单选题 Maxton Corporation had ______ increased profits before its new product was released to the public.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 词汇：副词
1．这是一道词汇题，选项均为副词。
2．空格内应填入一个副词，修饰动词increase，before后的内容与前面内容相反，因此应选择表否定意义的hardly。