Passage 3
When it recently acquired former rival Holly Farms, Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, Inc. became the largest producer and marketer of pre-cooked chicken products in the United States. Before buying Holly Farms, Tyson's chicken production was strained as it attempted to keep up with the demands of its booming food-service business and the public's increasing preference for chicken. However, in addition to gaining Holly Farms 'pre-cooked chicken operation, Tyson has also inherited some of the same problems Holly Farms had with this type of product.
Over the last few years, as more health-conscious consumers sought diets lower in calories and cholesterol, the demand for chicken steadily rose. Because of this , and the growing demand for food that could be easily and quickly prepared at home, Holly Farms executives believed that their line of pre-cooked chicken products would be a great success. They did not anticipate the extensive distribution problems they would encounter. They also underestimated the high costs and waste invoIved with selling prepared foods.
The highest costs associated with pre-cooked chicken are distribution costs. One supermarket analyst refers to the distribution of fresh foods as a distribution "nightmare. "He contends that there is no way that fresh food producers can adequately support their products at the retail level.
Perishable prepared foods are expensive to produce (labor costs are tremendous), relatively expensive for the consumers to buy, and subject to spoilage loss. The biggest problem with pre-cooked chicken is its short shelf life. Grocery retailers are accustomed to ordering food products long in advance, warehousing the products, and then placing them on shelves as shelf-space availability dictates. Grocers who did not make proper adjustments when handling Holly Farms products began to lose much of the chicken to spoilage because it was stored too long in warehouses. So even though consumers seemed to like the products, quite a lot of supermarkets began to discontinue carrying them.
Holly Farms was trying to sell a popular consumer item that many supermarkets did not like. Also , since many supermarket chains are experimenting with their own versions of prepared chicken, some are not anxious to cooperate with Tyson in ironing out the distribution problems.
Tyson will need extensive interaction with retailers in order for its pre-cooked chicken line to be successful. Tyson may need to explore more advanced cooking technology that will enable its chicken products to have longer shelf lives. Tyson officials may have to rethink the entire distribution process set up by Holly Farms.
What can NOT we learn from the first paragraph?
A、Holly Farms was a competitor of Tyson Foods.
B、Tyson Foods has acquired Holly Farms, its former competitor.
C、Tyson Foods is encountering some of the same problems Holly Farms had.
D、Tyson Foods has never found it difficult to keep up with the demands of its booming food-service business.
【正确答案】：D
【名师解析】:选项D表明Tyson Foods从未发现难以跟上其蓬勃发展的食品服务业务的需求。然而，第一段明确指出，在收购Holly Farms之前，Tyson的食品生产能力已经紧张，因为它试图跟上其蓬勃发展的食品服务业务的需求以及公众对鸡肉日益增长的偏好。这与选项D的说法相矛盾，因此选项D是正确答案。其他选项A、B和C都是从第一段中直接可以得出的信息：Holly Farms是Tyson Foods的竞争对手（选项A），Tyson Foods已经收购了Holly Farms（选项B），Tyson Foods正在遇到一些Holly Farms曾经遇到的问题（选项C）。
