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  3. Marks & Spencer has reported a weak six months’ trading just as the crucial countdown to Christmas begins. First-half pre-ta

Marks & Spencer has reported a weak six months’ trading just as the crucial countdown to Christmas begins. First-half pre-ta

admin2011-02-03  61
问题     Marks & Spencer has reported a weak six months’ trading just as the crucial countdown to Christmas begins.
    First-half pre-tax profits slumped 8% to ￡320.5m as it claimed that price-cutting by rivals had forced it to respond with its own deals. Sales across M&S rose 2.4% to ￡4.7bn, but margins in the UK were hit as it scrambled to retain market share.
    "We expect this sort of promotional pressure in the market to continue in the second half," said chief executive Marc Bolland, who was brought in on a ￡15m package and raised eyebrows last month by asking clothing suppliers to stump up millions of pounds towards M&S’s store refit programme. He added: "What customers tell us is that they want to protect Christmas ... smaller treats, they definitely want."
    Surveys suggest consumers do not believe the "price war" line peddled by retailers. People in Britain have curbed spending as disposable income is squeezed by rising prices, muted wage growth and austerity measures, as well as worries about a stagnant housing market, job security and a fragile economic recovery.
    M&S, with about 700 UK stores serving 21 million people a week, is seen as a leading indicator of the sector. Jeremy Batstone Carr, an equity analyst at Charles Stanley, added: "The comments from Marc Bolland were cautious. Consumers, confidence is said to have dipped further in recent months, with disposable incomes at their lowest level since 2008. Trading in the second half of the year so far has been in line with expectations."
    The British Retail Consortium added to the gloom by saying that a general 0.6% year-on-year fall in October sales from stores open more than a year augured badly. "This is evidence of the basic weakness of consumer confidence and demand and is worrying this close to Christmas," BRC director general Stephen Robertson said. He urged chancellor George Osborne to reverse planned increases in fuel duty and business rates.
    While retailers are hopeful of stronger demand this Christmas than last, when sales were hit by heavy snow in December, analysts say recent weak trading has left stores with high stocks that could lead to a frenzy of discounting.
    M&S UK stores open more than a year saw sales fall by 0.7% in the second quarter, the first quarterly decline for two years, with a 2.5% drop in general merchandise sales only partly offset by a 1% rise in food. For the first six months, like-for-like sales are down by 0.5%.
    Analysts said the retailer’s insistence that it is keeping a tight rein on costs should protect full-year profit expectations, which had been trimmed before the update. M&S shares closed down slightly—off 0.77% at 323.5p - though they were partly supported by relief the news was not worse.
                                              From The Guardian, November 8, 2011
Which of the following has the closest meaning of "dip" in the fifth paragraph?
选项 A、move downward
B、move upward
C、remain the same
D、fluctuate
答案A
解析 本题为语义题。根据第五段“Consumers’confidence is said to have dipped further in recent months，with disposable incomes’at their lowest level since 2008”，结合上下文，并结合全文基调，猜想消费者信心呈下降趋势发展，故选A。
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