TEXT ONETesco ispreparing a legal battle to clear its name of involvement in the dairyprice-fixing scandal that has cost consumers £270 million. Failure to provethat it had no part in collusion with other supermarkets and dairy processorsmay land it with a fine of at least £80 million. The Office of Fair Trading(OFT) said yesterday that Asda, Sainsbury’s and the former Safeway, plus thedairy companies Wiseman, Dairy Crest and Cheese Company, had admitted being ina cartel to fix prices for milk, butter and cheese. They were fined a total ofjust over £116 million as part of a leniency deal offered by the watchdog to companiesthat owned up quickly to anti-competitive behaviour. Officials atthe OFT admitted privately that they did not think they would ever discoverwhich company or individual had initiated the pricing formula. But the watchdogrecognises that at the time supermarkets were under pressure from politiciansand farmers to raise the cost of milk to save dairy farming, though it is notcertain that money found its way to farmers. The OFT claimed in September thatit had found evidence that the retail chains had passed future milk prices todairy companies, which then reached a fixed price among themselves. The averagecost to each household is thought to be £11.25 over 2002 and 2003. Prices wentup an extra 3p on a pint of milk, 15p on a quarter of a pound of butter and 15pon a half pound of cheese. There is no direct recompense for consumers,however, and the money will go to the Treasury. The National Consumer Councilgave warning that the admissions would dent consumer confidence in leading highstreet names and that people would become sceptical of their claims. FarmersFor Action, the group of farmers that has led protests over low milk pricessince 2000, is seeking legal advice on whether it can now bring a claim forcompensation. The OFTinvestigation is continuing, however, in relation to Tesco, Morrisons and thedairy group Lactalis McLelland, and any legal action is expected to be delayeduntil that is completed. Tesco wasdefiant and said that it was preparing a robust defence of its actions. LucyNeville-Rolfe, its executive director, said: "As we have always said, weacted independently and we did not collude with anyone. Our position isdifferent from our competitors and we are defending our own case vigorously.Our philosophy is to give a good deal to customers." Morrisons hassupported the OFT in inquiries into the former Safeway business that it tookover, but in a statement said that it was still making "strongrepresentations" in its defence. A spokeswoman for Lactalis McLelland saidthat the company was "co-operating" with the OFT. Industry insiderssuggested that the three companies were deliberately stalling the OFTinvestigation. Sainsbury’s admitted yesterday that it hadagreed to pay £26 million in fines, but denied that it had sought to profiteer.Justin King, the chief executive, said he was disappointed that the company hadbeen penalised for actions meant to help farmers but recognised the benefit ofa speedy settlement. Asda declined to say how much it would pay in fines andalso said that its intention had been to help farmers under severe financialpressure. 1. From thefirst paragraph, we may infer that _____ [A] Tesco hascost consumers £270 million. [B] Tesco hascolluded with Asda, Wiseman, Dairy Crest and Cheese Company in fixing the dairyprice. [C] Tescowill be offered a leniency deal of £80 million. [D] Tesco istrying its best to prove its innocence of the scandal. 2. Who ismost probably the initiator of the pricing formula? [A] retail chains. [B] farmers. [C] dairycompanies. [D]politicians 3. The word"defiant" (Line 3, Paragraph 4)most probably means _____. [A]resisiting [B] angry [C] deficient [D] confident 4. We mayinfer from Morrisons’ statement that _____. [A] Morrisons was uncooperative with OFT. [B] Morrisons was reluctant to support the inquiries into the former Safewaybusiness. [C] Morrisonswas trying to delay the OFT investigation. [D] Morrisonswas working hard to defend its interests. 5. The writer’s attitude to Tesco can be said tobe _____. [A] biased. [B]objective. [C]sympathetic. [D]optimistic.篇章剖析：