2016年劍橋商務(wù)英語考試BEC中級預(yù)測試題

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    單項選擇題
    1、根據(jù)下面資料,回答題
    Setting up an Appraisal Scheme
    Appraisals can be a wonderful opportunity for your staff to focus on their jobs and make plans to develop their unused potential. (0)....G...So, if you have decided that an appraisal scheme should be set up in your company, you need to establish some formal procedures and make some decisions before you begin. Even if your company already has a scheme, you need to consider what you want to achieve and how you are going to do this.
    First of all, you need to decide on your key objectives and the real purpose of your scheme.(8)  A scheme should never be introduced at a time of redundancies, or simply for profit or competitive edge, because this will create fear and alienate staff. The next step is to decide how the scheme can most successfully be managed, It is essential that all senior staff are committed to the process and willing to make a positive contribution.
    The person given responsibility for designing the scheme and the appraisal forms needs to have knowledge of all roles within the organization. He or she must also be aware of
    employees' potential needs.(9)  He or she should be someone who is trusted and whom staff will turn to if they are concerned about their appointed appraiser or the appraisal interview. The design of the scheme should indicate who will be appraising whom. This needs great tact and sensitivity. First, remember that no manager can effectively appraise more than seven or eight people. It is equally important to remember that, if significant numbers of staff are appraised by someone they dislike, or by a person whose values they do not share, the success of your scheme may be threatened. (10)  So bear this in mind from the beginning and, if necessary, establish an appeals procedure.
    Having decided on your policy and who will appraise which members of staff, you need to communicate this in the simplest possible way. Avoid lengthy documents - few people will read them. (11)  Most organizations choose a person's line manager to be the appraiser. This can be seen as an opportunity or a threat, so be ready to consider alternatives if necessary.
    Once you have established the appraisal process, make sure that appraisal interviews take place at a convenient time, and ideally on neutral ground. It should be borne in mind that some appraisals may involve the disclosure of confidential information. (12)  These will show the decisions that were taken during the interview and will also indicate any new performance targets that have been agreed.
    A.It is important to select a manager who can deal effectively with any suspicions staff may have about appraisals.
    B.Such a measure can also reduce insecurity and unite staff in recognizing the positive elements of appraisal.
    C.Having even one staff member in such a position may affect how others respond to the process.
    D.Ideally, this should be to provide a supportive framework that aids staff development.
    E.Simply make sure that staff know who will appraise them and why, and what form the interview will take.
    F.It is therefore important to decide who will have access to written records of the appraisal.
    G.They can also be a means of getting the pest out ot start, both as individuals, and as team members.
    (8)應(yīng)選
    2、根據(jù)下面資料,回答題
    A
    Too often we accuse others of not listening, pretending that we ourselves are faultless, yet in our hearts we know that many of the mistakes we make come about because we haven't listened carefully enough. We get things wrong because we haven't quite understood what someone meant when they were talking to us. Anyone who has ever taken the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remember - despite the benefit of notes - exactly what everyone said. But success depends on getting things right - and that means listening.
    B
    Listening is not the same thing as hearing; it is not an effortless activity. It demands attention and concentration. It may mean quizzing the speaker for additional information or for clarification - it is always better to ask than to continue regardless and get things wrong. However, if you allow your mind to wander onto something else, even for a few minutes, you'll miss what the speaker is saying - probably at the very moment when he or she is saying something critical. And not having heard, you won't know you've missed anything until it's too late.
    C
    The most common bad habit we have is to start thinking of what we are going to say about the subject long before the other speaker has finished. We then stop listening. Even worse, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have decided what to say there is a fair chance you will interrupt to say it. Good listeners don't interrupt. In fact, it is often worth explaining the main idea of what you have just been told before going on to make your own points. Nobody is offended by this and it shows that you have listened well.
    D
    Above all, be patient and accept that many people are not very good communicators. It's helpful to remember that the ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying. Equally importantly you should put yourself in the other person's shoes, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you to understand what they are getting at and form a response. But don't be too clever. Faced with a know-all, many people keep quiet because they see no point in continuing.
    Sometimes it is necessary to insist on further explanation.
    3、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容,回答題
    Business Meetings
    It is important that ideas anD.suggestions tableD.a(chǎn)t formal meetings are voiceD.a(chǎn)t the (0)..D...time.This is achieveD.by keeping to the (19)...... shown on the agenda.For example, there is no (20)...... in discussing ideas to do with Item Six on the agendA.when Item Two has not yet been (21)...... Such deviations from the agendA.may (22)....... in confusion among the people at the meeting; they may also (23)...... concentration if they see something as irrelevant.
    To make certain that the meeting proceeds in an orderly fashion, it is therefore useful to(24) ......some grounD.rules.First, everyone will neeD.to understanD.that they must(25) ......their comments to the topiC.under discussion.The Chair can then encourage one person to speak at A.(26) ......so that any ideas offereD.can be discusseD.a(chǎn)nD.(27)Once that person has finished, someone else can put (28)..... their ideas anD.so on.If this procedure is adopted, the participants will be able to follow the various issues in A.consistent manner, which will help with the decision-making (29)..... later on.It will also (30).....that the quiet people at meetings get A.chance to (31)..... their say, rather than just their more outspoken colleagues.In (32)...... it is often the quiet people at meetings who generate the best ideas, because they are in the (33)...... of thinking before they speak.
    (19)應(yīng)選
    A.structure
    B.direction
    C.order
    D.a(chǎn)rrangemer
    4、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容,回答題
    A
    The Birmingham Alliance will provide Birmingham with one of Europe's largest regional shopping centres, right in the heart of the city.The Alliance, an initiative between three of the largest developers in the country, all with extensive experience of urban regeneration schemes, will facilitate an 800m investment in Birmingham.This will regenerate 40 acres of the city centre within the next decade.Planning permission is in place for the new scheme, which will be a short distance from existing prime retail areas.The development will be well serviced by all forms of public transport, as well as providing parking space forε 3,200 cars.
    B
    The private-public partnership between Legal & General and Bracknell Town Council will manage the ~ 500m regeneration of the town's centre.The proposals, which are awaiting the outcome of consultation with local residents, provide for approximately 102,000 m2 of retail and leisure facilities, ε200 residential units and office accommodation.This development is expected to set the standard for town centre regeneration schemes to come because of the way it integrates the business and community sectors.It will also facilitate great improvements in the region's transport infrastructure.
    C
    Bluewater is a symbol of retail excellence, achieved through a unique combination of design, retail mix, leisure, catering and hospitality.The centre, surrounded by parkland, is situated in the country's most affluent region.Eleven million people, with a combined spending power predicted to exceed a record 5.5bn, live within 60 minutes of the centre.The developers set a precedent in the industry by gating the country's three best-known department stores to open very large branches within the centre, as well as over 300 leading fashion and lifestyle stores.
    D
    Following its recent stock market success, Lend Lease is now developing Overgate shopping centre in Dundee.Construction is well under way, and with several of the country's best-known retailers already secured, Lend Lease is promoting the centre as the unrivalled shopping destination of the region.The economic base of the area has improved continuously over the past decade, due to the fast expansion of the biomedical and service sectors.With an estimated potential market of 500,000 people, Overgate is proving attractive to leading UK retailers.
    This development is in an area where the potential for consumer spending is the highest in the country.
    5、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容,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)應(yīng)選
    A.producer
    B.supplier
    C.provider
    D.giver
    填空題
    6、
    
Finding the right people
    

    When a small company grows, managers must take on many new roles. Besides the day-to-day running of the business, they find themselves responsible for, among other things, relations with outside investors, increased levels of cashflow and, hardest of all, recruitment.
    For most managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, the job of searching for, interviewing and selecting staff is difficult and time-consuming. ___(0) G___. Interviewing, for example, is a highly skilled activity in itself.
    “We have found the whole process very hard,” says Dan Baker, founding partner of a PR company. “In seven years we have grown from five to eighteen staff, but we have not found it easy to locate and recruit the right people.” ___(8)___. As Dan Baker explains, “We went to one for out first recruitment drive, but they took a lot of money in advance and didn’t put forward anybody suitable. In the end we had to do it ourselves.”
    Most recruitment decisions are based on a pile of CVs, a couple of short interviews and two cautious references. David Rowe, a business psychologist, studied how appointments were made in five small companies. He claims that selection was rarely based in clear criteria. ___(9)___. This kind of approach to recruitment often has unhappy consequences for both employers and new recruits.
    Small companies often know what kind of person they are looking for. ___(10)___. According to David Rowe, this means that small company managers themselves have to devote more time and energy to recruitment. It shouldn’t be something that is left to the evenings or weekends.
    Many companies start the recruitment process with over-optimistic ideas about the type of person that will fit into their team. “It’s very easy to say you must have the best people in the top positions,” says Alex Jones, managing partner of an executive recruitment company. “But someone who is excellent in one company may not do so well in another environment. ___(11)___. You can never guarantee a successful transfer of skills.”
    Whatever the candidate’s qualifications, their personal qualities are just as important since they will have to integrate with existing members of staff. This is where, the recruitment industry argues, they can really help.
    According to Alex Jones, “a good recruitment agency will visit your company and ask a lot of questions. ___(12)___. They can ask applicants all sorts of you with a shortlist of people who not only have the skills, but who are likely to fit in with your company’s way of doing things.”
    A. A finance director in a big company, for example, will often make a terrible small company finance director because he or she is used to having a team doing the day-to-day jobs.
    B. More often than not, the people making the choice prioritized different qualities in candidates or relied on guesswork.
    C. Recruitment would seem an obvious task to outsource, but the company’s experience of recruitment agencies was not encouraging.
    D. They need paying for that, of course, but you will have them working for you and not for the candidate.
    E. They are usually in very specific markets and the problem they face is that recruitment agencies may not really understand the sector.
    F. This means that companies cannot spend more than the standard ten minutes interviewing each applicant.
    G. Yet few are trained and competent for all aspects of the task.
    7、
    Questions 8-12
    ·Read this text on Dave’s dream.
    ·Choose the best sentence from the Opposite page 68 to fill each of the gaps.
    ·For each gap 8-12, mark one letter A - I on your Answer Sheet.
    ·Do not mark any letter twice.
    Icon Acoustics: Bypassing Tradition
    Like most entrepreneurs, Dave Fokos dreams a lot. He imagines customers eagerly phoning Icon Acoustics in Billerica, Massachusetts, to order his latest, custom-made stereo peakers ____example____
    Like most entrepreneurs, Dave has taken a long time to develop his dream. ____(8)____ Dave discovered that he had a strong interest in studio engineering, He took independent-study courses in this area and by graduation had designed and built a pair of marketable stereo speakers. Following graduation, Dave pursued his interest in audio engineering. He landed a job as a loudspeaker designer with Conrad-Johnson, a high-end audio-equipment manufacturer headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia ____(9)____
    Dave identified a market niche that he felt other speaker firms had overlooked ____(10)____These affluent, well-educated customers are genuinely obsessed with their stereo equipment. ‘They’d rather buy a new set of speakers than eat,’ Dave observes.
    Dave faced one major problem---how to distribute Icon’s products. He had learned from experience at Conrad-Johnson that most manufacturers distribute their equipment primarily through stereo dealers. Dave did not hold a high opinion of most such dealers; he felt that they too often played hardball with manufacturers, forcing them to accept thin margins. ____(11)____This kept those firms that offered more customized products from gaining access to the market. Perhaps most disturbing, Dave felt that the established dealers often sold not what was best for customers, but whatever they had in inventory that month.
    Dave dreamed of offering high-end stereo loudspeakers directly to the audio-obsessed, bypassing the established dealer network. ____(12)____ “My vision for the future is one where all manufacturers sell their products directly to end user. In this way, even the audiophiles in Dead Horse, Alaska, can have access to all that the audio-manufacturing community has to offer.”
    Example: I.
    A. At the age of 28, Dave set out to turn his dreams into reality.
    B. Furthermore, the dealers concentrated on only a handful of well-known producers
    C. Who provided mass-produced models.
    D. The firms tend to plow their money in to developing their products and have little left over to market them.
    E. Within four years, Dave had designed 13 speaker models and decided to start his own company.
    F. To serve the audio-addicts segment, Dave offers only the highest-quality speakers.
    G. It all began while majoring in electrical engineering at Cornell.
    By going directly to the customers, Dave could avoid the dealer markups and offer top-quality products and service at reasonable price.
    H. This niche consisted of “audio-addicts”----people who love to listen to music and appreciate first-rate stereo equipment.
    I. He sees sales climbing , cash flowing, and hundreds of happy workers
    Striving to produce top-quality products that delight Icon’s customers.
    8、
    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.
    9、
    
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.
    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.