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大耳朵英语£270million.Failuretoprovethatithadnopartincollusionwithothersupermarketsanddairyprocessorsmaylanditwithafineofatleast£80million.TheOfficeofFairTrading(OFT)saidyesterdaythatAsda,Sainsbury’sandtheformerSafeway,plusthedairycompaniesWiseman,DairyCrestandCheeseCompany,hadadmittedbeinginacarteltofixpricesformilk,butterandcheese.Theywerefinedatotalofjustover£116millionaspartofaleniencydealofferedbythewatchdogtocompaniesthatownedupquicklytoanti-competitivebehaviour.OfficialsattheOFTadmittedprivatelythattheydidnotthinktheywouldeverdiscoverwhichcompanyorindividualhadinitiatedthepricingformula.Butthewatchdogrecognisesthatatthetimesupermarketswereunderpressurefrompoliticiansandfarmerstoraisethecostofmilktosavedairyfarming,thoughitisnotcertainthatmoneyfounditswaytofarmers.TheOFTclaimedinSeptemberthatithadfoundevidencethattheretailchainshadpassedfuturemilkpricestodairycompanies,whichthenreachedafixedpriceamongthemselves.Theaveragecosttoeachhouseholdisthoughttobe£11.25over2002and2003.Priceswentupanextra3ponapintofmilk,15ponaquarterofapoundofbutterand15ponahalfpoundofcheese.Thereisnodirectrecompenseforconsumers,however,andthemoneywillgototheTreasury.TheNationalConsumerCouncilgavewarningthattheadmissionswoulddentconsumerconfidenceinleadinghighstreetnamesandthatpeoplewouldbecomescepticaloftheirclaims.FarmersForAction,thegroupoffarmersthathasledprotestsoverlowmilkpricessince2000,isseekinglegaladviceonwhetheritcannowbringaclaimforcompensation.TheOFTinvestigationiscontinuing,however,inrelationtoTesco,MorrisonsandthedairygroupLactalisMcLelland,andanylegalactionisexpectedtobedelayeduntilthatiscompleted.Tescowasdefiantandsaidthatitwaspreparingarobustdefenceofitsactions.LucyNeville-Rolfe,itsexecutivedirector,said:“Aswehavealwayssaid,weactedindependentlyandwedidnotcolludewithanyone.Ourpositionisdifferentfromourcompetitorsandwearedefendingourowncasevigorously.Ourphilosophyistogiveagooddealtocustomers.”MorrisonshassupportedtheOFTininquiriesintotheformerSafewaybusinessthatittookover,butinastatementsaidthatitwasstillmaking“strongrepresentations”initsdefence.AspokeswomanforLactalisMcLellandsaidthatthecompanywas“co-operating”withtheOFT.IndustryinsiderssuggestedthatthethreecompaniesweredeliberatelystallingtheOFTinvestigation.Sainsbury’sadmittedyesterdaythatithadagreedtopay£26millioninfines,butdeniedthatithadsoughttoprofiteer.JustinKing,thechiefexecutive,saidhewasdisappointedthatthecompanyhadbeenpenalisedforactionsmeanttohelpfarmersbutrecognisedthebenefitofaspeedysettlement.Asdadeclinedtosayhowmuchitwouldpayinfinesandalsosaidthatitsintentionhadbeentohelpfarmersunderseverefinancialpressure.大耳朵英语[A]Tescoisthemostresoluteamongalltheretailerstodefenditsreputation.[B]itisalreadyprovedthatTescohascolludedwithAsda,Wiseman,DairyCrestandCheeseCompanyinfixingthedairyprice.[C]Tescoisofferedaleniencydealof£80millionbecauseofitsquickresponsetotheanti-competitivebehaviors[D]Tescoistryingitsbesttoproveitsinnocenceofthescandal.2.Whoismostprobablytheinitiatorofthepricingformula?[A]Retailchains.[B]Farmers.[C]Dairycompanies.[D]Politicians3.Theword“defiant”(Line1,Paragraph5)mostprobablymeans_____.[A]resisiting[B]angry[C]deficient[D]confident4.WemayinferfromMorrisons’statementthat_____[A]MorrisonsturnouttobethemostdefentivewhendealingwithOFT.[B]MorrisonsisreluctanttosupporttheinquiriesintotheformerSafewaybusiness.[C]industryinsiderssuggestthatMorrisonswastryingtodelaytheOFTinvestigationwithnon-cooperation.[D]Morrisonsindeedrefusestoadmititsinvolvementinthescandal.5.Thewriter’sattitudetoTescocanbesaidtobe_____[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：processorn.加工者`carteln.卡特尔,联合企业,垄断集团leniencyn.宽大，慈悲,慈悲宽厚的行为dentv.使凹下,凹进,削弱defiantadj.挑战的,挑衅的,目中无人的stallv.(使)停转,(使)停止,迟延profiteervi.牟取暴利难句突破:(1)Theywerefinedatotalofjustover£116millionaspartofaleniencydealofferedbythewatchdogtocompaniesthatownedupquicklytoanti-competitivebehaviour.大耳朵英语更好的英语互动平台主体句式:Theywerefinedatotalofjustover£116millionaspartofaleniencydeal…结构分析:这是一个复合句，其成分比较复杂。offeredbythewatchdogtocompanies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差不多一亿一千六百万，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)TheNationalConsumerCouncilgavewarningthattheadmissionswoulddentconsumerconfidenceinleadinghighstreetnamesandthatpeoplewouldbecomescepticaloftheirclaims.[主体句式]TheNationalConsumerCouncilgavewarning…[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，confidencein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.Fromthefirstparagraph,wemayinferthat_____由第一段可以推断出______[A]Tescoisthemostresoluteamongalltheretailerstodefenditsreputation.[A]在所有的零售商中，Tesco捍卫其名誉的态度最为坚决。[B]itisalreadyprovedthatTescohascollu