1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 104及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 A Flat Tax Income tax is a direct tax which is levied on the income of private individuals. There are various income tax systems that exist, ranging from a flat tax to an extensive progressive tax system. A flat tax, also called a proportional tax, is a syst
2、em that taxes. Usually the flat tax is proposed to kick in at a certain income level, or to exempt income below that level, so that the lowest-income members of society dont need to pay income tax. Proposed flat taxes usually allow little or no exemption of earned income besides the bottom-level exe
3、mption. Advocates of a flat tax claim that it will end unfair discrimination. They also argue that flat taxes are easier (and cheaper) to administer and comply with than complex, graduated taxes. Most political parties that advocate the introduction of a flat tax are on the right of the political sp
4、ectrum. B Progressive Tax A progressive tax, or graduated tax, is a tax that is larger as a percentage of income for those with larger incomes. It is usually applied in reference to income taxes, where people with more income pay a higher percentage of it in taxes. The term progressive refers to the
5、 way the rate progresses from low to high. C Regressive Tax A regressive tax is a tax which takes a larger percentage of income from people whose income is low. A tax which places proportionately more of a burden on those with lower incomes. Regressive taxes, as opposed to progressive taxes, are mor
6、e burdensome on lower-income individuals than on higher-income individuals and corporations. D Tax Deduction Within the United States income tax system, a tax deduction, or “tax-deductible expense“, is an item which is subtracted from gross income in order to arrive at the taxable income. Effectivel
7、y, the taxpayer pays no income tax on the amount of money he spent on tax-deductible expenses. For example, if an individual earns $50,000 in a year and gives $5,000 to tax-deductible charities, he will end up paying income tax as though he had earned only $45,000 that year. In this way, the federal
8、 and state governments encourage certain types of spending. E Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion Tax avoidance is the legal exploitation of the tax regime to ones own advantage, to attempt to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law whilst making a full disclosure of the
9、material information to the tax authorities. Tax evasion, on the other hand, is a crime. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability, and includes, in particular, dishonest tax r
10、eporting, such as under declared income, profits or gains; or overstated deductions. 1 In the U. S. if you donate 10,000 dollars to some charity organization, you can take that sum away from your total income when you pay income tax. 2 This tax forces lower-income people and corporations to earn mor
11、e money, because the less you earn, the more taxes you have to pay. 3 This tax system ensures that the people with the lowest income dont have to pay income tax. 4 The more money you earn, the more taxes you should pay in terms of income tax. 5 You would violate the law if you lie to the tax authori
12、ties about the profits that your company has earned. 6 Most right-wing political parties advocate this tax system. 7 To the lower-income people, this tax is an obligation hard to bear. 8 Many people would try to find ways that observe the law to pay less tax, while at the same time they would give t
13、he tax authorities a full and true report of their income or profits. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read this text taken from an article about logistics and corporate profit performance.Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps.For each gap 9 14, mark one letter(A H)on your Answer Sheet.Do not use any lette
14、r more than once.There is an example at the beginning, (0).In an uncertain economic environment, top management will be interested in asset management and flow management.(0)_H . They can represent over 50 percent of manufactures total asset, and more than 80 percent of wholesalers and retailers tot
15、al assets.When top management mandates a reduction in accounts receivable and/or inventories, its objective is to improve cash flow and reduce the companys investment in assets.(9)_. But reduction in the terms of sale, or even enforcement of the stated terms of sale, in effect changes tile price com
16、ponent of the firms marketing mix.(10)_The arbitrary reduction of accounts receivable and/or inventories in the absence of technological change or changes in the logistics system can have a devastating impact on corporate profit performance.(11)_. First, the change alters the manufacturers price and
17、 therefore the competitive position of its products, which may lead to decreased sales. Second, it further complicates the cash flow problems of the manufacturers customers. Forcing faster payment of invoices causes channel members to improve their cash flow by reducing their inventories of the manu
18、facturers products.(12)_ This situation may also result in stock-out of the manufacturers products as the wholesale or retail level of the channel, further reducing sales volume.Similarly, a manufacturers policy of arbitrarily reducing inventory level to increase inventory sums, in the absence of a
19、system change, may escalate transportation costs and/or production setup costs as the logistics system scrambles to achieve the specified customer service levels with lower inventories(assuming the company was efficiently and effectively distributing products prior to the policy change).(13)_. In th
20、is case, customer service levels would be eroded, and a decrease in market share might result.(14)_.A However, if management concentrates on system changes that improve logistics efficiency and/or effectiveness, it may be able to satisfy all of the firms objectives.B Usually, management assumes that
21、 revenues and other costs will remain the same.C They do so by placing smaller, more frequent orders, which may increase total logistics cost for both the manufacturer and its customers.D In either set of circumstances, the increased cost of transportation and/or production or the lost sales contrib
22、ution could far exceed the savings in inventory carrying cost.E If a manufacturer changes its terms of sale, for example, the effect on wholesalers and retailers will be twofold.F In addition, simply reducing the level of inventory can significantly increase the cost of logistics if current inventor
23、ies have been set at a level that allows the firm to achieve least total cost logistics for a desired level of customer service.G Alternatively, pressure to reduce expenses may preclude the use of premium transportation or increased production setups to achieve the desired customer service levels wi
24、th smaller inventory.H The two most common strategies used to improve cash flow and return on assets are:(l)reducing accounts receivable and(2)reducing the investment in inventory, as inventories and accounts receivable are a major portion of corporate assets. 三、 PART THREE 14 Build Your Team in Neg
25、otiation You are leading a negotiating team for your company, facing off with a major client to work out a price increase. You think youre on solid footing youve done your homework, and you know the terms youre looking for. But after some opening niceties, one of your team members blurts out: “Just
26、tell us what do we need to do to get more of your business?“ And at that moment, you know youve lost the upper hand. Gaffes like this are more common than most businesspeople would care to admit. Team members, often unwittingly, routinely undermine one another and thus their teams across-the-table s
27、trategies. We studied 45 negotiating teams from a wide array or organisations, including ones in the finance, health care, publishing, manufacturing, telecom, and nonprofit sectors. And they told us their biggest challenges came from their own side of the table. Drawing on the lessons learned from t
28、he experiences of these teams, we offer advice on how to manage the two major obstacles to a negotiating teams success: aligning the conflicting interests held by members of your own team and implementing a disciplined strategy at the bargaining table. Align Your Own Teams Interests Its not surprisi
29、ng that negotiating teams wrestle with internal conflicts. After all, companies send teams to the negotiating table only when issues are political or complex and require input from various technical experts, functional groups, or geographic regions. Even though team members are all technically on th
30、e same side, they often have different priorities and imagine different ideal outcomes: Business development just wants to close the deal. Finance is most concerned about costs. The legal department focuses on patents and intellectual property. Teams that ignore or fail to resolve their differences
31、over negotiation targets, tradeoffs, concessions, and tactics will not come to the table with a coherent negotiation strategy. They risk ending up with an agreement thats good for one part of the company but bad for another. On the basis of our research, we recommend four techniques for managing con
32、flicts of interest within the team, internal tradeoffs they must make before they can coalesce around the highestmargin proposal. Work with constituents Underlying many conflicts of interest is the simple fact that members represent different constituencies within the organisation. People dont want
33、to let their departments down, so they dig in on an issue important to their constituents that might not be in the best interest of the whole company. If constituents are presented with all the facts, however, they might be willing to concede more ground because theyll also see the bigger picture. T
34、o help get everyone on board with a single negotiation strategy, some leaders deliberately assemble teams that contain only individuals good at forming relationships across constituencies. Managers who dont have the luxury ot choosing their team members, though, might have to go an extra mile to eng
35、age those constituencies themselves. One way is to invite important opinion leaders or decision makers to attend team planning sessions. Alternatively, team managers might have to embark on multiple rounds of bargaining with constituent departments. One manager described many times he went back and
36、forth between the customer service department, the programme managers, and the engineers. Hed say: “OK, we need you to move a little bit more and get your number down a little bit more. We are close just come this little extra bit.“ 15 What does the example of the first paragraph mainly want to expr
37、ess? （ A） People should get well-prepared before the negotiation. （ B） It is essential to form a united strategy to ensure a negotiation teams success. （ C） The negotiation teams members shouldnt talk without permission. （ D） A negotiating team needs a skilled leader who can keep disagreements insid
38、e the team. 16 What are the two major obstacles for the negotiation team according to paragraph three? （ A） a unified negotiation strategy and conflicts of interests among members （ B） bad emotion and ineffective communication among team members （ C） mutual distrust and ill preparation （ D） ineffect
39、ive planning and lack tactics 17 Why are there conflicts of interests among negotiation members? （ A） They dont agree with each other. （ B） They stand for different departments in the company. （ C） They have different salaries. （ D） They dont get on well with each other. 18 What does the author say
40、about the internal conflicts of the negotiating teams? （ A） Its unusual for the negotiating teams to have internal conflicts. （ B） The internal conflicts of the negotiating teams cannot be solved. （ C） Measures should be taken to resolve the differences among the team members. （ D） There is no need
41、to tackle the differences among the team members. 19 Which of the following would be the best title for the article? （ A） How to manage your negotiating team （ B） Negotiating techniques （ C） Conflicts of interests among negotiation members （ D） The way to settle disputes among employees 20 What will
42、 be discussed in the following paragraph? （ A） The third technique for managing conflicts of interest within the negotiating team （ B） How to implement a displined strategy at the bargaining table （ C） How to avoid gaffes at the bargaining table （ D） How to be a good negotiating leader 四、 PART FOUR
43、20 Read the article below about levels of management.Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D.For each question (21-30), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet.There is an example at the beginning, (0). The three basic levels of management are top, middle, and first-li
44、ne (0) . The fairly small number of executives who guide the fortunes of most companies are (21) managers. Common titles for top managers include President, Vice President, Treasurer, Chief (22) Officer (CEO), and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Top managers are responsible to the board of directors
45、and stockholders of the firm for its overall (23) and effectiveness. They set general policies, formulate strategies, oversee all significant decisions, and represent the company in its (24) other businesses and government. Although they are below the ranks of the top executives, middle managers (25
46、) positions of considerable autonomy and importance. Titles such as Plant Manager, Operations Manager, and Division Manager are typical of middle-management slots. (26) , middle managers are responsible for implementing the strategies, policies, and decisions made by top managers. For example, if to
47、p management decides to bring (27) a new product in 12 months or to cut costs by 5 percent, middle management will have to decide to increase the pace of new product development or to reduce the plants work force. With companies increasingly seeking ways to cut (28) , however, the job of middle mana
48、ger has lately become an unsteady one in many large companies. At the bottom of the management hierarchy are first-line managers, who supervise the work of employees. First-line managers hold (29) such as Supervisor, Office Manager, and Foreman. First-line managers tend to spend most of their time w
49、orking with and supervising the employees who (30) to them. Some have entered the firm without a college degree or have been promoted from within the company.（ A） top （ B） down （ C） utmost （ D） supervisor （ A） Financial （ B） Executive （ C） Management （ D） President （ A） performance （ B） rehearsal （ C） show （ D） distribution （ A） operating （ B） functioning （ C） dealing with （ D） carrying out （ A） replace （ B） construct （ C） consist （ D） occupy （ A） Furthermore （ B） In general （ C） In addition （ D） Once （ A） down （
