Corporate Crime有何经济及社会成本？

经济成本：虽然对于单个消费者来说数量有限，但可以为公司制造巨大的非法利润；

社会成本：这样的事件一经曝光，会使公众对于商业企业丧失信心；同时，受损失的往往是社会最底层的穷人。

结合此次事件，我们不难看出，Corporate Crime的主要动机，无非是减少成本，增加企业的利润。当然，在出现危机之后，麦当劳作为全球知名企业，其危机处理（crisis management）很得当，第一时间发表声明，承担责任，全部召回（recall），并承诺退费（refund）。

【背景常识】“麦当劳召回史瑞克玻璃杯”这一事件的背后，是关于health and disease的基本常识。在此话题中，召回水杯的原因，是因为其中含有过量的重金属镉。那么镉对于人体有什么样的危害呢？我们一起来了解一下：

Hazards of a heavy metal

Cadmium is a soft, whitish metal that occurs naturally in soil. Most people get a microscopic dose of the heavy metal just by breathing and eating.

Without direct exposure, however, people usually don't experience its nasty side: cancer, kidneys that leak vital protein, bones that spontaneously snap.

Cadmium is particularly dangerous for children because growing bodies readily absorb substances, and cadmium accumulates in the kidneys for decades.

"Just small amounts of chemicals may radically alter development," said Dr. Robert O. Wright, a professor at Harvard University's medical school and school of public health. Recent research by Wright found that as cadmium exposure increased, kids were more likely to report learning disabilities.

【必杀词汇】分析认为，一旦雅思听力考到有关健康问题而引起的产品召回事件，以下词汇必然落入出题者的考察范围之内：

toxic 有毒的

cadmium 镉

recall 召回

refund 退款

promotional campaign 宣传活动

depict 描绘

carcinogen 致癌物质

exposure 暴露

bone softening 骨质疏松

kidney肾

leach过滤

pigment 颜料

microscopic dose of 微量的

leak 漏

protein 蛋白质

accumulate 累积

radically 彻底地，完全地

learning disabilities 学习障碍