2007.3

Questions 6~10

After SABMiller lost a bidding war for China's Harbin Brewery Group to Anheuser-Busch Coso two years ago, it looked as if America's King of Beers would reign over the Middle Kingdom as well. Anheuser-Busch, after all, had already sealed a deal with China's leading brewery, Tsingtao, and with Harbin in its stable it looked unbeatable.

But SABMiller had a Plan B that could well give it the throne after all. Since losing Harbin, London-based SAB has focused its energies on a 12-year-old joint venture, China Resources Snow Breweries Ltd., that is now thriving. In June, CR Snow, which includes 46 breweries across the country, surpassed longtime leader Tsingtao for the No.l spot. For the 12 months through June, CR Snow produced nearly 40 million barrels, vs. 37 million for Tsingtao. As a result, CR Snow boasts 14.9% of the Chinese market, compared with Tsingtao's 13.9%. "Our growth has been on the back of a very consistent and targeted strategy," says Wayne Hall, SABMiller's finance director in China.

Both companies want to be the toast of China. As beer sales in the U.S. and Western Europe have lost their fizz, they're growing at 8%-plus annually in China. That has helped China overtake the U.S. as the world's top beer market.

SAB was early to see the promise of China, where it has been brewing since 1994. Yet instead of targeting big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, as its competitors did, SABMiller scooped up breweries in less affluent areas, including the northeastern rust belt and the populous inland province of Sichuan. This contrarian strategy has allowed SABMiller to build up a national footprint at bargain prices. While Anheuser ponied up $700 million—as much as $62 per barrel of annual brewing capacity—for Harbin, SABMiller has typically paid $30-$40 per barrel for its breweries. "SABMiller has made a mint by purposely buying cheaper assets," says Bear, Stearns & Co. analyst Anthony Bucalo.

SABMiller has been smart in its positioning of the flagship Snow brand. To appeal to upwardly mobile youth, it slapped a shiny, modern label on the 50-year-old brew and launched a national ad campaign emphasizing the beer's freshness, complete with sweepstakes that reward winners with outdoor vacations. The marketing push is paying off as it presses into the big cities. China now accounts for nearly 20% of SABMiller's total volumes, and Snow has become China's No.l brand. Soon, it will probably surpass Miller Lite as the biggest seller in the company's cooler.

6. What is this article mainly about?

 (A) The bidding war between SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch Cos.

 (B) China has overtaken the U.S as the top beer market.

 (C) How SABMiller beats Anheuser in global makets.

 (D) The success of SABMiller in China.

7. What makes Snow beer one of the best-selling beers in China?

 (A) The company has special technologies.

 (B) Snow beer tastes better.

 (C) The company has adopted an effective marketing strategy.

 (D) CR Snow has purposely bought cheaper assets from SABMiller.

8. The word "affluent" in paragraph 4 can be replaced by ______.

 (A) wealthy

 (B) populous

 (C) influential

 (D) fluent

9. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

 (A) SABMiller is an America-based beer company.

 (B) Snow beer is now being sold all around the world.

 (C) Beer sales in the U.S. and Western Europe dropped recently.

 (D) Snow beer is welcomed by both youths and 50-year-olds.

10. What can be concluded from this article?

 (A) Tsingdao beer is less tasty than Snow beer.

 (B) Anheuser-Busch used to be the largest beer company in Europe.

 (C) SABMiller spent $700 million in building new breweries.

 (D) Snow beer is likely to become the biggest seller in SABMiller.

       本文解题难度一般。需要考生具备分析数据与论点之间关系的能力。解析如下：

6.    本题正确答案为D。其中A选项迷惑性最大。很多考生不了解文章结构，也没有在做题前对文章结构进行实实在在的分析，在做完后面四个题目之后凭借一个大致的印象就将A选项定位出来。其实，本文开头部分虽然讲到SABMiller公司在竞争中暂时失利，但是，从文章的篇章结构来看（详见第二篇篇章结构分析），这个段落属于文章开头的铺垫部分，不能算作文章主旨的依据。而在第一段一下，所有的段落都在论述SABMiller如何反扑，更重要的是，都在论述这个公司的决策如何取得了成功。这类论述一直持续到文章结尾。在此笔者提醒考生，主旨题并不是要求大家把文章的内容面面俱到的表达出来，而是要求大家将重点结构的重点信息反映出来。

7.    本题答案为C，难度一般。本题定位于文章最后一段。考生应该依据题干中的关键字Snow beer直接定位，然后找出末段的段意，即为正确答案。结构如下：

SABMiller has been smart in its positioning of the flagship Snow brand. To appeal to upwardly mobile youth, it slapped a shiny, modern label on the 50-year-old brew and launched a national ad campaign emphasizing the beer's freshness, complete with sweepstakes that reward winners with outdoor vacations. The marketing push is paying off as it presses into the big cities. China now accounts for nearly 20% of SABMiller's total volumes, and Snow has become China's No.l brand. Soon, it will probably surpass Miller Lite as the biggest seller in the company's cooler.

       另外需要提醒考生，中口阅读不具备顺序原则的特点，很多题目的出题顺序与文章的行文顺序并不一致。

       8.    本题正确答案为A。B选项迷惑性较大。很多考生在原文中找到了populous一词，未加分析即作答。本题定位在如下句子中：

Yet instead of targeting big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, as its competitors did, SABMiller scooped up breweries in less affluent areas, including the northeastern rust belt and the populous inland province of Sichuan.

       显然，less affluent 与including…结构之间存在互相解释（例证）的关系。但是，具体到文字上来说，the northeastern rust belt 和the populous inland province of Sichuan 是两个分别出现的例子，合则可以说明less affluent，分开则不是完整的解释。除了不可直接将populous定位为affluent的答案之外，我们仔细阅读还会发现，即使可以这样定位，affluent的意思也应该是popuolous的反义词。

       最后两题是定位的难点。但是由于选项中专有名词和数字的出现，仍然给题目降低了难度。答案为 9.C 10. D.解析如下：

       第9题应用排除法首先将BD从最后一段中找出并排除，然后快速在第一段中排除A选项。第10题应应首先根据数字定位，排除C项，然后根据Snowbeer在最后一段中直接确定。本题因为可以找到D选项正确的确凿证据，所以无需反证AB两个选项错误。