2013年英语四级阅读试题及答案17

　　Passage Four

　　We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as "regular"coffee and it took several years to gain general acceptance (introduction stage). At one point, though, Instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity and many brands were introduced (stage of rapid growth). After a while people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off (stage of maturity). Sales went into a slight decline (衰退)when freeze-dried coffees were introduced (stage of decline).

　　The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: Different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not decline. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the military?

　　Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may re-position the product to appeal to new market sections.

　　Another product extension strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to recapture world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles dramatically from year to year to keep demand from falling.

　　26. According to the passage, when people grow fond of one particular brand of a product, its sales will .

　　A)decrease gradually C)improve enormously

　　B)become unstable D)remain at the same level

　　[答案与分析]：D。 文中第一段倒数第二句：After a while,people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off.一般时间以后，人们熟悉了一个品牌，销量也就不再上升。level off意为保持平飞，喻意为事业到达不可能再发展的阶段。

　　27. The first paragraph tells us that a new product is .

　　A)usually introduced to satisfy different tastes

　　B)often more expensive than old ones

　　C)often inferior to old ones at first

　　D)not easily accepted by the public

　　[答案与分析]：D。 文中第一段第二句：When it was introduced,most people did not like it as well as“regular”coffee,and it took several years to gain general acceptance.当一种新咖啡被介绍时，大多数人象对待普通咖啡一样不喜欢它，得到公众的认可，要花上几年时间。

　　28. Marketers need to know which of the four stages a product is in so as to .

　　A)work out marketing policies C)promote its production

　　B)increase its popularity D)speed up its life cycle

　　[答案与分析]：A。 文中第二段第一句：The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this;Different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies.The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not decline.产品的周期对行销人员的重要性是，产品周期不同的阶段会有不同的策略。目标是扩大产品周期以使销量和盈利不会降低。

　　29. The author mentions the example of "backpacks"(Line 4, Para.2 ) to show the importance of .

　　A)increasing usage among students C)pleasing the young as well as the old

　　B)exploring new market sections D)serving both military and civil needs

　　[答案与分析]：B。 文中第二段第三句：One strategy is called market modification.It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections.有一项叫做市场修正的策略，它意味着市场经营人员要寻找新的消费群和新市场。

　　30. In order to recover their share of the world market, U.S. auto makers are .

　　A)improving product quality C)re-positioning their product in the market

　　B)modernizing product style D)increasing product features

　　[答案与分析]：C。 文中最后一段第三句：American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to recapture world markets.美国的汽车制造厂正在利用改进产品质量作为重新占领世界市场的一种方式。其中，to recapture(夺回)与re-positioning(重新找到位置)意义相符。