Tesco ispreparing a legal battle to clear its name of involvement in the dairyprice-fixing scandal that has cost consumers £270 million. Failure to provethat it had no part in collusion with other supermarkets and dairy processorsmay land it with a fine of at least £80 million. The Office of Fair Trading(OFT) said yesterday that Asda, Sainsbury’s and the former Safeway, plus thedairy companies Wiseman, Dairy Crest and Cheese Company, had admitted being ina cartel to fix prices for milk, butter and cheese. They were fined a total ofjust over £116 million as part of a leniency deal offered by the watchdog to companiesthat owned up quickly to anti-competitive behaviour.
Officials atthe OFT admitted privately that they did not think they would ever discoverwhich company or individual had initiated the pricing formula. But the watchdogrecognises that at the time supermarkets were under pressure from politiciansand farmers to raise the cost of milk to save dairy farming, though it is notcertain that money found its way to farmers. The OFT claimed in September thatit had found evidence that the retail chains had passed future milk prices todairy companies, which then reached a fixed price among themselves.
The averagecost to each household is thought to be £11.25 over 2002 and 2003. Prices wentup an extra 3p on a pint of milk, 15p on a quarter of a pound of butter and 15pon a half pound of cheese. There is no direct recompense for consumers,however, and the money will go to the Treasury. The National Consumer Councilgave warning that the admissions would dent consumer confidence in leading highstreet names and that people would become sceptical of their claims. FarmersFor Action, the group of farmers that has led protests over low milk pricessince 2000, is seeking legal advice on whether it can now bring a claim forcompensation.
The OFTinvestigation is continuing, however, in relation to Tesco, Morrisons and thedairy group Lactalis McLelland, and any legal action is expected to be delayeduntil that is completed.
Tesco wasdefiant and said that it was preparing a robust defence of its actions. LucyNeville-Rolfe, its executive director, said: "As we have always said, weacted independently and we did not collude with anyone. Our position isdifferent from our competitors and we are defending our own case vigorously.Our philosophy is to give a good deal to customers."
Morrisons hassupported the OFT in inquiries into the former Safeway business that it tookover, but in a statement said that it was still making "strongrepresentations" in its defence. A spokeswoman for Lactalis McLelland saidthat the company was "co-operating" with the OFT. Industry insiderssuggested that the three companies were deliberately stalling the OFTinvestigation.
Sainsbury’s admitted yesterday that it hadagreed to pay £26 million in fines, but denied that it had sought to profiteer.Justin King, the chief executive, said he was disappointed that the company hadbeen penalised for actions meant to help farmers but recognised the benefit ofa speedy settlement. Asda declined to say how much it would pay in fines andalso said that its intention had been to help farmers under severe financialpressure.
1. From thefirst paragraph, we may infer that _____
[A] Tesco hascost consumers £270 million.
[B] Tesco hascolluded with Asda, Wiseman, Dairy Crest and Cheese Company in fixing the dairyprice.
[C] Tescowill be offered a leniency deal of £80 million.
[D] Tesco istrying its best to prove its innocence of the scandal.
2. Who ismost probably the initiator of the pricing formula?
[A] retail chains.
[B] farmers.
[C] dairycompanies.
[D]politicians
3. The word"defiant" (Line 3, Paragraph 4)most probably means _____.
[A]resisiting
[B] angry
[C] deficient
[D] confident
4. We mayinfer from Morrisons’ statement that _____.
[A] Morrisons was uncooperative with OFT.
[B] Morrisons was reluctant to support the inquiries into the former Safewaybusiness.
[C] Morrisonswas trying to delay the OFT investigation.
[D] Morrisonswas working hard to defend its interests.
5. The writer’s attitude to Tesco can be said tobe _____.
[A] biased.
[B]objective.
[C]sympathetic.
[D]optimistic.篇章剖析：
本文介绍了目前奶制品公司因内部设定价格而面临受到的调查和处罚的状况。第一段由Tesco公司目前正在通过法律解决自己面临的困境引出本文的话题;第二段是追溯牛奶价格上涨的原因;第三段是讲述牛奶价格上涨对消费者的损害;第四段又回到Tesco事件上，描述了其态度;第五段和第六段讲述其他相关公司对该事件的看法和态度。
词汇注释：
processor n. 加工者
cartel n. 卡特尔, 联合企业, 垄断集团
leniency n. 宽大，慈悲,慈悲宽厚的行为
dent v.使凹下, 凹进, 削弱
defiant adj.挑战的, 挑衅的, 目中无人的
stall v.(使)停转, (使)停止, 迟延
profiteer vi.牟取暴利
难句突破:
(1) They werefined a total of just over £116 million as part of a leniency deal offered bythe watchdog to companies that owned up quickly to anti-competitive behaviour.
主体句式: Theywere fined a total of just over £116 million as part of a leniency deal...
结构分析: 这是一个复合句，其成分比较复杂。offered by the watchdog tocompanies作为一个分词短语来修饰前面的deal, 而后面that引导的定语从句又修饰companies.
句子译文:他们总共的罚金只有一亿一千六百万多点，这是监察部门对积极坦白反竞争行为公司的一种宽大处理。
(2) TheNational Consumer Council gave warning that the admissions would dent consumerconfidence in leading high street names and that people would become scepticalof their claims.
[主体句式] The National Consumer Councilgave warning...
[结构分析] 这是一个复合句，句子的宾语warning 带着两个同位语从句，以that 引导;第一个同位语从句中，confidence in 后面是一个分词短语作介词的宾语。
[句子译文]全国消费者委员会警告说长此以往会损害消费者的信心，人们也会逐渐怀疑委员会的声明。
题目分析：
1. From thefirst paragraph, we may infer that _____由第一段可以推断出______
[A] Tesco hascaused a loss of £270 million to consumers.[A] Tesco 给消费者造成了两亿七千万的损失。
[B] Tesco hascolluded with Asda, Wiseman, Dairy Crest and Cheese Company in fixing the dairyprice.[B] Tesco 和Asda, Wiseman, Dairy Crest 及 Cheese Company联合确定牛奶价格。
[C] Tescowill be offered a leniency deal of £80 million.[C]Tesco 会被轻罚八千亿元作为宽大处理。
[D] Tesco istrying its best to prove its innocence of the scandal.[D] Tesco 竭力证明自己和传闻无关。
[答案] D
[分析] 推理题。第一段主要讲述了Tesco公司已被卷入和其他公司联手划定牛奶价格的丑闻中，目前正在通过法律手段来证明自己与此无关。选项A, 从本段第一句可以看出给消费者造成损失这一事项还未证实，Tesco 正在诉诸法律手段。选项B, 也是Tesco 可能存在但还未被证实的事项。选项C，是如果Tesco的丑闻被证实后会被处以的处罚，但文章也并未指出是一种宽大措施。选项D，Tesco 正在竭力证明自己和传闻无关，这正是第一段论述的内容。
2. Who ismost probably the initiator of the pricing formula?2. 谁最有可能是价格形成的始作俑者?
[A]supermarkets.[A] 超市。
[B]farmers.[B] 牧场主。
[C] dairycompanies.[C]牛奶公司。
[D]politicians[D] 政治家。
[答案]B
[分析] 细节题。关于价格形成最初由谁引起，第二段和第三段由相关论述。第二段提到，监察部门发现超市受到政治家和农民的压力要求上调牛奶价格，而OFT发现了零售商将牛奶未来的价格信息传递给了牛奶公司，牛奶公司内部自己确定了价格。第三段又提到牧场主机构和牧场主一直在抗议低廉的牛奶价格。由此可以推断，最有可能引发牛奶价格确定的源头就是牧场主。
3. The word"defiant" (Line 3, Paragraph 4)most probably means _____.3."defiant"(第四段第三行)最可能的意思是______.
[A] resisiting[A]抗议的
[B] angry[B] 愤怒的
[C]deficient[C]不完善的
[D]confident[D] 自信的
[答案]A
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