We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as "regular" coffee, and it took several years to gain general acceptance(introduction stage).At one point, though, instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity, and many brands were introduced(stage of rapid growth). After a while, people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off(stage of maturity). Sales went into a slight decrease when freeze-dried coffees were introduced(stage of decline). The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: Different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not drop. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the soldiers? Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may re-position the product to appeal to new market sections. Another product extension strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to regain world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles eagerly from year to year to keep demand from falling. Marketers need to know which of the four stages a product is in so as to _ . A) promote its production B) work out marketing plans C) speed up its life cycle D) increase its popularity
B
Marek was a farmer who lived in a village far away. One day he became very ill, and everyone thought he would die. They sent for a doctor, who arrived two days later and examined the sick man. The doctor asked for a pen and some paper to write down the name of the medicine. But there was no pen or paper in the village, because no one could read or write. The doctor picked up a piece of burnt wood from the fire. Using the wood, he wrote the name of the medicine on the door of the house. "Get this medicine for him," he said,"and he will soon get better." Marek's family and friends did not know what to do. They could not read the strange writing. Then the village baker had an idea. He took off the door of the house, put it on his cart and drove to the nearest town. He bought the medicine, and Marek was soon well again. He would not let anyone wash the magic words away from the door. When the doctor arrived, he _ . A) gave Marek a careful check up B) gave the medicine to Marek C) became very tired and took a rest D) became very angry
A
Q: The day after Thanksgiving is considered the first day of the holiday shopping season in the prefix = st1 /United States. It even has a name -- "Black Friday." The name comes from the idea that this is the day when store owners begin to show a profit for the year. In the past, before calculators and computers, workers recorded the profits and losses of American businesses in special books. They used red ink to record losses. They used black ink to record profits. They used the term "in the red" to mean losing money. "In the black" meant making a profit. So "Black Friday" was the day when the store owners moved from being "in the red" to "in the black." Many people consider "Black Friday" to be the busiest shopping day of the year. But that is probably false. Researchers say it may be the day when the largest number of people go to stores. But it is not necessarily the day when shoppers spend the largest amount of money. Some experts say Americans just want to get out of the house the day after Thanksgiving. And many stores reduce some of their prices on "Black Friday." However, experts say that many people wait until much closer to Christmas, December 25, hoping to find even lower prices. They say the busiest day of the year in terms of the amount of shoppers and sales is usually the Saturday before Christmas. A marketing services company carried out a public opinion study about shopping last month. It asked almost one thousand Americans about their gift buying plans. One-third said they plan to go to stores to shop on the day after Thanksgiving. The study found that these shoppers are mainly young people, probably because older people do not want to deal with huge crowds. In fact, business leaders say many older Americans are doing their shopping at home -- on the computer. They say the day most people shop online is the Monday after "Black Friday." They even have a name for it -- "Cyber Monday." From the passage we can conclude that _ . A) Stores failed to earn much money from older people on "Black Friday". B) "Cyber Monday" has a larger amount of sales than "Black Friday". C) All young people prefer going to stores on "Black Friday". D) Older people like shopping on-line because of cheaper prices.
A: A
(Q).
If you have ever been left wondering why your emails are riddled with grammatical errors, or why you can never quite find the right phrase, it may be because you are typing with both hands. Our vocabulary becomes richer and our writing style becomes more fluent when we type using just one hand, scientists have found. "Typing can be too fluent or too fast, and _ can actually weaken the writing process," said Srdan Medimorec, the lead author of the study conducted at the department of psychology at the University of Waterloo, Canada. "It seems that what we write is a product of the interaction between our thoughts and the tools we use to express them." Using text-analysis software, researchers asked 103 university students to write essays under different conditions, using one hand to type and using both hands to type. The software was used to analyze elements of the essays, such as range of vocabulary, sentence complexity and the cohesion of the writing. Researchers found that participants' vocabulary became more advanced when they typed with one hand rather than two. The research team said that by slowing our writing down, typing one-handed allows more time for an internal word search, resulting in a larger variety of words. In contrast, fast typists might just write the first word that comes to mind. However, it is important not to slow typing down too much. Those who typed essays one-handed in the current study slowed down to about the speed of handwriting. This is the first study to show that changing people's typing can make their writing get better. The researchers suggested that the speed of writing could affect writing quality regardless of the tools used, whether they are computers, or pen and paper, although further research would be required to prove that idea. Which is the best title of the passage? A) How to become a good writer? B) Typing with both hands could make you a worse writer. C) Slower typing, fewer mistakes. D) Elements weakening the writing process
(A).
B