问题 单项选择题

Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the United States outward. While the large Cincinnati-based corporation was no stranger to foreign markets, it usually sold them products that were already familiar to most Americans. Many Japanese families, for instance, swaddle their babies in Pampers diapers, and lots of Venezuelans brush their teeth with Crest. And of course (company executives assumed) Americans at home wanted these same familiar, red white-and-blue brands. We might buy foreign-made cars, or chocolates, or cameras—but household cleaners and detergents.9

Recently, however, P&G broke with this long-standing tradition. Ariel, a P&G laundry detergent, was born overseas, and is a familiar sight on store shelves in Europe and Latin America. Now bilingual packages of Ariel Ultra, a super-concentrated cleaner, are appearing on supermarket shelves in Los Angeles.

Ariel’s appearance in the United States reflects demographic changes making Hispanics the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group. Ariel is a hit with this population. In fact, many Mexican immigrants living in southern California have been " importing" Ariel from Tijuana, Mexico. "Hispanies knew this product and wanted it," says P&G spokeswoman Marie Salvado. "We realized that we couldn’t convince them to buy our other laundry detergents. " P&G hopes that non-Hispanic consumers will give Ariel a try too.

Ariel’s already p presence in Europe may provide a springboard for the company to expand into other markets as well. Recently P&G bought Rakona, Czechoslovakia’s top detergent maker. Ariel, currently a top seller in Germany, is likely to be one of the fast new brands to appear in Czech supermarkets. And Ariel is not tile only foreign idea that the company hopes to transplant back to its home territory. Cinch, an all-purpose spray cleaner similar to popular European products, is currently being test-marketed in California and Arizona. Traditionally Americans have used separate cleaners for different types of surfaces, but market research shows that American preferences are becoming more like those in other countries.

Insiders note that this new reverse flow of innovation reflects more sweeping changes at Procter & Camble. The firm has hired many new Japanese, German, and Mexican managers who view P&G’s business not as a one-way flow of American ideas, but a two-way exchange with other markets. Says Bonita Austin of the investment fin Wertheim Schroeder, " When you met with P&G’s top managers years ago, you wouldn’t have seen a single foreign face; today, they could even be in the majority. "

As Procter & Gamble has found, the United States is no longer an isolated market. Americans are more open than ever before to buying foreign-made products and to selling U S-made products overseas.

We learn from the text that()

A. the brands of Pampers, Crest and Ariel reflect the one-way flow tradition of Procter & Gamble

B. Proc, ter & Gamble still sticks to its long-standing tradition of one-way flow innovation

C. products of Procter & Gamble are sold all over the world simultaneously

D. products of Procter & Gamble are popular in America

答案

参考答案:D

解析:

本题可采用排除法从选项入手。A选项说这三个品牌反映了宝洁公司(P&G)创新单向流动的传统,由第二段可知Ariel不包括在内,A选项是错误的;B选项说宝洁公司仍然坚持创新的单向流动这一长久以来的传统,而第二段第一句提到P&G已经打破了这一传统,因此排除B;C选项说P&G的产品在世界各地同时上市,这与第二段说Ariel最先在欧洲和拉丁美洲上市不相符,所以C选项也是错误的;D选项提到P&G的产品在美国很受欢迎,由第一段可知符合文意。故正确选项为D。

单项选择题
单项选择题