For Mitchell and Skye Cohen, the third-generation owners of Economy Candy in New York City, the short period between Halloween a

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问题     For Mitchell and Skye Cohen, the third-generation owners of Economy Candy in New York City, the short period between Halloween and New Year is usually the busiest season. The store would serve upwards of a thousand customers in a weekend, when shoppers flocked to the small Lower East Side store to buy candy in bulk for holiday gifts and parties.
    But this year, the aisles of Economy Candy are uncharacteristically quiet, devoid of their typical crowds of loyal locals and curious tourists. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City in March, the Cohens halted in-person shopping for the first time in the store’s 83 years. For a business that has always relied on foot traffic for the majority of its revenue, the decision was tough but necessary: the shop wasn’t big enough to keep people a safe distance from one another, and the costs of stocking, staffing and sanitizing far outweighed the profit they’d see if they stayed open. So, for the past nine months, the Cohens have sold their sweets primarily via their website, shipping orders or arranging curbside pickup.
    More than 30 million small businesses in the U.S. are struggling for footing in what should be their busiest quarter. A Visa survey taken in September found that 69% of small businesses still viewed the 2020 holiday season as a top sales opportunity—but retail looks vastly different when a health crisis is both upending the economy and changing the way we shop.
    And in the age of social distancing, online shopping will see a boost. A November McKinsey report found that 37% of consumers will shop more online this holiday season. As a result, many small businesses that may have had little to no digital presence are upping their online offerings.
    It’s a challenge unlike anything else Economy Candy has experienced over the nearly nine decades it’s been in business, during which it has survived the Great Depression, 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. But the Cohens remain hopeful that their turning to online sales can save them this holiday season. They have begun making candy care packages in Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays that encourage customers to celebrate the season with loved ones, even if they have to do so from afar.
    "We got by the first 80 years by people telling their friends and people from out of town to go shop at Economy Candy; now, word of mouth is online and on social media," Mitchell Cohen said. "We need people to shop local and shop mom-and-pops so we can be here for another 80 years."
According to the Visa survey, a majority of small businesses________.

选项 A、have long been trapped in financial difficulties
B、largely lived off online business before the pandemic
C、underestimated the dramatic effect of shopping mode
D、had high expectations of the 2020 holiday season

答案D

解析 由题干关键词the Visa survey定位至第三段第二句。该句讲到,A Visa survey taken in September found that 69% of small businesses still viewed the 2020 holiday season as a top sales opportunity,其意思是“维萨公司在9月份进行的一项调查发现,69%的小企业仍然认为2020年的假日季会是最大的销售机会”,即大部分小企业仍寄希望于2020年的假日季,选项中与此相对应的是D项had high expectations of the 2020 holiday season,故为答案。A项have long been trapped in financial difficulties意思是“长久以来陷于财务困境中”,第三段首句提到,3,000多万家美国小企业在他们本该最繁忙的季度艰难挣扎以求站稳脚跟,但并非长久以来,另外,这也不是维萨调查的内容,故排除。B项largely lived off online shopping before the pandemic意思是“疫情之前主要依靠线上业务”,文中提及许多店铺因为疫情才转变为线上销售的方式,与文章不符合,故排除。C项underestimated the dramatic effect of shopping modes意思是“低估了购物方式的巨大影响”,原文中并未提及,所以排除。
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