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  3. Royal Mail could be made to accept further controls on stamp prices as part of an inquiry announced by the communications watchd

Royal Mail could be made to accept further controls on stamp prices as part of an inquiry announced by the communications watchd

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问题     Royal Mail could be made to accept further controls on stamp prices as part of an inquiry announced by the communications watchdog. Ofcom said it would carry out a "fundamental review" of how it regulates Royal Mail to make sure the company maintains its obligation to deliver to all parts of the country. The regulator decided to undertake the review after Whistl, Royal Mail’s only national competitor for direct delivery of letters, pulled out of the market.
    Whistl, formerly known as TNT and owned by Dutch private postal group PostNL, suspended deliveries last month and withdrew permanently from the market on 10 June. It had planned to expand beyond its existing network in west London, Liverpool and Manchester to deliver to a quarter of the UK.
    Ofcom said it was concerned that without competition for letter delivery, Royal Mail might fail to make itself more efficient, threatening the universal postal service in the long run. One of the options is to introduce additional controls on the prices Royal Mail charges for its service. After Ofcom gave it greater commercial freedom in 2012, Royal Mail increased the price of first- and second- class stamps by 14p to 60p and 50p respectively. Prices rose to 63p for first class and 54p for second class in March.
    Royal Mail shares fell 1 % to 500p in afternoon trading. Ofcom said: " The review will ensure regulation remains appropriate and sufficient to secure the universal postal service, given the recent withdrawal by Whistl from the ’ direct delivery’ letters market, which has resulted in Royal Mail no longer being subject to national competition. "
    "Ofcom will consider... whether Royal Mail’s wholesale and retail prices are both affordable and sufficient to cover the costs of the universal service and whether Royal Mail’s commercial flexibility remains appropriate in the changing market. And, if not, whether wholesale or retail charge controls might be appropriate. "
    David Kerstens, an analyst at the stockbroker Jefferies, said further curbs on Royal Mail’s charges could make the company less profitable as people post fewer letters. He said: " Stamp prices in the UK are at the low end of the spectrum compared with other countries across Europe. A control on pricing would be negative for Royal Mail because they won’t be able to offset volume pressure to the same extent that some of their peers in Europe are able to do. "
    Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, accused Ofcom of interfering with its members’ relations with Royal Mail. He said: " Royal Mail is efficient and postal workers are some of the most productive in the UK. Ofcom has overstepped its remit in criticising terms and conditions and a regulator should not be using efficiency to drive down employment standards. "
Why would Ofcom conduct a fundamental review of Royal Mail’s function?
选项 A、Royal Mail declined to accept the further control on stamp prices.
B、The watchdog intends to confirm the company’s duty on the service.
C、The only national rival of Royal Mail has withdrawn from the market.
D、The Ofcom plans to regulate Royal Mail to pull Whistl out of the market.
答案C
解析 细节题。[C]选项对应第一段最后一句：The regulator decided to undertake the reviewafter Whistl，Royal Mail’s only national competitor for direct delivery of letters，pulled out of themarket．after之后就是原因啊!rival=competitor，完美的替换![B]是强烈的干扰选项，虽然这个选项中有同义替换：make sure=confirm；obligation=company’s duty；to deliver to all parts ofthe country=service。看上去很完美，但是这个选项是审查的内容，而不是审查的原因!第二句提到：Ofcom said it would carry out a“fundamental review”of how it regulates Royal Mail tomake sure the company maintains its obligation to deliver to all parts of the country．“通信管理局表示将进行一次‘彻底审查’：如何监管英国皇家邮政来确保该公司履行了为全国各地提供邮递服务的义务。”其中how it regulates Royal Mail to make sure the company maintains its obligationto deliver to all parts of the country是彻底审查的内容，不是原因![A]和[D]都属于NG!
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