gwd4-5

Q3 to Q6:

      Extensive research has shown

            that the
effects of short-term price

            promotions
on sales are themselves

Line     short-term.  Companies’ hopes that

  (5)      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

 (10)     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

 (15)     their customary brands is temporar-

ily available at a reduced
price.  A

price promotion does not increase

the number of long-term customers

of a brand, as it attracts
virtually

 (20)     no new customers in the first place.

            Nor do
price promotions have linger-

            ing
aftereffects for a brand, even

negative ones such as damage to

a brand’s reputation or erosion of

 (25)     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

 (30)     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

(35)        
reducing excess inventory, it is the

recognizable
increase in sales that

is their main
attraction to manage-

ment, which is therefore reluctant

to abandon this strategy despite

its effect on the bottom line.

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Q5:

The passage suggests that evidence for price promotions’
“effect on the bottom line” (line 40) is provided by

1. the
        lack of lingering aftereffects from price promotions
2. the
        frequency with which price promotions occur
3. price
        promotions’ inability to attract new customers
4. price
        promotions’ recognizable effect on sales
5. the
        legitimate uses to which management can put price promotions

Answer:

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  The official answer is c. I think it should be b. Does anyone have any clue?

这题我也做错了，回头再看，认为应该选D

题目问“这种最低限度的作用是由什么来提供的”，定位到这句话：it is the recognizable increase in sales that is their main attraction to management. 正是因为短期促销能提供可观的销售增长，经理们才不肯抛弃这个政策。