1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 118及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 The Stars of the Future A Existing management research does not tell us much about how to find and develop high-flyers, those people who have the potential to reach the top of an organisation. As a result, organisations are left to formulate their own system
2、s. A more effective overall policy for developing future leaders is needed, which is why the London Business School has launched the Tomorrows Leaders Research Group(TLRG). The group contains representatives from 20 firms, and meets regularly to discuss the leadership development of the organisation
3、s high-flyers. B TLRG recognises just how significant line managers are in the process of leadership development. Unfortunately, with todays flat organisations, where managers have functional as well as managerial responsibilities, people development all too often falls victim to heavy workloads. On
4、e manager in the research group was unconvinced by the logic of sending his best people away on development courses, only to see them poached by another department or, worse still, another firm. This fear of losing high-flyers runs deep in the organisations that make up the research group. C TLRG ar
5、gues that the task of management is not necessarily about employee retention, but about creating attraction centres. We must help line managers to realise that if their companies are known as ones that develop their people, they will have a greater appeal to high-flyers, said one advisor. Furthermor
6、e, selecting people for, say, a leadership development programme is a sign of commitment from management to an individual. Loyalty can then be more easily demanded in return. D TLRG has concluded that a companys HR specialists need to take action and engage with line managers individually about thei
7、r role in the development of high-flyers. Indeed, in order to benefit fully from training high-flyers as the senior managers of the future, firms must actually address the development of all managers who will be supporting the high-flyers. Without this, managers will not be in a position to give app
8、ropriate advice. And when eventually the highflyers do move on, new ones will be needed to replace them. The next challenge will be to find a new generation of high-flyers. 1 Managers need to take action to convince high-flyers of their value to the firm. 2 Organisations need to look beyond the high
9、-flyers they are currently developing. 3 There is a concern that firms investing in training for high-flyers may not gain the benefits themselves. 4 Managers need expert assistance from within their own firms in developing high-flyers. 5 Firms currently identify high-flyers without the support of a
10、guidance strategy. 6 Managers are frequently too busy to deal with the development of high-flyers. 7 Firms who work hard on their reputation as an employer will interest high-flyers. 二、 PART TWO 7 Read the article below about marketing partnerships. Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to
11、 fill each of the gaps. For each gap(8-12), mark one letter(A-G)on your Answer Sheet. Do not use any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning(0). When two brands are better than one Elena Alvarez takes a look at the effectiveness of marketing partnerships In the corporate world, r
12、ivalry is more common than co-operation. But increasingly, companies have been setting aside their differences; the new idea is that two brand names are better than one. Sharing databases, strategies and communication systems can be the most effective means of attracting customers.(0)_G_ This partne
13、rship will give it access to the utility companys database of thousands of corporate clients, who will be offered special deals on all its products. The philosophy behind such joint ventures is simple. In economically challenging times, marketing partnerships provide a cost-effective method of incre
14、asing brand awareness and sales. As one expert in the field puts it, Clever marketing partnerships allow brands to target the right people, cutting down the above-the-line spend.(8)_ It is better to simplify the process and give them one focal point. Recent research has indicated that marketing part
15、nerships can be up to 27 per cent more productive than single company campaigns. (9)_ In particular, it is ideal for bringing instant branding to companies that lack immediate consumer appeal. One well-established UK phone manufacturer, ITB, was quick to realise this, and formed an alliance with Tal
16、k, a leading womens magazine. The phone company has benefited from the strong branding of the magazine, which has its customer base among professional women in their early 20s.(10)_ This combined approach also offered ITB a quick route into image enhancement, and this is true of many other marketing
17、 partnership deals. To give another illustration, it is no coincidence that some well-known cartoon characters are currently enhancing the image of Nasco household cleaning products.(11)_And, of course, this strategy should also guarantee that consumers children insist on these products rather than
18、rival brands. However, while association with a powerful brand can give a significant boost to sales, being connected to a devalued brand can have a negative result. The problems of one brand inevitably impact on the other in a partnership. (12)_A company may take years to recover from this sort of
19、bad publicity. Indeed, there are numerous examples of disastrous marketing alliances. In such cases, not enough thought has been given to the partnership and the reasons behind it, and it has brought little value to either the customer or the companies involved. A In such circumstances, the effects
20、are frequently major and can be long-lasting. B Some experts therefore predict that this style of marketing will take up an increasingly large proportion of many companies total marketing budgets. C Successful marketing partnerships can consequently bring a financial advantage even to small and stru
21、ggling companies such as these. D In return, its partner enjoys a broader distribution platform from which to promote its brand. E With only a finite number of consumers in any target market, there is no need to overwhelm prospects with competing messages from different organisations. F These are fa
22、irly standard items, but clearly the company hopes to transform them by broadening the associations consumers have with the brand. G For example, Profit Plus, a large UK financial services company, has recently joined forces with a leading supplier of electricity. 三、 PART THREE 12 Read the advice be
23、low about producing a company brochure and the questions on the opposite page. For each question(13-18), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. THE ART OF PERSUASION Let me send you our brochure is probably the most commonly used phrase in business. But all too often, it can spell the en
24、d of a customer enquiry because many brochures appear to be produced not to clarify and to excite but to confuse. So what goes wrong and how can it be put right? Too often, businesses fail to ask themselves critical questions like, Who will the brochure be sent to? What do we want to achieve with it
25、? The truth is that a brochure has usually been produced for no other reason than that the competition has one. However, with a little research, it often transpires that what the client wants is a mixture: part mail shot, part glossy corporate brochure and part product catalogue - a combination rare
26、ly found. Having said that, the budget is likely to be finite. There may not be enough money to meet all three marketing needs, so the first task is to plan the brochure, taking into account the most significant of these. The other requirements will have to be met in a different way After all, intro
27、ducing the companys product range to new customers by mail is a different task from selling a new seasons collection to existing customers. The second task is to get the content right. In 95 per cent of cases, a company will hire a designer to oversee the layout, so the final product looks stylish,
28、interesting and professional; but they dont get a copywriter or someone with the right expertise to produce the text, or at least tidy it up - and this shows. A bigger failing is to produce a brochure that is not customer focused. Your brochure should cover areas of interest to the customer, concent
29、rating on the benefits of buying from you. Instead, thousands of brochures start with a history lesson, Founded in 1987, we have been selling our products . I can assure you that customers are never going to say to themselves, Theyve been around for 20 years - Ill buy from them. Its not how long you
30、ve been in business that counts, its what youve done in that time. The important point to get across at the beginning is that you have a good track record. Once this has been established, the rest of the brochure should aim to convince customers that your products are the best on the market. It is h
31、elpful with content to get inside the customers head. If your audience is young and trendy, be creative and colourful. As always, create a list of the benefits that potential customers would gain from doing business with you, for example, product quality, breadth of range, expertise of staff and so
32、on. But remember that it is not enough just to state these; in order to persuade, they need to be spelt out. One possibility is to quote recommendations from existing customers. This also makes the brochure personal to you, rather than it simply being a set of suppliers photographs with your name on
33、 the front. At the design stage, there are many production features that can distinguish your brochure from the run of the mill. You may think that things like cutouts or pop-ups will do this for you and thus make you stand out, or you may think they just look like designer whims that add cost. Go t
34、hrough all the options in detail. One of them might be that all-important magical ingredient. 13 What point does the writer make about brochures in the first paragraph? （ A） Customer expectations of them are too high. （ B） They ought to be more straightforward in design. （ C） Insufficient thought te
35、nds to go into producing them. （ D） Companies should ensure they use them more widely. 14 The writers advice to companies in the second paragraph is to （ A） produce a brochure to advertise new product lines. （ B） use a brochure to extend the customer base. （ C） accept that a brochure cannot fulfil e
36、very objective. （ D） aim to get a bigger budget allocation for producing brochures. 15 In the third paragraph, which of the following does the writer say would improve the majority of brochures? （ A） better language and expression （ B） better overall appearance （ C） more up-to-date content （ D） more
37、 product information 16 In the introduction to a brochure, the writer advises companies to focus on （ A） their understanding of the business environment. （ B） the range of products they offer. （ C） their unique market position. （ D） the reputation they have built up. 17 When discussing brochure cont
38、ent in the fifth paragraph, the writer reminds companies to （ A） consider old customers as well as new ones. （ B） provide support for the claims they make. （ C） avoid using their own photographs. （ D） include details of quality certification. 18 What does run of the mill in line 67 mean? （ A） eye-ca
39、tching （ B） complicated （ C） stylish （ D） ordinary 四、 PART FOUR 18 Read the news item below about a company that runs health and fitness clubs. Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. For each question(19-33), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. T
40、here is an example at the beginning(0). Fighting Fit Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator,(0)_D_ an impressive set of results yesterday.(19)_a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20)_none of the problems(21)_last week by its rival, Top Fit. Acco
41、rding to Samantha Collier, the chief executive, Fine Fitness(22)_strong and is on(23)_to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent(24)_down of the economy. The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year,(25)_its total to 51. They have(26)_to be highl
42、y successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more(27)_clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention(28)_of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear(29)_of the appeal of Fine Fitness. Ms Collier admitted that as there we
43、re(30)_ too many companies competing with one another, there would almost certainly be(31)_in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market. She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in(32)_. However, she declined to say which these
44、were likely to be. Profits rose by 6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the companys new(33)_in Spain. （ A） Stating （ B） Reporting （ C） Remarking （ D） Informing
45、 （ A） taken （ B） felt （ C） experienced （ D） caught （ A） released （ B） issued （ C） opened （ D） revealed （ A） stays （ B） remains （ C） maintains （ D） keeps （ A） track （ B） direction （ C） way （ D） line （ A） falling （ B） breaking （ C） cutting （ D） slowing （ A） bringing （ B） putting （ C） getting （ D） moun
46、ting （ A） shown （ B） resulted （ C） proved （ D） demonstrated （ A） installed （ B） formed （ C） established （ D） confirmed （ A） rates （ B） standards （ C） proportions （ D） volumes （ A） witness （ B） sign （ C） display （ D） evidence （ A） purely （ B） merely （ C） simply （ D） barely （ A） union （ B） consolidati
47、on （ C） alliance （ D） combination （ A） trade （ B） office （ C） commerce （ D） business （ A） trial （ B） venture （ C） proposal （ D） speculation 五、 PART FIVE 33 Read the advice below about meetings with clients.In most of the lines(34-45), there is one extra word. It either is grammatically incorrect or
48、does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet.The exercise begins with two examples(0 and 00). Client Meetings
49、0 Regular meetings with clients are important to a healthy collaboration. They00 may be set up by the client, for example to review with the progress of current34 projects, to give new instructions that may have lead to a contract variation35 or to discuss any concerns. The client meeting which can also be arranged36 by you or another member of your company to attract from new business, to37 address a problem unless that
