天山9-Q14:

popcorn in canola oil, instead of the less healthful coconut oil that it had been using until

then. Now Moviemania is planning to switch back, saying that the change has hurt

popcorn sales. That claim is false, however, since according to Moviemania’s own sales

figures, Moviemania sold 5 percent more popcorn last year than in the previous year.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument against

Moviemania’s claim?

A. Total sales of all refreshments at Moviemania’s movie theaters increased by less

than 5 percent last year.

B. Moviemania makes more money on food and beverages sold at its theaters than it

does on sales of movie tickets.

C. Moviemania’s customers prefer the taste of popcorn popped in coconut oil to that

of popcorn popped in canola oil.

D. Total attendance at Moviemania’s movie theaters was more than 20 percent

higher last year than the year before.

E. The year before last, Moviemania experienced a 10 percent increase in popcorn

sales over the previous year.

答案是A，虽然是5个选项中较好的，但也感觉问题很大。如果前年到去年的爆米花销售额增长是200%，而今年只增长5%，而所有的零食销售额增长是没有用的，因为爆米花的销售额可以在其中只占很少，所以爆米花增长再多，全部零食的销售额也可能是下降的。

在此重点关心的单是爆米花的销售，要反驳的是电影院关于换油会造成爆米花销售损害的说法，所以要考查两方面，一是爆米花的销量变化，二是爆米花的消费基础，也就是看电影人数的变化。

而通过题干发现爆米花销售增长，同时A答案说总体refreshment增长少于5％，暗含的意思是说看电影人数没有太大的变化。因此基于判断说，爆米花的销售没有被削弱。

在这里还不能单纯的拿爆米花前年的增长比和去年的增长比来进行比较，因为外部条件的变化会影响前后两年的销售变化，就像说去年A公司销售增长的比例是50％，而今年全国汽车总体销量下降，A公司只销量增长了5％，即使这样可以说今年A公司的销售是取得了进步的。