2016年商務(wù)英語BEC中級考試訓(xùn)練試題

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    1、根據(jù)下面資料,回答題 
    The Bank with Ideas 
    With several hundreD years of history behind it, the APL Bank has few problems in (0)....B......businesses that it is A reputable anD secure (19)......of A.range of banking services.Now, it is demonstrating to business customers that it is flexible anD responsive enough .to(20) ......their changing needs in the 21st century. 
    BaseD in London, APL offers banking services to businesses throughout the UK viA.its branch (21)......Most customer service provision is (22).....out by personal account managers baseD in local branches, together with (23).....staff at company headquarters.An important (24)...... for APL has been to make it easy for customers to (25)......business with the bank.They can contact their account manager by direct line or email; if the manager is on holiday, A.carefully chosen colleague becomes the "account contact" and(26)...... with the customer during the manager's (27)...... In addition, for those who want (28).....to their bank at any time of day or night there is now A.24-hour phone-baseD service. 
    In order to remain competitive anD builD customer loyalty, the bank guarantees to turn arounD urgent loan (29)...... within 24 hours.This focus on the customer has also been A.driving(30)..... in APL's recruitment anD development policy.For example, newly inducteD staff(31)......A."customer service review" to finD out what it is like to be on the other side of the desk, asking to borrow money.Together, these (32)......in banking have achieveD excellent results.The customer(33)......is growing fast, anD last year the bank gaineD 36,000 new business accounts. 
    (19)選 
    A.producer
    B.supplier
    C.provider
    D.giver
    2、根據(jù)下面資料,回答題 
    For most of the 20th century Smithson’s was one of Britain’s most success ful department stores,but by the mid一1 990s,it haD become dull.Still profitable,thanks largely to A.series of successful advertising campaigns,but decidedly boring.The famous were careful not to be seen there,anD its sales staff didn’t seem to have changeD since the store opened in l908. Worst of all,its customers were buying fewer anD fewer of its own-branD products,the major part of its business,anD showing A.preference for more fashionable brands. 
    But now all this has changed,thanks to RowenA.Baker,who became Smithson’s first woman Chief Executive three years a90.Since then,while most major retailers in Britain have been losing money,Smithson’s profits have been rising steadily.When Baker started,A.lot of improvements haD just been made to the buildin9,without having any effect on sales, anD she took the bolD decision to invite one of Europe’s most exciting interior designers to develop the fashion area,the heart of the store.This very quickly leD to rising sales,even before the goods on display were changeD AnD as sales grew,so diD profits. 
    Baker haD ambitious plans for the store frOm the start.“We’re playing A.big game,to prove we’re up there with the leaders in our sector,anD we have to make sure people get that message.Smithson’s haD fallen behinD the competition.It provideD A.traditional service targeteD at middle—aged,middle—income customers,wh0’D been shopping there for years, anD the customer base was gradually contractin9.Our ideA.is to sell such an exciting variety of goods that everyone will want to come in,whether they plan to spenD A.little or A.lot.”Baker’s vision for the store is clear,but achieving it is far from simple.At first,many employees resisteD her improvements because they just wouldn’t be persuadeD that there was anything wrong with the way they’D always done things,even if they accepteD that the store haD to overtake its competitors.It took many long meetings,involving the entire workforce,to win their support。It helpeD when they realiseD that Baker was A.very different kinD of manager from the ones they haD known. 
    Baker’s staff policies containeD more surprises.The unifbrm that haD hardly changeD since day one has now disappeareD Moreover,teenagers now get young shop assistants,anD staff in the spots departments are themselves sports fans in trainers.As Baker explains,“How can you sell jeans if you’re wearing A.black suit?Smithson’s has A.new identity,anD this needs to be made clear to the customers.”She’s also given every sales assistant responsibility for ensuring customer satisfaction,even if it means occasionally breaking company rules in the hope that this will help company profits.RowenA.Baker is proving successful,but the City’s big investors haven’t been persuadeD  According to retail analyst,John Matthews,“Money haD already been investeD in 
    refurbishment of the store anD in fact that leD to the boost in sales.She took the credit, but hadn't done anything to achieve it.AnD in my view the company's shareholders are not convinced.The fact is that unless she opens several more stores pretty soon, Smithson's profits will start to fall because turnover of the existing store will inevitably start to decline." 
    According to the writer, in the mid-1990s Smithson's department store_______ 
    A.was making A.loss
    B.haD A.problem keeping staff
    C.was unhappy with its advertising agency
    D.mostly solD goods under the Smithson's name 
    3、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容,回答題 
    
"Businessman of the Year" Award
A. James King: Chief Executive of Fentons Finance 
    King was nominated for the quality of his leadership, with the judges claiming that the Fentons Finance boss is almost revered by his team. He is credited with reinventing Fentons Finance - revitalizing its culture of inflexibility, removing outdated pre-merger barriers and playing a brilliant tactical game. He led everyone to believe he was opposed to large mergers and then jumped on the Westcombe Bank opportunity at just the right moment. History will be the judge, but for now the markets consider King to be a star. 
    B. Keith Nash: Chief Executive of Hamley's Supermarkets 
    Nash took over as CEO when Hamley's systems and distribution were out of date and the brand badly needed freshening up. He began refocusing the brand at the higher quality end of the food market and launched several own-brand initiatives for the health conscious. As a result, the share price has gone up nearly 80 per cent. This should be extremely satisfying for Nash, who had left the retailer in 1986, disappointed after failing to secure the top job. 
    C. Jorge Marquez: Chairman of the Kenwick Group 
    Marquez was a popular choice for his achievements at Kenwick. The judges say he has been courageous in pushing through the appointment of controversial or inexperienced chief executives to companies within the group, and then sponsoring them as they transformed their businesses. He operates as a "virtual" chairman, without a permanent office in any one company. He phones his CEOs regularly, and several of them have acknowledged the vital contribution he makes to their effectiveness. Everyone is impressed at how he also finds the time to be chairman of two other large companies. 
    D. Richard Jenkins: Finance Director of Centron Advertising 
    Labouring in the shadow of a high-profile boss can sometimes draw attention away from the finance director, and the judges considered it was high time Jenkins got that attention. The CEO may be the public face of Centron, but Jenkins is the one who makes it run smoothly. Behind the scenes, he is constantly demonstrating that budgets and forecasts are what is needed to make a company successful, particularly now that the advertising market has been hit by recession, it is largely thanks to him that Centron is in much better shape than its rivals. 
    This businessman has successfully targeted a different group of consumers.
    填空題
    4、根據(jù)下面資料,回答題 
    Personal Assistant of the Year 
    O  Anne-Marie Garrard was shocked when it was announced that she had won the 
    00 Personal Assistant of the Year award. "The other candidates seemed me 
    34 to be very strong, and I have to say I found that the selection procedure really 
    35 hard," she says. "1 didn't think I had any chance of winning. When I heard my 
    36 name, my legs were so weak I could only hardly stand up," she laughs. So 
    37 how is "the best" personal assistant chosen from a group of so extremely good 
    38 and very different individuals? The final decision was reached after a 
    39 day-long session of the tests, interviews and exercises. Garrard believes 
    40 the skills she uses in her job helped her how to perform well. For instance, although 
    41 most of her work is for her company's Managing Director, she works for six bosses 
    42 in all, so she always tries out to be prepared for anything that might happen. 
    43 As for the future, her firm has closed for its summer break now; as soon as 
    44 they will open again, there is a pay rise waiting for her. But Garrard is not 
    45 going to be relax. She says, "There's always room for personal development. You must keep trying to improve." 
    34__________ 
    5、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容,回答題 
    
Market Research
0 Market research involves in collecting and sorting facts and opinions from specific groups 
    00 0f people.The purpose of research can vary from discovering the popularity of a political 
    34 party to assessing whether is a product needs changing or replacing.Most work in 
    35 consumer research involves interviewers employed by market research agencies,but 
    36 certain industrial and social research is carried out by any specialist agencies.Interviews 
    37 may be with individuals or groups and can last anything as from a few minutes to an hour 
    38 0r more.In some interviews,people may be asked to examine or try out products before 
    39 giving up their opinion.Successful interviewers tend to like meeting people and should 
    40 not only be shy of addressing strangers.Interviewers are usually expecled to work
    41 unsupervised,organizing their own workload.Self-discipline is absolutely essential,and 
    42 as are motivation and enemy.There are no specific age limits for such a work,though 
    43 many agencies prefer to employ older applicants with experience of meeting people。
    44 Market research agencies which frequently organize training,where trainees learn how 
    45 to recognize socio-economic groups and practice approaching to the public。 
    34__________
    6、Questions 8-12
    ·Read the text below about the management of documents.
    ·Choose the best sentence from the list on the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
    ·For each gap 8-12, mark one letter (A-I) on your Answer Sheet.
    ·Do not use any letter more than once.
    
How do you improve white collar productivity?
    
  For many years, technological development was thought to be the key to improving productivity in the office. In the 1980s cheap small computers first appeared on desktops. (example)________
      The power of personal computers has increased dramatically, and the uses of software have expanded too. Companies both large and small have spent large sums of money on improving office computer facilities.(8) ________.It seems that business has failed to apply the developments in technology to greater effect, to increase the amount of time which office workers have available for non-routine tasks. To do this, we need to understand how information is processed in business ventures.
      Typically, information is first gathered, then processed, and finally produced in its changed form as output.(9) ________. Increasingly complex programs have been invented, to feed ever more powerful processing systems.
      But what about output? A recent study by an American management institute shows that the processing of documents takes up 60% of office workers’ time, 40% of labour costs and up to 10% of business income.(10) ________. In fact, the international companies studied for the research show that this breakdown is true world-wide, wherever the company operates.
    Taking these findings into account, the management of documents has become extremely important. Documents support nearly all business transactions. They are increasingly the way to communicate with customers, suppliers and employees. It is therefore upon document output and distribution that we should focus. (11) ________
      Unfortunately, technological developments in equipment for document management seem more impressive than they really are.(12) ________ New technological solutions are needed to tackle the problem, to help drive businesses forward to improve their productivity and output.
      Only now are we beginning to study business objectives and to structure technology to suit them. Our company is attempting to understand how people use technology and how it can be applied to business problems.
    A. These new methods of handling paperwork have already greatly improved efficiency.
    B. This would be a key way of improving white collar productivity.
    C. It will help them to make better use of all office employees.
    D. However, this enormous investment has not improved productivity as expected.
    E. Laser printers have many limitations, and photocopiers have few applications.
    F. Most technology has concentrated its attention on the first two of these stages.
    G. These figures are hardly surprising since documents convey nine-tenths of all information.
    H. Nevertheless, it is an important way to improve business processes and workflow.
    I. Since then, these machines have caused a revolution in the way we work in the office.
    7、Questions 8-12
    ·Read this letter to the editor of The Economist.
    ·Choose the best sentence from the list A-I to fill each of the blanks.
    ·For each bland (8-12) mark one letter (A-I) on your Answer Sheet.
    ·Do not mar4 any letter twice.
    ·One answer has been given as an example.
    Sir,
    You state on February 13 th that New Mexico has “few natural resources”, ____ example____ In 1991 New Mexico ranked fourth in the United States in production of natural gas, seventh in oil and tenth in non-fuel minerals ____8____ Non-fuel minerals contributed about $ 1 billion and coal $ 509 million.
    Taxes from production of fuels and minerals, and lease payments on state lands have been set aside by legislative acts to endow two permanent funds worth about $ 5.65 billion, ____9____ In addition, during fiscal year 1991 , payments to New Mexico from taxes on federal lands were S 108 million, all earmarked for public education.
    ____10____ About $566 million came from taxes and permanent-fund earnings attributable to oil and gas production. ____11____ Tourism is an important industry in Mew Mexico, yet its economic impact on the public sector is dwarfed by that of mineral production.
    New Mexico came through the recent recession in much better shape than most other states. It does not have a deficit. ____12____ States that rely primarily on a sales tax or on an income tax have big problems during economic downturns. Income growth per head in New Mexico averaged 6.1/00 in the year to October 1992-one if the fastest growth rates in the United States.
    Charles Chapin
    Example: C
    A. That it has a broadly based tax structure is an important point.
    B. In 1992 it produced more oil than Colorado and Kansas combined.
    C. However, the extractive mineral industry in New Mexico is one of the state’s strongest economic forces.
    D. During fiscal year 1992 New Mexico raised permanent funds worth about $6.1 billion.
    E. The combined value of oil and gas production was $ 2.8 billion.
    F. Some 16,000 employees work in the extractive industries and their wages are among the highest of any major industry.
    G. The $39 million earned by these funds in 1991 was used to finance education and other public services.
    H. Only S 25 million came from agricultural taxes.
    I. New Mexico’s extractive mineral industries contribute about a third of the state’s $ 1.9 billion general-fund income in fiscal year 1991. 
    8、
    
Japanese McDonald’s

    If you always thought of McDonald’s as an all-American company it, may surprise you to learn that the king of McDonald’s franchises is named Fujita and that he doesn’t eat hamburgers. ____1____ By ignoring many of the customs of both his native and his parent company, Fujita has made McDonald’s the top fast-food business in Japan and has changed the face of franchising.
    McDonald’s came to Japan in 1970 searching for a Japanese partner with whom to create a Japanese McDonald’s. Fujita was far from the richest potential candidate interviewed, but he was an eager entrepreneur who seemed willing to devote his energies to the new venture. ____2____ 
    Almost immediately, however, Fujita began going his own way. The parent company recommended opening the first Japanese McDonald’s in the suburbs, where most American fast-food stores are located. Fujita had his own ideas. ____3____ He got his way, opened the first Japanese McDonald’s in a department store in Tokyo, didn’t spend anything on advertising. ____4____ 
    McDonald’s learned its lesson from Fujita and has since opened inner-city restaurant around the world. ____5____ While the Japanese seem fascinated with western styles and tastes, they often don’t think of themselves as consumers of American products. So Fujita’s McDonald’s franchises play down their American origins, to the point where, according to Fujita, some Japanese who visit the United States are surprised to find that we have ‘Makudonarudo’, as the Japanese say it, in America too.
    A. In fact, Fujita is unusual in many respects, and his uniqueness has made him very rich.
    B. McDonald’s took a chance and chose him.
    C. Fujita and McDonald’s continue to benefit from each other.
    D. Other companies might learn from the way Fujita marketed McDonald’s in Japan.
    E. Fujita likes to take credit for a rise in the average weight of his people.
    F. And within a year he had broken McDonald’s world record for one-day sales: $14,000.
    G. He thought the young pedestrians of Japan’s cities were more likely to give up Japan fish-and –rice diet for a hamburger than were the more traditional suburban dwellers.
    H. But Fujita himself prefers noodles to Big Macs.
    I. And the Tokyo McDonald’s that once caused an argument is now one of 500 that Fujita owns in Japan. 
    9、
    PART THREE
    Questions 13-20
    Read the article below about stress management, and answer questions 13-20 on the opposite page.
    A Lesson In Stress Management
    Demands placed on us at work can often lead to considerable worry and discomfort. There are, however, ways of protecting ourselves from the stress we face at work. We interviewed Jane Collard, a consultant in stress management.
    1. In Jane Collard's opinion, stress is becoming an increasingly common feature of the workplace. Stress is a highly individual reaction, which varies considerably from person to person, and it is difficult for some employees to avoid it. Indeed, stress is regarded by many as part of the organizational culture of our institutions: it comes with the job. Recent figures indicate that time taken off work because of stress has increased by 500 per cent since the 1950s. Undoubtedly, changes in working conditions have led to greater pressure at work at all levels. With reductions in staffing, workloads for individual employees have increased. In addition, many employees are left worrying about the security of their jobs.
    2. On the stress management courses that she runs, Jane Collard tries to make the trainees realise that stress in itself is not harmful. Everyone needs a certain level of stress to enable them to feel motivated and to perform effectively. A complete absence of stress can be as damaging as overstress, since it can make people lose interest in their work, and even lead to depression. The difficulties occur when the amount of stress rises above a level which is healthy for a particular individual. If this happens, the effects are very obvious and the trainees are taught to recognize the signs. Stress may be expressed physically, for example through headaches and tiredness, or through emotional problems such as depression. A person suffering from stress may also start to behave differently, and can be difficult to deal with.
    3. While it may not always be possible to prevent stress, there are a number of ways in which it can be controlled. The first thing that the trainees learn is how to manage their time effectively. This involves, first of all, setting realistic goals for both the short and long term. Once this framework has been established, tasks are then prioritised on a daily basis. The trainees are also reminded that when they are under pressure the less important items should be left, and they should never hesitate to delegate. Everyone is encouraged to look at ways of reducing 'wasted time ', for example by grouping similar tasks together or dealing with items immedkiately.
    4. Jane feels that one of the most useful features of the course is that it enables trainees to deal with those demands or deadlines that they regard as unreasonable. They are encouraged to avoid being defensive, but at the same time they are advised not to be afraid of saying 'no'. They are asked to give reasons only if necessary. The training helps them to foresee difficult situations or unwanted demands, and they learn how to prepare themselves mentally. Everyone is encouraged not to get stuck in negative thought patterns, where stress can feed a circular sense of helplessness. One solution they discuss is to think of a more encouraging alternative for each negative message. They learn, for example, to remind themselves that nothing terrible happens when a demand is refused or a deadline missed. Life goes on.
    Questions 13-16
    For questions 13-16, choose the best title for each numbered paragraph from the list below.
    For each numbered paragraph 1-4, mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
    Do not use any letter more than once.
    13 Paragraph 1 ______ 14 Paragraph 2 ______
    15 Paragraph 3 ______ 16 Paragraph 4 ______
    A Higher stress levels among top managers
    B Coping with stress through a positive attitude
    C Time lost at work through sickness
    D Causes of increased stress in the work environment
    E Explanations for missed deadlines
    F stress reduction through better organisation
    G Typical problems associated with stress
    簡答題
    10、Part One
    Your company has just opened a new office in the United States. You have agreed to go and work there for six months.
    Write a memo of 30-40 words to all your colleagues:
    Explaining why you will be absent;
    Saying when you are leaving the office;
    Expressing your wish to keep in touch;
    Write on your answer sheet.
    Part Two
    You work for RCT, a company which sells business stationery. RCT is interested in becoming an agent for Novestat, a company which manufactures paper products.
    Read Novestat’s advertisement below, on which you have made some notes.
    Then, using all your notes, write a letter to James Dowling at Novestat.
    Do not include postal addresses.
    Write 100-120 words.
    Write on your answer sheet.