1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 155及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and the extract on the opposite page from a report to staff by the Davis Group, a human resources consultancy in the USA. Which section(A, B, C or D)does each statement(1-7)refer to? For each statement(1-7), mark one letter(A, B,
2、 C or D)on your Answer Sheet. You will need to use some of these letters more than once.Example:0 It is less expensive to maintain the current customer base than to increase it. Report for StaffA It has been a challenging year, with the global economy contributing to increased market competition. Ho
3、wever, the end results were fairly respectable, especially considering the industrys generally poor financial results. The Davis Group has always focused on growing revenue, solving client problems, identifying new opportunities and winning new clients. Although the company had to spend more time th
4、an usual this year on cost control, our people continued to listen to their clients and deliver appropriate consulting solutions.B Although we have changed our name and introduced a new global brand, many clients still do not regard us as a broad-based human resources consultancy. We hope that our n
5、ew international campaign, which explains to clients the wide range of services we offer, will help change that perception. It is significant that 50% of our revenue this year came from outside the USA, making us a truly global player. We have enormous growth potential, especially in emerging market
6、s such as Asia and Latin America.C These days, most of our clients, even those with operations in only one country, compete in a global marketplace. As a result, they see the value of working with us. Our strength on the ground in many countries has allowed us to share knowledge to develop and deliv
7、er world-class solutions. For those clients who are global firms, our worldwide presence has allowed us to build international networks to address their special needs. They appreciate that our intellectual capital is based on a deep understanding of local needs and conditions.D We continually aim to
8、 maximise our revenue and enhance professionalism across the solutions offered by the firm. Obviously, winning new clients is always important, but we should remember that it is often easier and more cost-effective to broaden relationships with existing clients. By providing a wider range of solutio
9、ns, we add value, strengthen our clients view of us as a trusted advisor and build long-term partnerships. Our success is based on being known as the most professional and highest quality firm in the human resources consultancy business. 1 The company has had limited success in convincing customers
10、that it can offer a variety of human resources solutions. 2 It has been necessary to monitor expenditure carefully. 3 Expertise in different cultures is a major selling point for the company. 4 The companys performance is strongly linked to its reputation. 5 The company is confident of its ability t
11、o expand. 6 The company makes ongoing efforts to improve the standard of its service provision. 7 Many consulting businesses have performed badly in this period. 二、 PART TWO 7 Read the article below about professional headhunters. Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the g
12、aps. 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). Attracting the headhunters Professional headhunters are now key players in many kinds of recruitment. But how do you gain their attention? Matthew Lynn in
13、vestigates.In the past, companies would use the services of headhunters to recruit principally at boardroom level. But these days, they are also responsible for filling a much wider range of middle management and specialist posts, and consequently, they have huge influence in the commercial world.(0
14、)_G_The first is that economic expansion has, in many countries, left the labour market tight. In a number of industries, and in growth sectors such as technology and media, there is now a severe shortage of skilled and talented people.This has forced companies to go out and look for the staff they
15、need and not wait for them to arrive at the door. The second reason is that companies are now critically dependent on the skills and knowledge of their key people. They are very aware that having the right staff may determine their survival in a competitive marketplace.【 P1】 _.So, how do you make su
16、re you get noticed by the headhunters? In the days when jobs were mainly advertised in newspapers, you could search the appointment pages and apply for anything that interested you.【 P2】_.Unless you are in contact with them, it is unlikely you will even be considered for a post.Most headhunters will
17、 devote time and energy to tracking down talented people in large organisations.【 P3】 _. So, while it would be nice to think the headhunters will find you, in fact, you often have to find them. Executives must be proactive in the search process by building on current skills, being fully prepared for
18、 interviews and by keeping CVs up to date, says Julia Fernandez, manager of PB Executive Search.It is also important that you set time aside to talk to headhunters. At some point, you may be contacted by a headhunter to recommend someone in a related field or provide a reference for someone you have
19、 dealt with professionally. If you simply deal with the enquiry as quickly as possible, you may be failing to exploit the potential benefit to yourself.【 P4】 _. Fernandez advises that, All contact with headhunters is potentially useful, and you should have one or two headhunters that you know person
20、ally and make a point of keeping in touch with.【 P5】 _.Make sure that the people around you will always be motivated to say something positive about you if approached.Your potential employers are watching you constantly.Example: A But it is hard for them to establish contact unless these skilled ind
21、ividuals have been brought to their attention.B They are consequently a lot more willing to turn to headhunters than in the past.C Moreover, headhunters are all in the business of having as big a network as possible and working it to their advantage.D In addition, the fact that headhunters are alway
22、s looking for talent means that great care needs to be taken with the image you project in the workplace.E Now, it is only junior or unskilled jobs that are filled this way; most of the best jobs are filled by headhunters.F Not making the most of such an approach would definitely be a mistake.G Ther
23、e are two reasons for this growing use of headhunters. 8 【 P1】 9 【 P2】 10 【 P3】 11 【 P4】 12 【 P5】 三、 PART THREE 12 Read the article below about leadership in business 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 EFFECTIVE LE
24、ADER From workplace surveys, I have found that most people want to be - and feel they could be - more effective leaders. Certainly they want their leaders to be more effective. But what do we mean by effective leadership in business? It would appear a simple question. Unfortunately, effectiveness is
25、 more easily recognisable when it is absent. Leaders who attempt to use business jargon and try out the latest ideas are too often perceived as figures of fun. Whilst people frequently agree on what ineffective leadership is, clearly knowing what not to do is hardly helpful in practice. Huge amounts
26、 of research have been done on this very wide subject. When you look at leadership in different ways, you see different things. While descriptions of leadership are all different, they are all true - and this is where disagreement arises. However, leadership is specific to a given context. The effec
27、tiveness of your actions is assessed in relation to the context and to the conditions under which you took them. For a magazine article I wrote recently, I interviewed one publishing executive, author of several well-known publications, about what effective leadership is. It was significant that, at
28、 first, he did not mention his own company. He talked at length about what was happening in the industry - the mergers, take-overs and global nature of the business. Before he was able to describe his own objectives for the new publishing organisation he was setting up, he had to see a clear fit bet
29、ween these proposals and the larger situation outside. Obvious? Of course. But I have lost count of the number of leaders I have coached who believed that their ideas were valid, whatever the situation. At this point, I should also mention another example, that of a finance director whose plan of ac
30、tion was not well received. The company he had joined had grown steadily for twenty years, serving clients who were in the main distrustful of any product that was too revolutionary. The finance director saw potential challenges from competitors and wanted his organisation to move with the times. Un
31、fortunately, most staff below him were unwilling to change. I concluded that although there were certainly some personal skills he could improve upon, what he most needed to do was to communicate effectively with his subordinates, so that they all felt at ease with his different approach. Some effec
32、tive leaders believe they can control uncertainty because they know what the organisation should be doing and how to do it. Within the organisation itself, expertise is usually greatly valued, and executives are expected, as they rise within the system, to know more than those beneath them and, ther
33、efore, to manage the operation. A good example of this would be a firm of accountants I visited. Their business was built on selling reliable expertise to the client, who naturally wants uncertainty to be something only other companies have to face. Within this firm, giving the right answer was grea
34、tly valued, and mistakes were clearly to be avoided. I am particularly interested in what aims leaders have and what their role should be in helping the organisation achieve its strategic aims. Some leaders are highly ineffective when the aim doesnt fit with the need, such as the manufacturing manag
35、er who was encouraged by her bosses to make revolutionary changes. She did, and was very successful. However, when she moved to a different part of the business, she carried on her programme of change. Unfortunately, this part of the business had already suffered badly from two mismanaged attempts a
36、t change. My point is that what her people needed at that moment was a steady hand, not further changes - she should have recognised that. The outcome was that within six months staff were calling for her resignation. 13 In the first paragraph, the writer says that poor leaders （ A） do not want to l
37、isten to criticism. （ B） do not deserve to be taken seriously. （ C） are easier to identify than good ones. （ D） are more widespread than people think. 14 Why does the writer believe there is disagreement about what effective leadership is? （ A） Definitions of successful leadership vary according to
38、the situation. （ B） There are few examples of outstanding leaders available to study. （ C） Leaders are unable to give clear descriptions of their qualities. （ D） The results of research on the subject have concluded little. 15 The publishing executives priorities for leadership focused on （ A） signi
39、ficant and long-term aims. （ B） internal organisational aspects. （ C） professional skills and abilities. （ D） overall business contexts. 16 According to the writer, the finance director was unsuccessful because （ A） staff were uncomfortable with his style. （ B） existing clients were suspicious of ch
40、ange. （ C） competitors had a more dynamic approach. （ D） colleagues gave little support to his ideas. 17 Staff at the accountancy firm who were promoted were required to （ A） correct mistakes. （ B） have a high level of knowledge. （ C） maintain discipline within the organisation. （ D） advise clients
41、on responding to uncertainty. 18 The example of the manager at the manufacturing company is given to emphasise that （ A） managers need support from their employers. （ B） leaders should not be afraid of being unpopular. （ C） effective leaders must be sensitive to staff needs. （ D） managers do not alw
42、ays understand the attitudes of staff. 四、 PART FOUR 18 Read the article below about the UK retail sector. 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. There is an example at the beginning(0)
43、. The Retail SectorThe retail sector is one of the UKs biggest employment areas, accounting for one in nine of the(0)_.B_. It is also one of the fastest growing - more than a fifth of jobs【 C1】 _last year were in retail. Such rapid【 C2】 _in the tightest labour market for more than a generation shoul
44、d be【 C3】 _ up wages, but it is not.While the national【 C4】 _wage goes up by about 5% a year, in retail it goes up by 3.5%.The consequences of low wages and far from brilliant conditions is rapid staff turnover. About half the staff employed in retail leave every year. This【 C5】_ is way above even t
45、hose sectors such as nursing, which are said to be in a recruitment 【 C6】 _. Part of the problem is that the employers themselves are under considerable financial【 C7】 _.Retail is suffering a long-term slide independent of the【 C8】 _ and falls of the economy. One of the reasons for this is consumer
46、expectations. With the growth of e-commerce, customers look for bigger and better bargains and insist on【 C9】 _for money.There are some pluses for employees, however. Low wages and high turnover make retail a youthful sector. Real managerial【 C109】 _ can be attained by the mid-20s, so school-leavers
47、 or recent graduates need only wait a short time before gaining promotion. And despite the problems, the retail sector does, on occasion,【 C11】 _ some of the more progressive career 【 C12】 _ programmes. The supermarket chain Robertsons, for example, has a community service scheme that trains staff i
48、n team-building through work on neighbourhood projects. And clothes retailer P & R has an impressive【 C13】_when it comes to employing older people. It pursues a【 C14】 _of employing mature people with long【 C15】 _of the products, as it believes they provide better customer service.Example:A company B
49、 workforce C personnel D organisation 19 【 C1】 （ A） made （ B） formed （ C） created （ D） appointed 20 【 C2】 （ A） expansion （ B） increase （ C） addition （ D） extension 21 【 C3】 （ A） getting （ B） pushing （ C） turning （ D） giving 22 【 C4】 （ A） normal （ B） medium （ C） average （ D） common 23 【 C5】 （ A） figure （ B） sum （ C） data （ D） calculation 24 【 C6】 （ A） emergency （ B） disaster （ C） trouble （ D） crisis 25 【 C7】 （ A） weight （ B） force （ C） power （ D） pressure 26 【 C8】 （ A） c
