Forget football. At many high schools, the fiercest competition is between Coke and Pepsi over exclusive "pouring rights" to sell on campus. But last week Jeffrey Dunn, president of Coca-Cola Americas, called a timeout: Coke’s machines will now also stock water, juice, and other healthful options--even rival brands and their facades will feature school scenes and other "noncommercial graphics" instead of Coke’s vivid red logo. "the pendulum needs to swing back" on school-based marketing, said Dunn. Coke’s about-face--particularly the call to end the exclusive deals that bottlers make with school districts--comes amid rising concern over kids’ health: American children are growing ever more obese and developing weight-related diseases usually found in adults. While inactivity and huge helpings factor heavily, a recent study in the Lancet fingered soda pop as a likely culprit. Communities--and legislators--are already on the case. Last year, for instance, parents in Philadelphia detailed a proposed contract with Coca-Cola that would have netted the school system $ 43 million over 10 years. And in a searing’ report to congress last month, the U. S. Department of Agriculture recommended that all snacks sold in schools meet federal nutrition standards (the requirements are loose enough that Snickers bars qualify). Spare change Activists hope Coke’s capitulation will help curb commercialism in schools altogether. From ads on Channel One, which broadcasts current-affairs programs on classroom TV, to middle-school math texts that cite Nike and other bran-name products in their word problems, to company-sponsored scoreboards on football fields, American pupils are bombarded. But Andrew Hagelshaw, executive director of the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Commercial-Free Public Education, views Coca-Cola’s policy shift as a "partial victory". Schools sign contracts with local bottlers; the parent company can only urge them to back off. Moreover, Coke’s machines will remain in place, although with healthier options. And don’t expect teenagers to suddenly swear off the stuff--or school districts to give up the revenue. At Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., where students arrive before 7 a.m. and stay as late as 11 o’clock at night, they rely on the machines. And the $ 50,000 in annual vending revenues have enabled Principal Joe Boland to refinish the gym floor, in- stall a new high-jump pit, and pay $ 7,000 for two buses. "If someone made an offer to me to take the machines out, I’d consider it," says Boland. "But nobody’s offering me any money.\ Supporters of Coca-Cola would say that its new practice will ______.
A. set a moral example for other commercialism on campus
B. stop any commercialism in school in the near future
C. help the business prevail over others in school
D. gain a wide acclaim from all the students
Can animals have a sense of humor Sally Blanchard, publisher of a newsletter called the Pet Bird Report, thinks a pet parrot may have pulled her leg. That’s one explanation for the time her African gray parrot, named Bongo Marie, seemed to feign distress at the possible death of an Amazon parrot named Paco. It happened one day when Blanchard was making Cornish game hen for dinner. As Blanchard lifted her knife, the African gray threw back its head and said, "Oh, no! Paco!" Trying not to laugh, Blanchard said, "That’s not Paco," and showed Bongo Marie that the Amazon was alive and well. Mimicking a disappointed tone, Bongo Marie said, "Oh, no," and launched into a hoarse laugh. Was the parrot joking when it seemed to believe the other bird was a goner Did Bongo Marie comprehend Blanchard’s response Studies of African grays have shown that they can understand the meaning of words--for example, that red refers to a color, not just a particular red object. Parrots also enjoy getting a reaction out of humans, and so, whether or not Bongo Marie’s crocodile tears were intentional, the episode was thoroughly satisfying from the parrot’s point of view. In the last sentence, the clause "the episode was...point of view" suggests that Bongo Marie was ______.
A. quite content with its own performance
B. believed to have a sense of humor
C. trying to win its host’s favor
D. successful, in getting a human response