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Consumers are being confused and misled by the hodge-podge (大杂烩) of environmental claims made by household products, according to a "green labeling" study published by Consumers International Friday.
Among the report's more outrageous (令人无法容忍的) 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 Britain's National Consumer Council (NCC) 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 (洗涤剂) 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 (ISO) 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 Britain's 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 don't 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
这是一篇关于产品的环保问题的专题报道。文中谈到，消费者常常被产品的宣传所误导而感到迷惑不解。国际消费者协会的调查表明，很多声称环保的产品实际上名不副实，各种产品所称的内容往往具有欺骗性。要使消费者意识到各类不同产品对环境的影响，还需要很长一段时间。目前正在大力推进的工作是使产品标签能够符合国际标准化组织(ISO)的要求。
参考答案及解析：
1、B 推论题，各种产品生成的内容常常含混不清或具有欺骗性。
参见文章第2段：a German fertilizer described itself as, a brand of flour said it was and a British toilet paper claimed to be这句话中所提到的“ earthworm friendly” ,“non-polluting” ,“environmentally friendlier”均属NCC发现的含混不清或具有欺骗性的内容。
其他选项：A，所有被调查的产品都声称符合ISO标准;C，消费者愿意相信许多产品声称的内容;D，很少有产品实际上证明是有利于环保的。
2、D 推论题，(消费者)仍然不知道各种不同产品对环境的确切影响。
参见文中第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,”这句话的意思是：尽管有许多有关的和有用的声明，要购买者充分了解不同产品对环境的确切影响，还有漫长的道路要走。由此暗示消费者仍然不知道各种产品对环境的确切影响。
其他选项的意思是：A，对他们将购买的产品更加小心;B，仍然不愿意为带绿色标签的产品多付钱;C，更加清楚不同的产品对环境的影响。
3、C 细节题，对照ISO标准检查各种产品所生成的内容。
参见文中第5，6段：The 10-country study surveyed product packaging…,compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization (ISO)
其他选项的意思是：A，查明产品所生成的内容有多少未能达到环保标准;B，告知消费者关于他们购买的产品对环保的影响;D，通过国际标准组织修订指导方针。
4、B 细节题，消费者发现很难区分产品的真假。
参见文中第9段：The high numbers show how very confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading.”
其他选项的意思：A，它们很有可能导致严重的环保问题;B，消费者发现真假很能区别;C，它们可能会在消费者中引起普遍的愤怒。
5、A 推论题，使产品标签能符合国际化标准组织(ISO)的要求。
参见中文第10段Philip Page的原话：What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO.
其他选项：B，所有家庭产品符合环保标准;C，警告消费者所谓的绿色产品具有的危险;D，核实非污染产品的成就。
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