【时事聚焦】美国消费者产品安全委员会6月4日宣布，由快餐巨头麦当劳销售的1200万个饮水杯已被紧急召回，因为这批产品含有致癌物质镉。麦当劳公司当天发表声明说，它已主动召回这批问题产品，并将向消费者赔款。声明说，这批问题产品是为了宣传刚上映的动画影片《永远的史瑞克》而制作的，水杯上印有影片中的动画形象。详见以下的原版新闻：
McDonald's pulls ‘Shrek’ glasses for cadmium
Toxic cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald's, forcing the fast food company to recall 13.4 million of the collectibles in the U.S. and Canada.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the voluntary recall early Friday, warned consumers to immediately stop using the glasses; McDonald's said it would post instructions on its website next week regarding refunds.
The 16-ounce glasses, being sold for about $2 each as part of a promotional campaign for the movie "Shrek Forever After," were available in four designs depicting the characters Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey.
Known carcinogen
The CPSC noted in its recall notice that "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Cadmium is a known carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems.
In the case of the Shrek-themed glassware, the potential danger would be long-term exposure to low levels of cadmium, which could leach from the paint onto a child's hand, then enter the body if the child puts that unwashed hand to his or her mouth.
Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint. McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said a pigment in paint on the glasses contained cadmium. "A very small amount of cadmium can come to the surface of the glass, and in order to be as protective as possible of children, CPSC and McDonald's worked together on this recall," said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. He would not specify the amounts of cadmium that leached from the paint in tests, but said the amounts were "slightly above the protective level currently being developed by the agency."
McDonald's said it was asking customers to stop using the glasses "out of an abundance of caution." "We believe the Shrek glassware is safe for consumer use," Whitman said. "However, again to ensure that our customers receive safe products from us, we made the decision to stop selling them and voluntarily recall these products effective immediately."
Whitman said that as the CPSC develops new protocols and standards for cadmium in consumer products, "we adjust as necessary to ensure that our customers can continue to trust what they receive from McDonald's."
【热点话题】作为一个大型食品生产企业，麦当劳出现这样的问题令人忧虑。但是，其迅速的危机反应速度及勇于承担责任的态度，导致其口碑和公信力并未受到很大影响。分析认为，此话题与雅思考试中corporate crime以及health and disease联系紧密。
Corporate crime（企业的犯罪行为）
在剑桥4的Test 2 Section 4中，讨论了Corporate Crime的话题，我们一起来了解一下相关的内容。
何为Corporate Crime？如何区分Corporate Crime以及一般犯罪？
Corporate crime is generally committed for companies. 其是为了公司利益而进行的犯罪。
Corporate Crime为何会长久被媒体及学术界忽视？
三个原因：1、Corporate Crime通常非常复杂（complex），涉及很多的专业知识（specific knowledge）；2、与传统的犯罪相比，Corporate Crime当中涉及更少的个人利益；3、许多Corporate Crime的受害者（victim）自身并为意识到。
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
