英文阅读理解1
-
TEXT ONE
Tesco is
preparing a legal battle to clear its name of
involvement in the dairy
price-fixing
scandal that has cost consumers £270 million.
Failure to prove that it had
no part in
collusion with other supermarkets and dairy
processors may land it with a
fine of
at least £80 million. The Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) said yesterday that Asda,
Sainsbury’s and the former Safeway,
plus the dairy companies Wiseman, Dairy Crest
and Cheese Company, had admitted being
in a cartel to fix prices for milk, butter and
cheese. They were fined a total of just
over £116 million as part of a leniency deal
offered by the watchdog to companies
that owned up quickly to anti-competitive
behaviour.
Officials at the
OFT admitted privately that they did not think
they would ever
discover which company
or individual had initiated the pricing formula.
But the
watchdog recognises that at the
time supermarkets were under pressure from
politicians and farmers to raise the
cost of milk to save dairy farming, though it is
not
certain that money found its way to
farmers. The OFT claimed in September that it had
found evidence that the retail chains
had passed future milk prices to dairy companies,
which then reached a fixed price among
themselves.
The average cost to each
household is thought to be £11.25 over 2002 and
2003.
Prices went up an extra 3p on a
pint of milk, 15p on a quarter of a pound of
butter and
15p on a half pound of
cheese. There is no direct recompense for
consumers, however,
and the money will
go to the Treasury. The National Consumer Council
gave warning
that the admissions would
dent consumer confidence in leading high street
names and
that people would become
sceptical of their claims. Farmers For Action, the
group of
farmers that has led protests
over low milk prices since 2000, is seeking legal
advice on
whether it can now bring a
claim for compensation.
The OFT
investigation is continuing, however, in relation
to Tesco, Morrisons and
the dairy group
Lactalis McLelland, and any legal action is
expected to be delayed until
that is
completed.
Tesco was defiant and said
that it was preparing a robust defence of its
actions.
Lucy Neville-
Rolfe,
its executive director, said: “As we have always
said, we acted
independently and we did
not collude with anyone. Our position is different
from our
competitors and we are
defending our own case vigorously. Our philosophy
is to give a
good deal to
customers.”
Morrisons has
supported the OFT in inquiries into the former
Safeway business
that it took over, but
in a statement said
that it was still
making “strong
representations” in its
defence. A spokeswoman for Lactalis McLelland said
that the
company was
“co
-
operating” with the OFT.
Industry insiders suggested that the three
companies were deliberately stalling
the OFT investigation.
Sainsbury’s
admitted yesterday that it had agreed to pay £26
million in fines, but
denied that it
had sought to profiteer. Justin King, the chief
executive, said he was
disappointed
that the company had been penalised for actions
meant to help farmers
but recognised
the benefit of a speedy settlement. Asda declined
to say how much it
would pay in fines
and also said that its intention had been to help
farmers under
severe financial
pressure.
1. From the first paragraph,
we may infer that _____
[A] Tesco has
cost consumers £270 million.
[B] Tesco
has colluded with Asda, Wiseman, Dairy Crest and
Cheese Company in
fixing the dairy
price.
[C] Tesco will be offered a
leniency deal of £80 million.
[D] Tesco
is trying its best to prove its innocence of the
scandal.
2. Who is most probably the
initiator of the pricing formula?
[A]
retail chains.
[B] farmers.
[C] dairy companies.
[D]
politicians
3. The word “defiant” (Line
3, Paragraph 4)most probably means
_____.
[A] resisiting
[B] angry
[C] deficient
[D] confident
4. We may
infer from Morrisons’ statement that
_____.
[A]
Morrisons was uncooperative with OFT.
[B]
Morrisons was reluctant
to support the inquiries into the former Safeway
business.
[C] Morrisons was
trying to delay the OFT investigation.
[D] Morrisons was working hard to
defend its interests.
5. The writer’s
attitude to Tesco can be said to be
_____.
[A] biased.
[B] objective.
[C]
sympathetic.
[D] optimistic.
篇章剖析：
本文介绍了目前奶制品公
司因内部设定价格而面临受到的调查和处罚的状况。
第一
段由<
/p>
Tesco
公司目前正在通过法律解决自己面临的困境引出本文的
话题；
第二段是追溯
牛奶价格上涨的原因；
第三段是讲述牛奶价格上涨对消费者的损害；
第四段又回到
Tesco
事件上，描述了其态度；第五段和第六段讲述其他相关公司对该事件的看法和
态度。
词汇注释：
processor n.
加工者
cartel n.
卡特尔
,
联合企业
,
垄断集团
leniency n.
宽大，慈悲
,
慈悲宽厚的行为
dent v.
使凹下
,
凹进
,
削弱
defiant adj.
挑战的
,
挑衅的
,
目中无人的
stall v.(
使
)
停转
,
(
使
)
停止
,
迟延
profiteer vi.
牟取暴利
难句突破
:
(1) They
were fined a total of just over £116 million as
part of a leniency deal
offered by the
watchdog to companies that owned up quickly to
anti-competitive
behaviour.
主体句式
: They were fined a
total of just over £116 million as part of a
leniency
deal…
结构分析
:
这是一个复合句，其成分比较复杂。
offered by
the watchdog to
companies
作为一
个分词短语来修饰前面的
deal,
而后面
< br>that
引导的定语从句又修饰
companies.
句子译文
:
他们总共的罚金只有一亿一
千六百万多点，这是监察部门对积极坦白反
竞争行为公司的一种宽大处理。
(2) The National Consumer Council
gave warning that the admissions would dent
consumer confidence in leading high
street names and that people would become
sceptical of their claims.
[
主体句式
] The
National Consumer Council gave
warning
„