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 3...

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 31 to 40.

        A conspicuous shift is underway in corporate sustainability: not so much in deeds as in declarations. This decade’s surveys suggest that while 87% of firms sustain or expand ESG spending, nearly a third speak less about it; likewise, the “Financial Times” notes 71% of America’s fifty largest companies keep climate goals yet scrub “ESG” from public pages, Alphabet included. [I] That ambivalence is often glossed as this quiet confidence – a poise born of action without anthem – though detractors call it opacity masquerading as prudence.

        So what is greenhushing? It is the deliberate soft-pedalling – or outright avoidance – of outward claims about sustainability work. Unlike greenwashing, which over-claims impact, greenhushing understates it even when progress is real. [II] On the surface, such restraint looks like a detox from performative messaging. In practice, it signals a sector wrestling with authenticity under scrutiny: companies fear mischaracterising complex, provisional data while stakeholders, increasingly exacting, expect plain, durable truth over sloganised triumphalism.

        Why the surge? In some markets, ESG has been politicised; public-affairs crossfire and litigation risks nudge executives toward silence. Meanwhile, rules are tightening: the EU’s CSRD, California’s SB 253, and Australia’s nascent sustainability standards elevate disclosure stakes and auditability. [III] Companies treat silence as risk management, yet that tactic incubates other, subtler risks. Internally, shaky emissions baselines, outdated dashboards, and misaligned teams make communicators unsure what can be shared without later retraction or technical caveats.

        Going quiet carries costs: trust erodes when achievements stay invisible; momentum stalls when teams’ toil goes unrecognised; opportunities with investors and partners slip by; and collective learning slows because methods aren’t shared. [IV] Thoughtful transparency, by contrast, is data-backed, plainspoken, candid about obstacles, focused on progress, consistent in cadence, and cross-functional so external words match internal work. The counsel is simple: don’t await perfection – state where you are and how you are moving, then evidence the movement over time.

(Adapted from https://www.zevero.earth/blog/what-is-greenhushing)

Question 31. According to paragraph 1, companies are investing in ESG but ______.

A. they increasingly overstate outcomes to secure awards and favourable press coverage

B. they increasingly avoid saying “ESG” to sidestep politicised, distracting controversies

C. they increasingly outsource disclosures to consultants to evade direct accountability

D. they increasingly bundle climate targets with marketing campaigns for wider reach

Question 32. The word politicised in paragraph 3 mostly means ______.

A. highly partisan                                        B. loosely technical

C. mildly administrative                                D. vaguely ceremonial

Question 33. Which of the following best summarises paragraph 2?

A. Greenhushing mostly occurs in small firms lacking communication teams and rarely affects multinational corporations that rely on sophisticated communications infrastructure.

B. Greenhushing and greenwashing are identical practices; both distort impact and should be censured by regulators across international jurisdictions immediately.

C. Greenhushing, unlike greenwashing, understates progress; restraint can look virtuous but often reflects confusion under scrutiny and fear of misrepresenting complex data.

D. Greenhushing is primarily a consumer-level problem, arising from misinterpretation of eco-labels and insufficient environmental literacy among retail audiences worldwide.

Question 34. What does the passage say thoughtful transparency should prioritise?

A. Evidence-based updates, candid hurdle-mapping, steady cadence, and alignment between external promises and internal execution.

B. Annual press conferences, maximalist claims, polished slogans, and emphasising awards from industry associations.

C. Outsourcing analytics, generic dashboards, legalese-heavy disclosures, and temporary campaigns during climate summits.

D. Selective case studies, upbeat anecdotes, influencer partnerships, and embargoed metrics until audits conclude.

Question 35. What is greenhushing?

A. Overclaiming environmental gains                B. Downplaying bona fide progress        

C. Pausing all sustainability work                        D. Rebranding emissions as offsets

Question 36. The phrase this quiet confidence in paragraph 1 refers to ______.

A. scientific certainty                                        B. market dominance

C. executive hubris                                        D. muted messaging        

Question 37. Which of the following best paraphrases the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A. Withholding communications appears protective yet paradoxically cultivates latent vulnerabilities, eroding institutional memory and constraining future strategic maneuverability for the organization.

B. Strategic reticence successfully insulates organizations from scrutiny while fortifying legitimacy, as markets interpret restraint as operational maturity and disciplined governance.

C. Muted disclosure strategies generate volatility initially but consistently outperform transparency by preserving leverage and enabling adaptive narrative recalibration over time.

D. Comprehensive communications blackouts allow regulators latitude to overlook deficiencies, neutralizing compliance risks while affording discretionary timelines for metric refinement.

Question 38. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A. Firms that build transparent habits early will adapt more smoothly as auditing standards harden, reducing disruption when disclosure becomes mandatory across jurisdictions.

B. Investor appetite for ESG is waning rapidly, so greenhushing primarily reflects shrinking capital markets rather than strategic communication trade-offs by management.

C. Regulators now discourage data transparency because messy, imperfect baselines cause confusion among consumers and heighten litigation against global enterprises.

D. The passage implies that robust sustainability metrics are unnecessary provided companies keep communications consistent, plainspoken, and limited to quarterly updates.

Question 39. Where in the passage does the following sentence best fit?

Some executives therefore postpone external statements until metrics are refreshed and internal sign-offs converge.

A. [I]                                B. [II]                        C. [III]                        D. [IV]

Question 40. Which of the following best summarises the passage?

A. Greenhushing reflects a communication shift driven by scrutiny, regulation, and data doubts; silence carries costs, while consistent, honest, evidence-based transparency builds durable credibility.

B. Greenhushing shows companies abandoning sustainability; communications have no strategic role because investors now discount ESG claims across major markets.

C. Greenhushing proves marketing is obsolete; only legal teams should manage disclosures as climate reporting becomes purely compliance-driven in every jurisdiction.

D. Greenhushing validates secrecy as the safest course; organisations should under-report until perfect data emerges and external expectations finally stabilise.