阅读题题目如下
文章：
Extensive research has shown that the effects of short-term price promotions on sales are themselvesshort-term. Companies' hopes that promotions might have a positive aftereffect have not been borne out for reasons that researchers have been able to identify. A price promotion entices only a brand's long-term or "loyal" customers; people seldom buy an unfamiliar brand merely because the price is reduced. They simply avoid paying more than they have to when one of their customary brands is temporarily available at a reduced price. A price promotion does not increase the number of long-term customers of a brand, as it attracts virtually no new customers in the first place. Nor do price promotions have lingering aftereffects for a brand, even negative ones such as damage to a brand's reputation or erosion of customer loyalty, as is often feared.
So why do companies spend so much on price promotions? Clearly price promotions are generally run at a loss, otherwise there would be more of them. And the bigger the increase in sales at promotion prices, the bigger the loss. While short-term price promotions can have legitimate uses, such as reducing excess inventory, it is the recognizable increase in sales that is their main attraction to management, which is therefore reluctant to abandon this strategy despite its effect on the bottom line.
提问：
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A compare the arguments in favor of a certain strategy with those against it
B attack a certain strategy by enumerating its negative consequences
C justify the use of a certain strategy in light of certain criticisms that have been made against it
D advocate a particular strategy by arguing against an alternative
E explain the effects of a certain strategy and the primary motivations for adopting it
2. According to the passage, which of the following is the reason why short-term price promotions do not attract new long-term customers to a brand?
A Short-term price promotions do not produce an increase in sales.
B Customers come to regard the promotional price as the fair price and the regular price as excessive.
C Most customers select among competing products largely on the basis of price and very few are loyal to any particular brand.
D Customers who have not previously bought the promoted brand are almost never persuaded to do so by the short-term price promotions.
E Any customers that a brand gains by means of a short-term price promotion are liable to be lost when a competing brand has a similar promotion.
3. The passage suggests that evidence for price promotions' "effect on the bottom line" (line 40) is provided by
A the lack of lingering aftereffects from price promotions
B the frequency with which price promotions occur
C price promotions' inability to attract new customers
D price promotions' recognizable effect on sales
E the legitimate uses to which management can put price promotions
4. It can be inferred from the passage that if a company ceased to run short-term price promotions for a particular product, an effect of this change would be to
A reduce excess inventory of the product
B lose some of the product's long-term customers
C reduce the product's overall sales
D inhibit growth in the number of the product's customers
E threaten the product's profitability
本题答案
E D B C
选项分析
第一题：
A. 文章没有在Argue。
B. 只是陈述没有在攻击。
C. 根据批评来论证使用特定的策略是正确的。不妥，并没有批评在里面，只所以不存在辩解，只是单纯阐述事实。
D. 没有说到alternative。
E. 阐述特定策略的一些影响以及使用它的主要原因，很好的概况的两段的意思。选E
第二题：
A. 促销无法带来销售的增长，错，原文最后一段说“it is the recognizable increase in sales that is their main attraction to management, ”;另外，这个销售量也无法解释为何无法吸引新的长期顾客。
B. 顾客们认为促销价是公平的，而平时的价格是过度的;错，原文无此一说，
C. 大部分顾客主要依据价格选择产品，很少忠于特定品牌。错，原文没有提到。
D. 原文：A price promotion entices only a brand's long-term or "loyal" customers; people seldom buy an unfamiliar brand merely because the price is reduced.促销只吸引品牌的长期忠实用户，而人们很少会仅仅因为降价就去买不熟悉牌子的产品。正好对应这个选项(之前没有买过这个品牌的用户几乎不会因为短期降价促销就来买)。所以选D
E. 通过促销而带来的顾客往往因为竞争品牌采取同样的策略而流失。错，原文并未提到竞争。
第三题：
解题关键在bottom line上，在经济学中，bottom line专指净收益，意思等同于net income。根据原文reluctant to abandon this strategy despite its effect on the bottom line看出此处的effect应该是负面影响，也就是收益损失。知道这个意思后看选项哪个会对净收益产生负面影响。
A. 缺乏由降价产生的后续效果。
B. 促销活动进行的频繁程度。
C. 促销无法吸引新用户。
D. 促销对销售产生的可见效益。
E. 管理层对促销的合理使用。
根据原文：Clearly price promotions are generally run at a loss, otherwise there would be more of them. And the bigger the increase in sales at promotion prices, the bigger the loss.降价促销是在亏本做生意，否则肯定会有更多此类活动。而促销价期间的销售额越高，亏本也就越大。而最能够跟原文结合起来的就是促销活动的频繁程度。所以结合起来，B选项正确。
第四题：
如果某公司停止短期降价促销，会产生什么影响
A. 减少多余库存。错，促销才能清库存。原文：such as reducing excess inventory
B. 损失长期用户(忠实用户)错，不会损失。原文：A price promotion does not increase the number of long-term customers of a brand, as it attracts virtually no new customers in the first place. 促销不会增加忠实用户，因为首先它就无法吸引到新用户。只提到了促销不会增加，没有提到停止促销会损失。
C. 减少产品总销售额。正确，促销停止了，卖得少了，自然销售额就下降了。选C
D. 抑制产品购买用户的增长。错，解释同B。
E. 威胁到产品利润。错，原文：Clearly price promotions are generally run at a loss, otherwise there would be more of them. And the bigger the increase in sales at promotion prices, the bigger the loss.降价促销是在亏本做生意，否则肯定会有更多此类活动。而促销价期间的销售额越高，亏本也就越大。促销只会减少利润收益。停止促销是否会影响利润收益没有明显提到，所以不选。
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