Câu 9 Phần I · Đề chính thức Tiếng Anh 2025 (Bộ GD&ĐT) – mã đề 1119

Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 1 to 10.

We seem to be entering a boom era for greenwashing – the tactic of covering routine pollution in eco-friendly language. [I] Picture running a high-emitting corporation: meaningful decarbonisation would demand painful negotiations, huge capital outlays, and a full redesign of the business model. Hiring an expert agency to splash “carbon-neutral” or “net-zero” across products is far easier, buying time while emissions remain untouched.

Consumers meet this sleight of hand everywhere. Airlines sell “carbon-neutral” flights, filling stations boast about “net-zero” fuel, and breakfast bacon is re-labelled as planet-safe. Advertising spin is old, yet today it is manipulated to conceal ongoing environmental damage. Social media influencers and glossy sustainability reports amplify these claims, broadcasting the narrative far beyond traditional marketing channels.

The term greenwashing emerged in the 1980s, an era of oil spills and growing climate science, but the practice has exploded only recently. [II] Intensifying public anxiety over global heating and ecosystem collapse has placed companies under sharp scrutiny; many boards therefore choose eye-catching PR over the tougher route of restructuring supply chains, energy sources, and product lines. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are struggling to police false eco-claims, yet enforcement still lags behind corporate ingenuity. Investors, eager to protect short-term returns, frequently applaud these surface-level initiatives, reinforcing the cycle. [III] No sector illustrates the issue better than oil and gas. Having realised that denying climate science now backfires, the industry has swapped denial for “green” paint. Press releases trumpet potential renewable ventures while drilling plans expand unabated.

Why does this matter? Greenwashing and climate denial share a core objective: to postpone the deep emission cuts claimed by scientists as urgent this decade. [IV] Whereas denial disputes the crisis, greenwashing misleads the public into believing problems are solved, thereby eroding consumer advocacy of genuine environmental actions and stalling regulatory reforms. In effect, it acts as a soothing lullaby, guiding society ever closer to ecological breakdown while fostering a false sense of progress. Exposing the facade – and insisting on verifiable, measurable carbon reductions – is essential if rhetoric is to give way to real action.

(Adapted from https://www.greenpeace.org.uk)