1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 137及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and a passage about the need for good managers on the opposite page. Which section (A, B, C, or D) does each statement 1-7 refer to? For each statement 1-7, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet. You will need to u
2、se some of these letters more than once. A The need for good managers is not going away. It is intensifying. With “flatter“ organizations and self-directed teams becoming common; with personal computers and networks making information available to more people more quickly; the raw number of managers
3、 needed is decreasing. However, the need for good managers, people who can manage themselves and Others in a high-stress environment, is increasing. B I believe anyone can be a good manager. It is as much trainable skill as it is inherent ability; as much science as art. You have confidence in yours
4、elf and your abilities. You are happy with who you are, but you are still learning and getting better. You are something of an extrovert. You dont have to be the life of the party, hut you cant be a wallflower. Management is a people skill-its not the job for someone who doesnt enjoy people. C You a
5、re honest and straightforward. Your success depends heavily on the trust of others. You are an includer not an excluder. You bring others into what you do. You dont exclude other because they lack certain attributes. You have a presence. Managers must lead. Effective leaders have a quality about the
6、m that makes people notice when they enter a room. D You are consistent, but not rigid; dependable, but can change your mind. You make decisions, but easily accept input from others. You are a little bit crazy. You think out-of-the box. You try new things and if they fail, you admit the mistake, but
7、 dont apologize for having tried. You are not afraid to “do the math“. You make plans and schedules and work toward them. 1 The need for good managers is increasing. 2 The raw number of managers needed is decreasing. 3 Being a good manager must enjoy people. 4 An effective leader has a quality that
8、makes him/her easily noticed. 5 Anyone can be a good manager. 6 A good manager must let others trust him/her. 7 A good manager dares to take some risks. 二、 PART TWO 7 Read the extract below from an article about The Crisis of Credit.Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the
9、 blanks.For each blank(8-12), mark one letter(A-G)on your Answer Sheet.Do not mark any letter twice.There is an example at the beginning(0). The Crisis of CreditHeres the scary thing about the identity-theft ring that the feds cracked last week: there was nothing any of its estimated 40, 000 victims
10、 could have done to prevent it from happening.(0)G A lowly help-desk worker at Teledata Communications, a software firm that helps banks access credit reports online, allegedly stole passwords for those reports and sold them to a group of 20 thieves at $60 a pop.【 P1】 _Cost to the victims: $ 3 milli
11、on and rising.Even scarier is that this, the largest identity-theft bust to date, is just a drop in the bit bucket. More than 700, 000 Americans have their credit hijacked every year. Its one of crimes biggest growth markets. A name, address and Social Security number which can often be found on the
12、 Web are all anybody needs to apply for a bogus line of credit. Credit companies make $1.3 trillion annually and lose less than 2% of that revenue to fraud.【 P2】_As it stands now, its up to youto protect your identity.The good news is that there are plenty of steps you can take. Most credit thieves
13、are opportunists, not well-organized gangs.【 P3】 _Others steal wallets and return them, taking only a Social Security number. Shredding your junk mail and leaving your Social Security card at home can save a lot of agony later.But the most effective way to keep your identity clean is to check your c
14、redit reports once or twice a year. There are three major credit-report outfits: Equifax(equifax. com), Trans-Union(www. transunion. com)and Experian(experian. com)【 P4】 _Of the three, 1 found Trans Unionswebsite to be the cheapest and most comprehensive-laying out state-by-state prices, rights and
15、tips for consumers in easy-to-read fashion.If youre lucky enough to live in Colorado, Georgia , Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey or Vermont, you are entitled to one free report a year by law.【 P5】 _Avoid services that offer to monitor your reports year-round for about $70; thats $ 10 more than th
16、e going rate among thieves. If you think youre a victim of identity theft, you can ask for fraud alerts to be put on file at each of the three credit-report companies. You can also download a theft-report form at: www, consumer, gov/ idtheft, which, along with a local police report, should help when
17、 irate creditors come knocking. Just dont expect justice. That audacious help-desk worker was one of the fewer than 2% of identity thieves who are ever caught.Example: A A lot of them go Dumpster diving for those millions of “pre-approved“ credit-card mailings that go out every day.B It used to get
18、quite interesting around the dinner table.C That allowed the gang to cherry-pick consumers with good credit and applies for all kinds of accounts in their names.D So theres little financial incentive for them to make the application process more secure.E All allow you to order reports online, which
19、is a lot better than wading through voice-mail hell on their 800 lines.F Otherwise its going to cost $8 to $14 each time.G This was an inside job, according to court documents. 8 【 P1】 9 【 P2】 10 【 P3】 11 【 P4】 12 【 P5】 三、 PART THREE 12 Read the following article about partnership and the questions
20、below the passage. For each question (13 18), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) mi your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. Understanding Partnership The Uniform Partnership Act defines a partnership as “an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business for a profit.“ The
21、 partnership came into being us an evolutionary outgrowth of the proprietorship by correcting stone of tile disadvantages of that ownership form. The formation of a partnership is relatively simple, but because it involves two or more people, it must be based upon an understanding between the partne
22、rs. In other words, a contract is required. Although the contract can be oral. it is wiser to have so important a document drawn up by an attorney. A contract of this sort is called the Articles of Co-partnership. Partnership has ninny advantages. Firstly, it is relatively simple to organize and dis
23、solve. Although not as simple to organize as a sole proprietorship because Articles of Co-partnership are required, partnerships are simpler and less expensive to form than corporations. Secondy, it is subject to less government control. As is the case with sole proprietorships, partnerships are not
24、 controlled by the same federal and state laws as are corporations. Thirdly, it can keep larger tax savings. Unlike corporations, partnerships are not legal entities. Partnerships, therefore, do not have special taxes levied on them. Finally, it may provide a high personal incentive. Because the par
25、tnership business is carried on by working owners, this form of business ownership retains the high incentive of the sole proprietorship. The partners are working for themselves, and consequently are rewarded for extra effort. Although many of the advantages of a sole proprietorship are carried over
26、 into partnership, many of its disadvantages are as well. Like the sole proprietorship, partnerships have the disadvantages of unlimited liability. This means that in the case of bankruptcy of the business, both partners personal assets must be used to settle partnership debts. When one partners inv
27、estment plus his personal assets are insufficient to meet his share of the creditors claims, these debts must be settled by the remaining partner or partners. Furthermore, it is difficult to raise money for partnership and the disagreements among partners may easily result in the failure of the part
28、nership. The form of partnership previously discussed is that of a general partnership. There are other forms of partnership available to businessmen which have specific advantages or overcome specific disadvantages of the general partnership. A limited partnership is one in which the liability of o
29、ne or more of the partners is limited to the amount invested by him. A limited partnership must have at least one general partner whose liabilities are unlimited. Limited partnerships take advantage of the tax savings available to partnerships while maintaining some of the capital-raising resources
30、available to corporations. However. they are legally complicated and expensive to set up; further, any activity by a limited partner may result in the loss of his limited status (and his limited liability); and they are not permitted to do business in all states. A joint venture is a partnership tha
31、t has been set up for one specific undertaking. Upon completion of the undertaking, the joint venture is dissolved. Unlike a general partnership, the joint venture is not a continuing business. However, this need not be the case. The prime characteristic is its limitation to one specific venture. 13
32、 According to the text, partnership is derived from （ A） corporation. （ B） sole-proprietorship. （ C） co-operative. （ D） joint venture. 14 All of the following are advantages of partnership except （ A） it is relatively easy to organize and dissolve. （ B） the partners are subject to less regulations.
33、（ C） the partners have unlimited liability. （ D） the partners can identify themselves with the association. 15 Partnerships are free from some special taxes because （ A） there is legal distinction between the partners and partnerships. （ B） partnerships are not legal entities. （ C） partnerships are
34、keeping large tax savings. （ D） partnerships own some special privileges. 16 According to the text, if the business fails, （ A） it will be difficult to raise funds for partnership. （ B） there will be disagreements among partners. （ C） the partners personal property will be implicated. （ D） the partn
35、ers personal assets will not be sufficient to pay debts. 17 According to the text, all of the following am disadvantages of limited partnerships except （ A） they are legally complex and costly to form. （ B） they take advantage of lax savings available to partnerships. （ C） any activity by a limited
36、partner may lead to the loss of his limited status. （ D） the areas of business are confined. 18 The main feature of joint ventures is （ A） they are not continuing business. （ B） riley are of short duration. （ C） they are usually limited to one specific venture. （ D） they are dissolved upon the imple
37、mentation of the undertaking. 四、 PART FOUR 18 Read the article below about the job of store assistants. Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D. For each question (19-33), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. There is an example at the beginning, (0). The move to self
38、-service has meant that in many shops, fewer tasks are now performed by store assistants. Typical tasks which remain are making (0) C that shelves and counters are fully (19) , taking the customers payment, and (20) the purchases. However, in some shops, the more traditional selling skills are still
39、 important. In larger stores, it is normal for a range of (21) to be rotated among staff, giving greater work variety. Every customer has different (22) , and different reasons for coming into the store. Some know (23) what they want, ask for it and buy it. Many, however, are not sure, and if they a
40、re not (24) correctly they may go somewhere else to buy. The store assistant must (25) when and how to offer help, and gain the customers confidence with the (2$) amount of questioning about what they are looking for. They can then give information and advice about the products which might (27) the
41、customers requirements. This demands both communication skills and knowledge of the product. Finally, they have to persuade the customer to make the (28) to buy, and “ close the deal “ . If the customer is just (29) , the store assistant needs to offer efficient and friendly service, hoping that the
42、 customer will return when he or she is ready to buy. It is worth remembering that many stores depend on their (30) customers for a large part of their (31). The actual tasks of a store assistant vary with the type of goods sold. In a mens outfitters these could include (32) a customer for a suit. I
43、n an electronics store, it is vital to be able to (33) how a computer or hi-fi unit works and to ensure that the customer has any accessories they might need. （ A） stored （ B） provided （ C） stocked （ D） packed （ A） watching （ B） surrounding （ C） enclosing （ D） covering （ A） acts （ B） duties （ C） req
44、uirements （ D） actions （ A） needs （ B） necessities （ C） targets （ D） incentives （ A） obviously （ B） surely （ C） carefully （ D） exactly （ A） conducted （ B） treated （ C） serviced （ D） controlled （ A） assess （ B） validate （ C） test （ D） question （ A） adequate （ B） calculate （ C） right （ D） just （ A） ba
45、lance （ B） suit （ C） equal （ D） reach （ A） decision （ B） conclusion （ C） contract （ D） engagement （ A） reviewing （ B） observing （ C） looking （ D） watching （ A） regular （ B） constant （ C） continuous （ D） fixed （ A） proceeds （ B） business （ C） assets （ D） dealings （ A） grading （ B） rating （ C） estimat
46、ing （ D） measuring （ A） present （ B） prove （ C） demonstrate （ D） acknowledge 五、 PART FIVE 33 Read the text below about opinions on ethics and mission statements. In most of the lines (34-45) there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text
47、. 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. Ethics and Mission Statements As business emerged from the profit-oriented 1980s, values and social respo
48、nsibilities were being emphasized on in corporate mission statements. 34 Because greed was out, and ethics were in. Businesses and their employees 35 became actively engaged in less activities that contributed to their communities. 36 To spell out their goals, companies were increasingly developed c
49、odes of ethics. 37 Mission statements that were written because they required consensus and 38 commitment. Not everyone who, however, agreed with the trend toward the 39 strong social stances of some public corporations. Respected economist Milton 40 Friedman contended, “Many few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very 41 foundation of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social 42 responsibility other than to make as much more money for their stockholders as 43 possible. “
