Passage 1 ● Read the text taken from a book on marketing management. ● Choose the best sentence to fill in each of the gaps. ● For each gap 9-14, mark one letter A-H on your Answer sheet. ● Do not mark any letter twice. ● There is an example at the beginning. From 1900 until 1940s, approximately 400 shoe manufacturers were operating in New England; by 1985, only 10 percent remained. Griffth Shoes-making Company survived by producing a premium-quality product that was difficult to duplicate and that appealed to a narrow market segment willing to pay high prices for Griffth Shoes-making Company quality. As fashion became a more important component of men’s shoe purchasing behavior and casual styles became more popular, the company broadened its product line to include several fashionable and lightweight styles that retained the famous Griffth Shoes-making Company quality. (9)______ In 1985, the men’s premium shoe market was considered to include brands with a price range of $75 or higher. Griffth Shoes-making Company, Inc. Johnston & Murphy, E. T. Wright & Company, Allen Edmonds, and Florsheim were the major domestic manufacturers producing premium shoes. Measuring market share within the industry was difficult because so many of the manufacturers were private companies, like Griffth Shoes-making Company. (10)______ Allen Edmonds, headquartered in Wisconsin, relied primarily on nonproprietary retail outlets for its distribution. Its advertising was sizable, with expenditures in the $1 million to $2 million range. (11)______ Allen Edmonds also operated a small direct mail catalog business, the majority of whose costs were handled by Edmonds’ retail accounts. E. T. Wright & Company, headquartered in Massachusetts, operated an extensive direct mail business and, like Griffth Shoes-making Company, relied on nonproprietary distribution. (12)______ Florsheim’s product line covered several price points, including those in the premium market. Florsheim was, by far, the strongest competitor, with an estimated market share of 18 percent and both nonproprietary retail distribution channels. Hanover, a medium-priced shoe manufacturer, also was noted for its direct distribution system. (13)______ Imports accounted for a 50 percent share of the total men’s shoe market. Bally, the strongest competitor was the leading imported brand in this market before 1975 and maintained a market share of close to 25 percent at that time. By 1985, other imported brands included Baker Benjes, Cole Haln, Ferragamo, Bruno Magli, and Church’s. (14)______ Most of the imported brands were lighter in weight and designed to appeal to more fashion-conscious consumers. A. The imported products differed from the domestic premium brands, however. B. Nonetheless, Griffth Shoes-making Company faced several strong domestic competitors and unrelenting price competition from imports. C. The continued labor intensity of shoe manufacturing made the industry vulnerable to lower-priced imports. D. In addition, these companies were not always in direct competition because distribution channels differed. E. Despite the market pressures, Griffth Shoes-making Company remained profitable and had even diversified its distribution channels by establishing direct mail cataloging in the late 1970s. F. Johnston & Murphy, on the other hand, operated proprietary retail outlets and experimented in the mail order business for both men’s and ladies’ premium shoes. G. Most of this was spent promoting brand name awareness to consumers. H. The company owned over 100 proprietary retail stores, operated a successful mail order business, and produced private label footwear for J. C. Penney & Sears, Roebuck department stores.
正确答案:
9.B 前一句描述格瑞福斯制鞋公司在新英格兰制鞋业整体不景气的趋势下,仍然坚持自己的特色,积极适应市场动态需求。后两句指出国内各竞争对手。选项B起到了承上启下的作用。 10.D 前一句指出各个企业的国内市场份额很难确定,原因是“…so many of the manufacturers were private companies.”,而此句后面又列举了几个企业的不同的分销渠道。由此可见,私有企业比重大和分销渠道各异都是造成国内市场份额很难确定的原因。 11.G (广告)的主要目的在于扩大产品在消费者中的知名度。前一句提到爱伦·埃德蒙斯公司投入大量资金进行广告宣传,而后一句提到该公司还进行邮购直销。由此可知空缺处应该也是关于广告的。故选G。 12.F 该空前一句指出赖特公司,同格瑞福斯制鞋公司一样依靠非专卖销售渠道,开展广泛的邮购直销,所以接下来应对格瑞福斯制鞋开通邮购直销的情况进介绍。故选F。 13.H 前一句提到Hanover作为一家中档制鞋企业,也以它的直销系统而闻名。后一句介绍了进口情况。故空缺出应继续详细说明汉诺威尔公司的情况。故选H。 14.A 该空前一句主要介绍都有哪些进口的品牌,而后一句主要指出进口货与国内品牌的不同之处。因此空缺处应该指出进口产品与国内的廉价品牌是不同的。