单选题 .  PepsiCo is to spend billions of dollars to develop drinks and snacks and reformulate existing ones with lower sugar, salt and fat, as consumers demand healthier options and regulatory pressure intensifies amid an obesity epidemic (流行病).
    The maker of Mountain Dew and Gatorade has been one of the earlier movers in the industry to offer products with reduced levels of unhealthy ingredients—PepsiCo claims a packet of its chips now contains less salt than a slice of white bread. However, its new 10-year plan makes clear it believes it still has a long way to go.
    Shifting eating habits, including a sharp drop in consumption of sparkling drinks, have forced radical change on the industry. But those shifts have yet to be reflected in record obesity levels, which stand at 36.5% overall in the US.
    Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman, said the plan to make its products healthier was important for the company's growth. But on the subject of obesity, she pointed out that consumers' lifestyles have changed significantly, with many people being more sedentary (久坐不动的) not least because more time is spent in front of computers. She said PepsiCo's contribution was to produce healthier snacks that still tasted good.
    "Society has to change its habits," she added. "We can't do much to alter sedentary lifestyles, but we can provide consumers with great-tasting products, low in salt, sugar and fat. In the past we had to have a taste trade-off. But we're breaking that trade-off."
    PepsiCo's plan for its foods and drinks is based on guidelines from the World Health Organisation, which last week backed using taxes on sparkling drinks to reduce sugar consumption. Initiatives also include efforts to reduce its environmental impact, water consumption and materials used in packaging by 2025.
    PepsiCo did not say exactly how much it planned to invest to reach its goals. However, Dr Mehmood Khan, chief scientific officer, said the company had doubled research and development spending in the past five years and was "committed to sustaining investment", adding that companies cannot cost-cut their way to increasing sales. PepsiCo's research and development budget in 2015 was $754 million.1.  Why is PepsiCo making a policy change? ______
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】 由于消费者对健康食品的要求增加，以及对肥胖流行病的监管压力加大，百事公司计划斥资数十亿美元用于发展饮料和零食业务，并将现有的产品按低糖、低盐和低脂肪的方向重新配置
   激浪和佳得乐的制造商是该行业较早在食品中减少不健康成分的企业之一——百事公司宣称，现在一包薯片的含盐量低于一片白面包。然而，百事公司新的十年计划也明确表示，它相信自己还有很长的路要走。
   饮食习惯的改变，包括汽水消费的大幅下降，已经迫使该行业发生了根本性变化。但这些变化还没有反映在美国的肥胖记录上，目前全美的肥胖率为36.5%。
   百事公司的董事长卢英德表示，提高产品健康度的计划对公司的发展很重要。但在谈到肥胖问题时，她指出，消费者的生活方式发生了显著变化，许多人静坐的时间变长了，尤其是因为要花更多时间坐在电脑前。她说，百事公司的贡献是生产出味道依然不错但更健康的零食。
   “社会必须改变它的习惯，”她补充道“我们无法改变久坐的生活方式，但我们可以为消费者提供口味极佳的产品，同时叉低盐、低糖和低脂肪。在过去，我们必须在口味上做出取舍。但我们正在打破这种权衡。”
   百事公司的食品和饮料计划是根据世界卫生组织的指导方针来制定的。世界卫生组织上周支持对碳酸饮料进行征税，以减少糖的摄入。倡议还包括，到2025年，努力减少碳酸饮料对环境的影响、对水的消耗和包装材料的使用。
   百事公司没有具体说明计划投入多少资金来实现这一目标。不过，该公司首席科学官梅穆德?汗博士表示，在过去5年里，该公司的研发支出已经增加了一倍，并“致力于保持投资”。他补充道，公司不能通过削减成本来增加销售。百事公司2015年的研发预算为7.54亿美元
   根据题干中的PepsiCo和出题顺序定位到第1段。
   题目询问百事公司改变策略的原因。第1段一开始就提到百事公司计划斥资数十亿美元(spend billions of dollars)用于发展饮料和零食业务，并将现有的产品按低糖、低盐和低脂肪的方向重新配置(reformulate existing ones)这就是题目中的making a policy change的具体体现。后半句是as引导的原因状语从句，指出原因是“消费者对健康食品的要求增加(consumers demand healthier options)”，选项C“满足对健康食品日益增长的需求”与之对应，故为答案。
   文章从头到尾没有提到联邦政府(federal government)，排除A“赢得联邦政府的支持”。B“在全球市场变得更具有竞争力”和D“更明智地投资软饮料行业”都没有原文依据，故排除。