1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 139及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and the information on soy and soy product 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 use s
2、ome of these letters more than once. A The soybean is a legume native to China. For 5000 years, China has been using soybeans as a source of food and medicine. As one of the five sacred grains in China, soybeans were extensively cultivated and highly valued. In the eighteenth century, soybeans were
3、introduced in Europe for the first time and were regarded merely as an object of botanical curiosity. It was only in the 1930s when the United States began exploring and developing soybean varieties through hybridization. Today, as a main source of protein, soybeans are a regular component of human
4、diet in countries such as China, Japan and Indonesia. B Many countries around the world produce as well as consume soybeans for different reasons. In Asia, the soybean is grown chiefly for the beans, which is consumed fresh, fermented, or dried. As a source of protein and oil, soybean milk is made w
5、ith the whole soybeans. Bean curd is made from soymilk and tofu is seasoned or cooked together with other dishes. In the West, soybeans are produced primarily for the soybean meal used as livestock feed. As more investigative results of research have unveiled the health benefits of soybean food prod
6、ucts, soy foods are gaining more popularity as a health product. C Soy has been available for more than two decades in health food stores, specialty markets and restaurants that serve healthy, hot meals. But now its poised to become the food of the next millennium, available soon in nearly everythin
7、g, everywhere. Some people believe the soy protein business will triple over the next two years because of the FDA announcement (The FDA is now letting companies advertise a connection between soy protein and a healthy heart, and it is sure to mean healthy profits). D Today the one-billion-dollar-a-
8、year soybean business is dominated by companies that produce soy burgers, soymilk and tofu, but the future is in new products like soy pizza, soy peanut butter, even soy breakfast cereal. But experience has shown that unless healthy food tastes good, it fails in the marketplace. And many consumers c
9、onsider the taste of soy, in this case tofu, bland or at best, bean-like. In Boca Burger in Chicago they wont say how they make their soy burgers taste like meat, but theyre convincing enough to be featured in school cafeterias and fast food restaurants. 1 In food industry sales volume is determined
10、 by nothing other than flavor. 2 People in Asian countries eat soy products regularly to obtain protein. 3 Considerable profits will be achieved in food industry because of advertisements on soy products. 4 The soybean is used as a source of food for both human and livestock around the world. 5 The
11、western countries primarily regarded soybean as an interesting and rare plant. 6 Soy will become one of the most popular foods in the 21st century. 7 Soy product may reduce the risk of heart disease. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read the article on the opposite page about the marketing guru Theodore Leavitt. Choos
12、e the best sentence from below o 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). Did this man invent marketing? For the world of management - or the trend-setting part of it whi
13、ch read the Harvard Business Review (HBR) - 1960 was the year that marketing began. Extraordinary as it seems today, until HBR published an article by a German- American academic called Theodore Levitt saying that industry is a customer-satisfying process, not a goods-producing process, most manager
14、s operated on the principle that people would buy whatever their companies produced, with the aid of a little advertising. (0) It was one where the public was so pleased to have any choice of goods after the barren years of World War II that consumer products virtually sold themselves. There might b
15、e competition between different makes of soap powder or toothpaste, but no-one in industry seriously considered probing more deeply into what customers wanted, or might want in the future. Levitt changed all that with one article in HBR, entitled Marketing Myopia. 【 8】_ His message was very simple.
16、Selling was not marketing, he pointed out. Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. 【 9】 _ And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover
17、, create, arouse and satisfy customer needs. Selling focuses on the needs of the seller, marketing on the needs of the buyer. Levitt began by explaining that every industry was once a growth industry. But growth will not continue through improvements in productivity or cost reduction alone. 【 10】_ H
18、e cited the Detroit automobile industry as a prime example: ruled by the production ethos, in 1960 it was simply giving the customer what it thought the customer should have. Detroit never really researched the customers wants. It only researched the kinds of things it had already decided to offer h
19、im, Levitt wrote. Eventually, it was punished by the Japanese with their compact cars. 【 11】 _ Industries can die if they dont understand how their markets are changing, Levitt warned, citing his famous horse-whip example: after the automobile killed the horse and carriage as personal transportation
20、, makers of horse-whips could not save themselves by improving the product. 【 12】 _ These days, although Levitt called marketing a stepchild, it has come a long way towards growing up. A. Only a thoroughly customer-oriented management can maintain it. B. It is such a far-sighted assessment that many
21、 companies are still failing it. C. They needed to reinvent their whole business by studying what customers would now want fan belts, say, or air cleaners. D. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. E. It set him up as the first marketing guru and over the years HBR has s
22、old hundreds of thousands of reprints. F. These were what customers wanted after the oil price shocks of the early 1970s. G. Business in the 1950s had been a complacent, producer-oriented world. 三、 PART THREE 12 Read the article about managing a small business and the questions below. For each quest
23、ion 13 18,mark one letter (A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet, for the answer you choose. The Hardships of Operating A Small Business The organisational weaknesses that entrepreneurs have to cope with every day would cause the managers of a mature company to panic, Bill Wilson wrote recently in Times
24、. This seems to suggest that the leaders of entrepreneurial or small businesses must be unlike other managers, or the problems faced by such leaders must be the subject of a specialised body of wisdom, or possibly both, Unfortunately, neither is true. Not much worth reading about managing the entrep
25、reneurial or small business has been written, and the leaders of such businesses are made of flesh and blood, like the rest of us. Furthermore, little has been done to address the aspects of entrepreneurial or small businesses that are so difficult to deal with and so different from the challenges f
26、aced by management in big business. In part this is because those involved in gathering expertise about business and in selling advice to businesses have historically been more interested in the needs of big business. In part, in the UK at least, it is also because small businesses have always prefe
27、rred to adapt to changing circumstances. The organisational problems of entrepreneurial or small businesses are thus forced upon the individuals who lead them. Even more so than for bigger businesses, the old saying is true that people, particularly those who make the important decisions, are a busi
28、nesss most important asset. The research that does exist shows that neither money nor the ability to access more of it is the major factor determining growth. The main reason an entrepreneurial business stops growing is the lack of management and leadership resource available to the business when it
29、 matters. Give an entrepreneur an experienced, skilled team and he or she will find the funds every time. Getting the team, though, is the difficult bit. Part of the problem for entrepreneurs is the speed of change that affects their businesses. They have to cope with continuous change yet have alwa
30、ys been suspicious about the latest management solution. They regard the many offerings from business schools as out of date even before they leave the planning board and have little faith in the recommendations of consultants when they arrive in the hands of young, inexperienced graduates. But such
31、 impatience with management solutions does not mean that problems can be left to solve themselves. However, the leaders of growing businesses are still left with the problem of who to turn to for advice. The answer is horribly simple: leaders of small businesses can ask each other. The collective kn
32、owledge of a group of leaders can prove enormously helpful in solving the specific problems of individuals. One leaders problems have certainly been solved already by someone else. These is an organisation called ZERO which enables those responsible for small businesses to meet. Its members, all of
33、whom are chief executives, go through a demanding selection process, and then join a small group of other chief executives. They come from a range of business sectors and each offers a different corporate history. Each group is led by a moderator, an independently selected businessman or woman who h
34、as been specially trained to head the group. Each member takes it in turn to host a meeting at his or her business premises and, most important of all, group discussions are kept strictly confidential. This spurs a free sharing of problems and increases the possibility of solutions being unveiled. 1
35、3 According to the second paragraph, what has led to a lack of support for entrepreneurs? （ A） Entrepreneurs have always preferred to act independently. （ B） The requirements of big businesses have always taken priority. （ C） It is difficult to find solutions to the problems faced by entrepreneurs.
36、（ D） Entrepreneurs are reluctant to provide information about their businesses. 14 What does the writer say about entrepreneurs in the first paragraph? （ A） It is wrong to assume that they are different from other managers. （ B） The problems they have to cope with are specific to small businesses. （
37、 C） They find it difficult to attract staff with sufficient expertise. （ D） They could learn from the organisational skills of managers in large companies. 15 What does the writer say is an additional problem for entrepreneurs in the fourth paragraph? （ A） They rely on management systems that are ou
38、t of date. （ B） They will not adopt measures that provide long-term solutions, （ C） They have little confidence in the business advice that is available. （ D） They do not take market changes into account when drawing up business plans. 16 What does the writer say about the expansion of small busines
39、ses? （ A） Many small businesses do not produce enough profits to finance growth, （ B） Many employees in small businesses have problems working as part of a team. （ C） Being able to recruit the right people is the most important factor affecting growth. （ D） Leaders of small businesses lack the exper
40、ience to make their companies a success. 17 The writer says that ZERO groups are likely to succeed because _. （ A） members are able to elect their leader. （ B） the leaders have received extensive training. （ C） members are encouraged to adopt a critical approach. （ D） information is not passed on to
41、 non-members. 18 What does the writer say the members of the ZERO organisation provide? （ A） Advice on how to select suitable staff. （ B） A means of contacting potential clients. （ C） A simple checklist for analysing problems. （ D） Direct experience of a number of industries. 四、 PART FOUR 18 Read th
42、e article below about plans for a new telephone banking centre, 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. Promise of Jobs with Telephone Banking Centre An 80-million telephone banking
43、centre is to open in Scotland, with the situation of about 500 new jobs. Grand Union Group, which owns the Dundee and Western Bank, said today it hopes to have the (19) fully operational by next August. It will be based at the new Caledonian Industrial Estate currently being built near Edinburgh. Th
44、e centre is being (20) through a joint partnership (21) global telecommunications firm Concept and customer care specialists Businesslink. Sara Grimaldi, chief executive of the Dundee and Western Bank, said, Im delighted we will be working in (22) with Concept and Businesslink and Im confident we wi
45、ll (23) from their considerable experience. The new centre will make (24) use of innovative business procedures which will (25) to an improved service and experience for our valued customers. Callum Martin, president of global accounts for Grand Union Group, added that he was very pleased his compan
46、y will play a key role in such an important development employing state-of the-art technology. The local council said new jobs were (26) of the efforts made to (27) investment to the region. Council leader Hugh MacArthur said, Its good news for Grand Union, but it will also (28) us to promote Edinbu
47、rgh to companies considering a (29) to Scotland. The council will continue to work hard to ensure that todays (30) is just the latest (31) in our attempt to create high quality jobs in the area. Scotland has become a European leader in terms of telephone banking centres and has (32) itself an excell
48、ent reputation. The call centre sector as a whole employs more than 28,000 people at more than 170 sites in Scotland. Taking this into (33) , it seems likely that this new centre will be another success story. 19 facility 19 plant （ A） function （ B） situation （ D） A 20 assisted 20 invested （ A） fund
49、ed （ B） paid （ D） C 21 consisting 21 engaging （ A） containing （ B） involving （ D） D 22 venture 22 teamwork （ A） enterprise （ B） collaboration （ D） D 23 benefit 23 improve （ A） grow （ B） advance （ D） A 24 inclusive 24 uniform （ A） extensive （ B） universal （ D） C 25 help 25 Contribute （ A） provide （ B） combine （ D） B 26 facts 26 reasons （ A） data （ B） evidence （ D） D 27 acquire 27 gain （ A） attract （ B） win （ D） C 28 necessitate 28 ease （ A） support （ B） enable （ D） D 29 reorganisation 29 reassignme
