In the battle for the young soda drinkers of China, U,S.-based Pepsi-Cola may have found a powerful new weapon: young street sellers toting (背负) backpack soda dispensers.

      It may sound trivial, but in China's teeming (拥挤的) cities, getting cold carbonated drinks into the hands of the young can be a struggle. Vending machines are often out of order, hawkers with pushcarts can't keep drinks cold enough, and the friendly mom-and-pop corner stores just don't cut it with teenagers trying to act hip.

      The backpack dispensers are the latest twist in a continuing battle between Pepsi-Cola and rival Coca-Cola for China's soda drinkers. Since 1996, Pepsi has virtually conceded dominance to Coca-Cola in all but a few international markets. Among the exceptions is China, where Pepsi-Cola believes it can make a last stand by appealing to youth. So far, however, it hasn't gained much ground. Research firm AC Nielsen says a January survey indicated Coca-Cola had captured 47% of China's market for carbonated beverages--Sprite and Fanta. Pepsi-Cola's share lagged well behind at 19%, most of which was due to Pepsi, followed by 7-Up and Mountain Dew. Globally, Coca-Cola had a 51% share of beverage sales last year, compared with 21% for

Pepsi-Cola.

      Coca-Cola's China marketing director in Hong Kong, John Cheung, says his firm tried backpack dispensers in China a few years ago but decided they weren't paying off because the drinks warmed up too quickly. But Pepsi-Cola's Tan says the dispensers his company uses--made by U.S.-based Thirst Enders International  keep the rate of warming to a minimum: two degrees an hour on a hot day. With shoppers in Chengdu gulping down the 32 cups in each tank within an hour, the drinks are always cool.

       Cheung admits that another reason  for  Coca-Cola's  disappointing  results  was  that  it  picked  older, unemployed adults to wear the dispensers, rather than upbeat young people, Pepsi Cola avoided that mistake by recruiting from universities.  "We want people who can be identified by the young customers with selling the drinks," says Tail. "They need to be young, energetic and outgoing."

      Pepsi-Cola also has used the dispensers in the Philippines and Singapore for promotions and sporting events. In China, it may start using them at soccer games--it sponsors the country's premier league. Tan says he wants to take the packs nationwide   "as soon as possible".  That will mean convincing bottlers  and distributors to stomp up $1,000 for each pack.  (Under Pepsi-Cola's arrangements with its local partners, the partners bear the full cost.)

      Coca-Cola's Cheung admits he's watching Pepsi Cola's gambit (策略) carefully. "If the day comes that the backpack is such a big advantage," he says, "We'll use them too."

1. According to the third paragraph, the backpack-dispenser approach appeared __________.

A) promising             B) ineffective

C) to work in only few international markets          

D) to cause Pepsi to lose more market share

2. It can be inferred that the most successful backpack dispensers must be __________.

A) light enough for salespeople to wear               

B) externally appealing to young people

C) thermally stable enough                            

D) technologically flawless

3. Coca. Cola's wrong choice of its street sellers shows that __________.

A) cola is more popular with young people            

B) people prefer to buy cola at regular stores

C) university students are more capable sellers         

D) the company considers too much about cost

4. What is John Cheung's attitude towards the feasibility of the backpack strategy?

   A) Optimistic.   B) Disappointed.    C) Doubtful.    D) Cautious.

5. What can we infer about the Pepsi's backpack strategy?

   A) The backpack strategy is most effectively used in sports events.

   B) The backpack dispensers need to be financed by Pepsi's partners.

   C) The backpack strategy will be carried out soon throughout China.

   D) The backpack dispensers used in the Philippines proved a success.

   1. 答案(B)  第3段第4句及从第5句开始所显示的数据都表明百事公司采用的背包式饮料机策略没有效果，B为本题答案。从第3段首句可知百事可乐公司对背包式饮料机策略寄予了厚望，但该段的数据表明这个策略并没有带来成功，A不正确; C文中没有提及：第3段最后两句对比了两家公司的市场份额，但这并不是使用了背包式饮料机之后的市场份额，D无从说起。

   2. 答案(C)   第4段第l句和第2句围绕的话题是背包式饮料机的保温问题，百事公司在成都的成功就在于他们使用的饮料机能够使饮料保持相对稳定的温度，C为本题答案。A和B原文井未讨论；D过于绝对了。

   3．答案(A)  第5段对比了可口可乐和百事町乐对背包饮料机的销售人员的选择，从这个对比可以看出，可口可乐公司的失败就在于它没有注重产品的消费对象是年轻人，由此可知，可乐更受年轻人欢迎，本题应选A，B与该对比无关；C和D都没有原文依据。

   4. 答案(D)  在第4段和第5段．John Cheung分析了可口可乐公司使用背包式饮料机失败的原因，这似乎表明他对饮料机很失望．但在末段他却表示如果百事可乐公司的策略证明有用的话，他们也会跟着采用，其中的carefully表明他对饮料机的看法是审慎的，因此D为本题答案，

   5. 答案(B)  选项B中的finance与第6段末句括号中的bear the full cost意思相近，由此可知，B为正确的说法。A中的most effectively无从证实；该段提及百事希望饮料机可以“尽快”在中国普及，但“尽快”是多快却难以推断，C不正确；D中的proved a success没有相关细节支持。