试题出自试卷《宁波大学2014年考博英语真题及答案解析》

Resale Price Maintenance is the name used when a retailer is compelled to sell at a price fixed by the manufacturer instead of choosing for himself how much to add on to the wholesale price he pays for his supplies. This practice is associated with the sale of “branded” goods, which now form a very considerable proportion of consumers’ purchases, and it has led to a great deal of controversy.
Generally such articles are packed and advertised by the manufacturers, who try to create a special “image” in the minds of possible purchasers—an image made up of the look of the article, its use, its price, and everything else which might lead purchasers to ask for that brand rather than any other. If a retailer is allowed to charge any price he likes, he may find it worthwhile to sell one brand at “cut” prices even though this involves a loss, because he hopes to attract customers to the shop, where they may be persuaded to buy many other types of goods at higher prices. The manufacturer of the brand that has been “cut” fears that the retailer may be tempted to reduce the services on this article; but, even if he does not there is a danger that the customer becomes unsettled, and is unwilling to pay the “standard” price of the article because he feels that he is being “done”. This may, and indeed often does, affect the reputation of the manufacturer and lose him his market in the long run.
It is sometimes said also that the housewife—who is the principal buyer of most of these goods— prefers a fixed price because she knows where she is and is saved the bother of going from shop to shop in search of lower prices. If one shop cut all the prices of its branded goods she would undoubtedly have an advantage in shopping there. But this does not happen. A store usually lowers the price of one or two of its articles which act as a decoy and makes up its losses on others, and changes the cut-price articles from week to week so as to attract different groups of customers. And so the housewife may feel rather guilty if she does not spend time tracking down the cheaper goods. How far this is true is a matter of temperament and it is impossible to estimate what proportion of purchasers prefer a price that they can rely on wherever they choose to buy and what proportion enjoy the challenge involved in finding the store that offers them a bargain.
Those who oppose Resale Price Maintenance on the other hand, point out that there are now a great many different channels of distribution-chain stores, department stores, co-operative stores, independent or unit shops, supermarkets, mail-order houses, and so on. It would be absurd to assume that all of them have exactly the same costs to meet in stocking and selling their goods, so why should they all sell at the same price? If they were allowed to choose for themselves, the more efficient retailers would sell at lower prices and consumers would benefit. As it is, the retail price must be sufficient to cover the costs of the less efficient avenues of distribution and this means the others make a bigger profit than necessary at the expense of the public. The supporters of the fixed price argue that this is only half the story. The efficient trader can still compete without lowering his prices. He can offer better service—long credit, or quick delivery or a pleasant shop decor or helpful assistants—and can do this without imperiling the long-term interests of the manufacturer.
31. Manufactures oppose retailers cutting prices on their goods mainly because they think ______.
32. Supporters of the fixed price hold that an efficient trader can still make money without lowering prices by ______.
33. By saying “He feels that he is being ‘done’”, the author means that customer thinks ______.
34. Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage?
35. The sentence “She knows where she is” in the third paragraph can be paraphrased as ______.