Niall FitzGerald would have liked to
leave Unilever in a blaze of glory when he retires at the end of September. The
co-chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods group was one of the
godfathers of Unilever's "Path to Growth" strategy of focusing on its brands,
which was launched five years ago. But the plan failed to deliver on many of its
promises. On September 20th, Unilever warned that it would not report its
promised double-digit growth in profits this year. It is a
tough time for producers of branded consumer goods. Unilever and its competitors
have to cope with pressure on prices and stiff competition from supermarkets'
own brands. Colgate-Palmolive warned of lower profits on the same day. Nestle
recently disappointed investors with its latest results. Even so, Unilever
admits the bulk of its troubles are self-inflicted. The "Path to Growth"
strategy aimed to make the firm more efficient. Unilever saved about 4 billion
euro ( $ 4.9 billion) in costs over the past five years and reduced its
portfolio of brands from 1,600 to some 450. But it still failed to meet its
targets for profit and sales, reporting a sales decline of 0.7% for the second
quarter of this year. Andrew Wood at Sanford Bernstein, an
investment-research firm, thinks the main problem is under-investment in
advertising and marketing, an infatuation with brands and unrealistic
performance targets. Unilever cut its ad and marketing expenditure at the worst
moment, says Mr. Wood. Com- moditised products are especially: vulnerable to the
onslaught of retailers' own brands. In margarine, for instance, retailers' own
brands now capture as much as one-fifth of the market. Unilever also
over-extended some successful brands, for instance Bertolli's olive oils and
pasta sauces. According to Mr. Wood, Unilever can sustainably grow its business
about 3% a year; it was shooting for 5-6%. Unilever's chief
financial officer (CFO) counters that consumers look for a product and then buy
a brand, so his firm needs to focus on brands. Unilever intends to step up its
marketing efforts, although ad spending is supposed to remain at current levels.
At present, Unilever spends 14.5% of sales on ads. But even the CFO admits the
company has "issues of competitiveness". After seven quarters of disappointing
performance, it needs to regain credibility with investors. Over the next few
months, management will rethink its strategy for the next five-year plan.
Patrick Cescau, a Frenchman who will take over from Mr. FitzGerald, is
inheriting a tricky legacy.
单选题
Which of the following about "Path to Growth" strategy is true?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题问关于“Path to Growth”计划以下哪个选项正确。由首段第二句中“…Unilever's Path to Growth’ strategy of focusing on its brands”可知C项“它强调联合利华公司的品牌”正确。
[A]它很难实施：首段倒数第二句“But the plan failed to deliver on many of its promises”是指该计划没有达到它所承诺的效果，并非无法实施。实际上，第二段中间提到该计划使联合利华节省了40亿英镑，可见该计划已经付诸实施，只不过没有达到预期目标。
[B]它有一个辉煌的历史：本项取材于首段首句提到的“a blaze of glory”，但文中用的是虚拟语气，指Niall FitzGerald本希望自己带着荣誉退休，但实际上由于“Path to Growth”计划的失败，这种梦想已经不可能了。这与“Path to Growth”的历史无关，而且文中也一直在谈论“Path to Growth”计划的失败之处，谈不到它有辉煌的历史。
[D] 它带来高增长率：由首段后两句可知该计划无法完成其承诺的两位数增长率的任务，因此谈不上带来高增长率。
单选题
According to the passage, Niall FitzGerald
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题问Niall FitzGerald……。由关键词“Niall FitzGerald”可定位到首段或末段结尾处。末段末句提到 Patrick将会代替Niall FitzGerald的职位，也就是说他会变成Patrick的前任。故C项“会变成Patrick的前任”正确。本项属于反向出题，文中说Patrick代替Niall，但答案是Niall变成Patrick的前任。
[A]是无能的领导者：由文章来看，Niall FitzGerald所制定的计划失败了，但胜败乃兵家常事，并不能只由这一件事就推出他无能。本项以偏概全，过于绝对。
[B]将会荣耀退休：这是对首段首句中“…to leave Unilever in a blaze of glory when he retires…”的曲解。首段首句用的是虚拟语气，他希望能荣耀退休，但事实上计划失败了，因此就谈不上荣耀了。
[D]是联合利华的创始人之一：首段第二句中“…was one of the godfathers of Unilever's‘Path to Growth’strategy…”表明他只是“Path to Growth”计划的创始人之一，而不是联合利华公司的创始人。
单选题
In the eyes of Unilever, its troubles mainly lie in
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】本题问联合利华认为它的问题的原因是……。定位题干中的“troubles mainly”。第二段第五句提到“Unilever admits the bulk of its troubles are self-inflicted”，随后谈到“Path to Growth”计划的影响并指出它的效果不理想。可见联合利华认为主要还是自身的计划有问题。计划即经营策略。故D项“经营策略”正确。本文的中心议题就是联合利华的计划效果未达到预期目标，这正与D项答案相符，这再次说明贴近中心的容易是解，所以一定要牢牢把握文章中心。
[A]激烈的竞争：第二段开头几句谈到激烈的竞争对许多生产商都有影响，但这是作者的观点，而不是联合利华的看法。在第二段第五句联合利华承认主要还是自身问题。由常理来看，联合利华也会承认激烈的竞争是原因之一，但本文的主题是讨论该公司的自身计划问题，所以竞争只能是次要原因。要求考生分清主次是常见考法。这类题目一般问的是主要方面，用次要的方面做干扰项。
[B]效率低下：第二段第六、七句提到“Path to Growth”计划在提高效率方面已经取得一些成果，因此原因不会是效率低下。本项属于常识干扰项。
[C]销售量下降：这是计划不成功导致的后果，是问题的一种表现形式，而不是问题产生的根源。在讨论某种麻烦的原因时，出题人有时会用它的一种具体表现形式作为干扰项，本项就是这种情况。
单选题
We can learn from the last paragraph that Patrick Cescau
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题问从最后一段我们得知Patrick Cescau…”。由关键词“Pattick Cescau”定位到末段末句。末段末句提到“Patrick Cescau…is inheriting a tricky legacy”，这里“tricky”是棘手的意思，也就是说Patrick Cescau面临的工作会很棘手，故B项“会面临棘手的局面”正确。
[A]会放弃对品牌的强调：文中并没有提到这点。实际上虽然Wood批评联合利华公司过于注重品牌，但该公司的CFO依然坚持品牌的重要性。可以看出公司的管理层似乎不想放弃对品牌的强调。
[C]学会了狡猾的战术：这是对末段末句中“tricky”的曲解，在这里“tricky”表示棘手的局面，并非狡猾的意思。本干扰项再次告诉我们要在文中理解其含义，不能孤立地看一个词。
[D]会坚持“Path to Growth”计划：末段倒数第二句谈到“management will rethink its strategy for the next five-year plan”，可见Patrick继任后很可能对下一个五年计划作出调整，不会再坚持原来的计划了。
单选题
Unilever's CFO thinks that Wood's comments are