The end of financial year is approaching and, with it, the AGM, when we will have to give an account of the year's proceeding to our shareholders. As usual at this time of year, I am sending a copy of this informal end-of-the-year report to all members of the sales force. I hope that you will all find it useful and that you will let me know if you have any comments. I value your input.
We started this year with a major new product and we really hit the ground running. Our sales for the first quarter of the year were very impressive and, indeed, broke all records. (74) This was particularly heartening as this occurred at a time when many of our competitors were feeling the pinch. Indeed, there was talk among economic experts of an impending recession and even of economic meltdown. Fortunately, this gloom and doom did not materialize.
It was good that we were able to buck the trend, but as I said, we had a major new product and one, indeed, that is popularly believed to have broken the mould of kitchen equipment. Therefore, it would have been extremely surprising, not to say distressing, if we had not achieved substantial sales with it.
What is rather distressing is that the rest of the year did not live up to the promise of the first quarter, this despite the fact that the financial state of the country improved in the course of the year. (75) To some extent, of course, it would not have been realistic to expect that peak level sales could be sustained throughout the year. Some falling-off was worse than had been anticipated. This gave us all food for thought and, fortunately, we were able to learn from the experience. Indeed, I think we should regard the introduction of the new product as a useful learning curve from which all departments have benefited. The whole programme of product launching has been assessed and revised where appropriate. We shall all be better prepared next time.
We started this year with a major new product and we really hit the ground running. Our sales for the first quarter of the year were very impressive and, indeed, broke all records. (74) This was particularly heartening as this occurred at a time when many of our competitors were feeling the pinch. Indeed, there was talk among economic experts of an impending recession and even of economic meltdown. Fortunately, this gloom and doom did not materialize.
It was good that we were able to buck the trend, but as I said, we had a major new product and one, indeed, that is popularly believed to have broken the mould of kitchen equipment. Therefore, it would have been extremely surprising, not to say distressing, if we had not achieved substantial sales with it.
What is rather distressing is that the rest of the year did not live up to the promise of the first quarter, this despite the fact that the financial state of the country improved in the course of the year. (75) To some extent, of course, it would not have been realistic to expect that peak level sales could be sustained throughout the year. Some falling-off was worse than had been anticipated. This gave us all food for thought and, fortunately, we were able to learn from the experience. Indeed, I think we should regard the introduction of the new product as a useful learning curve from which all departments have benefited. The whole programme of product launching has been assessed and revised where appropriate. We shall all be better prepared next time.
判断题
The sales report was usually sent out in the middle of the financial year.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第一句The end of financial year is approaching可知不是在年中。
判断题
The company was not affected by an economic downturn in the first quarter.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第二段内容，可知该公司一季度销售额非常可观，而其竞争对手的日子却不好过，所以一季度该公司未受经济下滑影响。
判断题
The company gained useful experience on how to launch and sell a new product.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第四段最后一句话The whole programme of product launching has been assessed and revised where appropriate. We shall all be better prepared next time. 可知发布新产品的过程得以重新评估和改进，故该公司从中获取了有益的经验，陈述正确。
问答题
translate the underlined sentences of the passage into Chinese. Remember to write the answer on the answer sheet.
______
______
【正确答案】在我们的竞争对手感到拮据的时候出现这种情况，让人感到非常振奋。
【答案解析】
问答题
______
【正确答案】当然，从某种程度上来说，期待全年的销售额都保持在高位是不太现实的。
【答案解析】