1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 123及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and at the extracts from five job advertisements on the opposite page. Which advertisement (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement 1-8 refer to? For each statement 1-8, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your answer sheet. You wi
2、ll need to use some of these letters more than once. There is an example at the beginning (0).Example:0 This company is offering a job only on a temporary basis. AHEAD OF PRODUCTIONSuccess for this 40 million food production plant has come as a result of clear national market focus, coupled with qua
3、lity products commanding premium prices. Demand continues to outstrip the ability to produce and new product lines have been enthusiastically received by the market place. To ensure that the business meets its demanding customer requirements in a well-controlled and professional fashion, a Head of P
4、roduction is now needed to install good manufacturing practices and to ensure that the production staff are moulded more positively into a cohesive and responsive unit.BOPERATIONS MANAGERWe are a major stationery company. After years of impressive success in ground-breaking new products and customer
5、 relationship development, our present objective is to drive manufacturing processes higher up the agenda and we are now committed to manufacturing innovation. We wish, therefore, to appoint a Senior Operations Manager to impart the very latest in manufacturing development. Drive, enthusiasm and a p
6、assion for excellence are required, as is the ability to win a similar response from colleagues at all levels.CPROJECT MANAGERWe are seeking to appoint a Project Manager to work on a two-year contract with the fish processing industry. Applicants must have a degree in food science or a business disc
7、ipline with a minimum of three years experience, preferably in the seafood industry, and must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the current issues facing the fish processing industry. Duties will include leading a small team of researchers, assessing the needs of client companies and provid
8、ing them with support, primarily through the organisation of technical workshops.DMANAGING DIRECTORWe are an international packaging and printing group and have ambitious plans for future expansion both through organic growth and by acquisition. We are now seeking a successor to our present Managing
9、 Director who is due to retire in three months time. The successful candidate will have to display technical competence in the industry and will have a demonstrable track record of managing a high-technology business. The new MD will be expected to build on our enviable blue-chip customer base throu
10、gh secure and profitable business-development activities.EHEAD OF CUSTOMER SERVICEWe are looking for someone with team management, database and process development skills to head our customer-service department. The person appointed will be responsible for managing operational delivery and performan
11、ce. He or she will have to demonstrate experience in the management of fluctuating supply and demand situations. The company, a leader in the provision of services to businesses in the telecommunications sector, has a strong reputation for quality and speed of solution delivery. We are poised to imp
12、lement an explosive growth plan and are targeted to treble in size within five years. 1 This company is known for dealing with problems quickly. 2 This company plans to take over other companies. 3 This company has as its clients some of the countrys leading companies. 4 This company is not turning
13、out as many goods as it could sell. 5 The person appointed to this post will deliver assistance to other companies. 6 This company wants to change the main focus of its attention. 7 This companys goods are expensive. 8 The person appointed to this job will have to show an ability to deal with ever-c
14、hanging market conditions. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read this article about management buyouts. Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps. For each gap (9-14), mark one letter (A-H) on your Answer Sheet. Do not use any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning (
15、0). How to launch a management buyout (MBO)The business youre running has huge potential but the parent company doesnt seem interested, and there are rumours that they are looking to sell. If ever theres a time for you and your senior colleagues to mount a management buyout (that is, take over the c
16、ompany by purchasing its shares) its now. (0) .H. Thats why its crucial to examine your motives carefully before doing anything.According to Mark Perchetti, private equity partner at MYT Accountants, one motive for launching an MBO is to build some capital. 【 P1】 _.And this list is far from exhausti
17、ve. Before doing anything else, check the feasibility of a buyout. MBOs are invariably financed externally by borrowing money based on the companys share value (a leveraged buyout). Thats why you will need to adopt strategies to sharply increase profits, by cutting costs or expanding, for example. T
18、his should enable you to significantly boost the value of the shares a few years down the line.Approach the owners or parent company with your proposal and ask for permission before you disclose any confidential information to venture capitalists or banks. 【 P2】 _.And what you definitely dont want i
19、s to find yourself out of a job just yet!So, when should you act? Well, it may be easier to raise the capital when business is booming, but paying over the odds is one of the biggest risks you face. 【 P3】 _.In other words, be careful not to pay too much. Also be careful who you choose for your team:
20、 this will typically consist of a CEO and 3-4 directors, but larger deals may bring in lower tiers. Theres no room for sentiment. You may have someone who was fine as the accountant of an operating division, but who you then find is not up to being MD of an independent company. 【 P4】 _.To avoid this
21、 problem you should therefore consider bringing in external talent right from the start.Its best to keep a low profile until your MBO is pretty much signed and sealed. 【 P5】 _. This might also mean that your customers, employees and other stakeholders become nervous, especially if theres a prolonged
22、 period of uncertainty. If there are key customers or suppliers whose ongoing commitment you require, wait until the last minute to talk to them. And remember, if your MBO fails, for whatever reason, you may find yourself working with the same colleagues and the current owners of the business. 【 P6】
23、 _.So dont burn your bridges just yet!Example: A Other common reasons are where the business has become non-core to its parent, or where a private owner of a family business is retiring.B If you are unfortunate enough to have to do this, they wont thank you if you have criticised their abilities or
24、commitment.C If you buy at the peak of the market, you may find it difficult ever to make money.D Financiers want you to put in enough that it would hurt you if you lost it, but not so much that youd be constantly worrying about it.E If your financiers come to the same conclusion, you may lose credi
25、bility.F If your interest becomes more widely known, you risk starting an auction, in which case the price will go up.G Otherwise you risk being turned down at a later stage - and getting your marching orders.H But the stakes are high: get it wrong and you could bankrupt yourself. 9 【 P1】 10 【 P2】 1
26、1 【 P3】 12 【 P4】 13 【 P5】 14 【 P6】 三、 PART THREE 14 Read Stephen Overells review of a book by Frances Cairncross called The Insidious Tech Revolution, and the questions on the opposite page. For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. First it revolutionised every
27、thing, then it changed nothing and now no one knows what to think. Predictions about how the communications revolution would transform management have followed a trajectory just as wild and erratic as high-technology stock prices. It is timely, then, to read a calm, temperate analysis arguing that w
28、e have underestimated the capacity of the internet to transform companies and businesses. Despite the high expectations of the time, the dotcom business model was never likely to bequeath an enduring legacy of lightning growth and quick cash. Frances Cairncrosss contention is that now the frantic en
29、ergy has been dissipated, the real revolutionary effect of that model on the structures, functions and activities of established businesses and markets can start to become clear Discerning it can be a subtle affair: The most widespread revolution in the workplace will come from the rise in collabora
30、tion and the decline of hierarchy, she writes. Both of these, of course, were trends-in-progress before the widespread adoption of internet technology. But they are the areas where the change can now be perceived as most profound, precisely because developments in communications technology have work
31、ed with the grain of preexisting movements, accelerating what was already happening. In previous generations, communications flowed from the top of companies downwards. But as more firms began to strip out layers of hierarchy, the internet allowed the flatter corporate architecture and web-like stru
32、ctures of modern organisations to function efficiently. Multifunctional teams, the much-pampered child of 1990s management theory, would be so much trickier to run without the internet. In addition, the internet enables efficient outsourcing and management of external suppliers. Highly marketable wo
33、rkers now have a choice. They can work flexibly if they want to auction their skills to well-paying clients, and move on when they get restless. From a company perspective, the transformed feelings about work among desirable external personnel carry their own difficulties. Many companies are finding
34、 that squads of free agents can be difficult to manage and reward. Human resources directors in some sectors are having to behave like theatrical casting agents: they staff work, not jobs. As Ms Cairncross suggests, new information technology leads to organisational change. Every aspect of running a
35、 company, whether building a brand (down to five years from 50), managing an ecosystem of suppliers, innovation, or leading and motivating senior executives, has undergone - and continues to undergo - a transformation. This is not always in predictable ways, though. Who would have guessed that the w
36、idespread adoption of email would mean that turning up in person would actually carry greater weight than before? Predicting the managerial consequences of the communications revolution inevitably risks being a hostage to fortune, especially as the revolution is still in its infancy. The speed of in
37、novation is enough to make most of us feel bewildered. The telephone was invented in the 1870s but it was not until the 1980s that the telephone banking industry took off. Dotcom companies went from boom to bust in just seven years, fragmenting old markets and creating new ones as they went. In such
38、 an atmosphere, fortune reading needs to be tempered by prudent vigilance. 15 In the first paragraph, Overell notes that views regarding the impact of the internet on business have （ A） adversely affected the stock market. （ B） ignored certain important facts. （ C） at last been proved wrong. （ D） fl
39、uctuated over time. 16 What point does Frances Cairncross make about dotcom business? （ A） Its real long-term effects were not immediately apparent. （ B） It was considered irrelevant by established companies. （ C） Its arrival had not been anticipated. （ D） It delayed other developments that proved m
40、ore beneficial. 17 Overell refers to multifunctional teams because they （ A） blossomed despite an internet-led corporate culture. （ B） triggered the breakdown of organisational hierarchies. （ C） exemplify an internal system that operates better with the internet. （ D） contradict a widely held theory
41、 about the internet. 18 Overell compares human resources directors to casting agents to illustrate his point that （ A） companies are struggling to keep their labour costs down. （ B） the concept of employment has changed significantly. （ C） too many external personnel apply for each available job. （
42、D） the fees demanded for outsourced work are constantly changing. 19 According to the fifth paragraph, what unexpected effect has the internet had? （ A） It has raised the profile of poor communicators. （ B） It has changed the function of business meetings. （ C） It has increased the value placed on f
43、ace-to-face interaction. （ D） It has enabled companies to use a larger number of suppliers. 20 How does Overell end his review? （ A） by taking a positive view of the future （ B） by recommending caution in predicting the future （ C） by showing how luck influences future success （ D） by drawing parall
44、els between the past and the future 四、 PART FOUR 20 Read the article below about an attempt to buy part of a company. Choose the correct word to fill each gap from 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. There is an example a
45、t the beginning (0). Data International To Keep WavertreeData International, the heavily indebted book and music retailer, has shelved plans to sell its Wavertree book (0)_to Morris Media, after the two sides failed to come to an agreement on a price. Morris Media, which had been negotiating with Wa
46、vertree for over a year, had come forward with a 【 C1】 _ of close to 200 million for the business. Data International is thought to have wanted closer to 300 million. Disagreement arose over the level of working 【 C2】 _in the business, coupled with problems of the rising cost of bank debt needed to
47、help 【 C3】 _the purchase.It is believed that the directors of Data International backed away from the sale as Wavertrees 【 C4】_had begun to improve. Last year Wavertree 【 C5】 _profits of around 30 million before interest, tax and depreciation, on sales of around 400 million. Some observers believe t
48、hat Data International is playing for time in the hope that Wavertree will 【 C6】 _from a hefty increase in sales in the key end-of-year period which may help 【 C7】 _ the price that the company can ask for Wavertree if talks resume some time in the new year.A representative of Data International said
49、, Sales at our music stores increased by 6% in the first quarter of the current financial year while Wavertree saw an increase of 9.5% over the same period. The company remains 【 C8】_to Wavertree and the vote taken by the board to 【 C9】 _Wavertree for the foreseeable future was 【 C10】 _Example: A wing B chain C market D section 21 【 C1】 （ A） contract （ B） deal （ C） pledge （ D） bid 22 【 C2】 （ A） capital （ B） assets （ C） investments （ D） cash 23 【 C3】 （ A） fund （ B） pay （ C
