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  3. For Greg Knight, a machinery company executive, being on the road is a key part of doing business. But in the last year, he and

For Greg Knight, a machinery company executive, being on the road is a key part of doing business. But in the last year, he and

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问题    For Greg Knight, a machinery company executive, being on the road is a key part of doing business. But in the last year, he and his colleagues have pondered every trip and asked: Would it be worth it?
   "Right now, the focus for our members is looking at whether that trip brings value back to the company," says Megan Costello, executive director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, whose membership comprises the people in companies who oversee travel. To make that first sales call, launch a product or close a deal, corporate travel experts such as Costello say businesses will probably decide a staff member needs to travel and see a client face-to-face.
   American Express Business Travel has consultants who will talk with clients about whether a trip is essential and what alternatives could be effective. A growing number of companies are using online tools to quiz would-be travelers on the purpose of their trips and sometimes suggest that they consider a virtual meeting instead.
   Business travel dropped rapidly last year. The U.S. Travel Association says roughly $215 billion was spent on business travel in 2009, down from $244 billion in 2008. There was a 1.5% increase in spending on travel and entertainment during the first quarter of 2010 compared with that period last year, says Mike McCormick, executive director of the National Business Travel Association, or NBTA, and a 2.8% increase during the first quarter of 2010 over the fourth quarter of 2009.
   And that travel can spur more—for competitive reasons. "The stabilizing and growing economy puts companies, competitors, back out on the road—especially the sales departments," says Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition. "So you can’t really sit back like you were able to comfortably do through most of 2009, comforted in the knowledge that most of your competitors were scaling travel way back as well."
   Some business-travel analysts say that for businesses to profit and grow, travel is essential. An NBTA study conducted by IHS Global Insight determined that for every dollar spent on corporate travel, the average business would see $15 in profits. "The only way to grow sales is to go out and get them," McCormick says. "All it takes is for a company to lose that piece of business because their competitor showed up and they didn’t."
   Ultimately when evaluating whether to hit the road, corporate travel experts say, companies are trying to figure if the potential for revenue in the near future or down the line is greater than the cost of the trip. Such decisions are often as much art as science. They depend on many factors, including a company’s priorities, the service or product it’s selling, and the status of a particular client relationship and transaction. "It’s very much down to individual companies and what they prioritize," says Eric Baus-man, of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a global firm that helps companies manage corporate travel programs. Once a relationship is established, Bailsman says, a business might consider visiting the client less frequently, supplementing "those trips with virtual meetings: cellphone calls, Web meetings and video conferences."
   [A] agrees that travel is essential for a company to profit and grow.
   [B] thinks that companies may send an employee to visit clients for some important business.
   [C] offers online tools to help companies decide whether they need a business trip.
   [D] indicates companies might prefer virtual meetings with clients after establishing relationships.
   [E] provides consultative service in evaluating the necessity of a trip to meet clients.
   [F] indicates that a company can defeat its competitors only by increasing business trips.
   [G] suggests companies pay attention to sending more staff members out on business trips.
American Express Business Travel
选项
答案E
解析 American Express Business Travel出现在原文的第三段。该段第一句说，American Express Business Travel提供这样的咨询服务：帮助客户(企业)分析商务差旅的必要性并就替代出差的办法给出可行的建议。E中的consultative service对应原丈的consultants，而evaluating the necessity of a trip是对原文talk with clients about whether a trip is essential的同义转述，故E为本题答案。
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