BEC高级阅读.docx

BEC高级阅读.docx

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BEC高级阅读

PARTONE

Questions1-8

●Lookatthestatementsbelowandatthefivereportsaboutcompanyperformanceontheoppositepage.

●Whichreport（A,B,C,DorE）doeseachstatement1-8referto?

●Foreachstatement1-8,markoneletter（A,B,C,DorE）onyouranswersheet.

●Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.

●Thereisanexampleatthebeginning,（0）.

1Thecompanyhadtodismisssomeofitsemployees.

2Somepartsofthiscompanyareperformingbetterthanothers.

3Thecompany'sresultscontainednomajorsurprises.

4Analystsbelievethatthecompanywillhavetoreviseitsprofitprediction.

5Saleswereattheirhighestintheearlierpartoftheyear.

6Thepriceofthecompany'ssharesshouldprobablybehigherthanitis.

7Thecompany'sprofitscouldsufferforreasonsbeyonditscontrol.

8Thecompany'sexpenditureisstilltoohigh.

AThefinalresultsfromTaylorCateringshowedanincreaseof2.5percentinlike-for-likesalesforthefullyear.However,therewasaslowdowninsalesfrom3.4percentto1.5percentinthesecondhalfoftheyear.Thiswasbasicallycausedbyareductioninturnoverinthecompany'sshopsandmail-orderbusinesses.However,profitsfromthegroup'scorerestaurantbusinessrose.Nogreatchangesareexpectedinthecomingyear.Thesharevaluationappearstobeslightlyonthehighside.

BTherecentresultsforthefirsthalfoftheyear,whichshowedafurtherfallintheprofitsofGRComponents,havemadeanalystsreassesstheirstanceonthecompany.Thecompanyisatriskoflosingitspositionasamajorplayerinthissectorofthemarket.Whilethemacro-economicenvironmentandthegroup'sproductsareshowingsomesignsofimprovement,therearestillconcernsthatcostsarenotfallingsufficientlyquickly.Thissuggeststhatthecompany'sprofitforecastforthecomingyearisverylikelytobedowngraded,leavingthesharevaluationvulnerable.

CFull-yearresultsatretailerSmythandRedfernproducedaprofitanddividendfigureverymuchinlinewiththeanalysts'forecasts.Overall,saleswereupby2.3percent,asagainstanaverageof4.9percentacrosstheretailsector.Itisgenerallyagreedthatsharesinthecompanynowstandonafairlyfullvaluation.Althoughthecompanyclosedthreeofitssmallerstoresinthefirsthalfofthisyear,itisaimingtoincreaseitsoverseaspresencebyopeningatleasttennewstoresoverthenextfewyears.

DFull-yearresultsfromMcBain'shomeimprovementsbusinessrevealedafallinprofitsfrom￡75millionlastyearto￡66millionthisyear.Analystsbelieve,however,thatthestockmarketisstillunderestimatingthecompany'srecoverypotentialandconsequentlyundervaluingthecompany'sshares.Thecompanyhasrecentlymanagedtoreducesomeofitscostsbyslimmingdownitsworkforce.Analystsareassumingthatmarketconditionswillremainstableuntilthefirstquarterofnextyearandthatdemandwillriseonlyslightlythroughoutthewholeofnextyear.

ETherecentthird-quarterresultsfromthemininggroupLMBshowprofitsof￡212million,whichwerehigherthanmarketpredictionsof￡205million.Profitsmighthavebeenevenhigherifthecompanyhadnothadtocarryoutmajormaintenancework.Itishopedthatthefourth-quarterperiodmayseesomefurtherimprovementnowthatthemaintenanceworkiscomplete.However,governmentlegislation,duetobeintroducedatthebeginningofnextyear,couldhaveanadverseeffectonthissectorofthemarket.Theshareswouldseemtobesomewhatover-valued.

PARTTHREE

Questions15-20

●Readthetextbelowabouthowcompaniestakeadvantageofdevelopmentsincommunicationstechnology.

●Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.

●Foreachgap9-14,markoneletter（A-H）onyouranswersheet.

●Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

●Thereisanexampleatthebeginning,（0）.

Communicationstechnologyandmodernbusinesspractices

Inindustriesfromheavymanufacturingtothelaw,andfromretailtoconstruction,companiesareseekingnewsolutionsforoutdatedprocessesbytheuseofcommunicationstechnology.

（0）  H  Companieshaveoffloadednon-coreactivitiesandfindthemselvesdealingnowwithsuppliersandcustomersfromanywhereintheworld.Internationaltravelisseenascostlyand,fortheenvironmentallyaware,awasteofresources.And,ofcourse,high-speedinternetconnectionsandmobiledevicesareavailabletoall.

Technologyisonlypartoftheanswer,however.（9）………….Forastart,inthisageofjointventuresandoutsourcingtospecialistsuppliers,twocompaniesmayfindthemselvescompetingfiercelyonedayandbiddingforcontractstogetherthenextaspartofthesameconsortium.（10）………..

Sohowdoyoubuildasenseofcommunity,orcommoncause,ifteammembersallworkfordifferentorganisations?

Findingtherightblendofcommunication-fromface-to-facemeetingstophone,emailandvideoconferencing-isdifficult,especiallywherecommerciallysensitiveinformationisinvolved.（11）  ………….

Luckilythereareanumberoftoolsavailablewhichcanhelpcompaniesworktogether,shareinformationandholddiscussionswithoutthebotheroftravelling.（12）………..Theycannotonlyseeandheareachother,butalsoshareelectronicinformation,orcreateawhiteboardwheretheycanbrainstormideas,asiftheyweresittinginthesameroom.

Othercollaborativesystemsfocusonestablishingacentralrepositoryofinformationwhichcanbeaccessed,withthenecessarycontrols,byallparticipantsovertheinternet,thuscuttingouttheneedforphonecalls,faxes,emails,orlettersinthepost.Sharinginformationcanbeparticularlydifficultintheconstructionindustry,asdozensofdifferentcontractorsmaybeworkingonasinglebuildingproject.BuildOnlineisacollaborativesystemwhichwasdevelopedspecificallyforthissituation.（13）……….Userscanmakeanyamendmentstheyneed,andsendthembacktobeincorporatedintothedesign,otherusersbeingalertedviaemailortextmessage.（14）………..

Developmentsofthiskind,togetherwiththeubiquitousavailabilityoffastinternetaccess,havemadecomplexmultipartnercollaborationfeasible.Butitmustalwaysberememberedthatmanagementandmonitoringarestillessentialfactorsforsuccess.

ATheseexamplesshowhowwellelectroniccommunications,andabitofimagination,canbeusedtosmooththewheelsofbusiness.

BInthefirstcase,theyguardtheirinformationjealously,andinthesecond,theywillneedtoshare.

CItallowsallinvolvedtoaccessthelatestinformationthroughaPCandaninternetbrowser.

DTogetthefullbenefits,businessesalsoneedtochangethewaytheyworkandthink.

EGetitrightandyoucansavetime,effort,paper,petrolandmoney;getitwrongandyouhaveaprojectveeringoutofcontrol,withsecretsfindingtheirwaytocompetitors.

FAsafurtherrefinement,every

changeisauditedandlogged,soitisalwaysclearwhoapprovedwhatchanges.

GOnebenefitisthattheseenableemployeestoattendmeetingswhilesittingattheirdesktopPC,insteadofusingexpensivevideoconferencingequipment.

HSeveralfactorsaredrivingthetrend.

PARTTHREE

Questions15-20

●Readthefollowingarticleaboutappraisals,andthequestionsontheoppositepage.

●Foreachquestion15-20,markoneletter（A,B,CorD）onyouranswersheetfortheansweryouchoose.

Foraprocessthat'ssowellestablishedinthecorporatelandscape,theperformanceappraisalisastonishinglyunpopular.Employeesdreaditasanannualcalling-to-accountwherethey'llhavetodefendtheirrecordandmakeadesperatebidforapayrise.Managers,fortheirpart,seeitasabureaucraticchore,anhouroftickingboxesandmouthingplatitudesthatcouldbebetterspentonotherthings.Nevertheless,reviewsarebecomingmorefrequent;insomeeagerfirmstheweeklyreviewisnotunknown.Andlikesomanyonce-intuitivefeaturesofbusinesslife,theappraisalhasbecomemoreandmorerigorous:

awell-oiledmechanismdevisedbytheHRpeopletocalibrateeveryemployeeandmapouttheirfuture.

Ifyou'reonthereceivingend,thatcanbeanuncomfortableprocess.'InthedaysbeforeIgotintomanagement,Igotcalledinonemorningatfiveminutes'notice,'recallsonedisillusionedmanagerinthepublicsector,whereappraisalshavebeenwarmly,ifsometimesindiscriminately,embraced.'Somebodysuddenlyrealisedtheyshouldhavegivenmeanappraisal,andpanicked.Andnobodymentionedthatmybonusleveldependedonit.IfI'dthoughtaboutit,Imighthavebeenabletomakeabettercaseformyself.'

Thesamemanagerwasconscious,whenbeingappraised,thatthepaperworkrecordingtheprocesscouldhavealegalisticaspectifitevercametodisciplinaryactionoranemploymenttribunal.'Theinformationgleanedwasallpotentialammunitionforifyoueversteppedoutofline,'hesays.

Mindyou,somefolkactuallyappeartorelishformalfeedback.Atmulti-nationalfirmGrade30,anewperformancereviewsystemhasbeenpopularwithstaff.DirectorTrevorPointerargues,fromanemployee'spointofview,'whensomebodytakesthetimetotalkopenlyand

honestlyabout,say,howyouareimpactingonotherpeople,itcanbehugelyhelpful.Butyouhavetotrustthatpersonoryouwon'ttakeitinthespiritinwhichitwasintended.'Sohowcanwegetmoreappraisalstothispoint?

Thekeyskillformanagerstolearnistofocusonspecifics.It'snogoodtellingsomeonethey'rearrogantorunreliable:

that'sacharacterjudgementtowhichno-onerespondswell.Instead,pointtoexamplesofbehaviourthatyouorothermembersoftheteamhaveaproblemwith.InTrevorPointer'swords,say,'Inthisparticularproject