18.   The value of a product is determined by the ratio of its quality to its price. The higher the value of a product, the better will be its competitive position. Therefore, either increasing the quality or lowering the price of a given product will increase the likelihood that consumer will select that product rather than a competing one.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn above?

(A) It is possible to increase both the quality and the price of a product without changing its competitive position.

(B) For certain segments of the population of consumers, higher-priced brands of some product lines are preferred to the lower-priced brands.

(C) Competing products often try to appeal to different segments of the population of consumers.

(D) The competitive position of a product can be affected by such factors as advertising and brand loyalty.（E）

(E) Consumers’ perceptions of the quality of a product are based on the actual quality of the product.
答案为E。看来看去觉得E是无关选项，A看起来还满向答案的。谁能帮我解释一下？。

试着发表下意见供LZ参考...

题干说产品的价值是由其性价比决定的,然后得出结论说只要either increasing the quality or lowering the price of a given product就可以吸引顾客

然后E选项说顾客就是按照quality来来选择产品的,证明题目的结论所采取的方式是可行有效的

试着发表下意见供LZ参考...

题干说产品的价值是由其性价比决定的,然后得出结论说只要either increasing the quality or lowering the price of a given product就可以吸引顾客

然后E选项说顾客就是按照quality来来选择产品的,证明题目的结论所采取的方式是可行有效的

 (A) It is possible to increase both the quality and the price of a product without changing its competitive position.

A 选项说的是同时增加质量和价格, 与原文说的增加质量(价格不变)或者降低价格(质量不变), 意思不一样.

A是可以通过原文得出的，并没有SUPPORT原文的结论。

E可以说是结论成立的一个不可缺少的条件，那就是顾客对于产品质量的认知必须是正确的。