TPO1-24綜合寫(xiě)作閱讀聽(tīng)力文本

TP01

Reading

IntheUnitedStates,employeestypicallywork

fivedaysaweekforeighthourseachday.

However,manyemployeeswanttoworka

four-dayweekandarewillingtoacceptless

payinordertodoso.Amandatorypolicy

requiringcompaniestooffertheiremployees

theoptionofworkingafour-dayworkweek

forfour-fifths(80percent)oftheirnormalpay

wouldbenefittheeconomyasawholeaswell

astheindividualcompaniesandthe

employeeswhodecidedtotaketheoption.

Theshortenedworkweekwouldincrease

companyprofitsbecauseemployeeswould

feelmorerestedandalert,andasaresult,

theywouldmakefewercostlyerrorsintheir

work.Hiringmorestafftoensurethatthe

sameamountofworkwouldbeaccomplished

wouldnotresultinadditionalpayrollcosts

becausefour-dayemployeeswouldonlybe

paid80percentofthenormalrate.Intheend,

companieswouldhavefeweroverworkedand

error-proneemployeesforthesamemoney,

whichwouldincreasecompanyprofits.For

thecountryasawhole,oneoftheprimary

benefitsofofferingthisoptiontoemployeesis

thatitwouldreduceunemploymentrates.If

manyfull-timeemployeesstartedworking

fewerhours,someoftheirworkloadwould

havetobeshiftedtoothers.Thus,forevery

fouremployeeswhowentonan80percent

week,anewemployeecouldbehiredatthe

80percentrate.Finally,theoptionofa

four-dayworkweekwouldbebetterfor

individualemployees.Employeeswhocould

affordalowersalaryinexchangeformore

freetimecouldimprovethequalityoftheir

livesbyspendingtheextratimewiththeir

families,pursuingprivateinterests,or

enjoyingleisureactivities.

Listening

Professor

Offeringemployeestheoptionofafour-day

workweekwon'taffectthecompanyprofits,

economicconditionsorthelivesofemployees

inthewaysthereadingsuggests.

First,offeringafour-dayworkweekwill

probablyforcecompaniestospendmore,

possiblyalotmore.Addingnewworkers

meansputtingmuchmoremoneyinto

providingtrainingandmedicalbenefits.

Rememberthecostsofthingslikehealth

benefitscanbethesamewhetheran

employeeworksfourdaysorfive.Andhaving

moreemployeesalsorequiresmoreoffice

spaceandmorecomputers.Theseadditional

costswouldquicklycutintocompanyprofits.

Second,withrespecttooverallemployment,

itdoesn'tfollowthatoncesomeemployees

chooseafour-dayworkweek,manymorejobs

willbecomeavailable.Hiringnewworkersis

costly,asIarguedamomentago.And

companieshaveotheroptions.Theymight

justchoosetoasktheiremployeestowork

overtimetomakeupthedifference.Worse,

companiesmightraiseexpectations.They

mightstarttoexpectthattheirfour-day

employeescandothesameamountofwork

theyusedtodoinfivedays.Ifthishappens,

thennoadditionaljobswillbecreatedand

currentjobswillbecomemoreunpleasant.

Finally,whileafour-dayworkweekoffers

employeesmorefreetimetoinvestintheir

personallives,italsopresentssomerisksthat

couldendupreducingtheirqualityoflife.

Workingashorterweekcandecrease

employees'jobstabilityandharmtheir

chancesforadvancingtheircareers.Four-day

employeesarelikelytobethefirsttolose

theirjobsduringaneconomicdownturn.They

mayalsobepassedoverforpromotions

becausecompaniesmightprefertohave

five-dayemployeesinmanagementpositions

toensurecontinuouscoverageandconsistent

supervisionfortheentireworkweek.

TP02

Reading

Inmanyorganizations,perhapsthebestway

toapproachcertainnewprojectsisto

assembleagroupofpeopleintoateam.

Havingateamofpeopleattackaproject

offersseveraladvantages.Firstofall,agroup

ofpeoplehasawiderrangeofknowledge,

expertise,andskillsthananysingleindividual

islikelytopossess.Also,becauseofthe

numbersofpeopleinvolvedandthegreater

resourcestheypossess,agroupcanwork

morequicklyinresponsetothetaskassigned

toitandcancomeupwithhighlycreative

solutionstoproblemsandissues.Sometimes

thesecreativesolutionscomeaboutbecause

agroupismorelikelytomakeriskydecisions

thatanindividualmightnotundertake.Thisis

becausethegroupspreadsresponsibilityfora

decisiontoallthemembersandthusnosingle

individualcanbeheldaccountableifthe

decisionturnsouttobewrong.

Takingpartinagroupprocesscanbevery

rewardingformembersoftheteam.Team

memberswhohaveavoiceinmakinga

decisionwillnodoubtfeelbetterabout

carryingouttheworkthatisentailedbythe

decisionthantheymightdoingworkthatis

imposedonthembyothers.Also,the

individualteammemberhasamuchbetter

chanceto“shine”,togethisorher

contributionsandideasnotonlyrecognized

butrecognizedashighlysignificant,becausea

team'soverallresultscanbemore

far-reachingandhavegreaterimpactthan

whatmighthaveotherwisebeenpossiblefor

thepersontoaccomplishorcontribute

workingalone.

Listening

Professor

NowIwanttotellyouaboutwhatone

companyfoundwhenitdecidedthatitwould

turnoversomeofitsnewprojectstoteamsof

people,andmaketheteamresponsiblefor

planningtheprojectsandgettingthework

done.Afteraboutsixmonths,thecompany

tookalookathowwelltheteamsperformed.

Onvirtuallyeveryteam,somemembersgot

almosta"freeride"...theydidn'tcontribute

muchatall,butiftheirteamdidagoodjob,

theyneverthelessbenefitedfromthe

recognitiontheteamgot.Andwhatabout

groupmemberswhoworkedespeciallywell

andwhoprovidedalotofinsightonproblems

andissues?Well...therecognitionforajob

welldonewenttothegroupasawhole,no

nameswerenamed.Soitwon'tsurpriseyou

tolearnthatwhentherealcontributorswere

askedhowtheyfeltaboutthegroupprocess,

theirattitudewasjusttheoppositeofwhat

thereadingpredicts.

Anotherfindingwasthatsomeprojectsjust

didn'tmoveveryquickly.Why?Becauseit

tooksolongtoreachconsensus;ittookmany,

manymeetingstobuildtheagreementamong

groupmembersabouthowtheywouldmove

theprojectalong.Ontheotherhand,there

wereotherinstanceswhereoneortwo

peoplemanagedtobecomeveryinfluential

overwhattheirgroupdid.Sometimeswhen

thoseinfluencerssaid"Thatwillneverwork"

aboutanideathegroupwasdeveloping,the

ideawasquicklydroppedinsteadofbeing

furtherdiscussed.Andthentherewas

anotheroccasionwhenacoupleinfluencers

convincedthegroupthataplanoftheirswas

"highlycreative."Andeventhoughsome

memberstriedtowarntherestofthegroup

thattheprojectwasmovingindirectionsthat

mightnotwork,theywerebasicallyignored

byothergroupmembers.Canyouguessthe

endingtothisstory?Whentheprojectfailed,

theblamewasplacedonallthemembersof

thegroup.

TPO3

Reading

Rembrandtisthemostfamousofthe

seventeenth-centuryDutchpainters.However,

therearedoubtswhethersomepaintings

attributedtoRembrandtwereactually

paintedbyhim.Onesuchpaintingisknownas

attributedtoRembrandtbecauseofitsstyle,

andindeedtherepresentationofthewoman's

faceisverymuchlikethatofportraitsknown

tobebyRembrandt.Butthereareproblems

withthepaintingthatsuggestitcouldnotbe

aworkbyRembrandt.

First,thereissomethinginconsistentabout

thewaythewomanintheportraitisdressed.

Sheiswearingawhitelinencapofakindthat

onlyservantswouldwear-yetthecoatsheis

wearinghasaluxuriousfurcollarthatno

servantcouldafford.Rembrandt,whowas

knownforhisattentiontothedetailsofhis

subjects'clothing,wouldnothavebeenguilty

ofsuchaninconsistency.

Second,Rembrandtwasamasterofpainting

lightandshadow,butinthispaintingthese

elementsdonotfittogether.Thefaceappears

tobeilluminatedbylightreflectedontoit

frombelow.Butbelowthefaceisthedarkfur

collar,whichwouldabsorblightratherthan

reflectit.Sothefaceshouldappearpartially

inshadow-whichisnothowitappears.

Rembrandtwouldneverhavemadesuchan

error.

Finally,examinationofthebackofthe

paintingrevealsthatitwaspaintedonapanel

madeofseveralpiecesofwoodgluedtogether.

AlthoughRembrandtoftenpaintedonwood

panels,nopaintingknowntobeby

Rembrandtusesapanelgluedtogetherinthis

wayfromseveralpiecesofwood.

Forthesereasonsthepaintingwasremoved

fromtheofficialcatalogofRembrandt's

paintingsinthe1930s.

Listening

Professor:

Everythingyoujustreadabout"Portraitofan

日derlyWomaninaWhiteBonnet"istrue,

andyetafterathoroughre-examinationof

thepainting,apanelofexpertshasrecently

concludedthatit'sindeedaworkby

Rembrandt.Hereiswhy.

First,thefurcollar.X-raysandanalysisofthe

pigmentsinthepainthaveshownthatthefur

collarwasn'tpartoftheoriginalpainting.The

furcollarwaspaintedoverthetopofthe

originalpaintingaboutahundredyearsafter

thepaintingwasmade.Why?Someone

probablywantedtoincreasethevalueofthe

paintingbymakingitlooklikeaformal

portraitofanaristocraticlady.

Second,thesupposederrorwithlightand

shadow.Oncethepaintoftheaddedfurcolor

wasremoved,theoriginalcouldbeseen,in

theoriginalpainting,thewomaniswearinga

simplecollaroflight-coloredcloth.The

light-coloredclothofthiscollarreflectslight

thatilluminatespartofthewoman'sface.

That'swhythefaceisnotinpartialshadow.So

intheoriginalpainting,lightandshadoware

veryrealisticandjustwhatwewouldexpect

fromRembrandt.

Finally,thewoodpanel.Itturnsoutthatwhen

thefurcollarwasadded,thewoodpanelwas

alsoenlargedwithextrawoodpiecesgluedto

thesidesandthetoptomakethepainting

moregrandandmorevaluable.Sotheoriginal

paintingisactuallypaintedonasinglepieceof

wood,aswouldbeexpectedfroma

Rembrandtpainting.Andinfact,researchers

havefoundthatthepieceofwoodinthe

originalformof"PortraitofanElderlyWoman

inaWhiteBonnet"isfromtheverysametree

asthewoodpanelusedforanotherpainting

byRembrandt,his"Self-portraitwithaHat".

TPO4

Reading

Endothermsareanimalssuchasmodernbirds

andmammalsthatkeeptheirbody

temperaturesconstant.Forinstance,humans

areendothermsandmaintainaninternal

temperatureof37℃,nomatterwhetherthe

environmentiswarmorcold.Because

dinosaurswerereptiles,andmodernreptiles

arenotendotherms,itwaslongassumedthat

dinosaurswerenotendotherms.However,

dinosaursdifferinmanywaysfrommodem

reptiles,andthereisnowconsiderable

evidencethatdinosaurswere,infact,

endotherms.

Polardinosaurs

Onereasonforbelievingthatdinosaurswere

endothermsisthatdinosaurfossilshavebeen

discoveredinPolarRegions.Onlyanimalsthat

canmaintainatemperaturewellabovethatof

thesurroundingenvironmentcouldbeactive

insuchcoldclimates.

Legpositionandmovement

Thereisaconnectionbetweenendothermy

andthepositionandmovementofthelegs.

Thephysiologyofendothermyallows

sustainedphysicalactivity,suchasrunning.

Butrunningisefficientonlyifananimal'slegs

arepositionedunderneathitsbody,notatthe

body'sside,astheyareforcrocodilesand

manylizards.Thelegsofallmodern

endothermsareunderneaththebody,andso

werethelegsofdinosaurs.Thisstrongly

suggeststhatdinosaurswereendotherms.

Haversiancanals

Thereisalsoaconnectionbetween

endothermyandbonestructure.Thebonesof

endothermsusuallyincludestructurescalled

Haversiancanals.Thesecanalshousenerves

andbloodvesselsthatallowthelivinganimal

togrowquickly,andrapidbodygrowthisin

factacharacteristicofendothermy.The

presenceofHaversiancanalsinboneisa

strongindicatorthattheanimalisan

endotherm,andfossilizedbonesofdinosaurs

areusuallydensewithHaversiancanals.

Listening

Professor:

Manyscientistshaveproblemswiththe

argumentsyoureadinthepassage.They

don'tthinkthoseargumentsprovethat

dinosaurswereendotherms.

Takethepolardinosaurargument.When

dinosaurslived,eventhepolarregions,where

dinosaurfossilshavebeenfound,weremuch

warmerthantoday,warmenoughduringpart

oftheyearforanimalsthatwerenot

endothermstolive.Andduringthemonths

whenthepolarregionswerecold,the

so-calledpolardinosaurscouldhavemigrated

towarmerareasorhibernatedlikemany

modernreptilesdo.Sothepresenceof

dinosaurfossilsinpolarregionsdoesn'tprove

thedinosaurswereendotherms.

Well,whataboutthefactthatdinosaurshave

theirlegsplacedundertheirbodies,notout

tothesidelikecrocodiles.Thatdoesn't

necessarilymeandinosaurswerehigh-energy

endothermsbuiltforrunning.Thereis

anotherexplanationforhavinglegsunderthe

body.Thisbodystructuresupportsmore

weight,sowiththelegsundertheirbodies,

dinosaurscangrowtoaverylargesize.Being

largehadadvantagesfordinosaurs,sowe

don'tneedtheideaofendothermyand

runningtoexplainwhydinosaursevolvedto

havetheirlegsundertheirbodies.

Ok,sohowaboutbonestructure?Many

dinosaurbonesdohaveHaversiancanals,

that'strue.Thedinosaurbonesalsohave

growthrings.Growthringsarethickeningof

thebonethatindicatesperiodsoftimewhen

thedinosaursweren'trapidlygrowing.These

growthringsareevidencethatdinosaurs

stoppedgrowingorgrewmoreslowlyduring

coolerperiods.Thispatternofperiodicgrowth,

youknow,rapidgrowthfollowedbyno

growthorslowgrowth,andthenrapidgrowth

again,ischaracteristicofanimalsthatarenot

endotherms.Animalsthatmaintainaconstant

bodytemperatureyear-roundastrue

endothermsdogrowrapidlyevenwhenthe

environmentbecomescool.

TPO

Reading

AsearlyasthetwelfthcenturyA.D.,the

settlementsofChacoCanyoninNewMexico

intheAmericanSouthwestwerenotablefor

their"greathouses,"massivestonebuildings

thatcontainhundredsofroomsandoften

standthreeorfourstorieshigh.

Archaeologistshavebeentryingtodetermine

howthebuildingswereused.Whilethereis

stillnouniversallyagreeduponexplanation,

therearethreecompetingtheories.

OnetheoryholdsthattheChacostructures

werepurelyresidential,witheachhousing

hundredsofpeople.Supportersofthistheory

haveinterpretedChacogreathousesasearlier

versionsofthearchitectureseeninmore

recentSouthwestsocieties.Inparticular,the

Chacohousesappearstrikinglysimilartothe

large,well-known"apartmentbuildings"at

Taos,NewMexico,inwhichmanypeoplehave

beenlivingforcenturies.

AsecondtheorycontendsthattheChaco

structureswereusedtostorefoodsupplies.

OneofthemaincropsoftheChacopeople

wasgrainmaize,whichcouldbestoredfor

longperiodsoftimewithoutspoilingand

couldserveasalong-lastingsupplyoffood.

Thesuppliesofmaizehadtobestored

somewhere,andthesizeofthegreathouses

wouldmakethemverysuitableforthe

purpose.

Athirdtheoryproposesthathouseswere

usedasceremonialcenters.Closetoone

house,calledPuebloAlto,archaeologists

identifiedanenormousmoundformedbya

pileofoldmaterial.Excavationsofthemound

revealeddepositscontainingasurprisingly

largenumberofbrokenpots.Thisfindinghas

beeninterpretedasevidencethatpeople

gatheredatPuebloAltoforspecial

ceremonies.Attheceremonies,theyate

festivemealsandthendiscardedthepotsin

whichthemealshadbeenpreparedorserved.

Suchceremonieshavebeendocumentedfor

otherNativeAmericancultures.

Listening

Professor:

Unfortunatelynoneoftheargumentsabout

whattheChacogreathouseswereusedforis

convincing.

First,sure,fromtheoutside,thegreathouses

looklikelaterandNativeAmericanapartment

buttheinsideofthegreathousescasts

seriousdoubtontheideathatmanypeople

livedthere.I'llexplain.Ifhundredsofpeople

werelivinginthegreathouses,thenthere

wouldhavetobemanyfireplaces,whereeach

familydiditsdailycooking,buttherearevery

fewfireplaces.Inoneofthelargestgreat

houses,therewerefireplacesforonlyaround

tenfamilies.Yettherewereenoughroomsin

thegreathouseformorethanahundred

families,sotheprimaryfunctionofthehouses

couldn'thavebeenresidential.

Second,theideathatthegreathouseswere

usedtostoregrainmaize;unsupportedby

evidence.Itmaysoundplausiblethatlarge

emptyroomswereusedforstorage,but

excavationsofthegreathouseshavenot

uncoveredmanytracesofmaizeormaize

containers.Ifthegreathouseswereusedfor

storage,whyisn'ttheremorespilledmaizeon

thefloor?Whyaren'ttheremoreremainsof

bigcontainers?

Third,theideathatthegreathouseswere

ceremonialcentersisn'twellsupportedeither.

YouknowthatmoundatPuebloAlto?It

containslotsofothermaterialsbesides

brokenpots,stuffyouwouldn'texpectfrom

ceremonies.Forexample,therearelarge

quantitiesofbuildingmaterials,sands,stones,

evenconstructiontools.Thissuggeststhatthe

moundisjustatrashheapofconstruction

material,stuffthatwasthrownawayornot

usedupwhenahousewasbeingbuilt.The

potsinthepilecouldberegulartrashtoo,

leftoverfromthemealsoftheconstruction

workers.SothePuebloAltomoundisnot

goodevidencethatthegreathouseswere

usedforspecialceremonies

TPO6

Reading

Communalonlineencyclopediasrepresent

oneofthelatestresourcestobefoundonthe

Internet.Theyareinmanyrespectslike

traditionalprintedencyclopediascollections

ofarticlesonvarioussubjects.Whatisspecific

totheseonlineencyclopedias,however,is

thatanyInternetusercancontributeanew

articleormakeaneditorialchangeinan

existingone.Asaresult,theencyclopediais

authoredbythewholecommunityofInternet

users.Theideamightsoundattractive,but

thecommunalonlineencyclopediashave

severalimportantproblemsthatmakethem

muchlessvaluablethantraditional,printed

encyclopedias.

First,contributorstoacommunalonline

encyclopediaoftenlackacademiccredentials,

therebymakingtheircontributionspartially

informedatbestanddownrightinaccuratein

manycases.Traditionalencyclopediasare

writtenbytrainedexpertswhoadhereto

standardsofacademicrigorthat

nonspecialistscannotreallyachieve.

Second,eveniftheoriginalentryintheonline

encyclopediaiscorrect,thecommunalnature

oftheseonlineencyclopediasgives

unscrupuloususersandvandalsorhackersthe

opportunitytofabricate,delete,andcorrupt

informationintheencyclopedia.Once

changeshavebeenmadetotheoriginaltext,

anunsuspectingusercannottelltheentryhas

beentamperedwith.Noneofthisispossible

withatraditionalencyclopedia.

Third,thecommunalencyclopediasfocustoo

frequently,andintoogreatadepth,ontrivial

andpopulartopics,whichcreatesafalse

impressionofwhatisimportantandwhatis

not.Achilddoingresearchforaschoolproject

maydiscoverthatamajorhistoricalevent

receivesasmuchattentioninanonline

encyclopediaas,say,asinglelong-running

televisionprogram.Thetraditional

encyclopediaprovidesaconsideredviewof

whattopicstoincludeorexcludeandcontains

asenseofproportionthatonline

"democratic"communalencyclopediasdo

not.

Listening

Professor:

Thecommunalonlineencyclopediawil!

probablyneverbeperfect,butthat'sasmall

pricetopayforwhatitdoesoffer.The

criticismsinthereadingarelargelytheresult

ofprejudiceagainstandignoranceabouthow

faronlineencyclopediashavecome.

First,errors.It'shardlyafaircriticismthat

encyclopediasonlinehaveerrors.Traditional

encyclopediashaveneverbeencloseto

perfectlyaccurate,ifyouarelookingfora

realtycomprehensivereferenceworkwithout

anymistakes,youarenotgoingtofindit,on

oroffline.Therealpointisthatit'seasyfor

errorsinfactualmaterialtobecorrectedinan

onlineencyclopediaButwiththeprintedand

boundencyclopedia,theerrorsremainfor

decades.

Second,hacking.Onlineencyclopediashave

recognizedtheimportanceofprotectingtheir

articlesfrommalicioushackers.Onestrategy

theystartedusingistoputthecrucialfactsin

thearticlesthatnobodydisputesina

read-onlyformat,whichisaformatthatno

onecanmakechangesto.Thatwayyouare

makingsurethatthecrucialfactsinthe

articlesarereliable.Anotherstrategythat's

beingusedistohavespecialeditorswhose

jobistomonitorallchangesmadetothe

articlesandeliminatethosechangesthatare

clearlymalicious.

Third,what'sworthknowingabout?The

problemfortraditionalencyclopediasisthat

theyhavelimitedspace,sotheyhaveto

decidewhat'simportantandwhat'snot.And

inpractice,thejudgmentsofthegroupof

academicsthatmakethesedecfsionsdon't

reflectthegreatrangeofintereststhatpeople

reallyhave.Butspaceisdefinitelynotanissue

foronlineencyclopedias.Theacademic

articlesarestiiirepresentedinonline

encyclopedias,buttherecanbeagreat

varietyofarticlesandtopicsthataccurately

reflectthegreatdiversityofusers'interests.

Thediversityofuseintopicsthatonline

encyclopediasofferisoneoftheirstrongest

advantages

TPO7

Reading

Inanefforttoencourageecologically

sustainableforestrypractices,aninternational

organizationstartedissuingcertificationsto

woodcompaniesthatmeethighecological

standardsbyconservingresourcesand

recyclingmaterials.Companiesthatreceive

thiscertificationcanattractcustomersby

advertisingtheirproductsasecocertified.

Aroundtheworld,manywoodcompanies

haveadoptednew,ecologicallyfriendly

practicesinordertoreceiveecocertification.

However,itisunlikelythatwoodcompaniesin

theUnitedStateswilldothesame,forseveral

reasons.

First,Americanconsumersareexposedtoso

muchadvertisingthattheywouldnotvalueor

evenpayattentiontotheecocertification

label.Becausesomanymediocreproductsare

labeled'new"orimproved,"American

consumersdonotplacemuchtrustin

advertisingclaimsingeneral.

Second,ecocertifiedwoodwillbemore

expensivethanuncertifiedwoodbecausein

ordertoearnecocertification,awood

companymustpaytohaveitsbusiness

examinedbyacertificationagency.This

additionalcostgetspassedonto

consumers-Americanconsumerstendtobe

stronglymotivatedbyprice,andtherefore

theyarelikelytochoosecheaperuncertified

woodproducts.Accordingly,Americanwood

companieswillprefertokeeptheirpriceslow

ratherthanobtainecocertification

Third,althoughsomepeopleclaimthatit

alwaysmakesgoodbusinesssensefor

Americancompaniestokeepupwiththe

developmentsintherestoftheworld,this

argumentisnotconvincing.Pursuing

certificationwouldmakesenseforAmerican

woodcompaniesonlyiftheymarketedmost

oftheirproductsabroad.Butthatisnotthe

case,Americanwoodbusinessessellmostof

theirproductsintheUnitedStates,cateringto

averylargecustomerbasethatissatisfied

withthemerchandise.

Listening

Well,despitewhatmanypeoplesay,thereisa

goodreasontothinkthatmanyAmerican

woodcompanieswilleventuallyseek

ecocertificationforthewoodproducts.

Firstoff,companiesintheUnitedStatesdon't

treatalladvertisingthesame.Theydistinguish

betweenadvertisingclaimsthatcompanies

makeabouttheirownproductsandclaims

madebyindependentcertificationagencies.

Americanshavealotofconfidencein

independentagencies.Thus

ecologically-mindedAmericansarelikelyto

reactveryfavorablytowoodproducts

ecologicallycertifiedbyindependent

organizationwithaintenationalreputationfor

trustworthiness.

Secondpoint,ofcourseitistruethat

Americanconsumerscarealotabout

price,whodoesn't?Butstudiesofhow

consumersmakedecisionsshowthatprice

alonedeteriminesconsumers'decisionsonly

whenthepriceofonecompetingproductsis

muchhigherorlowerthantheother.When

thedifferencebetweentwoproductsis

small,say,lessthan5percent,asisthecase

withcertifiedwood,Americanoftendo

chooseonfactoriesotherthanprice.And

Americansarebecomingincreasingly

convincedofthevalueofpreservingand

protectingtheenvironment.

Andthird,USWoodcompaniesshould

definitelypayattentionwhatisgoingoninthe

woodbusinessinternationally.Notbecauseof

foreignconsumersbutbecauseofforeign

competitors.AsIjusttoldyou,thereisagood

chancethatmanyAmericanconsumerswillbe

interestedinecocertifiedproducts,andguess

why?IfAmericancompaniesareslow

capturingthoseconsumers,youcanbesure

thatforeigncompanieswillsoonstart

crowdingintotheAmericanmarkets,offering

ecocerfiedwoodthatdomesticcompanies

don't.

TPO8

Reading

Towardtheendofhislife,theChevalierde

Seingalt(1725-1798)wrotealongmemoir

recountinghislifeandadventures.The

Chevalierwasasomewhatcontroversialfigure,

butsincehemetmanyfamouspeople,

includingkingsandwriters,hismemoirhas

becomeavaluablehistoricalsourceabout

Europeansocietyintheeighteenthcentury.

However,somecriticshaveraiseddoubts

abouttheaccuracyofthememoir.Theyclaim

thattheChevalierdistortedorinventedmany

eventsinthememoirtomakehislifeseem

moreexcitingandglamorousthanitreally

was.

Forexample,inhismemoirtheChevalier

claimsthatwhilelivinginSwitzerland,hewas

verywealthy,anditisknownthathespenta

greatdealofmoneythereonpartiesand

gambling.However,evidencehasrecently

surfacedthattheChevalierborrowed

considerablesumsofmoneyfromaSwiss

merchant.Criticsthusarguethatifthe

Chevalierhadreallybeenveryrich,hewould

nothaveneededtoborrowmoney.

Criticsarealsoskepticalabouttheaccuracyof

theconversationsthattheChevalierrecords

inthememoirbetweenhimselfandthe

famouswriterVoltaire.Noonedoubtsthat

theChevalierandVoltairemetandconversed.

However,criticscomplainthatthememoir

cannotpossiblycapturetheseconversations

accurately,becauseitwaswrittenmanyyears

aftertheconversationsoccurred.Criticspoint

outthatitisimpossibletorememberexact

phrasesfromextendedconversationsheld

manyyearsearlier.

Criticshavealsoquestionedthememoir's

accountoftheChevalier'sescapefroma

notoriousprisoninVenic