BEC商务英语高级考试真题TEXT 1.docx
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BEC商务英语高级考试真题TEXT1
Text1
Reading1hour
PARTONE
Questions1–8
●Lookatthestatementsbelowandatthefivereportsaboutcompaniesontheoppositepagefromanarticlegivingadvicetoself-employedconsultantsaboutnegotiatingfeesfortheirservices.
●Whichbook(A,B,C,DorE)doseeachstatement1–8referto?
●Foreachstatement!
–8,makeoneletter(A,B,C,DorE)onyourAnswerSheet.
●Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.
Example:
1Lackofself-confidencewillputyouatadisadvantageinanegotiation.
0
ABCDE
1.Thiscompanyhasbeeninvolvedindiversifyingitsbusinessact6ivities.
2.Althoughthiscompanyisdoingwell,ithasanumberofinternaldifficultiestodealwith
3.Thiscompanyhasreducedtheprofitsitmakesonindividualitems
4.Onestatisticisalessaccurateguidetothiscompany’sperformancethananother
5.Theconditionswhichhavehelpedthiscompanyarelikelytobelessfavourableinthefuture
6.Thiscompany’ssharepricehasbeenextremelyvolatileoverthelasttwelvemonths
7.Thiscompanyislikelytobethesubjectofatakeoverbidinthenearfuture
8.Thiscompany’sperformanceexemplifiesawidelyheldbelief
A
ChemicalCompany
Masterson’sinterimpre-taxprofitsgrowthof20%wassomewhatinflatedasaresultoftheincomereceivedfromthedisposalofseveralofthecompany’ssubsidiaries.Theunderlying8%riseinoperatingprofitsisamorerealisticgaugeofthecompany’strueprogress.However,Masterson’simpendingmergerwithBentleyandKnightanditsappointmentofanewchiefexecutiveshouldmeanthatthecompanywillbeabletosustaingrowthfortheforeseeablefut5ure.Thesharepricehasvariedlittleduringthecourseoftheyearandnowstandsat£6.75
B
HotelGroup
DuringthepastyeartheBowdenHotelGrouphasacquired77newproperties,thusdoublinginsize.lastweekthegroupreportedpre-taxprofitsof£88millioninthefirstsixmonthsoftheyear,aheadofexpectationsandhelpedbyastrongperformancefromitsLondon-basedhotelsandnewlyexpandedUSbusiness.However.Thereisstillsomewaytogo.Integrationofthenewacquisitionsisstillnotcompleteand,whilethesharepricehasrisenrecently,majorproblemswithintegrationhaveyettobesolved.
C
High-techCompany
ThistimelastyearashareinUsertechwasworthjustover£1.sixmonthsagoitwasworth£40.todayitispricedatunder£8.ifproofwereneed,hereisanillustrationofhowmuchofalotterythetechnologymarketcanbe.ButsometechnologycompaniesarefightingbackandUsertechisoneofthem.WhathasrenewedexcitementinthecompanyistheopeningofitsnewAmericanofficesinDallasanditsambitiousplanstoexpanditsuserbaseinbothNorthandLatinAmerica.
D
BuildingCompany
Renton’ssharepricehasrisengraduallyoverthepastyearfrom£2.4to£3.8.Thecompanyhasbeensuccessfulinchoosingprimelocationforitsbuildingsandhasbenefitedfromthebuoyantdemandforhousing.Whilstthisdemandisexpectedtoslowdownsomewhatduringthenextyear,investorsareencouragedbythecompany’sdecisiontomoveintobuildingsupermarkets.WorkhasalreadybegunontwositesinLondon,andthecompanyisexpectedtosignacontractwithinthenextmonthforbuildingfourlargesupermarketsinScotland.
E
PotteryManufacturer
MiltonDisheshasbeenthroughashake-upoverthepastyear.Thegroup,whichhasbeencuttingmarginsandimprovingmarketing,maypostasmallprofitthisyear.ThemanymembersoftheMiltonfamily,whobetweenthemown58percentofthebusiness,havebeenwatchingthesharepricerisesteadilyandseveralarelookingtosell.TraderivalRuskinhasboughtupjustover17percentofthesharesandcouldwellbespurredintofurtheractionbythesignsofarecoveryatthefirm.
PARTTWO
Questions9–14
●Readthetextaboutcareer-planningservices.
●Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.
●Foreachgap9–14,markoneletter(A-H)onyourAnswerSheet.
●Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.
●Thereisanexampleatthebeginning.(0)
●
YourCareerPathCanLeadYouAnywhere
Weusedtobeadvisedtoplanourcareers.Weweretoldtomakeaplanduringthelaterstagesofoureducationandcontinuewithitthroughourworkinglives.(0)_____somepeoplestillseecareersinthisway.However,topursueasingleoptionforlifehasalwaysbeenunrealistic.
Planningforasinglecareerassumesthatwesetoutwithafullunderstandingofourlikesanddislikesandtheemploymentopportunitiesopentous.(9)____Formostpeoplethisdegreeofcertaintyaboutthefuturedoesnotexist.
Ourinitialchoiceofcareerpathandemployerisoftenbasedoninadequateknowledgeandfalseperceptions.Butwithageandexperience,wedevelopnewinterestsandaptitudesandourprioritiesalter.Thestructureoftheemploymentmarketand,indeedofemploymentitself,issubjecttochangeasbothnewtechnologiesandnewworksystemsareintroduced(10)_____Wemustfacetheuncertaintiesofaportfoliocareer.
Itisclearfromtherecentpastthatwecannotforeseethechangeswhichwillaffectourworkinglives.Thepaceofchangeisaccelerating,asaresultofwhichtraditionalcareerplanswillbeofverylimiteduse.(11)_____Theywillneedupdatingtoreflectchangesinourowninterestsaswellasintheexternalworkenvironment.Flexibleworkersalreadyaccountforabouthalftheworkforce.(12)______Wearelikelytofaceperiodsascontractworkers,self-employedfreelances,consultants,tempsorpart-timers.
Manyemployersencouragestafftowriteapersonaldevelopmentdevelopment(PDP)(13)Althoughsomepeopleuseitonlytoreviewtheskillsneededfortheirjob,aPDPcouldbethenucleusofwidercareerplan–settingoutalternativelong-termlearningneedsandaplanofself-development.
AreportissuedbytheInstituteofEmploymentStudiesadvisespeopletoenhancetheiremployabilitybymovingfromtraditionaltechnicalskillstowardstheattainmentofarangeoftransferableskills.(14)Instead,specialschemesshouldbeestablishedtoencouragepeopletoexaminetheireffectivenessandtoconsiderawiderrangeofneeds.
0
ABCDEFGH
AThisdualeffectmeansthattherelationshipbetweenemployersandworkershasevolvedtosuchandextentthatwecannolongerexpectalong-termrelationshipwithoneemployer.
B.Itcarriesanimplicitassumptionthatweourselves,andthejobsweenter,willchangelittleduringourworkinglives.
C.Thisgrowthsuggeststhatacareerplanshouldnotbeexpressedonlyintermsoffull-timeemploymentbutshouldmakeprovisionforthepossibilityofbecomingoneofthe.
Dthisisasummaryofone’spersonallearningneedsandanactionplantomeetthem.
EConsequently,theymustnowaccommodateanumberofobjectivesandenableustoprepareforeachonacontingencybasis.
FHowever,itwarnsthatemployersoftenidentifytrainingneedsthroughformalappraisals,whichtaketoonarrowaviewofdevelopment.
G.Suchafreelanceofconsultantwouldbeconstantlyindemand.
HWewereexpectedtoworktowardsthatonecleargoalandtoconsideracareerchangeasabadthing.
PARTTHREE
Questions15–20
●Readthefollowingarticleonnegotiatingtechniquesandthequestionontheoppositepage.
Foreachquestion15–20,markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheetfortheansweryouchoose.
TheNegotiatingTable:
Youcannegotiatevirtuallyanything.Projects,resources,expectationsanddeadlinesarealloutcomesofnegotiation.Somepeoplenegotiatedealsforaliving.DrHerbCohenisoneoftheseprofessionaltalkers,calledinbycompaniestonegotiateontheirbehalf.Heapproachestheartofnegotiationasagamebecause,asheisusuallynegotiatingforsomebodyelse,hesaysthishelpshimdraintheemotionalcontentfromhisconversation.Heisworkinginacompetitivefieldandneedstoavoidbeingtooadversarial.Whetherhesucceedsornot,itisimportanttohimtomakeagoodimpressionsothatpeoplewillrecommendhim.
Thestartingpointforanydeal,hebelieves,istoidentifyexactlywhatyouwantfromeachother.Moreoftenthannot,onepartywillbetryingtopersuadetheotherroundtotheirpointofview.Negotiationrequirestwopeopleattheendsaying‘yes”.Thiscanbeaproblembecauseoneofthemusuallybeginsbysaying“no”.However,althoughthiscanmaketalksmoredifficult,thisisoftenjustastartingpointinthenegotiationgame.Topmanagementmaywellrejecttheideainitiallybecauseitisthesaferoptionbuttheywouldnotbethereiftheywerenotinterested.
Itisamisconceptionthatskillednegotiatorsaresmoothoperatorsinsmartsuits.DrCohensaysthatoneofhisstrategiesistodressdownsothattheothersidecanrelatetoyou.Pitchyourlooktosuityourcustomer.Youdonotneedtomakethemfeelbetterthanyoubut,Forexample,dressinginastylethatisnotovertlyexpensiveorsuccessfulwillmakeyoumoreapproachable.Peoplewillgenerallyfeelmorecomfortablewithsomebodywhoappearstobelikethemratherthansuperiortothem.Theymaynotlikeyoubuttheywillfeeltheycantrustyou.
DrCohensuggeststhatthebestwaytosellyourproposalisbygettingintotheworldoftheotherside.Askquestionsratherthangiveanswersandtakeaninterestinwhattheotherpersonissaying,evenifyouthinkwhattheyaresayingissilly.Youdonotneedtobecometheirbestfriendsbutbeingtoocleverwillalienatethem.Alotofdealsaremadeonimpressions.Donotrushwhatyouaresaying---putafewhesitationsin,donottrytoblindthemwithyourverbaldexterity.Also,yous