A. Whether the high marketing expenses of the highly competitive cereal market led to the increase in cereal prices
文中没有任何关于marketing expenses和competition的意思. 排除！
B. Whether cereal manufacturers use marketing techniques that encourage brand loyalty among consumers
文中没有要encourage brand loyalty among consumers的意思。排除！
C. Whether the variety of cereals available on the market has significantly increased over the last 10 years
文中没有关于 cereals的不同种类, 排除！
D. Whether the prices that supermarkets charge for these cereals will reflect the lower prices the supermarkets will be paying the manufacturers
这个乍一看，似是而非，但跟文中所提的大降价有直接关系。所以先看E，如果E太离谱了，就选D。
E. Whether the sales of certain types of cereal have declined disproportionately over the last 10 years
文中根本没有涉及任何有关cereal品种的文字，直接排除！
所以选D。
-- by 会员 ajassmine (2009/11/22 6:01:01)
manufactuer-->distributor-->wholesaler-->retail store--> to customer
this is a typical supply and distribution chain.
In the problems you mentioned above, it is :
manufactuer-->retail store-->customer
If price reduction could not reflect on the retail price, manufactuer has no way to evaluate the effects of reducing wholesales price. It is high possible that retaile store improve its profit but not increase its sales volume
Did I make myself clear?
-- by 会员 quellekind (2009/11/22 2:26:24)
