Consumers are being confused and misled by the hodge-podge of environmental claims made by household products, according to a green labeling study published by Consumers International Friday .

　　Among the reports more outrageous findings，a German fertilizer described itself as earthworm friendly， a brand of flour said it was non-polluting and a British toilet paper claimed to be environmentally friendlier

　　The study was written and researched by Britains National Consumer Council for lobby group Consumer International. It was funded by the German and Dutch governments and the European Commission.

　　 While many good and useful claims are being made , it is clear there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of products they buy, said Consumers International director Anna Fielder .

　　The 10-country study surveyed product packaging in Britain. Western Europe, Scandinavia and the United States. It found that products sold in Germany and the United Kingdom made the most environmental claims on average.

　　The report focused on claims made by specific products , such as detergent insect sprays and by some garden products . It did not test the claims, but compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization in September, 1999.

　　Researchers documented claims of environmental friendliness made by about 2,000 products and found many too vague or too misleading to meet ISO standards.

　　Many products had specially-designed labels to make them seem environmentally friendly, but in fact many of these symbols mean nothing, said report researcher Philip Page.

　　Laundry detergents made the most number of claims with 158. Household cleaners were second with 145 separate claims, while paints were third on our list with 73. The high numbers show how very confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading. he said.

　　The ISO labeling standards ban vague or misleading claims on product packaging, because terms such as environmentally friendly and non-polluting cannot be verified. What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO. said Page.

　　1. According to the passage, the NCC found it outrageous that ______

　　A) all the products surveyed claim to meet ISO standards

　　B) the claims made by products are often unclear or deceiving

　　C) consumers would believe many of the manufactures claim

　　D) few products actually prove to be environment friendly

　　2. As indicated in this passage , with so many good claims , the consumers ___

　　A) are becoming more cautious about the products they are going to buy

　　B) are still not willing to pay more for products with green labeling

　　C) are becoming more aware of the effects different products have on the environment

　　D) still do not know the exact impact of different products on the environment

　　3. A study was carried out by Britains NCC to _______

　　A) find out how many claims made by products fail to meet environmental standards

　　B) inform the consumers of the environmental impact of the products they buy

　　C) examine claims made by products against ISO standards

　　D) revise the guidelines set by the International Standards Organization

　　4. What is one of the consequences caused by the many claims of household products?

　　A) They are likely to lead to serious environmental problems

　　B) Consumers find it difficult to tell the true from the false

　　C) They could arouse widespread anger among consumer

　　D) Consumers will be tempted to buy products they dont need

　　5. It can be inferred from the passage that the lobby group Consumer International wants to ____.

　　A) make product labeling satisfy ISO requirements

　　B) see all household products meet environmental standards

　　C) warn consumers of the danger of so-called green products

　　D) verify the efforts of non-polluting products

　　【解析】

　　這是一篇關于產品的環保問題的專題報道。文中談到，消費者常常被產品的宣傳所誤導而感到迷惑不解。國際消費者協會的調查表明，很多聲稱環保的產品實際上名不副實，各種產品所稱的內容往往具有欺騙性。要使消費者意識到各類不同產品對環境的影響，還需要很長一段時間。目前正在大力推進的工作是使產品標簽能夠符合國際標準化組織的要求。

　　1.推論題， B：各種產品生成的內容常常含混不清或具有欺騙性。

　　參見文章第2段：a German fertilizer described itself as， a brand of flour said it was and a British toilet paper claimed to be這句話中所提到的 earthworm friendly ，non-polluting ，environmentally friendlier均屬NCC發現的含混不清或具有欺騙性的內容。

　　其他選項：A，所有被調查的產品都聲稱符合ISO標準;C，消費者愿意相信許多產品聲稱的內容;D，很少有產品實際上證明是有利于環保的。

　　2.推論題，D：仍然不知道各種不同產品對環境的確切影響。

　　參見文中第4段： While many good and useful claims are being made , it is clear there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of products they buy,這句話的意思是：盡管有許多有關的和有用的聲明，要確保購買者充分了解不同產品對環境的確切影響，還有漫長的道路要走。由此暗示消費者仍然不知道各種產品對環境的確切影響。

　　其他選項的意思是：A，對他們將購買的產品更加小心;B，仍然不愿意為帶綠色標簽的產品多付錢;C，更加清楚不同的產品對環境的影響。

　　3.細節題，C：對照ISO標準檢查各種產品所生成的內容。

　　參見文中第5，6段：The 10-country study surveyed product packaging,compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization

　　其他選項的意思是：A，查明產品所生成的內容有多少未能達到環保標準;B，告知消費者關于他們購買的產品對環保的影響;D，通過國際標準組織修訂指導方針。

　　4.細節題，B：消費者發現很難區分產品的真假。

　　參見文中第9段：The high numbers show how very confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading.

　　其他選項的意思：A,它們很有可能導致嚴重的環保問題;B，消費者發現真假很能區別;C，它們可能會在消費者中引起普遍的憤怒。

　　5.推論題，A：使產品標簽能符合國際化標準組織的要求。

　　參見中文第10段Philip Page的原話：What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO.

　　其他選項：B，確保所有家庭產品符合環保標準;C，警告消費者所謂的綠色產品具有的危險;D，核實非污染產品的成就。

　　Consumers are being confused and misled by the hodge-podge of environmental claims made by household products, according to a green labeling study published by Consumers International Friday .

　　Among the reports more outrageous findings，a German fertilizer described itself as earthworm friendly， a brand of flour said it was non-polluting and a British toilet paper claimed to be environmentally friendlier

　　The study was written and researched by Britains National Consumer Council for lobby group Consumer International. It was funded by the German and Dutch governments and the European Commission.

　　 While many good and useful claims are being made , it is clear there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of products they buy, said Consumers International director Anna Fielder .

　　The 10-country study surveyed product packaging in Britain. Western Europe, Scandinavia and the United States. It found that products sold in Germany and the United Kingdom made the most environmental claims on average.

　　The report focused on claims made by specific products , such as detergent insect sprays and by some garden products . It did not test the claims, but compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization in September, 1999.

　　Researchers documented claims of environmental friendliness made by about 2,000 products and found many too vague or too misleading to meet ISO standards.

　　Many products had specially-designed labels to make them seem environmentally friendly, but in fact many of these symbols mean nothing, said report researcher Philip Page.

　　Laundry detergents made the most number of claims with 158. Household cleaners were second with 145 separate claims, while paints were third on our list with 73. The high numbers show how very confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading. he said.

　　The ISO labeling standards ban vague or misleading claims on product packaging, because terms such as environmentally friendly and non-polluting cannot be verified. What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO. said Page.

　　1. According to the passage, the NCC found it outrageous that ______

　　A) all the products surveyed claim to meet ISO standards

　　B) the claims made by products are often unclear or deceiving

　　C) consumers would believe many of the manufactures claim

　　D) few products actually prove to be environment friendly

　　2. As indicated in this passage , with so many good claims , the consumers ___

　　A) are becoming more cautious about the products they are going to buy

　　B) are still not willing to pay more for products with green labeling

　　C) are becoming more aware of the effects different products have on the environment

　　D) still do not know the exact impact of different products on the environment

　　3. A study was carried out by Britains NCC to _______

　　A) find out how many claims made by products fail to meet environmental standards

　　B) inform the consumers of the environmental impact of the products they buy

　　C) examine claims made by products against ISO standards

　　D) revise the guidelines set by the International Standards Organization

　　4. What is one of the consequences caused by the many claims of household products?

　　A) They are likely to lead to serious environmental problems

　　B) Consumers find it difficult to tell the true from the false

　　C) They could arouse widespread anger among consumer

　　D) Consumers will be tempted to buy products they dont need

　　5. It can be inferred from the passage that the lobby group Consumer International wants to ____.

　　A) make product labeling satisfy ISO requirements

　　B) see all household products meet environmental standards

　　C) warn consumers of the danger of so-called green products

　　D) verify the efforts of non-polluting products

　　【解析】

　　這是一篇關于產品的環保問題的專題報道。文中談到，消費者常常被產品的宣傳所誤導而感到迷惑不解。國際消費者協會的調查表明，很多聲稱環保的產品實際上名不副實，各種產品所稱的內容往往具有欺騙性。要使消費者意識到各類不同產品對環境的影響，還需要很長一段時間。目前正在大力推進的工作是使產品標簽能夠符合國際標準化組織的要求。

　　1.推論題， B：各種產品生成的內容常常含混不清或具有欺騙性。

　　參見文章第2段：a German fertilizer described itself as， a brand of flour said it was and a British toilet paper claimed to be這句話中所提到的 earthworm friendly ，non-polluting ，environmentally friendlier均屬NCC發現的含混不清或具有欺騙性的內容。

　　其他選項：A，所有被調查的產品都聲稱符合ISO標準;C，消費者愿意相信許多產品聲稱的內容;D，很少有產品實際上證明是有利于環保的。

　　2.推論題，D：仍然不知道各種不同產品對環境的確切影響。

　　參見文中第4段： While many good and useful claims are being made , it is clear there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of products they buy,這句話的意思是：盡管有許多有關的和有用的聲明，要確保購買者充分了解不同產品對環境的確切影響，還有漫長的道路要走。由此暗示消費者仍然不知道各種產品對環境的確切影響。

　　其他選項的意思是：A，對他們將購買的產品更加小心;B，仍然不愿意為帶綠色標簽的產品多付錢;C，更加清楚不同的產品對環境的影響。

　　3.細節題，C：對照ISO標準檢查各種產品所生成的內容。

　　參見文中第5，6段：The 10-country study surveyed product packaging,compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization

　　其他選項的意思是：A，查明產品所生成的內容有多少未能達到環保標準;B，告知消費者關于他們購買的產品對環保的影響;D，通過國際標準組織修訂指導方針。

　　4.細節題，B：消費者發現很難區分產品的真假。

　　參見文中第9段：The high numbers show how very confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading.

　　其他選項的意思：A,它們很有可能導致嚴重的環保問題;B，消費者發現真假很能區別;C，它們可能會在消費者中引起普遍的憤怒。

　　5.推論題，A：使產品標簽能符合國際化標準組織的要求。

　　參見中文第10段Philip Page的原話：What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO.

　　其他選項：B，確保所有家庭產品符合環保標準;C，警告消費者所謂的綠色產品具有的危險;D，核實非污染產品的成就。