Wal-Mart is now mounting a bold expansion that could double its sales within just five years, to $480 billion. Some of that growth will come in new markets outside the U.S., where 1,200 stores in nine countries already account for about 16% of the chain"s total sales. But even more growth will be won as the chain insinuates itself into more U.S. neighborhoods and invades more product categories. If you think Wal-Mart already sells just about everything, think again. Think PCs, ceiling fans, more fashionable clothing, gasoline and even cars. "Their goal is to have a 30% share of every major business they are in," says Linda Kristiansen, a retail analyst for UBS Warburg Equity Research. If there"s no Wal-Mart store near you, just wait. If you shop at Wal-Mart, expect your store to get bigger or a new store to open even closer. The chain plans to expand from 3,400 U.S. locations to day-half of them in the South—to a nationwide network approaching 5,000 stores in five years. Wal-Mart has 1,300 Supercenters, many of them converted from standard discount stores, offering everything from hardware to groceries and drugs. In some areas, it is placing these 17, O00-sq-m monsters as close as 8 km apart. And in the spaces between, it"s tormenting local groceries and convenience stores with Neighborhood Markets (call"em Small-Marts). Wal-Mart is building its first urban Supercenter, in downtown Dallas. And without fanfare it is testing used-car sales alongside one of its Houston stores. "It"s surprising how much room we have for growth," says Robson Walton, 58, Sam"s son and the company"s nonexecutive chairman. "I"m not trying to be flippant," adds Lee Scott, 52, Wal-Mart"s CEO. "But simply put, our long-term strategy is to be where we"re not." Yet for Wal-Mart to get where it is now is going to be a lot harder than it was to get where it is. Even with sales expected to grow to about $240 billion for the fiscal year that ends Jan. 31, price wars in its grocery business narrowed Wal-Mart"s profit margin to its lowest level in four years. The company plans to fatten profits by becoming more of a producer and even designer of its goods, especially clothing. It"s making blouses in China and towers in India that it intends to sell everywhere from Berlin to Beijing and Boston. But fashion is a notoriously fickle business. And by diving deeper into the manufacturing of more of its products, Wal-Mart is braving a path that has brought grief to some of history"s biggest retailers, such as A&P and Sears.
单选题
The figures listed in the first paragraph show that
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：篇章结构题。根据题干定位至首段，该段提到了一系列具体数字：$480 billion，1，200 stores，16%。本段属于典型的论点—论据(给数据)式段落展开方式，给出数据的目的是为了支持论点，令人信服。首句指出：只需五年，他们的销售额将会翻一番，达到4,800亿美元。末句又提到more growth will be won，可见首段的中心思想是沃尔玛在快速扩张，故答案选项为这些数据支持的观点。首段第二句指出Some of that growth will come in new markets outside the U.S.，这里只提到部分增长点是美国之外的新市场；在解释沃尔玛快速扩张时提到的细节内容并非观点；首段只提到沃尔玛增长速度快，并未对其总规模进行评价。
单选题
According to Linda Kristiansen, Wal-Mart
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：推理判断题。由题干中的Linda Kristiansen定位至第二段引用处。她说：沃尔玛的目标是在自己涉足的主要领域占到30%的市场份额。该段首句指出：如果你认为沃尔玛销售的商品门类几乎已经齐全了，那么再想想吧。接着指出沃尔玛还没有涉足的领域：电脑、吊扇、时尚服饰、汽油、汽车。因此可推断，Linda的言外之意是沃尔玛会涉足更多领域，并打算在许多重要领域占领很大市场份额。第二段首句用条件句If you think…，think again对"沃尔玛经营所有商品"表示了否定；该段末句提到沃尔玛计划五年内将国内店铺增加至5,000家，这是文中提供的事实细节，非Linda的观点；根据英文篇章结构特点可知，细节是为主旨服务的，因此Linda的话是为了说明沃尔玛的经营范围所作的引用。
单选题
What can be inferred from the words of Robson Walton and Lee Scott?
单选题
Why are "Berlin to Beijing and Boston" mentioned in the last paragraph?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：推理判断题。根据题于中的Berlin to Beijing and Boston定位至末段第四句。该段提到沃尔玛面临的财政问题及解决办法—让自己成为服装类商品的生产商，甚至是设计商，以此来提高利润。接着指出：沃尔玛在中国生产衬衫，在印度生产毛巾，而这些产品将行销全球，从柏林到北京再到波士顿。从句中的sell everywhere可以看出作者是用Berlin，Beijing和Boston这几个具有代表性的城市解释"行销全球"这个概念。本文主题是沃尔玛公司的发展情况，文中提到的三个城市位于不同的洲，这代表其市场遍及全球，其目的不是为了说明这几个城市本身重要；作者也并未提及沃尔玛在这三个城市的经营状况或这三个城市的经营前景如何。
单选题
The author"s opinion upon the development of Wal-Mart is