deeds earn it greater consideration from consumers and others.

Previous studies on CSR have had trouble differentiating these effects because consumers can be affected by all three. A recent study attempts to separate them by looking at bribery prosecutions under America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It argues that since prosecutors do not consume a company’s products as part of their investigations, they could be influenced only by the halo effect.

The study found that, among prosecuted firms, those with the most comprehensive CSR programmes tended to get more lenient penalties. Their analysis ruled out the possibility that it was firms’ political influence, rather than their CSR stand, that accounted for the leniency: Companies that contributed more to political campaigns did not receive lower fines.

In all, the study concludes that whereas prosecutors should only evaluate a case based on its merits, they do seem to be influenced by a company’s record in CSR. “We estimate that either eliminating a substantial labour-rights concern, such as child labour, or increasing corporate giving by about 20% results in fines that generally are 40% lower than the typical punishment for briding foreign officials,” says one researcher.

Researchers admit that their study does not answer the question of how much businesses ought to spend on CSR. Nor does it reveal how much companies are banking on the halo effect, rather than the other possible benefits, when they decide their do-gooding policies. But at least they have demonstrated that when companies get into trouble with the law, evidence of good character can win them a less costly punishment.

31. The author views Milton Friedman’s statement about CSR with 8

[A] tolerance

[B] skepticism

[C] uncertainty

[D] approval

32.According to Paragraph 2, CSR helps a company by

[A] winning trust from consumers.

[B] guarding it against malpractices.

[C] protecting it from being defamed.

[D] raising the quality of its products.

33. The expression “more lenient” (Line 2, Para. 4) is closest in meaning to

[A] more effective

[B] less controversial

[C] less severe

[D] more lasting

34.When prosecutors evaluate a case, a company’s CSR record

[A] has an impact on their decision.

[B] comes across as reliable evidence.

[C] increases the chance of being penalized.

[D] constitutes part of the investigation.

35.Which of the following is true of CSR, according to the last paragraph?

[A] Its negative effects on businesses are often overlooked. 9

[B] The necessary amount of companies’ spending on it is unknown.

[C] Companies’ financial capacity for it has been overestimated.

[D] It has brought much benefit to the banking industry. Text 4

There willeventuallycomea daywhen The New YorkTimes ceases topublish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. “Sometime in the future，”the paper’s publisher said back in 2010.

Nostalgia for ink on paper and the rustle of pages aside，there’s plenty of incentive to ditch print. The infrastructure required to make a physical newspaper-printingpresses, deliverytrucks—isn’t justexpensive;it’sexcessive

at a time when online-only competitors don’t have the same set of financial constraints. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still dwarf their online and mobile counterparts, revenue from print is still declining.

Overhead may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.

Peretti says the Times should’t waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. “Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them,” he said, “but if you discontinue it, you’re going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you.”

Sometimes that’s worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming. “It was seen as a blunder,” he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. And if Peretti were in charge at the Times? “I wouldn’t pick a year to end print,” he said. “I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product.”

The most loyal customers would still get the product they favor, the idea goes, and they’d feel like they were helping sustain the quality of something they believe in. “So if you’re overpaying for print, you could feel like you were helping,” Peretti said. “Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generateadditionalrevenue.”In otherwords,if you’regoingtomakea printproduct, 10

make it for the people who are already obsessed with it. Which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year—more than twice as mush as a digital-only subscription.

“It’s a really hard thing to do and it’s a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn’t have a legacy business,” Peretti remarked. “But we’re going to have questions like that where we have things we’re doing that don’t make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it’s better to be more aggressive than less aggressive.”

36.The New York Times is considering ending its print edition partly due

[A] the high cost of operation.

[B] the pressure from its investors.

[C] the complaints from its readers.

[D] the increasing online ad sales.

37. Peretti suggests that, in face of the present situation, the Times should

[A] seek new sources of readership.

[B] end the print edition for good.

[C] aim for efficient management.

[D] make strategic adjustments.

38.It can be inferred from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that a “legacy product”

[A] helps restore the glory of former times.