未分类题Soft-drink sales have been declining for nine straight years. This is much more than a trend— it s a fundamental shift in consumer tastes that【C1】______a major problem for soda makers, no matter how【C2】______their product combination might be. The latest numbers are astonishing, but not surprising. Sales of soda fell 3%【C3】______volume in 2013, to the lowest levels since 1995,【C4】______to a report from Beverage Digest issued on Monday. That would be a big【C5】______no matter what, and its more than double 2012 s decline. People are moving away from soda at a(n) 【C6】______rate. At this point, companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsico must be【C7】______not on what theyre doing to save their flagship brands, but on how well theyre【C8】______those brands decline. Of course thats not easy for companies that are named for those very brands, so theyre still crazily trying to【C9】______how to at least stop the losses, even as they wisely continue to invest in【C10】______like energy drinks, sports drinks, and flavored water. Pepsico took measures such as trying a new bottle design and signing with Beyonce,【C11】______sales have continued to decrease. And the hoped-for savior of the business—diet drinks with【C12】______sweeteners—are no help. Up until a few years ago, sales of diet sodas were falling at about the same rate as the sugar-filled ones. Now theyre actually falling fester【C13】______consumers continue to hear about health【C14】______. Just yesterday, a study was released indicating that consumption of diet soda can【C15】______the risk of cardiovascular disease in older women. But health concerns are not the only problem. If they were, it would seem【C16】______that energy drinks, sports beverages, coffee-based beverages, and flavored waters would be taking up the slack. But they are. That s a further【C17】______that what s doing soda in is the increase of【C18】______in the beverage aisle, especially those【C19】______at young people, a growing number of whom think of Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, and Pepsi—Beyonce notwithstanding—【C20】______the stuff their grandparents drank in the old days.【C1】A．makesB．posesC．putsD．offers
