刘文勇GRE写作Argument题库 Day 47

Day 47 Because of declining profits, we must reduce operating expenses at Movies Galore's ten movie-rental stores

The following appeared in a memorandum from the owner of Movies Galore, a chain of movie-rental stores.

“Because of declining profits, we must reduce operating expenses at Movies Galore's ten movie-rental stores. Raising prices is not a good option, since we are famous for our low prices. Instead, we should reduce our operating hours. Last month our store in downtown Marston reduced its hours by closing at 6:00 p.m. rather than 9:00 p.m. and reduced its overall inventory by no longer stocking any DVD released more than five years ago. Since we have received very few customer complaints about these new policies, we should now adopt them at all other Movies Galore stores as our best strategies for improving profits.”

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

五问：

（1）“declining profits”“we are famous for our low prices”和“Last month our store in downtown Marston reduced its hours by closing at 6:00 p.m. rather than 9:00 p.m. and reduced its overall inventory by no longer stocking any DVD released more than five years ago. Since we have received very few customer complaints about these new policies”是事实， “Instead, we should reduce our operating hours”是结论，值得反驳吗？

（2）只因为我们是一家以低价而闻名的租赁店，就要放弃提高价格的选项吗？价格稍有提升一定会改变原有的特质吗？更进一步说，为了一个低价的名声而放弃一个可能正确的策略真的值得吗？

（3）仅凭一个店铺的运营效果，就能简单地将新策略推行到其他所有的店铺中吗？店铺和店铺之间可能因为哪些因素而有所不同？你能具体地罗列一两个可能的因素吗？比如：地理位置、租金价格等。这些因素将如何影响一个店铺可能的运营方向？好的地段交通便利、客流量大，营业时间长可能会盈利更多；租金价格上涨可能会导致成本过高，需要通过其他方式来缩减运营成本。另外，文中有给出 Marston店铺在实施新策略之后的利润变化吗？即使盈利了，新策略才刚实施一个月，这个月的情况能代表全年的情况吗？

（4）很少有顾客抱怨就意味着大部分的顾客都满意吗？是否可能存在一部分顾客虽不满意但也没有抱怨就直接离开的情况？这会导致什么样的糟糕结果？可能会导致顾客越来越少。

（5）制定该策略时有没有考虑到电影租赁店的客流高峰期这个因素？下午 6点到 9点会不会是顾客更多的时段？即便一个策略是有效的，在没有尝试其他策略之前，能够简单地得出结论说该策略一定是最优的吗？