1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 84及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 A Many companies in the U. S. begin to realise that investors demand financial reporting to be truly presented: creative accounting is no longer acceptable. In response to the criticism about how it booked the gain on the sale of one of its businesses. IBM an
2、nounced on Feb. 19th that it would expand the informaton it provides investors on such things as its intellectual-property income and the impact on earnings of the companys overfunded pension plan. And a day later, General Electric Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey R. Immelt also pay heed to
3、investors calls for better disclosure by promising to provide more detail on how the companys individual units including its finance departrment. GE Capital churn out their earnings. B Expect this lifting of the veil to spread rapidly throughout corporate America, In the wake of Enrons collapse and
4、questionable accounting at telecommunications companies such as Global Crossing Ltd., investors are demanding better. more frequent, and more expansive information about companies financial health. This rising pressure will force executives in boardrooms across the country to wrestle with exactly ho
5、w much new information to reveal, much less the question of how to flag changes for investors without causing their stocks to tank. “GE and IBM are bellwethers,“ says Patrick S. McGurn, vice-president at proxy advisory service Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. “You will see a huge wave of imit
6、ation.“ C Of course, thats good for shareholders and for the long-term health of the market, But the tsunami of new disclosures, unfortunately, isnt necessarily what the recovering economy needs right now. The trick will be to strike the right balance. Companies that reveal too little, too late will
7、 get punished in the market. But dumping too much on shareholders may only muddy the picture further. “If you give too much information, people can get overwhelmed by the minutia, and the important stuff gets buried.“ says Charles M. Elson, director of the Centre for Corporate Governance at the Univ
8、ersity of Delaware. D In fact, IBM and GE join a growing list of companies that have already been compelled to improve their disclosure, At Tyco International Ltd., which has been buffeted by concerns about its complex accounting and financial health, senior execs have begun holding weekly phone con
9、ferences with analysts and investors to address questions about its accounting and operations. Franchising giant Cendant Corp. has put detailed information on its Website about its off-balance-sheet entities, while hotel operator Marriott International Inc. recently provided details on write-offs it
10、 has taken for loan guarantees as well as some hotel-development projects. 1 More and more companies are forced to illustrate their accounting. 2 Both IBM and General Electric are willing to give information about their accounting. 3 Managers in the companies would have to deal with the problem of d
11、isclosure. 4 Its suggested that companies should provide adequate information for shareholders. 5 A great majority of companies will follow the example of General Electric and IBM. 6 Investors of the company would no longer accept financial reporting that does not clearly reflect a companys operatin
12、g health. 7 Some companies start to employ various methods to reveal more about their operations. 二、 PART TWO 7 Customer Contact Which of the following is the most important way of keeping in touch with your customers: telephone, email, fax, letters, website, or face-to-face meetings? Despite the ch
13、oice, there is only one correct answer. That anyone who thinks that only one type of customer contact is sufficient is missing the point. Different customers have different preferences, so all types of contact are equally important. The smart manager is, therefore, always looking for ways to improve
14、 the different types of customer contact and there are plenty of helpful solutions out there to choose from. (8) At the same time, email is rapidly catching up, while the volume of business letters is declining. So, you would think that a good place to begin your quest for better-managed customer co
15、ntact is to look at whats new in telephone and online technology. It might, though, be better first to consider the factors that make for better contact management and see what can be done to improve them. The starting point for this is obvious: any type of customer contact is going to be more effec
16、tive if the person handling it knows about the customer. (9) When did these customers last order? What are their product or service preferences? What is their credit status? To make improvements in contact operations possible, all the staff who have contact with the outside world need to have immedi
17、ate access to the same data. The software that can provide this is known as customer relationship management, or CRM. (10) Just as important, staff can enter any necessary details about the client they are dealing with while the contact is actually in progress. The data from this contact are stored
18、in the system immediately. Then. if the client calls back a few minutes later, whoever picks up the call can see exactly what has just happened. (11) . CRM systems can give a valuable edge even to companies that rely more on personal contact than on handling large numbers of phone calls and emails.
19、Arguably, it is more important for senior executives to have fully up-to-date information to hand when talking to an important client than in any other situation. (12) With the right laptop or hand-held PC, there are even ways of providing secure access when they are out of the office. In this way,
20、managers need never be without the information they need, no matter where they happen to be A To put it simply, contact relies on people, and successful contact relies on people with information at their fingertips. B In spite of this, it would be extremely valuable if all members of staff could cal
21、l up information on any of the companys clients whenever they needed it. C Software can deliver critical information to selected users on a need-to-know basis. D For most businesses, the telephone is still the most commonly used channel of customer contact. E Basically, it enables any member of staf
22、f to type in a name and within seconds have on the screen in front of them all they need to know about that particular customer. F Once a member of staff has this recently processed information, he or she will be able to provide a faster and more efficient service. 三、 PART THREE 12 Reasons for Inter
23、national Trade Foreign trade, the exchange of goods between nations, takes place for many reasons. Every nation wants the opportunity to export its goods and services to other countries. A foreign outlet for sales enables a manufacturer or distributor to increase the volume of his business activity,
24、 thus increasing his chance to make a profit and increasing employment opportunities. Every nation also wants the opportunity and privilege of buying from foreign countries products and services that are scarce or unavailable at home that would be useful and beneficial to its people. Trading with ot
25、her countries is not the same as trading within ones own country. At home a company or a bank is familiar with its own people, laws, and business practices. At abroad the picture becomes a complex one. Each country is different and therefore is said to carry different risks. Political risks, for exa
26、mple, relate to such varied factors as treaties, war, import quotas, and foreign exchange restrictions. In todays complex economic world, neither individuals nor nations are self-sufficient. Nations have utilised different economic resources. People have developed different skills. This is the found
27、ation of world trade and economic activity. So countries that do not have the resources within their own boundaries must buy from countries that export them. Foreign trade also occurs because a country often does not have enough of a particular item to meet its needs. As far as the United States is
28、concerned, it enjoys the most favourable position and has vast coal and oil reserves, but the United States is also a heavy consumer of nature resources, and it is increasingly reliant on certain imports, especially on oil. It consumes more than it can produce at home. If one nation can sell some it
29、ems at a lower cost, the other countries would buy them. Japan. a highly industrialised nation, has been able to export large quantities of automobiles because it can produce them efficiently than other countries. It is cheaper for some Western countries to buy these from Japan than to produce them
30、domestically. Japan should produce and export those items from which it gets a comparative advantage. It should also buy and import what it needs from those countries that have a comparative advantage in the desired items. At last, innovation or style or quality plays the most important role in the
31、foreign trade. For example, the United States produces more automobiles than any other countries; it still imports large quantities of autos from Japan, primarily because there is a market for them in the United States. In conclusion, developing international trade is a countrys long-term strategy.
32、For most nations, exports and imports are the most important international activity. With this activity, nations can develop their economy. 13 If a country can sell its products abroad, it means （ A） it can earn more money by expanding its production. （ B） the employment rate of the country will dec
33、rease. （ C） the country has to find an outlet for going abroad. （ D） it can buy from foreign countries products and services that are scarce or unavailable at home. 14 Why does the picture abroad become a complex one according to the author? （ A） Because each country is different （ B） Because foreig
34、n countries laws, people and business practices are different from those of ones own country, and if businessmen from home do not know them, they will meet a lot of trouble （ C） Because businessmen from home do not understand foreign countries people, laws and business practices （ D） Because people
35、in foreign countries do not understand the picture due to different culture background 15 What does the sentence “In todays complex economic world, neither individual nor nations are self-sufficient“ mean? （ A） It means that todays world is a complex one, so all people and nations are able to provid
36、e all they want. （ B） It means that in todays complex economic world, people have developed different skills so all natioas and individuals need each other. （ C） It means that nations have utilised its own resources. （ D） It means countries that are lack of resources at home must buy from countries
37、that export them. 16 According to the fourth paragraph, foreign trade occurs because （ A） some people prefer foreign products to ones produced in their own country. （ B） a country does not possess certain resources in its own territories. （ C） a country hopes to consume other countries resources fir
38、st but preserve its own resources. （ D） a country does not have sufficient resources to meet its needs. 17 According to the fifth paragraph, what does “comparative advantage“ mean? （ A） It means that some countries have more favourable conditions for economic development than other countries. （ B） I
39、t means that some countries can produce certain products at lower cost than other countries, thus it would be cheaper for other countries to import those products instead of manufacturing them by themselves. （ C） It means that those countries which do not have favourable conditions for trading would
40、 better stop exporting and importing all they need. （ D） It means that some countries can provide goods with better quality than other countries. 18 According to the last paragraph, which of the following is NOT true? （ A） Nations can not develop their economy without foreign trade. （ B） For most co
41、untries, foreign trade is an important international activity. （ C） It is a long-term strategy for a country to develop international trade. （ D） The United States never imports automobiles because it produces more autos than any other countries. 四、 PART FOUR 18 The Significance of the Division of L
42、abour The significance of the division of labour was first found by Adam Smith in the 1770s. He explained part of its advantages. He gives as an example the process (19) which pins were made in England. “One man draws (20) the wire; another strengthens it; a third cuts it; a fourth points it; a fift
43、h grinds it at the top to prepare it to receive the head. To make the head (21) two or three operations. To put it on is a (22) operation, to polish the pins is another. And the important business of making pins is, (23) this manner, (24) into about eighteen operations, which in some factories are a
44、ll performed by different people, (25) in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them. “ Ten men, Smith said, in this way, turned (26) twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4,800 pins per worker. But if all of them had worked separately and (27) without division of labour, none of
45、 them could have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one. There can be no doubt that division of labour is a/an (28) way of (29) work. Fewer people can make more pins. Adam Smith saw this but he also took it for granted that division of labour is in itself responsible for economic (30) an
46、d development and that it (31) for the difference between (32) economies and those that (33) still but division of labour adds nothing new; it only enables people to produce more of what they already have. （ A） in （ B） on （ C） by （ D） through （ A） out （ B） up （ C） off （ D） in （ A） demands （ B） reque
47、sts （ C） requires （ D） inquires （ A） one （ B） separate （ C） different （ D） definite （ A） with （ B） by （ C） through （ D） in （ A） separated （ B） divided （ C） classified （ D） cut （ A） though （ B） and （ C） which （ D） however （ A） up （ B） on （ C） in （ D） out （ A） individually （ B） alone （ C） apart （ D） i
48、ndependently （ A） efficient （ B） important （ C） effective （ D） excellent （ A） giving （ B） organising （ C） finishing （ D） performing （ A） rise （ B） progress （ C） growth （ D） roaring （ A） accounts （ B） makes （ C） counts （ D） looks （ A） raising （ B） expanding （ C） extending （ D） inflating （ A） keep （ B
49、） reserve （ C） hold （ D） stand 五、 PART FIVE 33 Read the article below about human resource assessment. 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 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. 34 A spokesman for BBU, that the larger of the two unions, 35 claimed that a second 24-hour strike
