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  3. [A] The first and more important is the consumer’ s growing preference for eating out: the consumption of food and drink in plac

[A] The first and more important is the consumer’ s growing preference for eating out: the consumption of food and drink in plac

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问题    [A] The first and more important is the consumer’ s growing preference for eating out: the consumption of food and drink in places other than homes has risen from about 32 percent of total consumption in 1995 to 35 percent in 2000 and is expected to approach 38 percent by 2005. This development is boosting wholesale demand from the food service segment by 4 to 5 percent a year across Europe, compared with growth in retail demand of 1 to 2 percent. Meanwhile, as the recession is looming large, people are getting anxious. They tend to keep a tighter hold on their purse and consider eating at home a realistic alternative.
   [B] Retail sales of food and drink in Europe’ s largest markets are at a standstill, leaving European grocery retailers hungry for opportunities to grow. Most leading retailers have already tried e-commerce, with limited success, and expansion abroad. But almost all have ignored the big, profitable opportunity in their own backyard: the wholesale food and drink trade, which ap-pears to be just the kind of market retailers need.
   [C] Will such variations bring about a change in the overall structure of the food and drink market? Definitely not. The functioning of the market is based, on flexible trends dominated by potential buyers. In other words, it is up to the buyer, rather than the seller, to decide what to buy. At any rate, this change will ultimately be acclaimed by an ever-growing number of both domestic and international consumers, regardless of how long the current consumer pattern will take hold.
   [D] All in all, this clearly seems to be a market in which big retailers could profitably apply their gigantic scale, existing infrastructure, and proven skills in the management of product ranges, logistics, and marketing intelligence. Retailers that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe may well expect to rake in substantial profits thereby. At least, that is how it looks as a whole. Closer inspection reveals important differences among the biggest national markets, especially in their customer segments and wholesale structures, as well as the competitive dynamics of individual food and drink categories. Big retailers must understand these differences before they can identify the segments of European wholesaling in which their particular abilities might unseat smaller but entrenched competitors. New skills and unfamiliar business models are needed too.
   [E] Despite variations in detail, wholesale markets in the countries that have been closely examined—France, Germany, Italy and Spain—are made out of the same building blocks. Demand comes mainly from two sources; independent mom-and-pop grocery stores which, unlike large retail chains, are too small to buy straight from producers, and food service operators that cater to consumers when they don’ t eat at home. Such food service operators range from snack machines to large institutional catering ventures, but most of these businesses are known in the trade as "horeca" : hotels, restaurants, and cafes. Overall, Europe’ s wholesale market for food and drink is growing at the same sluggish pace as the retail market, but the figures, when added together, mask two opposing trends.
   [F] For example, wholesale food and drink sales came to $268 billion in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in 2000—more than 40 percent of retail sales. Moreover, average overall margins are higher in wholesale than in retail; wholesale demand from the food service sector is growing quickly as more Europeans eat out more often; and changes in the competitive dynamics of this fragmented industry are at last making it feasible for wholesalers to considerate.
   [G] However, none of these requirements should deter large retails (and even some large food producers and existing wholesalers) from trying their hand, for those that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe stand to reap considerable gains.
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答案B
解析 文章的首段，通常是引入主题或者交代相关背景。浏览备选项，A项以“The first and more important is…”开头，说明所强调的事物已在上文出现，然后才能来对比哪个是最重要的，显然，不能是首段。而且，根据E段，我们已将其选为尾段；C项的“such variations”也应该是指代前面已经出现的事物；D项以“All in all”开头，表示对前面内容的总结；F项和G项则分别以“For example”和“However”开头，这表示应该与前面的内容构成举例或转折的关系。因此，通过这些语篇特征词可判定，这些选项都不能作为首段。而选项B中首先引入了欧洲食品饮料零售面临发展停滞这一问题，继而提到零售商们的应对措施，最后提出论点：零售商不应忽视食品饮料批发市场这一巨大的盈利机会。
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