单选题 "What does the middleman do but add to the price of goods in the shops?" The sentence comments on the middle operations between manufacturers and final customers. The middle action usually attracts a lot of attention from the public and the press. Generally speaking, the operation now talked about is what is often called wholesaling.
The wholesaler buys goods in large quantities from the manufacturers and sells them in smaller parcels to retailers, and for this service his selling price to the retailer is raised several percent higher. For example, a wholesaler might purchase 5,000 pairs of work gloves and then sell 100 pairs to 50 different retailers. But his job is much more difficult because retail demand is not necessarily in accordance with manufacturers' production. Therefore, he adjusts or regulates the selling amount of goods by holding stock until required so that changing demand doesn't have an effect on the production, to some extent. Nonetheless, he has to bear the whole risk.
The manufacturer can then keep up a steady production amount, and the retailer has no need to hold heavy stocks, who can call on the wholesaler for supplies any time. This wholesale function is like that of a valve (阀门) in a water pipe. The middleman also bears part of the risk that would otherwise fall on the manufacturer and also the retailer.
The wholesaler provides a purely commercial service, for which he is well rewarded too. But that doesn't mean that it is the wholesaler who adds to the cost of goods. It is true that one could eliminate the wholesaler but one of his functions should be left: that of making sure that goods find their way to the people who want them. Some large wide-world famous discount chains, such as Wal-Mart Store and IKEA, serve as their own wholesalers. These companies go directly to factories and-other manufacturing outlets, buy in large amounts and then warehouse and ship the goods to their stores.

单选题 "Middleman" in paragraph one refers to ______.
A. retailer B. manufacturer
C. person in the middle D. wholesaler

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】词义判断题。由文章第一段第二句可知，middleman介于生产商(manufacturers)和最终的用户(final customers)之间，本段最后一句话又具体说明middleman从事的活动，由“Generally speaking, the operation now talked about is what is often called wholesaling.”可知，middleman从事的是批发，因此[D]wholesaler(批发商)正确。

单选题 The wholesaler obtains higher selling prices for ______.
A. small parcels
B. goods he buys in large quantities
C. the service he provides
D. the information he offers

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节题。由文章第二段第一句话后半部分“and for this service his selling price to the retailer is raised several percent higher”可知，批发商因其服务而使价格上涨，因此应选择[C]选项。

单选题 The wholesaler regulates the selling amounts of goods by ______.
A. keeping in accordance with manufacturers' production
B. holding down stock of commodities
C. keeping stock for stronger demand
D. adjusting the prices of goods in time

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推理题。文章第二段中提到批发商“his job is much more difficult because retail demand is not necessarily in accordance with manufacturers' production”，批发商比零售商难，零售商不必要和产量保持一致，言下之意就是批发商需保证售出和产量一致。文章第二段的最后部分也说明了这一点“Therefore, he adjusts or regulates the selling amount of goods by holding stock until required so that changing demand doesn't have an effect on the production, to some extent”，批发商储存货物直到需求的时候才卖出，通过这种方式，他们可以调节和控制销售货物量，这样，需求的改变在一定程度上不会影响产量。因此应选择[A]选项。

单选题 What function of the wholesaler is compared to a valve?
A. Controlling the amounts of goods.
B. Pushing up demand from retailers.
C. Bearing part of the risk for manufacturers.
D. Selling goods to retailers.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推理题。文章第三段中提到“This wholesale function is like that of a valve(阀门)in a water pipe．(批发商的这一功能就像水龙头的阀门一样)”，然后回到上文，从第三段第一句中找到“this wholesale function”所指。“The manufacturer can then keep up a steady production amount, and the retailer has no need to hold heavy stocks, who can call on the wholesaler for supplies any time.”，生产商可以保持产量稳定，零售商无需储存大量商品，他们可以随时要求批发商供货，也就是说，批发商可以控制商品的量，因此[A]选项正确。

单选题 Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. People cannot do without the wholesaler's function.
B. The wholesaler does not keep stocks of goods.
C. The wholesaler helps to reduce the price of goods in shops.
D. The wholesaler is well paid for his commercial service.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】细节题。由文章第四段一句话“The wholesaler provides a purely commercial service, for which he is well rewarded too.”可以看出，批发商提供纯商业服务，也因此获得利益，因此应选择[D]。[D]选项中的be well paid与文中的be well rewarded含义。