In an effort to encourage ecologicallysustainable forestry practices, an international organization started issuingcertifications to wood companies that meet high ecological standards by onserving resources and recycling materials. Companies that receive thiscertification can attract customers by advertising their product as Ecocertified. Around the world, many wood companies have adopted new, ecologicallyfriendly practices in order to receive Eco certification. However, it is unlikelythat wood companies in the United Stated will do the same, for several reasons.
为了能过促进林业的可持续发展，有个国际组织开始着手给那些达到了环保和再生利用要求的木材公司颁发认证。获得认证的公司可以在广告商宣传自己是环保的，进而吸引消费者。在全球范围内来看，为了能得到环保认证，很多木材公司已经开始采用了环保策略。然而，就美国的公司来讲不太会采取同样的措施，原因如下。
First, American consumers are exposed to somuch advertising that they would not value or even pay attention to the Ecocertification label. Because so many mediocre products are labeled “new” or“improved,” American consumers do not place much trust in advertising claims ingeneral.
首先，由于每天接受大量广告的轰炸，美国消费者对于环保标签并不是很在意。由于很多的普通产品都标榜“创新”或者“升级”，美国消费者对于广告上生成的东西基本上不怎么信任。
Second, Eco certified wood will be moreexpensive than uncertified wood because in order to earn Eco certification, awood company must pay to have its business examined by a certification Agency.This additional cost gets passed on to consumers – American consumers tend tobe strongly motivated by price, and therefore they are likely to choose cheaperuncertified wood products. Accordingly, American wood companies will prefer tokeep their prices low rather than obtain Eco certification.
第二，环保认证后的木材会比普通木材价格昂过，因为木材公司必须向认证机构支付审核费用才能得到相关的认证。这份额外的支出将会转嫁给消费者，而美国的消费者对于价格非常敏感。因而，他们将倾向于选择便宜的没有认证的产品。因而，美国的木材公司还是会选择低价格而非环保认证。
Third, although some people claim that italways makes good business sense for American companies to keep up with thedevelopments in the rest of the world, this argument is not convincing.Pursuing certification would make sense for American wood companies only ifthey marketed most of their products abroad. But that is not the case –American wood businesses sell most of their products in the United States,catering to a very large customer base that is satisfied with themerchandise.
第三，尽管有人声称这样可以使美国的公司保持敏锐的商业触觉，跟上世界发展的脚步。但是，这样的说法是站不住脚的。只有当美国的木材公司主要市场是针对海外的时候，追求环保认证才变得有意义。但事实却并非如此。美国木材公司的产品主要在美国销售，而满足了主要消费者的需求就可以保证商业运行顺畅。
托福综合写作阅读部分需要提取的观点是：
- Main point: 环保认证对于美国木材公司意义不大
- Sub point 1:美国消费者对于广告上的环保认证并不信任
- Sub point 2:环保认证会提高产品价格，而美国的消费者对于价格敏感
- Sub point 3:这项认证只对海外市场有效，而美国木材公司的市场主要在国内
Well, despite what many people say, thereis good reason to think that many American wood companies will eventually seek Ecocertification for their wood products.
尽管有很多人那么说，但是还是有很充分的理由来促使美国木材公司逐渐为他们的产品寻求环保认证的。
First of all, consumers in the UnitedStates don’t treat all advertising the same. They distinguish betweenadvertising claims that companies make about their own products and claims madeby independent certification agencies. Americans have a lot of confidence inindependent consumer agencies. Thus ecologically-minded Americans are likely toreact very favorable to wood products ecologically certified by an independentorganization with an international reputation for trustworthiness.
首先，美国消费者对于不同广告的态度也是不一样的。他们可以区分哪些是公司企图宣传产品的广告说辞，哪些是来自独立认证机构的评价。美国人对于独立消费机构的评判还是很有信心的。美国人很有环保理念。因而，拥有来自于国际声望独立组织认证的木材产品还是很有兴趣的。
Second point, of course it’s true thatAmerican consumers care a lot about price. Who doesn’t? but studies of howconsumers make decisions show that price alone determines consumers’ decisions onlywhen the price of one competing product is much higher or lower than another.When the price difference between two products is small, say, less than fivepercent as is the case with certified wood, Americans often do choose onfactors other than price. And Americans are becoming increasingly convinced ofthe value of preserving and protecting the environment.
第二，诚然美国消费者对价格很敏感。可是谁不是这样的呢?但是消费选择的研究发现只有当价格差很大的时候价格才会成为唯一的决定因素。当两个产品的价格差很小，比如小于百分之五的时候，其他因素就会影响美国消费者的选择。而认证木材的价格差恰好在这个范围。而且美国人越来越重视环境保护了。
And third, US wood companies shoulddefinitely pay attention to what’s going on in the wood businessinternationally, not because of foreign consumers but because of foreigncompetition. As I just told you, there’s a good chance that many Americanconsumers will be interested in Eco certified products. And guess what? IfAmerican companies are slow capturing those customers, you can be sure thatforeign companies will soon start crowing into the American market, offering Ecocertified wood that domestic companies don’t.
第三，美国木材公司必须要关注国际木柴行业的趋势。这不是因为国外的消费者，而是因为国外的同行。我可以告诉大家，美国的消费者会对环保产品越来越感兴趣，而这是一个极佳的机会。为什么呢?这是因为如果美国的公司没有及时地抓住消费者，那么当国外的公司提供美国所没有的环保产品，他们可以很快递占领美国市场。
托福综合写作听力笔记：
Main point: prejudice
Sub point one: don’t, the same, independentcertification, ecologically certified
Sub point two: much higher or lower, lessthan five percent, value, environment
Sub point three: foreign competition,interested, offering Eco certified wood
本篇范文可以借鉴的模板是：
The lecture and the reading passage givecontradictory opinions on the topic of_________. The passage explains that________ while the lecture provides several counterarguments to this view.
First, the lecturer argues that the readingpassage is too general in its statement that________. He assertsthat________.
The lecturer also refutes the second pointin the reading – that_________. The professor contends that________.
Finally, _________, according to theprofessor, is__________. According to the reading, however, ____________.
托福综合写作范文(仅供参考)：
The lecture and the reading passage givecontradictory opinions on the topic of Eco certification, a form ofaccreditation conferred by an international agency in recognition of acompany’s ecofriendly practices. The passage explains that it is not necessaryfor American wood companies to pursue Eco certification while the lectureprovides several counterarguments to this view.
First, the lecturer argues that the readingpassage is too general in its statement that American consumers rejectadvertising completely. He asserts that Americans do not trust advertisingclaims for a product only when these claims are made by the company that sellsthe product. When a claim is made by an independent third party such as a woodcertification company, he posits, consumers respond very positively with strongacceptance of the certified product.
The lecturer also refutes the second pointin the reading – that price-sensitive American consumers are likely to choosecheap wood products without certification. The professor contends that certifiedwood is only slightly (less than 5%) more expensive than uncertified wood, andtherefore, he argues, consumers will tend to ignore the price difference andchoose the eco-friendly product.
Finally, receiving eco-certification is,according to the professor, an important strategy used by American wood companiesto ensure that their products can compete against Eco certified wood productsimported into the domestic market from foreign countries. According to thereading, however, this strategy is unnecessary because American consumers arelikely to be content with domestically manufactured products, even if they arenot Eco certified.