. Kid’s Yards is _____.

A．established in a national park.

B．started to protect wildlife

C．a wildlife- raising project

D．an entertainment park for kids.

4. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?

A．Adults are resource-sucking people

B．Poe sought help from a youth organization

C．Kids F.A.C.E members are from the U.S.

D．Kids are urged to save natural resources.