1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 11及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and at the five extracts on the opposite page from an article about how employees are motivated. Which section of the article (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1-8) refer to? For each statement (1-8), mark one letter (A, B, C
2、, D or E) on your Answer Sheet. You will need to use some of these letters more than once. A Ensuring employees arrive at work geared up and ready to give their all is a major challenge facing managers today. It used to be so easy. A fat pay cheque and the promise of promotion was all that was neede
3、d to keep people committed, loyal and happy. But the world of work has changed, and nowadays, organisations cannot rely on the corporate cheque book to give them the edge. Numerous employee surveys have shown that although pay still makes people tick, a whole raft of other issues have entered the mo
4、tivation equation. B One of the problems is that managers often dont appreciate they are playing in a completely new ball game, and a reliance on old-style motivational techniques just wont work in todays technology-driven, fast-paced business environment. For example, an employee could be working i
5、n South Africa, with a boss sitting in London and the main client they are dealing with based in Asia. So for someone who is very motivated by face-to-face contact and a collegiate environment, that could be a huge problem. C What most employees expect is the chance to work flexibly, on interesting
6、and stimulating tasks that give them the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. Managers on the ground may not always be able to influence pay and working practices - but, if they are to extract top performance from their teams, they need to know how to press the right buttons and create a
7、 culture that will inspire their workforce, a culture in which achievement is acknowledged and people feel valued. D Organisations should focus on asking people what they want - a relatively simple task that is too often considered unnecessary. However, questions about motivation have to be asked sk
8、ilfully, or you wont get to the bottom of what really makes people go that extra mile. Two people may both say they want an interesting and stimulating job, but have widely divergent ideas of what would constitute such a position: a city trader would probably find business consultancy boring, and a
9、consultant might be scared by the city traders job, but both may be very satisfied with their own job. E There are huge gaps between what employees expect from employers and what they actually get. For instance, employers emphasis on employability (equipping workers with marketable skills) may be so
10、mewhat misguided. One study showed that what people really wanted was not employability but job security. As a result, employees had the feeling that their employer wasnt delivering, which had a detrimental effect on the employees workplace performance and attitudes. The problem lies partly in a lac
11、k of communication: to ensure mutual understanding and to align employees values and goals with those of the organisation, much more conversation is needed. 1 People may perceive the same type of work very differently. 2 It is important that staff gain recognition for what they have done. 3 The beha
12、viour of staff may be influenced by disappointment with what their organisation provides. 4 Traditional ways of motivating staff cannot be put into practice these days. 5 A good salary alone is no longer enough to motivate staff. 6 It is desirable for staff and their employers to have similar object
13、ives. 7 Staff should be able to improve their abilities through their work. 8 Not all companies see a need to find out what motivates their staff. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read this text taken from an article about some key aspects of operations management. Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps. Fo
14、r each gap 9 14, mark one letter (A H) on your Answer Sheet. Do not use any letter more than once. The Operations Function Goods are tangible items purchased by individuals or organizations for subsequent use. Services are intangible items that are consumed at the time of being provided, with the cu
15、stomer taking away or retaining the benefit of that service. However, in many commercial situations, what is provided or produced by an organization can be a mixture of both goods and services. H The operations function is the part of the organization that exists primarily to generate and produce th
16、e products. (9) . They have a conversion process, some resource inputs into that process, the outputs resulting from the conversions of the inputs, and the information feedback about the activities in the operations system. (10) . Economists refer to the transformation of resources into goods and se
17、rvices as the production function. (11) . This process is what creates the revenue for the company making the products or providing the services. (12) . When considering the conversion process we must take into account that the process is subject to random change and fluctuations. Unplanned or uncon
18、trolled influences may cause the actual output to differ from the planned output. (13) . If there is a circumstance in which the Yangzi River of China was to flood, the production of rice would suffer, therefore causing an increase fluctuation in the price of rice. (14) . Fluctuations may also tend
19、to be caused by internal problems inherent in the conversion process. Faulty equipment, material imperfections, and of course human errors are only a few of the ideas that affect output quality. A Other natural problems such as lightning, frost, drought, too much rain, etc., will tend to be the majo
20、r reason for the fluctuation in product quality and price because of availability. B All producers of whether it be a physical object or service have some basic elements in common. C For example, all managers in any organization will need to know how to train their employees, appraise their performa
21、nce, and so forth. D The end product then becomes an idea where it is deemed a useful idea due to the form, the time, or the place of their availability from the conversion process. E For example, such fluctuations in the product quality or price may be due to the growing weather conditions of many
22、plants of fruit and vegetables. F Once a product is made available to the consumer, that product is sold and converted into cash for that company and the cycle continues. G The general goal for all production is to create some kind of value added, so the outputs are worth more to the consumer than j
23、ust the sum of the individual inputs. H In some situations the product will outweigh the service but in other situations it will be the opposite. 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the following article about Go-Fast, a cost-saying programme introduced by the car manufacturer General Motors, and the questions on
24、 the opposite page. For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Somewhere today, a group of staff from General Motors will meet as part of the Go-Fast programme, and hammer out a new initiative to cut costs and bureaucracy. They may focus only on wiper-blades, or
25、staff appraisal, or showroom design. But by this afternoon, there should be an outline savings plan, which will, when implemented, be measured carefully for signs of success. The aim is to transform GM from a lumbering leviathan into the corporate equivalent of a sports car. The intention is not jus
26、t to be big - GM is one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world - but to be fast, particularly in its responsiveness to the market. The success of the programme is reflected in the large number of suggestions being introduced - far more than in the old days, when every change had to come from
27、senior managers focusing on the big picture. The progress made has trans- formed investor perceptions of GM. Before the Go-Fast programme was introduced, the conventional wisdom was that GMs market share was in permanent free fall and its organisation incapable of doing anything about it. Now, the d
28、ecline has been turned around, and the senior managers change of approach has led to the company being energised with a winning spirit that has unlocked long-dormant capabilities. That it took a firm of consultants to help devise the programme is perhaps a sad reflection of the danger of corporate t
29、hinking becoming inflexible. The shareholders support of GMs strategy to become more outward-looking and innovative is some- thing of a luxury, though in the long run success would convince even the most sceptical shareholders. The strategy includes beating down on costs and extracting maximum syner
30、gies from GMs numerous alliance partners, such as its tooling suppliers, and exchanging ideas and management tools with other corporations of widely differing sizes, sectors and nationalities. Having such input is one thing, but its value would be undermined without a coherent mechanism to put ideas
31、 into practice, and this is where the consultants proved invaluable. In the car industry, however, there was plenty of scepticism about the programme when it was first announced, with many convinced that only much smaller organisations stood a reasonable chance of making such a transformation, parti
32、cularly when it involved changes to the company culture. Surprisingly, perhaps, this fear was not shared by the consultants who helped senior management to design the programme and, crucially, effect a change in leader- ship skills; rather, they were more concerned about the impact that pockets of o
33、pposition within GM might have. The results of the scheme so far give rise to cautious optimism. No aspect of GMs work can hide from scrutiny, and initial fears of a lack of joined-up thinking about the impact of one change on other areas soon dissipated, as the leadership panels responsible for app
34、roving and implementing changes took a broader view. But while internal management has improved dramatically, many analysts are sceptical that the initiatives can outweigh GMs mountainous pension obligations. The company is still suffering the effects of poor decisions in the past, such as the choic
35、e of certain alliance partnerships, and a major change of strategy might be necessary to recover from these. If this were to take place, the companys core car manufacturing would need to be much more firmly rooted than it is at present, to ensure it didnt suffer from lack of focus. However, the arch
36、itects of the scheme are confident that GM will be far more outward-looking and innovative in the near future. 15 What point is made in the first paragraph about GMs Go-Fast programme? （ A） The intention behind it is to increase GMs market share. （ B） Suggestions need to be agreed by senior managers
37、. （ C） All areas of business are examined for possible improvements. （ D） Senior managers are excluded from the initial discussions. 16 In the second paragraph, the writer regards it as positive that （ A） the programme allows improvements to come from within. （ B） certain senior managers have left t
38、he company and been replaced. （ C） the consultants developed the ideas on the basis of company proposals. （ D） investors continued confidence in the company has been justified. 17 In the third paragraph, the writer claims that the Go-Fast process is successful because of （ A） the companys alliances
39、with many business partners. （ B） the method of implementing changes. （ C） the positive attitude of investors. （ D） the exchange of management thinking with other companies. 18 When starting to set up the programme, the consultants expected that （ A） the size of the company might make it difficult t
40、o introduce changes. （ B） senior managers might be unwilling to change their work style. （ C） it might be difficult to change the company culture. （ D） some of the workforce might resist the changes. 19 What concern is expressed in the last paragraph about the Go-Fast programme? （ A） It may not save
41、 enough to meet the companys financial demands. （ B） Management is being distracted from the companys core activities. （ C） It has led the company to make unwise strategic decisions. （ D） The company is focusing on changes in the wrong areas. 20 What would be the best title for the article? （ A） Imp
42、roving internal and external communications （ B） Choosing the most suitable consultants （ C） Making a company more adaptable （ D） Changing a companys management structure PART FOUR 四、 PART FOUR 20 Read the article below about sickness at work in Britain. Choose the correct word to fill each gap from
43、 A, B, C or D on the opposite page. For each question (21-30), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Sickness at work Small firms are counting the cost of sickness among employees. Research estimates that illness cost small businesses in Britain a month and a half in lost (21) last ye
44、ar. A recent (22) of more than 1,000 small and medium enterprises revealed that last year the average small business lost around 42 days through staff phoning in sick, and that this had a serious (23) on 27 per cent of smaller companies. Just over one in ten employees took time off for seven days in
45、 a (24) Of these, 9.5 per cent were ill for a week on more than one occasion. In Britain, employees can take sick (25) for up to a week before they have to produce a medical certificate. Owner-managers were far less likely to be off sick than their staff: 3.3 days on average, compared with the 10 da
46、ys taken by employees. The head of the research team said, The most common (26) of absence was minor illness, such as colds or flu, but back strain, fractures and the like (27) for very nearly as much. Of greater (28) is that more that 40 per cent of employers felt that their employees sickness may
47、not have been genuine. Employers can do more to protect themselves by drawing up adequate (29) of employment that outline the companys sick pay (30) Enhanced sick pay is then at the employers discretion. （ A） capacity （ B） productivity （ C） capability （ D） efficiency （ A） report （ B） enquiry （ C） st
48、atement （ D） survey （ A） result （ B） consequence （ C） impression （ D） impact （ A） row （ B） line （ C） series （ D） sequence （ A） leave （ B） break （ C） time （ D） absence （ A） reason （ B） symptom （ C） cause （ D） motive （ A） contributed （ B） accounted （ C） totalled （ D） credited （ A） concern （ B） anxiety
49、 （ C） regard （ D） bother （ A） details （ B） items （ C） particulars （ D） terms （ A） ideas （ B） notions （ C） policies （ D） intentions 五、 PART FIVE 30 Read the article below about coherence. For each question 31 40 write one word in the space on your Answer Sheet. Coherence Coherence determines whether a speech is logical and thus makes sense. The speaker must make (31) that his utterances and paragraphs are presented in a logical sequence se that his thoughts and ideas are readily acceptable. A speech
