[阅读] 四月贰拾陆至伍月阅读汇总（2010年5.25结贴）

草稿纸

17 和 51 好像是一样的；
28 和 50 一样；

拒绝被忽悠！！

草哥，Passage 29 (29/63)题目的答案能高亮一下吗

草稿纸

46. 动物group

有一篇讲的是 关于动物group的，有两段，第一段说传统在实验室里的理论是怎么样的，第二段说in the wild 动物的表现就跟实验室完全不同。最后说实验室的结论还是有可取之处，但是由于 conditions跟in the wild不同，所以出现错误。  1 有主旨题  2 高亮了最后的那个conditions 问是干什么的 3对比实验室跟野外观察的有什么区别

------------------------------------------------------------------

这个有点象63篇里面的 Weddell seal

Passage 29 (29/63)
Studies of the Weddell seal in the laboratory have described the physiological mechanisms that allow the seal to cope with the extreme oxygen deprivation that occurs during its longest dives, which can extend 500 meters below the ocean’s surface and last for over 70 minutes. Recent field studies, however, suggest that during more typical dives in the wild, this seal’s physiological behavior is different.
In the laboratory, when the seal dives below the surface of the water and stops breathing, its heart beats more slowly, requiring less oxygen, and its arteries become constricted, ensuring that the seal’s blood remains concentrated near those organs most crucial to its ability to navigate underwater. The seal essentially shuts off the flow of blood to other organs, which either stop functioning until the seal surfaces or switch to an anaerobic (oxygen-independent) metabolism. The latter results in the production of large amounts of lactic acid which can adversely affect the pH of the seal’s blood, but since the anaerobic metabolism occurs only in those tissues which have been isolated from the seal’s blood supply, the lactic acid is released into the seal’s blood only after the seal surfaces, when the lungs, liver, and other organs quickly clear the acid from the seal’s bloodstream.
Recent field studies, however, reveal that on dives in the wild, the seal usually heads directly for its prey and returns to the surface in less than twenty minutes. The absence of high levels of lactic acid in the seal’s blood after such dives suggests that during them, the seal’s organs do not resort to the anaerobic metabolism observed in the laboratory, but are supplied with oxygen from the blood. The seal’s longer excursions underwater, during which it appears to be either exploring distant routes or evading a predator, do evoke the diving response seen in the laboratory. But why do the seal’s laboratory dives always evoke this response, regardless of their length or depth? Some biologists speculate that because in laboratory dives the seal is forcibly submerged, it does not know how long it will remain underwater and so prepares for the worst.

1.    The passage provides information to support which of the following generalizations?
(A) Observations of animals’ physiological behavior in the wild are not reliable unless verified by laboratory studies.
(B) It is generally less difficult to observe the physiological behavior of an animal in the wild than in the laboratory.
(C) The level of lactic acid in an animal’s blood is likely to be higher when it is searching for prey than when it is evading predators.
(D) The level of lactic acid in an animal’s blood is likely to be lowest during those periods in which it experiences oxygen deprivation.
(E) The physiological behavior of animals in a laboratory setting is not always consistent with their physiological behavior in the wild.
2.    It can be inferred from the passage that by describing the Weddell seal as preparing “for the worst” (line 41), biologists mean that it
(A) prepares to remain underwater for no longer than twenty minutes
(B) exhibits physiological behavior similar to that which characterizes dives in which it heads directly for its prey
(C) exhibits physiological behavior similar to that which characterizes its longest dives in the wild
(D) begins to exhibit predatory behavior
(E) clears the lactic acid from its blood before attempting to dive
3.    The passage suggests that during laboratory dives, the pH of the Weddell seal’s blood is not adversely affected by the production of lactic acid because
(A) only those organs that are essential to the seal’s ability to navigate underwater revert to an anaerobic mechanism
(B) the seal typically reverts to an anaerobic metabolism only at the very end of the dive
(C) organs that revert to an anaerobic metabolism are temporarily isolated from the seal’s bloodstream
(D) oxygen continues to be supplied to organs that clear lactic acid from the seal’s bloodstream
(E) the seal remains submerged for only short periods of time
4.    Which of the following best summarizes the main point of the passage?
(A) Recent field studies have indicated that descriptions of the physiological behavior of the Weddell seal during laboratory dives are not applicable to its most typical dives in the wild.
(B) The Weddell seal has developed a number of unique mechanisms that enable it to remain submerged at depths of up to 500 meters for up to 70 minutes.
(C) The results of recent field studies have made it necessary for biologists to revise previous perceptions of how the Weddell seal behaves physiologically during


its longest dives in the wild.
(D) Biologists speculate that laboratory studies of the physiological behavior of seals during dives lasting more than twenty minutes would be more accurate if the seals were not forcibly submerged.
(E) How the Weddell seal responds to oxygen deprivation during its longest dives appears to depend on whether the seal is searching for prey or avoiding predators during such dives.
5.    According to the author, which of the following is true of the laboratory studies mentioned in line 1?
(A) They fail to explain how the seal is able to tolerate the increased production of lactic acid by organs that revert to an anaerobic metabolism during its longest dives in the wild.
(B) They present an oversimplified account of mechanisms that the Weddell seal relies on during its longest dives in the wild.
(C) They provide evidence that undermines the view that the Weddell seal relies on an anaerobic metabolism during its most typical dives in the wild.
(D) They are based on the assumption that Weddell seals rarely spend more than twenty minutes underwater on a typical dive in the wild.
(E) They provide an accurate account of the physiological behavior of Weddell seals during those dives in the wild in which they are either evading predators or exploring distant routes.
6.    The author cites which of the following as characteristic of the Weddell seal’s physiological behavior during dives observed in the laboratory?
I.    A decrease in the rate at which the seal’s heart beats
II.    A constriction of the seal’s arteries
III.    A decrease in the levels of lactic acid in the seal’s blood
IV.    A temporary halt in the functioning of certain organs
(A) I and III only
(B) II and IV only
(C) II and III only
(D) I, II, and IV only
(E) I, III, and IV only
7.    The passage suggests that because Weddell seals are forcibly submerged during laboratory dives, they do which of the following?
(A) Exhibit the physiological responses that are characteristic of dives in the wild that last less than twenty minutes.
(B) Exhibit the physiological responses that are characteristic of the longer dives they undertake in the wild.
(C) Cope with oxygen deprivation less effectively than they do on typical dives in the wild.
(D) Produce smaller amounts of lactic acid than they do on typical dives in the wild.


(E) Navigate less effectively than they do on typical dives in the wild.

-- by 会员 草稿纸 (2010/5/7 22:14:39)

ECCAEDB

http://forum.chasedream.com/GMAT_RC/thread-454360-1-3.html

46篇是谁报的？找主人来确认下吧？
我想不太可能这么古老的文章拿来考吧？
不过长得也太像了。。。

草稿纸

STM 是不是这个东西：

STM - Scanning Tunneling Microscopy


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The STM was invented by Binnig and Rohrer and has revolutionised the field of surface science, as real space atomic resolution images of a sample surface are now possible.

A fine pointed tip is brought extremely close to a surface. A voltage is placed between the tip and the sample surface. When the probe tip is very close to the sample surface, a tunneling current can exist between the tip and surface. The current flow is very sensitive to the distance between the tip and surface. The tip can be rastered across the surface with the aid of piezo-electric actuators. The current travelling between the sample and tip is sensed and the tip is moved towards and away from the sample surface keeping the current flow constant. Obviously, the sample needs to be electrically conducting, and to achieve atomic resolution for most samples the STM needs to operate in UHV conditions. See Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) for information on related techniques.

lmiltamy

對於第10道 factor business

想請問這題主旨題如何選,及   factor business為什麼要願意放款給這些公司??


謝謝

小货舱

辛苦了

顶

忽然忘了解脱

关于family woman 和single woman 的wage差异————————03年的考题，但我只找到了一个版本，不知道哪位同学能够找出更多的来~~~---忽然~

有一篇讲family woman 和single woman 的wage差异(长)。第一段：提出问题，然后某人认为原因是the former has less working experience because of labor and raising baby.另一人认为是temperary work与regular work的差异。第二段：两种看法都不对。即使考虑了这些因素，wage还存在差异，于是又提出五种看法：忘了。第三段，实证，反对第一种看法，支持第二种看法。最后一句：即使将所有因素都考虑在内，还有4%差异无法解释。（有题目）

忽然忘了解脱

上面是第58~

拒绝被忽悠！！

考古：鸟类迁徙的研究

V1by  didiflute
对一种鸟的study，前两段都讲的一种观点，第三段是这种观点的flaw和limitation。大概就是将一种什么鸟他会根据太阳光太转变位置，然后科学家做了什么什么试验来证明。然后第三段就提出两点反对。说可能是它自身的生物钟在起作用。考题有一道主旨题，我选的提出一种观点和他的flaw，比较确定。还考到第二段实验的细节，当时时间不够了所以没好好看，大家注意这里有细节题哈。
V2by  abcc9
关于鸟类迁徙方向的识别，有很多争议，有的说鸟是通过地形判断的，有的说通过看太阳判断的。接下来一段说有个研究，某种鸟是通过太阳导航的，当太阳在某一方向时，科学家用镜子改变阳光的来源，结果鸟就向镜子的方向飞过去了，所以说太阳是这种鸟导航的要素，但是一个问题是，太阳的位置是不断变化的，就算在一天中也有不用的位置，科学家推测，这种鸟还随太阳的位置体内的激素不断变化，鸟就明白太阳在一天中的位置了。大概是这个意思，记得不是很清楚……
V3by xiaoxin22
第一段某种鸟是如何定向的在迁徙的过程中
第二段有个人说 他觉得是sun,因为平时这些鸟是乱定向的（randomly），但春秋天（反正是迁徙的季节）， 却会统一定向，然后如果用mirror反射阳光，鸟会反定向（此处有题问， 如果遮住所有阳光， 鸟会怎样，我选会不定向，还有个选项是不会统一定向，也不知道是不会朝着该迁徙的方向定向，反正不确定答案）
第三段，但是，鸟是如何克服每天sun角度的不同的呢，有人认为是因为鸟身体内有某种机制可以调节这种rythmic（好像是这样拼的）此处有题。
V4by  fanyue111 （690 V31）
记得里面有一道题是 如果把天遮住也就是没有阳光那么鸟会怎样，我选得是会cease to flutter。
V5by  UVI928  (720)
鸟类可以利用太阳的方向来识别方位，讲一个人做了个笼子实验，平时笼子里的鸟都是无规律的乱跳动，但是当太阳照到笼子的时候，鸟就往那个时段本应迁徙的方位跳动。 然后又提出疑问，每天太阳的位置，还有一年四季里太阳的位置都在变动，鸟类又如何辨别，最后又说是因为鸟类体内有个生物钟的功能，可以相对应识别不同时间太阳的位置。
V6by piggyuu（710 V34）
好像考到两个有关主旨类的题。一个选了文章解释了一种phenomenon还引出一个问题之类的。考到遮住阳光会怎样那道，忘了我选的啥了，但是记得读完选项发现别的是不对的，大家碰到了现场看吧。还考到一题，题目关于太阳每天的变化的，选的是鸟类可以调节自己的节奏。。
V7by 夏之眠（770 V42）
问题, 如果遮住所有阳光鸟会怎样，选不会根据阳光进行flutter.很确定。文中提到鸟一年四季都在无规律跳动（flutter randomly throughout the year），但春天秋天（迁徙的季节），会统一向迁徙方向跳动。其他选项什么停止跳动啦冬夏跳动多啦通通不靠谱。不选那个cease to flutter, 正确选项有提到阳光。
问题2，主题，我选的是phenomenon那个。我觉得这文章明显就是现象解释型。我没选那个flaw那个选项。因为我觉得虽然第三段有人提出个问题，但是科学家的完满解释了这个问题。所以不算flaw.
问题3，问题，为什么提sunlight，选给出一个rhythmic现象的例子。很确定。文中是这样叙述的：有人问，一天中太阳位置不同，鸟类是如何定位呢？科学家说因为鸟身体内有生物钟，可以根据各种rhythmic现象进行调节
V8by leeyuan1(700)
阅读那个向太阳飞的鸟，说遮住笼子看不到光会怎么样，我选不飞。 题目里说这种鸟是白天飞的鸟（day-fly? bird反正这种词），然后固定季节（好像春秋来着）会往迁徙的地方飞，而平时呢就乱飞，没有光应该不飞了 cease to fly（谁叫他是白天飞的鸟。。）不知道这样理解对挖
V9by dennisz（710 V35）
一个问题是把笼子罩起来，鸟会怎么样。
记得鸡精里说鸟停飞，但是我在文章里没有找到停飞字样。
文章最后说鸟体内有类似生物钟的，可以根据生物钟感知太阳的方位。我认为即使太阳被盖起来，他们还是会飞的，但是有没有这样的选项，有一个干扰选项说，鸟在夏天跟冬天会呈现固定方向地飞，但是鸟是春秋才迁徙的，排除之。最后我纠结了半天，选了个D 说鸟会less likely to flattering. 点了next后出现了一道简单的改错，就开始后悔，觉得D也不对
V10by  6Y6（660）
遮光后那鸟会干嘛还是不确定。没有不会根据阳光flutter这个选项，不然这个应该是对的。感觉cease to flutter不太对，到时候应该还是会飞的。有问到为什么提sunlight，确定是给出rhythmic的例子。
V1
有一个科学家发现用镜子反射太阳光就可以扰乱候鸟的迁徙方向，说明白天迁徙的候鸟是根据太阳定方向的。有些科学家继续补充说不完善，候鸟还要知道时间，季节等因素与太阳位置的对应关系。
V2
鸟类迁徙认识路是有线索的, 一学者研究一种鸟是根据太阳位置认方向的, 因为他用镜子反射太阳光的时候, 这种鸟看见镜子里的太阳就转方向了。可是, 有人就会有疑问鸟是怎么区别太阳相对位置的移动的, 比如一天之内太阳位置是在变的. 文章解释可能是鸟类本身有生物钟来自动调整。有一道问第二段功能的题
V3
候鸟辨别方向的那篇，第二段主要的内容是提出一个新的思索，因为每天不同时间太阳的位置都是不一样的，那么鸟儿怎么去判断方向呢？可以的情况是鸟有个生物钟可以随着时间的变化纠正太阳的位置的指向作用。有个问题问第二段的作用，答桉是第二段提出了第一段没有考虑到的一个情况或者问题（不准确，大概是这样）
V4
Q1通过镜子的实验证明了什么？我选证明了候鸟飞行方向是受太阳影响的；还有一个选项是证明候鸟飞行方向受一些CLUE的影响,但定位（第一段）以后发现这些CLUE指的是太阳以外，别的对候鸟飞行方向有影响的东西（比如forest、潮汐什么的）。
Q2问第二段的作用。（第二段讲的是太阳方向不能完全解释候鸟飞行方向，可能有生物钟内部调控）选项有一个是说明第一段做实验的那个人fail to consider什么,另一个是讲由第一段的research引出的问题。我选后面那个。
Q3主题题？

拒绝被忽悠！！

32.制造商策略 -----这篇的考古V3有问题，V1和V2都是是对的，V3是另一个版本（overstock)
附上overstock考古：

V1byDoraZhao

manufacturer跟retailers对overstock的现象的解决方案。一个是return policy，一个是discount。说虽然这两种方式都能减缓retailers有overstock时的net cost，但是公认的第一种比较好，因为...但是第一种的成立建立在两种assumption上。然后分别两段讲这两个assumption的优劣。（超长，一屏半，最后一段的第二个assumption整段highlight问作用）

V2byjill88630（680 V35）

还有一篇是讲retailer 没卖完的货退给manufacturer。Return policy 和markdown money.

第一段介绍这两个概念，但说学者的传统的Return policy定义是基于两个assumption的：1.retailer没卖出去的products退回时没有costs（比如运费吧） 2. Manufacturer处理这些退货和retailer处理这些积压货是equal效力的。然后一段说assumption1 questionable. 在一段着重讨论assumption2. 大意就是M，R两方处理都各有利弊。全文大意是question traditional的理论.

V3by xiaotuchen(730)

最后一段长且貌似没有在考友们提供的原文里.最后一段主要说manufacturer 可以benefit from return policy and how to. 有一题把最后一段highlight直接问最后一段的大意。
V4byyuzheng（710 V35）

印象最深的一题就是把最后一段第二个assumption整篇highlight, 问这一段大至内容和作用什么之类的。我选了E，但是是什么我记不清了。但是感觉对。选项有提到markdown 和return的比较，让我很纠结，想了很久。其他题目没什么印象了，不好意思。不过原文就是JJ里用红色highlight出来的，那就是原文，大家可以好好看看。特别是最后一段
V5by mostovoi(710)

overstock那篇基本就是原文，原文为其的精简版，把jj看明白了原文就没问题了。题目有点忘了，但是要重点把握两种方法的优缺点，强烈建议把最后一段给看明白（我看得还不算太明白），我遇到两题是考最后一段的，一个细节题和一个整段全划线，所以请大家把这段好好分析分析。


考古by XYXB[目前考完的同学反馈遇到的内容与考古一致]

注：曾经传闻这个话题存在2个版本，长文章出现在高分库，短文章出现在低分库，文章侧重点不同。目前是根据原作者提供的关于assumption的描述找到的考古版本，所以大家使用时务必谨慎。

V1

第一段：生产商（manufacturer）如果库存过大，生产商的库存成本就会增大；但销售商（retailer）如果库存过大，那销售商的销售压力也会很大，并且一旦卖不出去，销售商也会面临损失。但为了让销售商多压货over-stock，现在通行的做法有两个：markdown和return，一个是卖不出去的可以退还（return）给生产商，另一个是当卖不出去后，生产商把后续的货多打折，这样用多打折而少收销售商的钱来补偿销售商在前一批货中没卖出去的损失（markdown）。由于有这两种方法，打消了销售商对压货的抵触，改善了生产商和销售商之间由于压货而导致的Channel关系。最后，本段介绍了这两种策略是要基于两种假设(assumption)的。

第二段：Return策略的使用有一个重大需要考虑的的问题，那就是return会产生货物的运输，并且在运输过程中还会出现破损、丢失等现象，这些全都是生产商要考虑的成本。举例说如果是时装厂商，那么他的运输、破损等方面的损失才几十刀，这对他来说是很少的成本，完全可以忽略。然后又根据第一段末说的假设应用到return 策略上进行分析（好象没有出题点，我也就没仔细看）。

第三段：说这些销售商多压了这么多货，那它怎么卖呢，好象只能用打折的方法向它现有的客户多卖，但估计还是会有剩，于是生产商最终还是不得不在事后的订货中用折扣的方法补偿销售商多进了但卖不出去的货的价钱，那么对于生产商来说，他是有经济利益损失的，所以这种方法不应该被广泛使用。而对于return的情况，那些return回来的货就算没有破损，对生产商来说很可能也已经没什么用了，比如前文说到的那个时装厂商，那些时装可能已经不时髦了，就算想便宜点儿卖出去也没人买了。

Q1：文中第二段举例说时装厂商想说明什么。我选举例说明return时是会有成本的
Q2：生产商用这两种让销售商压货的策略会有什么后果。我选影响生产商的利润
Q3：生产商用这两种让销售商压货的策略有什么好处，我选让销售商对压货没有太多顾虑

Q4: 和Markdown有关，我看文章的时候没注意到这个点，也不想再花时间回原文去找，随便选了一个。但个人感觉应该是在介绍那两种假设的部分去定位（仅供参考）。

Q5：mark down和return有哪一点不一样呢？

V2

return策略广为使用，学者们常常强调return这种策略的好处，并推荐使用return。但return的有效性是基于两个错误的假设：一个是return不会造成额外某些方面的成本；但其实有shipping cost，部分会产生货物的运输，并且在运输过程中还会出现破损、丢失等现象，这些全都是生产商要考虑的成本。另一个这部分说的是wrongly assumes that channel management ability are the same，其实我有点看不懂，不知道他说的是说retailer's ability or vendor's ability大家仔细看啰！Q：但是这一段的句末考了两题　针对最后的两个字考，大家读到这一定要好好注意　第一题考的是这两个最后亮黄字的推论题。

V3

讲生产商采取的两个策略让经销商多备库存：一个是给折扣，还有一个是可以退还给生产商。一段末说这两种策略有效基于两种假设。

第二段：讲了上段末的一个假设不成立，所以一种不好。

第三段: 超长，好像讲了其中一个的优点。有考点，问哪一个具体的例子符合这段说的。

V4

我补充第三段的问题，题目问下列哪个例子符合生产商可购回存货再利用的原则，有个选项说某衣服含有很贵的fiber可以拿来再利用的

另外是一个前人提到的问题，生产商用这两种让销售商压货的策略有什么好处，有混淆选项A是让零售商更愿意存货B是让零售商愿意存足够数量的货，我回第一段定位，发现零售商不是不存，只是都存不够，所以选了B，各位到时可以再自行判断



背景资料by dongdongkey
Managing Retail Channel Overstock: Markdown Money and Return Policies

Andy A. Tsay

Inventory strategy is fundamental to retailing, as well as to channel management. How this is handled can mean the difference between competitive advantage and financial disaster.

For their own sake as well as their mutual interest in the health of the overall distribution system, manufacturers and their retail partners share the desire to have enough inventory in place to satisfy customers and realize profits. But neither cares for the overstock that arises whenever demand falls short of expectations, and how to share the resulting costs is often a contentious issue. A number of channel policies have arisen as ways to broker this conflict. These include manufacturer return policies and markdown money (a payment made by a manufacturer to a retailer per item that must be discounted for final clearance purposes).

Return policies are often observed when demand is unpredictable and/or the risk of obsolescence is high. Markdown money also has a rich tradition among products facing such environments, including fashion apparel, cosmetics and fragrances, toys, specialty products, certain food categories, and over-the-counter medications.

Return policies are relatively well-studied, with numerous existing works advocating these as a way to improve the efficiency of the channel to the participants' mutual benefit. But none explain the reality that markdown money is sometimes paid to retailers expressly to avoid product returns. For example, Procter & Gamble's 1997 initiative "Streamlined '97" featured the use of markdown money in place of return privileges for discontinued items through its "Discontinued Products Transitions Program."
The objective of this article is to provide a mathematical framework within which these channel practices may be differentiated. This entails relaxing the following two key assumptions that are common to the existing literature of return policies.

(1) the physical return of product does not incur additional cost, and
(2) the channel members are equally effective at liquidating overstock.
This framework will enable what appears to be the first analytical study of markdown money.

Our work seeks to address a number of open questions. What circumstances call for the use of one policy instead of the other? How significant is the penalty for using the less appropriate policy? Are these policies examples of retailers imposing their will on weaker manufacturers? To what extent can the manufacturer recover the cost of providing such forms of insurance, for instance through increases in the wholesale price? How do such policies influence the determinants of the end consumer's experience (i.e., the retail price and the inventory made available for sale)? To address these and other important questions, we will present ideas about the management of overstock, introduce and assess existing research by discussing various modeling approaches, and provide new theoretical and numerical results that illuminate these practices and the extent to which they reflect the balance of strategic power in the channel.

This research reveals some surprising findings. For instance, while some recent evidence suggests a shifting of channel power towards retailers, this is not necessarily the root explanation for the existence of either return policies or markdown money. Notably, a theme that recurs throughout our theoretical and numerical investigation is that these policies are not simply the dictates of a powerful retailer. Instead, they can derive from the interests of manufacturers seeking to insure that adequate inventories are held in the channel. And in fact, there may be circumstances under which manufacturers may have a greater desire to implement such policies than their retail partners. Indeed, the Procter & Gamble initiative would be difficult to rationalize otherwise.

Another key insight is that the loss in channel efficiency from the simple act of ignoring handling costs, and consequently implementing a return policy when markdown money might be more appropriate, can be quite significant. The effect is the composite of two factors: (1) handling costs render a return policy logistically more costly, and (2) handling costs depress the retailer's order away from the system-optimal level. When the handling cost for returns is significant, there is some value to be recovered by properly adjusting the design of the return policy, and even more by using a different channel policy altogether.

In generalizing the existing literature our main conclusions are the following: (i) the proper design of a return policy must take into account any costs of product handling, especially in their influence on the retailer's behavior, (ii) a return policy may be inefficient if it entails liquidating any overstock in an inferior way, (iii) markdown money can coordinate the channel when a return policy cannot, (iv) unawareness of the issues differentiating these policies may result in a substantial loss of system performance, and (v) markdown money policies are not simply the dictates of a powerful retailer, but instead can derive from the interests of a manufacturer seeking to insure that adequate inventories are held in the channel. These findings can serve as the basis of empirical investigation about an important set of issues in the management of distribution channels.


考友frankmfg确认意见：我可以确定那篇overstock背景资料是原文。但是考试的是缩影版。但是有些句子是identical的！资料只是一篇paper的abstract，如果能找到全文，考试时可以直接做题。


考友piggyuu提供的近似原文（红色字体标注的是与考试原文完全相同或相似的句子）

If a product has a finite selling season and uncertain demand, retail overstock is a possibility. Anticipating how such surplus will devalue, the retailer may stock less of the item than the manufacturer would like, if any at all. As illustrated by P&G, manufacturer return policies and markdown money are two common strategies used by manufacturers to combat this tendency. Both work by decreasing the retailer's net cost of overstock.

Return policies are often observed when demand is unpredictable and/or the risk of obsolescence is high, as extensively documented by Padmanabhan and Png (1995) and Kandel (1996). Markdown money also has a rich tradition among products facing such environments, including fashion apparel (Ryan 1998; Monget 1998), cosmetics and fragrances (Parks 1996), toys (Leccese 1993), specialty products (Gallagher 1999), certain food categories and over-the-counter medications (Tenser 1997). However, nothing in our discussion thus far suggests if, when, or why either method might be preferable to the other.

The academic literature is silent on these questions. Return policies are certainly relatively well-studied (Pasternack 1985; Kandel 1996; Padmanabhan and Png 1997; Emmons and Gilbert 1998; Donohue 2000; Webster and Weng 2000), as will be discussed in greater detail in the next section. These works advocate return policies as a way to improve the efficiency of the channel to the participants' mutual benefit. However, this conclusion relies on two assumptions that mask the differences between the practices in question:
(1) the physical return of product does not incur additional cost, and

(2) the channel members are equally effective at liquidating overstock (2).

The first assumption is problematic in that the handling, logistics, and administrative overhead associated with moving product back up the channel may be substantial. For instance, P&G Cosmetics has calculated that each handling of an item (because of damage, discontinuation, or simple return) costs 34 cents, a nontrivial fraction of typical profit margins for such products (Born 1997). And Hal Upbin, CEO of Kellwood Co. (a manufacturer of ready-to-wear apparel) notes, "We don't take anything back; the cost of handling would be absurd (Infotracs 1997)."

With respect to the second assumption, the reality is that recovering value from surplus product is a substantive professional competency, and different parties likely have different aptitude and tolerance for this (Hungerford 1999). The retailer obviously has the most immediate option, i.e., to sell to the same customer base at a discount. Indeed, access to markets and comparative advantage in merchandising are among the underlying reasons a retail channel would be used in the first place, and these factors should persist at the clearance phase. However, if the residual value comes from recovering and reusing the raw materials, the manufacturer could have an advantage. Also, by consolidating the returns from multiple retailers a manufacturer might be able to assemble an assortment商品分类 that becomes economically viable for resale to a discount specialist (e.g., T. J. Maxx in the apparel industry). Additional aging of the product and potential damage during the processing of returns should be considered, of course. Similar points are raised, but not formally pursued, by Kandel (1996) and Padmanabhan and Png (1997).