求助TT-4-5

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.

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

正确答案是B。但我不理解“bottom line”在文中的含义，因此也根本无法理解答案B，希望得到各位NN的解释，非常感谢！

自己顶一下！希望能得到各位大侠的帮助，万分感谢！