C
Prince Charles yesterday pledged to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule. The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services.
The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities.
He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked.”
He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy.” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”.
Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’s Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet.
Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gas are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products. The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences. Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate, as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff. Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission.
47. One of the moves Prince Charles will take to reduce the royal impact on the environment is ______.
A. taking private jets that are not carbon-heavy
B. taking helicopters instead of private jets
C. taking trains instead of scheduled flights
D. taking scheduled flights instead of helicopters
48. How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection?
A. Dissatisfied.       B. Disappointed.            C. Doubtful.         D. Impatient.
49. In response to Prince Charles’ calls, Duchy Originals will ______.
A. make as much green food as possible                    B. cut down its cost.
C. figure out its greenhouse gas emission            D. continue its greenhouse gas emission.
50. The underlined phrase “the biggest global credit card debt” in paragraph 3 probably refers to ______.
A. the great amount of waste produced by industry
B. the great damage caused to the environment
C. the great amount of debts of the royal family
D. the high cost of industry in their producing process
51. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Prince Charles Pledges Greener Royal Lifestyle
B. Better Late than Never
C. Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment
D. The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection