Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
Macy’s reported its sales plunged 5.2% in November and December at stores open more than a year, a disappointing holiday season performance that capped a difficult year for a department store chain facing wind-ranging challenges. Its flagship stores in major U.S. cities depend heavily on international tourist spending, which shrank at many retailers due to a strong dollar. Meanwhile, Macy’s has simply struggled to lure consumers who are more interested in spending on travel or dining out than on new clothes or accessories.
The company blamed much of the poor performance in November and December on unseasonably warm weather. “About 80% of our company’s year-over-year declines in comparable sales can be attributed to shortfalls (短缺) in cold-weather goods,” said chief executive Terry Lundgren in a press release. This prompted the company to cut its forecasts for the full fourth quarter.
However, it’s clear that Macy’s believes its troubles run deeper than a temporary aberration (偏离) off the thermometer. The retail giant said the poor financial performance this year has pushed it to begin implementing $400 million in cost-cutting measures. The company pledged to cut 600 back-office positions, though some 150 workers in those roles would be reassigned to other jobs. It also plans to offer “voluntary separation” packages to 165 senior executives. It will splash staffing at its fleet of 770 stores, a move affecting some 3,000 employees.
The retailer also announced the locations of 36 stores it will close in early 2016. The company had previously announced the planned closures, but had not said which locations would be affected. None of the chain’s stores in the Washington metropolitan area are to be closed.
Macy’s has been moving aggressively to try to remake itself for a new era of shopping. It has plans to open more locations of Macy’s Backstage, a newly-developed off-price concept which might help it better compete with ambitious T.J. Maxx. It’s also pushing ahead in 2016 with an expansion of Bluemercury, the beauty chain it bought last year. At a time when young beauty shoppers are often turning to Sephora or Ulta instead of department store beauty counters, Macy’s hopes Bluemercury will help strengthen its position in the category.
One relative bright spot for Macy’s during the holiday season was the online channel, where it rang up “double-digit” increases in sales and a 25% increase in the number of orders it filled. That relative strength would be consistent with what was seen in the wider retail industry during the early part of the holiday season. While Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday all saw record spending online, in-store sales plunged over the holiday weekend.
(1).What does the author say about the shrinking spending of international tourists in the U.S.?
A.It is attributable to the rising value of the U.S. dollar.
B.It is a direct result of the global economic recession.
C.It reflects a shift of their interest in consumer goods.
D.It poses a potential threat to the retail business in the U.S.
参考答案：A
解题思路：
由题干中的shrinking spending of international tourists定位到文章首段第二句。第二句明确指出，梅西百货在美国主要城市的旗舰店主要依赖国际旅游者消费，但是今年的休假季许多零售店旅游消费均出现缩水，原因就是美元过于强劲，故答案为A)。
(2).What does Macy’s believe about its problems?
A.They can be solved with better management.
B.They cannot be attributed to weather only.
C. They are not as serious in its online stores.
D.They call for increased investments.
参考答案：B
解题思路：
由题干中的Macy’s believe和its problems定位到文章第二段第一句和第三段第一句。第二段第一句指 出，该公司将11月和12月的不良表现主要归咎于不合时宜的暖冬，但是在第三段第一句中也提到：梅西并 不是把销售额减少仅仅归因于天气，并在下文介绍了它缩减开支、调整发展计划的相关信息，可见梅西百货 并非将销售表现不佳仅仅归因于天气，故答案为B)。
(3).In order to cut costs, Macy’s decided to _______.
A.cut the salary of senior executives
B.relocate some of its chain stores
C.adjust its promotion strategies
D.reduce the size of its staff
参考答案：D
解题思路：
根据题干中的cut costs定位到文章第三段第二句至最后一句。定位句指出，梅西百货为了减少开支，减少了 600个后勤岗位，还计划鼓励高级管理人员主动离职，并减少多家门店的员工人数，可见其缩减开支的 主要手段是裁员，故答案为D)。
(4).Why does Macy’s plan to expand Bluemercury in 2016?
A.To experiment on its new business concept.
B.To focus more on beauty products than clothing.
C.To promote sales of its products by lowering prices.
D.To be more competitive in sales of beauty products.
参考答案：D
解题思路：
由题干中的专有名词Bluemercury和in 2016定位到文章第五段第三、四句。定位句指出，梅西百货将在 2016年大力推进扩展它去年收购的美妆用品连锁Bluemercury，目的是希望Bluemercury能够帮助梅西百货 巩固在这一品类的地位，与其他的美妆专营店竞争，故答案为D)。
(5).What can we learn about Macy’s during the holiday season?
A.Sales dropped sharply its physical stores.
B.Its retail sales exceeded those of T.J. Maxx.
C.It helped Bluemercury establish its position worldwide.
D.It filled its stores with abundant supply of merchandise.
参考答案：A
解题思路：
由题干中的holiday season定位到文章第一段第一句和最后一段最后一句。第一个定位句指出，梅西百 货在休假季的整体销售业绩是不理想的;第二个定位句提到，线上销售达到了历史最好水平，但是门店的销 售还是直线下滑。可见实体店的销售还是下降的，故答案为A)。
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