Reading Comprehension

Ecoefficiency (measures to minimize environmental impact through the reduction or elimination of waste from production processes) has become a goal for companies worldwide, with many realizing significant cost savings from such innovations. Peter Senge and Goran Carstedt see this development as laudable but suggest that simply adopting ecoefficiency innovations could actually worsen environmental stresses in the future. Such innovations reduce production waste but do not alter the number of products manufactured nor the waste generated from their use and discard; indeed, most companies invest in ecoefficiency improvements in order to increase profits and growth. Moreover, there is no guarantee that increased economic growth from ecoefficiency will come in similarly ecoefficient ways, since in today's global markets, greater profits may be turned into investment capital that could easily be reinvested in old-style eco-inefficient industries. Even a vastly more ecoefficient industrial system could, were it to grow much larger, generate more total waste and destroy more habitat and species than would a smaller, less ecoefficient economy. Senge and Carstedt argue that to preserve the global environment and sustain economic growth, businesses must develop a new systemic approach that reduces total material use and total accumulated waste. Focusing exclusively on ecoefficiency, which offers a compelling business case according to established thinking, may distract companies from pursuing radically different products and business models.

Q4:The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. explain why a particular business strategy has been less successful than was once anticipated
B. propose an alternative to a particular business strategy that has inadvertently caused ecological damage
C. present a concern about the possible consequences of pursuing a particular business strategy
D. make a case for applying a particular business strategy on a larger scale than is currently practiced
E. suggest several possible outcomes of companies' failure to understand the economic impact of a particular business strategy


Quetsion #1
Quetsion #2
Quetsion #3
Quetsion #4

C

The passage begins with the definition of ecoefficiency model and then with the views of 2 people mostly criticizes it. A need for a different model is brought in and it's said in the last line to stay cautious of ecoefficiency model.

Clearly the purpose is to criticize the model. A, D & E are easily out.

B is not the main idea, though the first part of B is mentioned in the passage, but as part of the view of the 2 gentlemen. And the later part of B cannot be deduced from the passage. All that's said is a prediction that simply adopting ecoefficiency innovations could actually worsen environmental stresses in the future.

C fits the best