1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 81及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and the advice to businesses on the opposite page about using other companies to run their IT services. Which section (A, B, C or D) does each statement refer to? You will need to use some of these letters more than once. When a b
2、usiness decides to outsource its IT services, it needs to consider the question of integration. Four experts give their views. A Gianluca Tramcere, Silica Systems An outsourced IT service is never a fully independent entity. It is tied to the home companys previous and continuing systems of working.
3、 But despite the added responsibility of managing new ways of working, many businesses ignore the integration process. They fail to establish contracts that define the ways in which the two companies will work alongside one another, and focus solely on the technological aspects of service delivery.
4、B Kevin Rayner, Domola Businesses need to build integration competency centres dedicated to managing the integration effort. It is critical to have an individual in charge to check that the external and internal business operations work together. Although companies often think of outsourcing as a wa
5、y of getting rid of people and assets, they need to remember that, at the same time, outsourcing involves gaining people. Because there is a new operation being carried out in a different way outside of the home business, this creates a training element. C Clayton Locke, Digital Solutions Communicat
6、ion is the key to success, and outsourcing to other regions or countries can lead to a range of problems. For any such initiative, it is necessary to create a team where there is good, open communication and a clear understanding of objectives and incentives. Bringing people to the home location fro
7、m the outsourced centre is necessary, since it can aid understanding of the complexities of the existing system. To integrate efficiently, outsourcing personnel have to talk to the home companys executives and users to understand their experiences. D Kim Noon, J G Tech One way to avoid the difficult
8、ies of integration is to create a joint-venture company with the outsourcer. Thus, a company can swap its assets for a share of the profits. Yet joint ventures bring potential troubles, and companies should be careful not to lose sight of the original rationale for outsourcing: to gain cost efficien
9、cies and quality of service in an area that for some reason could not be carried out entirely in-house. The complexities and costs of a joint-venture initiative should not be underestimated. 1 the need to teach skills to employees working on the outsourced process 2 remembering the initial reason fo
10、r setting up the outsourced project 3 the need to draw up agreements that set out how integration is to be achieved 4 addressing the issue of staff who work on the outsourced process being at a distant site 5 the importance of making someone responsible for the integration process 6 staff on the out
11、sourced project familiarising themselves with various details of the business 7 problems being associated with an alternative to outsourcing 二、 PART TWO 7 What is Franchising? Franchising is one of three business strategies a company may use in capturing market share. The others are company owned un
12、its or a combination of company owned and franchised units. Franchising is a business strategy for getting and keeping customers. It is a marketing system for creating an image in the minds of current and future customers about how the companys products and services can help them. (8) . Franchising
13、is a network of interdependent business relationships that allows a number of people to share: a brand identification, a successful method of doing business, a proven marketing and distribution system. In short, franchising is a strategic alliance between groups of people who have specific relations
14、hips and responsbilities with a common goal to dominate markets, i.e., to get and keep more customers than their competitors. Other franchisees and company operated units are not your competition. (9) .They and you share the task of establishing the brand as the dominant brand in all markets entered
15、 and reinforcing the customers familiarity with and trust in the brand. (10) . Other franchisees share with you the responsibility for quality, consistency, convenience, and other factors that define your franchise and insure repeat business for everyone. Increasing the value of the brand name is a
16、shared responsibility of the franchisor and franchisee. A company franchises because it wants to quickly and in great numbers replicate its successful company operations without significantly increasing its debt. (11) . In franchising, the operating system becomes identified with the brand or trade
17、name that you license as a franchisee. Each franchise system uses precise methods to provide service and satisfy the customers. (12) .Because customers dont like surprises, this consistency in operations, unit to unit, builds customer loyalty to the brand. Franchising is successful because we are pe
18、ople of habit and are brand-driven when we purchase goods and services. We trust brands that we see everywhere, every day. We tend to be loyal to a product or servicedelivered to us the same way all the time. A So in this respect you are working as a team with others in the system. B By documenting
19、these practices, the franchisor institutionalises the buying experience. C Because it has been successful in teaching its own employees to operate the business, the company believes it can repeat the same success by teaching others to do it. D It is a method for distributing products and services th
20、at satisfy customer needs E With the help of them, franchisors can easily enjoy the convenience brought by franchising. F On the contrary, both of you are partners under the same system. G The others are company owned units or a combination of company owned and franchised units. 三、 PART THREE 12 Wha
21、t Do Customers Really Want? What happens when you combine product design virtuosity, high-powered market research techniques, and copious customer data? Too often, the result is gadgets that suffer from “feature creep“ or the return of billions of dollars worth of merchandise by customers who wanted
22、 something different at all. That kind of waste is bad enough in normal times. but in a downturn it can take a fearsome toll. The trouble is that most customer-preference rating tools used in product development today are blunt instruments, primarily because customers have a hard time articulating t
23、heir desires. Asked to rate a long list of product attributes on a scale of 1 (completely unimportant) to 10 (extremely important), customers are apt to say they want many or even most of them. To crack that problem, companies need a way to help customers sharpen the distinction between “nice to hav
24、e“ and “gotta have“. Some companies are beginning to pierce the fog using a research technique called “Maximum Difference Scaling“. “MaxDiff“ was pioneered in the early 1990s by Jordan Louviere, who is now a professor at the University of Technology, Sydney. (As with most cutting-edge academic devel
25、opments, it took time to translate Louvieres research into practical tools.) MaxDiff requires customers to make a sequence of explicit trade-offs. Researchers begin by amassing a list of product or brand attributes typically from 10 to 40 that represents potential benefits. Then they present respond
26、ents with sets of four attributes at a time, asking them to select which attribute of each set they prefer most and least. Subsequent rounds of mixed groupings enable the researchers to identify the standing of each attribute relative to all the others by the number of times customers select it as t
27、heir most or least important consideration. A popular restaurant chain recently used MaxDiff to understand why its expansion efforts were misfiring. In a series of focus groups and preference surveys, consumers agreed about what they wanted: more healthful meal options and updated dcor. But when the
28、 chains heavily promoted new menu was rolled out, the marketing team was dismayed by the mediocre results. Customers found the complex new choices confusing, and sales were sluggish in the more contemporary new outlets. The companys marketers decided to cast the range of preferences more broadly. Us
29、ing MaxDiff, they asked customers to compare eight attributes and came to a striking realisation. The results showed that prompt service of hot meals and a convenient location were far more important to customers than healthful items and modern furnishings, which ended up well down on the list. The
30、best path forward was to improve kitchen service and select restaurant sites based on where customers worked. The ability to predict how customers will behave can be extremely powerful and not just when budgets are tight. Companies planning cross-border product rollouts need a tool that is free of c
31、ultural bias. And as customer tastes fragment, product development teams need reliable technique for drawing bright lines between customer segments based on the features that matter most to each group. Companies are starting to apply MaxDiff analysis to those issues as well. 13 From paragraph one, w
32、e can infer that （ A） market research is a waste of money. （ B） market research must not be used during an economic recession. （ C） market research doesnt necessarily help companies make products that can meet customers need. （ D） customers are too hard to please. 14 According to paragraph two, what
33、 should companies do to know customers preference about product features? （ A） to teach customers how to use the rating tools （ B） to help customers express their needs clearly （ C） to simplify the list of product attributes （ D） to help customers identify the product features that they value most 1
34、5 Which statement is not true about MaxDiff? （ A） Using MaxDiff, each product attribute is presented to respondents more than once. （ B） To use MaxDiff, customers have to trade with the related companies. （ C） By using MaxDiff, companies know what product attributes are the most important to custome
35、rs. （ D） MaxDiff is a fairly modern research technique. 16 What do the customers need most about the restaurant chain mentioned in the passage? （ A） more healthful food （ B） more food choices （ C） better decorations （ D） quick service 17 What best describes the restaurant chains expansion efforts? （
36、 A） They were misunderstood by customers. （ B） They didnt produce the wanted results. （ C） They had the wrong goals. （ D） They were mistaken. 18 What cannot be inferred from the last paragraph? （ A） MaxDiff is not reliable enough in analysing customer needs. （ B） Customers today have more and more d
37、ifferent requirements. （ C） MaxDiff can help companies know customers reactions beforehand. （ D） MaxDiff can be used in different cultures. 四、 PART FOUR 18 The iPod Has Turned Apple into a Superbrand No single brand could be compared to Apples iPod, which is expected to be the hottest gift over the
38、holiday season. In the three months to December 31st, Apple sold 14m digital music players, compared with 4.5m in the same period in 2004. The iPod (19) a product category, as Sonys Walkman once did when music was delivered on cassette instead of over the internet. And (20) Apples iTunes Music Store
39、 accounting for 80% of legal music downloads, the Californian company now has a brand that marketers hold in awe. But can Apple also use its new brand power to sell (21) computers? At Apples annual Macworld event on January 10th, Steve Jobs, the companys chief executive, unveiled what many fans had
40、been (22) : the first Macintosh computers based on chips made by Intel, which also power the vast (23) of personal computers that run Microsofts Windows operating system. Apple hopes the high performance of its new Intel-based Macs will help it (24) market share from makers of Windows-based PCs. But
41、 the “halo effect“ from the iPod remains Apples most (25) means of boosting sales of its computers. Surveys suggest that some 10-20% of PC users who buy an iPod subsequently go on to buy a Mac. In 2005 the iPod helped the company to (26) its share of the personal-computer market from 3% to 4%. Apple
42、s challenge is that getting people to buy an iPod, a new type of device, is (27) than getting them to switch loyalties in an existing product category. The most powerful factor working in Apples favour is peer (28) : what friends and relatives have to say about products is now the most (29) form of
43、consumer advice, and to be seen with (30) different can be almost taboo. That is why millions of people said they wanted an iPod for Christmas, and not a digital-music player from another manufacturer even though rival players are often cheaper than iPods. and generally have more (31) . During the y
44、ears it (32) in Microsofts shadow, Apple (33) from having a distinctive, counter-cultural brand. But given its dominance in digital music, where it is anything but the underdog, how long can Apple keep its cool? （ A） creates （ B） produces （ C） defines （ D） invests （ A） with （ B） except （ C） besides
45、（ D） without （ A） much （ B） less （ C） more （ D） most （ A） thinking （ B） seeking （ C） expecting （ D） keeping （ A） majority （ B） amount （ C） minority （ D） number （ A） put （ B） take （ C） make （ D） turn （ A） affective （ B） active （ C） special （ D） effective （ A） decrease （ B） cause （ C） advance （ D） inc
46、rease （ A） better （ B） easier （ C） harder （ D） clearer （ A） joy （ B） sorrow （ C） pressure （ D） relief （ A） cared （ B） trusted （ C） worried （ D） settled （ A） anything （ B） something （ C） event （ D） action （ A） features （ B） traits （ C） profits （ D） factors （ A） run （ B） past （ C） pass （ D） spent （ A）
47、 benefited （ B） advantage （ C） acquired （ D） attracted 五、 PART FIVE 33 Read the article below about the winner of a business award. In most of the lines (34-45), there is one extra word. It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are co
48、rrect. 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 Sheeet BEST SECRETARY OF THE YEAR 34 to be very strong. and I have to say I found that the selection procedure really 35 hard, “she says. “I
49、didnt think I had any chance of winning. When I heard my 36 name, my legs were so weak I could only hardly stand up.“ she laughs. So 37 how is the best secretary chosen from a group of so extremely good 38 and very different individuals? The final decision was reached after a 39 day-long session of the tests, interviews and exercises. Cathy Dunkin believes 40 the skills she uses in her job helped her how to perform well. For instance, although 41 most of her work is for her companys Managing Director, she works for six bosses 4
