Amazon said it will cut prices on a range of popular goods as it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods, sending shares of riv

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问题    Amazon said it will cut prices on a range of popular goods as it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods, sending shares of rival grocers tumbling(跌倒,暴跌)on fears that brutal market share battles will intensify.
   Amazon’s $ 13. 7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, which will be completed on Monday, has been hanging over a brick-and-mortar(有实体的)retail sector unsure of how to respond to the world’s biggest online retailer. Shares of Kroger, the biggest United States supermarket operator, closed down 8 percent, while Wal-Mart, the biggest US food seller, closed down 2 percent.
   Amazon said it will start selling Whole Foods brand products on its website, a move that sent down shares of packaged food sellers, including Kellogg. Amazon also said members of its $ 99-per-year Prime shopping club would eventually be rolled into Whole Foods’ customer rewards program and be eligible for special offers and discounts. " There was never any doubt that Amazon would lower prices, and even offer further discounts in-store to Prime members," said Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian.
   Starting on Monday, Amazon will cut prices on organic grocery staples such as bananas, avocados, brown eggs, farmed salmon and tilapia, baby kale and lettuce, some apples, butter, and other products. Lowering prices could stem defections by price-sensitive Whole Foods shoppers and help the grocer shed its "Whole Paycheck" reputation for high prices that are generally 15 to 25 percent above rivals. It could also bring in new consumers who can then be urged to shop for food and other products online.
   The planned price cuts would have been a tough sell to Whole Foods’ investors, who had grown used to fat profits from the upscale chain, but are more in line with Amazon’s broader strategy of sacrificing short-term profit for long-term market dominance. Amazon’s willingness to take lower profit margins ups the ante(赌注)in the increasingly costly grocery price war.
   Adding Whole Foods benefits should help Amazon attract more shoppers to its successful Prime scheme, which features two-day shipping for eligible purchases and unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows. Amazon has more than 60 million Prime members, according to analyst estimates. Whole Foods has rolled out a loyalty program at its smaller, lower-priced 365 by Whole Foods chain, which offers members 10 percent off more than 100 items in the stores. The program is still being tested in the main Whole Foods chain.
   Beyond that, some Whole Foods stores will get Amazon Lockers, where customers can receive online orders and make returns. John Mackey will remain chief executive of Whole Foods and the company will operate as a subsidiary and continue to be headquartered in Austin, Texas, the companies said on Thursday.
In the passage, "a tough sell"(Line 1, Para. 5)is closest in meaning to______.

选项 A、impossible to profit
B、eager to sell out
C、reluctant to invest
D、hard to accept

答案D

解析 语义理解题。本题考查熟词在特定语境中的意思。定位句提到,计划降价政策对于全食超市的投资者们而言可能是“a tough sell”,并在后半句中解释说他们已经习惯了高端连锁的丰厚利润了,因此推知,降价所导致的利润缩减对于他们而言可能是难以接受的,故答案为D)。A)“不可能盈利”,根据定位段最后一句可知,虽然利润空间减少,但是并非不能盈利,该项与原文不符,故排除;B)“急于售出”在原文中并未提及,故排除;C)“不愿意投资”,有关投资的问题在定位段中没有提及,故排除。
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