1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 12及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and at the five extracts from an article about what they should try to learn and how effective organizational learning takes place and is translated into action. Which article (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement 1 8 refer to? Fo
2、r each statement 1 8, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet. You will need to use some of these letters more than once. A The learning organization is one where the organization is developing the core competencies that will give it competitive advantage in the marketplace. These cor
3、e competencies are of two kinds: technical competencies which provide the key to the organizations market position; and management competencies which are vital to its performance as an integrated organization. B The key aspects of individual management development, such as recruitment, training, car
4、eer development, job rotation, special assignments, meaningful work, relevant reward systems, need to be embedded in organizational systems, structures, values and policies and consistently applied in practice. In a learning organization, management development is not an on again, off again activity
5、. C An organization full of change effective managers only, or of operational managers only, is likely to be headed towards bankruptcy. A balance is needed between operational and reshaping competencies. Part of that balance needs to be found within individuals, part of it in the respective strength
6、s of individuals, and parts within the embedded processes and resources of the organization. This has important implications for the placing of managers in jobs and also for moving them when their key skills are no longer so relevant and the managerial needs of their positions change. It also has im
7、plications for the composition of top teams. Unless the top team includes some powerful members who are committed to 10ng-term performance, the organization is unlikely in the longer term to build those reshaping competencies that will ensure its own renewal that is, to become a learning organizatio
8、n. D Forward-looking organizations are increasingly identifying potential change leaders early in their careers, giving them responsibilities for smaller change projects and the opportunity to work closely with effective change practitioners so that they can develop the range of reshaping competenci
9、es that the firms increasingly need. Some firms are also taking some of their most effective managers off-line and giving them project responsibilities that encourage them to augment their existing high levels of operational competencies with reshaping competencies. Ensuring that many managers at cr
10、itical stages of their careers have the experience of managing transitions is vital to developing a managerial mindset that balances the relative importance of maintaining effective ongoing operations with transforming them. It is this mindset that supports the need for current performance with the
11、openness to change that underlies a learning organization. E In some cases, reshaping competencies may detract from immediate business results. Reshaping competencies requires considerable investment of resources, effort and time sometimes for little or no immediate benefit. Their expected benefits
12、are often difficult to quantify or measure and the results only show up over time. Furthermore, continual investment is needed to maintain them. The benefits of creating learning organizations do not come free. They also do not come unmanaged. To be effective in meeting the organizations purposes, o
13、rganizational learning needs to be a managed process and organizational learning a key responsibility of top management. The creation and use of reshaping competencies, both personal and corporate, is the key characteristic of the learning organization. 1 The development of individual managers must
14、itself become a corporate competence. 2 Courses can make an important contribution but need to be combined with apprenticeship, experiential learning and mentoring. 3 That a firm succeeds or not depends on what it chooses to do rather than the environment it operates. 4 Reshaping competencies adds l
15、ittle to immediate business results. 5 A firm performs well if it develops a “distinctive competence“ over time. 6 A company needs to give its managers as many opportunities as possible to access other tasks. 7 Reshaping competencies may not bring great benefit to the corporation immediately. 8 Mana
16、gers do not need identical sets of competencies. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read this text taken from an article about the importance to companies of not losing their employees knowledge. 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
17、Answer Sheet. Do not use any letter more than once. Protecting the corporate memory Many companies risk losing expertise through job cuts. But by analysing how staff interact, they may be able to minimise the damage. Many staff have knowledge which is essential to their company. So what can business
18、es do to avoid losing that expertise when staff leave, and to dissuade employees from keeping their knowledge to themselves in the face of possible job cuts? First, they need to recognise the problem. A downturn in the economy exposes many companies lack of commitment to understanding and using thei
19、r peoples knowledge. When companies feel theyre in a crisis, it is one of the things that goes by the board. Unless, that is, theyve made it a routine or suffered because of losing knowledge in the past. Next, any attempt to stop knowledge walking out of the door must be handled sensitively. (9) Emp
20、loyees would be extremely cynical and see it as an attempt to extract their unique knowledge, which they believe gives them job security. Strong incentives are needed to coax people into divulging their expertise when being dismissed. (10) At first sight, this might seem excessive, but the disadvant
21、ages should be weighed against the benefits. Of course, not all knowledge can be captured by the organisation and turned into a process. (11) To find out who these knowledge hotspots are, companies need to question their staff and analyse their social networks. Companies shouldnt ask employees what
22、they know, but who they would ask if they wanted to know about different subjects. (12) And, more importantly, the process reveals the others who always know somebody who knows. The latter can be high on the list for redundancy because managers are unsure what they do, or because they appear to be w
23、eak performers. (13) People like this are often not ambitious but they can hold a company together. The most valuable knowledge is often not possessed by the people who seem to be star performers. If those at the centre of knowledge networks come to be seen as the most valuable people, those who kee
24、p their knowledge to themselves will look vulnerable when downsizing is deemed necessary. (14) In such companies, the incentive to share knowledge should be even greater when jobs are under threat. For some companies, it may be too late to salvage important knowledge. Building a culture where knowle
25、dge is understood, valued and shared can take a long time. Now may be the time to prepare for the next downturn. A. Organisations that reward people for sharing knowledge will know who falls into each of these two opposing categories. B. This approach enables them to identify those with a limited nu
26、mber of network relationships. C. Launching a knowledge-sharing initiative at a time when people are expecting redundancies would not be a good idea. D. This provides evidence of the risk that such a policy will meet resistance. Because of the difficulty of achieving this, it is far better not to lo
27、se the valuable sources of knowledge at all. But a knowledge mapping exercise might reveal that they play a critical role as mentors to the rest of the team. G. The price may be an increase in their redundancy package, provision of career counselling, or an agreement to hire them back as consultants
28、. H. When companies feel theyre in a crisis, it is one of the things that goes by the board. 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the following profile of Bruce Petter, the new Director of the Management Consultants Association (MCA), and the questions on the opposite page. For each question (15-20), mark one lett
29、er (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Bruce Petter has not always been an executive. He started his career pumping petrol at a filling station, as he explains: After I left the army, my friends father, who was Managing Director of a petrol company, recommended that I go into the oil industry. My g
30、reat- uncle was running our own family petrol company, and I learnt the ropes at a petrol station. I subsequently married the daughter of the Marketing Director but this did not make for the happiest of scenarios. Depending on which side of the family they came from, my relatives thought I should su
31、pport either my great-uncle or my farther-in-law, so I decided the time had come for me to leave the warring factions to fight it out among themselves and move on. He became founding Director of the Petrol Retailers Association. But after a few years he decided, I was getting to the stage where I wa
32、nted to move on again, so when I heard about the Management Consultants Association (MCA) post, I applied. He was aware that the selection process for the head of any trade association would, by definition, be protracted because of the difficulty of getting very busy people with mainstream business
33、interests together. The association had 30 member companies at the time, representing a large proportion of the best-known names in the sector, and they all wanted to have a look at this individual who had applied to represent their interests, so I saw an awful lot of the membership. His principal a
34、rea of expertise, he feels, is in running a trade association and the briefing that he has been handed suggests that this will be of prime value. If you were to ask me if I was ever going to be an expert management consultant, the answer would be no. But I am, I hope, able to articulate their views,
35、 to push through policies they want to see in operation and to improve their image. I hope to make management consultancy a powerful voice in government and industry. The President of the MCA confirms what landed Petter the job. We saw a lot of people, but there were three things in particular that
36、impressed us about Brace. His experience of running a trade association was key and it seemed to us that he had a good understanding of how to relate to and inspire a membership made up of very busy partners, often in very large but also some considerably smaller firms. We are also aware that manage
37、ment consultancy is not always portrayed in a favourable light and he has done quite a bit of work on public image and has some very positive views in this area. So, Mr Petter has taken over from retiring Director Brian ORorke, and a change of mood is now in the air. ORorke was at the helm for 13 ye
38、ars and his successor is reticent when it comes to predicting how his own approach will differ. Brian did a magnificent job of sustaining the Association, of holding it together through thick and thin. I detect a but in his voice. But? I think if you ask anybody who or what the MCA was under his dir
39、ection, the temptation would be to say “Brian ORorke“. Petter feels his own style will be very much determined by the objectives of the members: he sees himself as a channel for those aims. I dont want the MCA to be perceived as Bruce Petters empire, but rather the members empire, he says. Mr Petter
40、 clearly has a difficult task ahead, but many of his staff will welcome a more open, modem style and theres every indication he will be a success. 15 What do we learn about Bruce Petter in the first paragraph? （ A） He likes to think of himself as a loyal person. （ B） He has a negative view of family
41、-run businesses. （ C） His military background came in useful later in his career. （ D） An awkward situation influenced the development of his career. 16 When Petter applied for the post of Director of the MCA, he knew that （ A） a decision was likely to take a long time. （ B） not everyone in the Asso
42、ciation was interested in him. （ C） he would have to face intense competition. （ D） some members would oppose his appointment. 17 What does Petter believe he is able to change? （ A） the views the MCA holds on industry （ B） the way in which the MCA decides on policy （ C） how the MCA is perceived by o
43、ther people （ D） the MCAs relations with other trade associations 18 Which of the following does the MCA President mention as a reason for appointing Petter? （ A） his ability to motivate members of an association （ B） his experience of working in different trades （ C） his broad network of business c
44、ontacts （ D） his previous work in management consultancy 19 The writer notices that, when Petter talks about his predecessor, he （ A） expresses some regret for how the Association dealt with him. （ B） thinks he had been there for too long. （ C） questions changes he made within the Association. （ D）
45、indicates he has mixed feelings about his leadership style. 20 Petter says his aim as Director of the MCA is to （ A） modernise the Association. （ B） carry out the Associations wishes. （ C） set an example of firm leadership to his staff. （ D） expand the membership of the Association. 四、 PART FOUR 20
46、Read the article below about how to read a balance sheet. Choose the best word from A, B, C or D to fill each gap. For each question 21-30 mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. HOW TO READ A BALANCE SHEET A balance sheet is not like a Profit and Loss ac- count, which is a record of th
47、e activity transacted in a year and the profits (or losses) produced as a result. A balance sheet can be (21) of as a photograph, a moment (22) time, (usually the last day of the companys financial year), which shows exactly what the business owns. These may be buildings, cash, stocks or debts, i.e.
48、 amounts of money (23) to the business by customers. A balance sheet may change from one Year to the next if, for example, a company sells one of its factories, if it (24) more money from its shareholders, if it repays some debt to the bank, or if it builds up its inventory of (25) goods. But whatev
49、er happens to the composition of the assets of the business, any overall change in as- set (26) is reflected in me balance sheet. There is one further (27) to be made. Although the principle of a balance sheet is to have assets on one side and liabilities on the other, the fact is that-especially for public companies-shareholders want to be able to see What their (28) in the company is worth. So a tradition bas (29) up which has meant that Creditors is actually moved to the assets side as a negative amount. Structuring the
