1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 50及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 A Bank of America announced that it was ready to repay the $ 45 billion it received in government bail-out money, which will finance by selling $ 18. 8 billion in securities and tapping $ 26.2 billion of “excess liquidity“. The bank had to demonstrate to the
2、Treasury that it was stable enough to obtain investment through the markets. By exiting the Troubled Asset Relief Programme, BofA will be free of many of the restrictions imposed on it, including on executive pay, which is said to be hampering the bank from appointing a successor to the outgoing chi
3、ef executive, Kenneth Lewis. B The Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting following pressure from the government to take steps to counter deflation and the strengthening yen; the currency recently hit a 14-year high against the dollar. The central bank announced a ￥ 10 trillion ($115 billion) progr
4、amme of new lending in three-month funds at a rate of 0.1% , which as officials said was similar to the quantitative-easing measures it employed earlier this decade to fight deflation. But the sum fell short of market expectations. C Directors at the Royal Bank of Scotland threatened to resign if th
5、e British Treasury prevented them from paying 1.5 billion ($ 2.5 billion) in bonuses at its investment-banking unit. Some British bankers have stepped up their criticism of what they say is overbearing government influence in matters of pay and compensation. D Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank o
6、f England, revealed how close Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS came to collapse in October 2008. After Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, both banks had trouble raising funds in the markets and turned to the central bank, which lent them 62 billion ( $103 billion) in emergency aid. Mr. King reveale
7、d the details of the rescue now because both companies are considered to be stable. In 2007, news that Northern Rock received loans from the state led to a run on the bank. E The European Central Bank said it would tighten its rating standards for the asset-backed securities that euro-area banks use
8、 as collateral when seeking liquidity from the central bank. The move forms part of the ECBs plan gradually to withdraw the emergency measures it introduced during the financial crisis. 1 This bank provides circulating funds to other banks of different countries. 2 This bank faces stress to take mea
9、sures to drive down the currency. 3 This bank introduced emergency measures to fight against the monetary crisis, 4 This bank plans to raise funds to reimburse the capital injected by the government. 5 The government tried to restrict this banks attempt to award its staff. 6 This bank suffered a run
10、 as a result of the exposure of some news. 7 This bank wants to maintain full control of itself. 8 This bank succeeded in bailing other banks out of their financial crises. 二、 PART TWO 8 Effective Banking Supervision Effective supervision of banking organisations is an essential component of a stron
11、g economic environment in that the banking system plays a central role in making payments and mobilising and distributing savings. The task of supervision is to ensure that banks operate in a safe and sound manner and that they hold capital and reserves sufficient to support the risks that arise in
12、their business. Strong and effective banking supervision provides a public good that may not be fully provided in the marketplace and, along with effective macro-economic policy, is critical to financial stability in any country. While thecost of banking supervision is indeed high, the cost of poor
13、supervision has proved to be even higher. Banking supervision should foster an efficient and competitive banking system that is responsive to the publics need for good-quality financial services at a reasonable cost. Generally, it should be recognised that there is a trade-off between the level of p
14、rotection that supervision provides and the cost of financial intermediation. (9) Supervision cannot, and should not, provide an assurance that banks will not fail. In a market economy, failures are a part of risk-taking. (10) Such matters cannot therefore always be entirely the responsibility of ba
15、nking supervisors; however, supervisors should have in place adequate arrangements for resolving problem bank situations. 1. Providing sound and sustainable macro-economic policies are not within the competence of banking supervisors. Supervisors, however, will need to react if they perceive that ex
16、isting policies are undermining the safety and soundness of the banking system. (11) Therefore, sound macro-economic policies must be the foundation of a stable financial system. 2 A well-developed public infrastructure needs to cover the following facilities, which, if not adequately provided, can
17、significantly contribute to the destabilization of financial systems: A system of business laws including corporate, bankruptcy, conttact, consumer protection and private property laws; Comprehensive and well-defined accounting principles and rules that command wide international acceptance; A syste
18、m of independent audits for companies of significant size. 3 Effective market discipline depends on an adequate flow of information to market participants, appropriate financial incentives to reward well-managed institutions and arrangements that ensure that investors are not insulated from the cons
19、equences of their decisions. (12) 4 Sufficiently flexible powers are necessary in order to effect an efficient resolution of problems in banks. (13) Where they are not, the prompt and orderly exit of institutions that are no longer able to meet supervisory requirements is a necessary part of an effi
20、cient financial system. Forbearance, whether or not the result of political pressure, normally leads to worsening problems and higher resolution costs. 5 Deciding on the appropriate level of systemic protection is by and large a policy question to be taken by the relevant authorities, particularly w
21、here it may result in a commitment of public funds. (14) In order to preserve the operational independence of supervisors, it is important to draw a clear distinction between this systemic protection role and day-to-day supervision of solvent institutions. A In the absence of sound macro-economic po
22、licies, banking supervisors will be faced with a virtually impossible task. B The way in which failures are handled, and their costs borne, is in large part a political matter involving decisions on whether, and the extent to which, public funds should be committed to supporting the banking system.
23、C Where problems are remediable, supervisors will normally seek to identify and implement solutions that fully address their concerns. D Supervisors will also normally have a role to play because of their in-depth knowledge of the institutions involved. E The lower the tolerance of risk to banks and
24、 the financial system, the more intrusive and costly supervision is likely to be, eventually having an adverse effect on innovation and resource allocation. F Off-site monitoring can often identify potential problems, particularly in the interval between on-site inspections. G While thecost of banki
25、ng supervision is indeed high, the cost of poor supervision has proved to be even higher. H Among the issues to be addressed are corporate governance and ensuring that accurate, meaningful, transparent and timely information is provided by borrowers to investors and creditors. 三、 PART THREE 14 Build
26、 Your Team in Negotiation 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 b
27、lurts out: “Just 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 a
28、cross-the-table strategies. 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 lesso
29、ns learned from the 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
30、 Its not surprising 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
31、technically on the 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 t
32、heir differences 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
33、 for managing conflicts 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.
34、People dont want 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
35、bigger picture. To 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
36、extra mile to engage 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
37、he went back and 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 ma
38、inly want to express? （ 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 di
39、sagreements inside 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 preparat
40、ion （ D） ineffective 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 doe
41、s the author say 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）
42、There is no need 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 emplo
43、yees 20 What will 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 lea
44、der 四、 PART FOUR 20 A corporate culture or companys culture is its personality. It tells people how to do their work. It takes its signals from leaders. It (21) motivation, morale, creativity, and marketplace success. How do you manage it? Company culture is the (22) personality of the organisation.
45、 It determines how members act, how energetically they (23) to teamwork, problem solving, innovation, customer service, prodactivity, and quality. It is a companys culture that makes it safe or not safe for a person, division or the whole company to (24) issues and solve problems, to act (25) new op
46、portunities, or to move in new, creative directions. A companys culture is often at the root of difficult people-related problems such as motivation, morale, absenteeism, communications, teamwork, retention, injuries, and insurance claims. Because a companys culture affects everything in it includin
47、g profits culture is the real bottom line. A company with a well-developed culture, open to all that its members want to bring, easily (26) competitors. Culture and personality are similar. When people describe a national, regional, or organisational culture they use words that can (27) a person. Fo
48、r example we might say that a culture is “friendly“ or “tough“ . It might be “driven and aggressive“ . It might be “active“ , “analytic“ , or “open“ . (28) a culture is created every time a group of people come together to form a team, a company will have many sub-cultures that exist within its main
49、 culture. For example, the marketing and technology teams may have different worldviews, jargon, work hours, and ways to do things. A big (29) for todays company is to create a strong, (30) corporate culture that pulls all of the sub-cultures together and ensures that they can work as a unified team. （ A） undermines （ B） emphasises （ C） underlines （ D） underlies （ A） common （ B） distinctive （ C） innovative （ D） influential （ A） submit （ B） contribute （ C） attend （ D） participate （ A） join （ B） take （ C） raise （ D） discuss （ A
