题目
Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is more than just the world"s largest retailer. It is an economic force, a cultural phenomenon and a lightning rod for controversy. It all started with a simple philosophy from founder Sam Walton: Offer shoppers lower prices than they get anywhere else. That basic strategy has shaped Wal-Mart"s culture and driven the company"s growth.Now that Wal-Mart is so huge, it has unprecedented power to shape labor markets globally and change the way entire industries operate. History of Wal-Mart Sam Walton opened his first five-and-dime in 1950. His vision was to keep prices as low as possible. Even if his margins weren"t as fat as competitors, he figured he could make up for that in volume. He was right. In the early 1960s, Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. The company continued to grow, going public in 1970 and adding more stores every year. In 1990, Wal-Mart surpassed key rival Kmart in size. Two years later, it surpassed Sears. Walton continued to drive an old pickup truck and share budget-hotel rooms with colleagues on business trips, even after Wal-Mart made him very rich. He demanded that his employees also keep expenses to a bare minimum—a mentality that is still al the heart of Wal-Mart culture more than a decade after Walton"s death. The company has continued to grow rapidly after his death in 1992 and now operates four retail divisions—Wal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart discount stores, Neighborhood Market stores and Sam"s Club warehouses. Wal-Mart Strategy Let"s start with technology. Wal-Mart pushed the retail industry to establish the universal bar code, which forced manufacturers to adopt common labeling. The bar allowed retailers to generate all kinds of information—creating a subtle shift of power from manufacturers to retailers. Wal-Mart became especially good at exploiting the information behind the bar code. And thus it is considered a pioneer in developing sophisticated technology to track its stock and cut the fat out of its supply chain. Recently, Wal-Mart became the first major retailer to demand manufacturers use radio frequency identification technology (RFID). The technology, uses radio frequencies to transmit data stored on small tags attached to pallets (货盘) or individual products. RFID tags hold significantly more data than bar codes. The frugal culture, established by Walton. also plays into Wal-Mart"s success. The company has been criticized for the relatively poor wages and health care plans that it otters to rank-and file employees. It has also been accused of demanding that hourly workers put in overtime without pay. Store managers often work more than 70 hours per week. This culture is also present at the company"s headquarters. Wal-Mart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, instead of an expensive city like New York. The building is unattractive and dull. You won"t catch executives in quality cars and you won"t see them dragging into work at 9:30 a.m. Executives fly coach and often share hotel rooms with colleagues. They work long hours, typically arriving at work before 6:30 a.m. and working halfdays on Saturdays. The central goal of Wal-Mart is to keep retail prices low—and the company has been very successful at this. Experts estimate that Wal-Mart saves shoppers at least 15 percent on a typical cart of groceries. Everything—including the technology and corporate culture—feeds into that ultimate goal of delivering the lowest prices possible. Wal-Mart also pushes its suppliers, some say cruelly, to cut prices. In The Wal-Mart Effect, author Charles Fishman discusses how the price of a four-pack of GE light bulbs decreased from 2.19 to 88 cents during a five-year period. The Power Because of Wal-Mart"s massive size, it has incredible power. It has driven smaller retaileA．products at lower priceB．any kind of goods the customers may wantC．a more comfortable shopping environmentD．free-of-charge packaging
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart is more than just the world"s largest retailer. It is an economic force, a cultural phenomenon and a lightning rod for controversy. It all started with a simple philosophy from founder Sam Walton: Offer shoppers lower prices than they get anywhere else. That basic strategy has shaped Wal-Mart"s culture and driven the company"s growth.
Now that Wal-Mart is so huge, it has unprecedented power to shape labor markets globally and change the way entire industries operate.
History of Wal-Mart
Sam Walton opened his first five-and-dime in 1950. His vision was to keep prices as low as possible. Even if his margins weren"t as fat as competitors, he figured he could make up for that in volume. He was right.
In the early 1960s, Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. The company continued to grow, going public in 1970 and adding more stores every year. In 1990, Wal-Mart surpassed key rival Kmart in size. Two years later, it surpassed Sears.
Walton continued to drive an old pickup truck and share budget-hotel rooms with colleagues on business trips, even after Wal-Mart made him very rich. He demanded that his employees also keep expenses to a bare minimum—a mentality that is still al the heart of Wal-Mart culture more than a decade after Walton"s death. The company has continued to grow rapidly after his death in 1992 and now operates four retail divisions—Wal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart discount stores, Neighborhood Market stores and Sam"s Club warehouses.
Wal-Mart Strategy
Let"s start with technology. Wal-Mart pushed the retail industry to establish the universal bar code, which forced manufacturers to adopt common labeling. The bar allowed retailers to generate all kinds of information—creating a subtle shift of power from manufacturers to retailers. Wal-Mart became especially good at exploiting the information behind the bar code. And thus it is considered a pioneer in developing sophisticated technology to track its stock and cut the fat out of its supply chain.
Recently, Wal-Mart became the first major retailer to demand manufacturers use radio frequency identification technology (RFID). The technology, uses radio frequencies to transmit data stored on small tags attached to pallets (货盘) or individual products. RFID tags hold significantly more data than bar codes.
The frugal culture, established by Walton. also plays into Wal-Mart"s success. The company has been criticized for the relatively poor wages and health care plans that it otters to rank-and file employees. It has also been accused of demanding that hourly workers put in overtime without pay. Store managers often work more than 70 hours per week.
This culture is also present at the company"s headquarters. Wal-Mart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, instead of an expensive city like New York. The building is unattractive and dull. You won"t catch executives in quality cars and you won"t see them dragging into work at 9:30 a.m. Executives fly coach and often share hotel rooms with colleagues. They work long hours, typically arriving at work before 6:30 a.m. and working halfdays on Saturdays.
The central goal of Wal-Mart is to keep retail prices low—and the company has been very successful at this. Experts estimate that Wal-Mart saves shoppers at least 15 percent on a typical cart of groceries. Everything—including the technology and corporate culture—feeds into that ultimate goal of delivering the lowest prices possible. Wal-Mart also pushes its suppliers, some say cruelly, to cut prices. In The Wal-Mart Effect, author Charles Fishman discusses how the price of a four-pack of GE light bulbs decreased from $2.19 to 88 cents during a five-year period.
The Power
Because of Wal-Mart"s massive size, it has incredible power. It has driven smaller retaileA．products at lower price
B．any kind of goods the customers may want
C．a more comfortable shopping environment
D．free-of-charge packaging
Wal-Mart is more than just the world"s largest retailer. It is an economic force, a cultural phenomenon and a lightning rod for controversy. It all started with a simple philosophy from founder Sam Walton: Offer shoppers lower prices than they get anywhere else. That basic strategy has shaped Wal-Mart"s culture and driven the company"s growth.
Now that Wal-Mart is so huge, it has unprecedented power to shape labor markets globally and change the way entire industries operate.
History of Wal-Mart
Sam Walton opened his first five-and-dime in 1950. His vision was to keep prices as low as possible. Even if his margins weren"t as fat as competitors, he figured he could make up for that in volume. He was right.
In the early 1960s, Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. The company continued to grow, going public in 1970 and adding more stores every year. In 1990, Wal-Mart surpassed key rival Kmart in size. Two years later, it surpassed Sears.
Walton continued to drive an old pickup truck and share budget-hotel rooms with colleagues on business trips, even after Wal-Mart made him very rich. He demanded that his employees also keep expenses to a bare minimum—a mentality that is still al the heart of Wal-Mart culture more than a decade after Walton"s death. The company has continued to grow rapidly after his death in 1992 and now operates four retail divisions—Wal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart discount stores, Neighborhood Market stores and Sam"s Club warehouses.
Wal-Mart Strategy
Let"s start with technology. Wal-Mart pushed the retail industry to establish the universal bar code, which forced manufacturers to adopt common labeling. The bar allowed retailers to generate all kinds of information—creating a subtle shift of power from manufacturers to retailers. Wal-Mart became especially good at exploiting the information behind the bar code. And thus it is considered a pioneer in developing sophisticated technology to track its stock and cut the fat out of its supply chain.
Recently, Wal-Mart became the first major retailer to demand manufacturers use radio frequency identification technology (RFID). The technology, uses radio frequencies to transmit data stored on small tags attached to pallets (货盘) or individual products. RFID tags hold significantly more data than bar codes.
The frugal culture, established by Walton. also plays into Wal-Mart"s success. The company has been criticized for the relatively poor wages and health care plans that it otters to rank-and file employees. It has also been accused of demanding that hourly workers put in overtime without pay. Store managers often work more than 70 hours per week.
This culture is also present at the company"s headquarters. Wal-Mart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, instead of an expensive city like New York. The building is unattractive and dull. You won"t catch executives in quality cars and you won"t see them dragging into work at 9:30 a.m. Executives fly coach and often share hotel rooms with colleagues. They work long hours, typically arriving at work before 6:30 a.m. and working halfdays on Saturdays.
The central goal of Wal-Mart is to keep retail prices low—and the company has been very successful at this. Experts estimate that Wal-Mart saves shoppers at least 15 percent on a typical cart of groceries. Everything—including the technology and corporate culture—feeds into that ultimate goal of delivering the lowest prices possible. Wal-Mart also pushes its suppliers, some say cruelly, to cut prices. In The Wal-Mart Effect, author Charles Fishman discusses how the price of a four-pack of GE light bulbs decreased from $2.19 to 88 cents during a five-year period.
The Power
Because of Wal-Mart"s massive size, it has incredible power. It has driven smaller retaileA．products at lower price
B．any kind of goods the customers may want
C．a more comfortable shopping environment
D．free-of-charge packaging
题目解答
答案
A
解析：原文该段第4句开头提到了That basic strategy，这个“策略”指的是第3句末冒号后的内容，选项A与冒号后的内容同义，为本题答案。
解析：原文该段第4句开头提到了That basic strategy，这个“策略”指的是第3句末冒号后的内容，选项A与冒号后的内容同义，为本题答案。
解析
本题考查学生对文章核心信息的定位与理解能力。关键在于识别文章中明确提到的“基本策略”，并结合上下文排除干扰选项。解题核心是抓住Sam Walton提出的原始经营理念，即“为顾客提供比其他地方更低的价格”，这一策略贯穿全文，是Wal-Mart成功的核心。
定位关键句：
文章首段明确指出：“It all started with a simple philosophy from founder Sam Walton: Offer shoppers lower prices than they get anywhere else.” 这里的“philosophy”即对应题目中的“basic strategy”，而冒号后的内容“Offer shoppers lower prices”是该策略的具体表述。
选项分析：
- A．products at lower price：与原文“lower prices”直接对应，正确。
- B．any kind of goods the customers may want：文中未提及商品种类的多样性，属于干扰项。
- C．a more comfortable shopping environment：文章未涉及购物环境，与主题无关。
- D．free-of-charge packaging：文中未提到包装服务，属于无中生有。