1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 65及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 A CAREER IN RETAILING Keeping the customer satisfied is central to the retail business. But how much job satisfaction can workers in the retail trade expect? Five people who work in retailing talk about their careers. A Steve Cain is deputy director of tradin
2、g for a large supermarket. He says, “When I moved into the retail sector I found it offered more tangible achievements and rewards than my previous business consultancy work. The power base has changed in the industry, and its the retailers who are now driving things forward. Before, buyers waited f
3、or the product to come in and negotiated the price with the manufacturers, but now in food retailing, its the retailers themselves who are developing their own brands and fixing prices, which makes it an exciting field to work in. B Virginia Clement is support and development manager for a large clo
4、thing department store. “This means I am responsible for all the buying and merchandising. This demands teamwork, and for me this is one of the most attractive aspects of working at head office. You have a lot of contact with people, from shop floor staff to suppliers. We work in a very open environ
5、ment and were very team orientated. Each team is responsible for getting a particular product to the store on time and in the right quantities.“ C Tim Edlund, who works in buying for a large clothing store, says, “The buyer has to have some flair for design, but balancing that, you need a strategic
6、view and business acumen. There are numerous factors influencing a buyers choice of product range for each season. I have to beware of current trends in the suppliers market, competitors activity and both local and global customer demand. I go all over Britain to keep abreast of this information. Wo
7、rking hours are very irregular, so its the complete opposite to a 9 to 5 job. It can be extremely exhausting, but I love it.“ D Diane Maxwell is buying controller for womens wear for a home shopping catalogue company. She says that, despite the hard work, her job remains varied and satisfying. “Ive
8、gained a huge range of skills with the company in various fields, both through formal courses and by means of on-the-job training. The scope of the buying role is extremely broad. Its not just about the product. The focus of the job is on producing a profitable range and that requires extensive busi
9、ness knowledge.“ E Jan Shaw is personnel director of a supermarket. She says,“What we really want to do in our company is taking on people with a real interest in trade rather than managers who only want to complete a job as fast as possible. Our new graduate recruitment programme aims to do exactly
10、 that. The induction programme introduces all aspects of working for our company, giving early responsibility and first-hand experience of the companys working culture. Career development within the company is based on general management skills rather than specialisation, so whatever department they
11、 are in, employees will focus on similar aims. 1 The way this market operates has been transformed. 2 New employees are given an overview of how the company works. 3 Ive increased my business expertise since joining the company. 4 I enjoy working in retail more than in my former job. 5 Working close
12、ly with other people is an important feature of this job. 6 Company training is organised so that all staff share common goals. 7 I need to keep up to date with developments in my field. 8 My business would like to employ only people genuinely committed to a career in retailing. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read t
13、his text taken from a business magazine.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 letter more than once.There is an example at the beginning, (0). Mary Diana was annoyed when a local laundry charged more to wash a
14、nd iron her white blouses than to clean her husbands white shirts. Actually, she was more than just annoyed. (9). Twenty-one of them quoted higher prices for blouses. Then she did an experiment. She cut the label out of a blouse, sewed in the label for a mans shirt, and took the blouse to the cleane
15、r along with three of her husbands shirts. The cleaner charged her $ 1. 25. (10). The cleaner charged her $ 2. 25. Mary feels that the cleaners pricing is unreasonable that they have prejudice against women and charge arbitrarily higher prices. (11). The president of the Association of Launderers an
16、d Cleaners in Marys state has a different view. “ The automated machine we use fits a certain range of standardized shirts. “ he said. “A lot of womens blouses have different kinds of trim, different kinds of buttons, and lots of braid work, and it all has to be hand-finished. If it involves hand-fi
17、nishing, we charge higher prices. “ In other words, some cleaners charge more for doing womens blouses because the average cost is higher than the average cost for mens shirts. (12). A consumer-protection specialist in the Attorney Generals office in Marys state said that there were no federal or st
18、are laws to regulate what the cleaners could charge. (13). Many firms face the same problem of how to set prices when the costs are different to serve different customers. For example, poor, inner-city consumers often pay higher prices for food. (14) . Some firms dont like to charge different consum
19、ers different prices, but they also dont want to charge everyone a higher average price to cover the expense of serving high-cost customers.A Later she did the same thing, but with a blouse that had the original label.B Of course, the cost of cleaning and ironing any specific shirt may not be higher
20、 or lower than the average.C But inner-city retailers also face higher average costs for facilities, shop lifting, and insurance.D She telephoned 33 cleaners and asked each ones price to launder a nonfrills, white cotton blouse the same style and size as a mans shirt.E Inner-city consumers enjoy bet
21、ter quality goods.F Mary wont take any actual measures to urge the government to pass such a law.G She said that customers who dont like a particular cleaners rates are free to visit a competitor who may charge less.H She wants her local city government to pass an ordinance that prohibits laundry an
22、d drycleaning businesses from discriminatory pricing based on gender. 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the following article about a British businessman and the questions. For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. George Kamp is the kind of tough English northerner who run
23、s things his own way. Contrary to what is normal in big corporations today, his company has no remuneration committee, it is short on part-time directors and it has no qualms about employing family members. Mr. Kamp is chairman and chief executive of the engineering firm William Kamp, which has been
24、 a family business since the middle of the last century. Until a week ago none of this would have made the headlines. But a rival engineering company has changed this with its 58 million hostile takeover bid, putting Kamps management style in the spotlight. Kamp is a fighter: “All my career, Ive bat
25、tled. Ive had to battle with customers and suppliers and management. “ This will certainly not be his first fight. In 1980, when borrowing money was costing more than 20 per cent, his father was in favour of closing the business. George was not; he forced his father off the board of directors and sa
26、ved the company. He says, “A difference of views arose. I said the company could either be run by me, or by him, but I couldnt stay there and implement his policy. There was a board meeting and he was persuaded to withdraw. “ He says his toughest battle was not taking on his father, but forcing his
27、160-strong workforce to accept automation at the factory in 1982. “I was really in a difficult position then. The management were against me, the men were against me. The change meant they would have to work a lot harder. I got them all together, and I just said, Weve got to make this work its all o
28、ur livelihoods at stake. I was determined to make this business work to save the British steel foundry industry. “ He won that battle, too. Rationalisations, cost-cutting, and a string of 14 acquisitions followed, and the loss-making family business became a recognised leader in the steel castings i
29、ndustry. Kamp makes running William Kamp sound like a military operation, and there is something in his clipped language which is irresistibly reminiscent of the army. His management style is unashamedly autocratic. “I have a very loyal team, and, yes, they have to work hard but they like it,“ he sa
30、ys. But unusually for a publicly quoted company, his loyal staff include his wife, Ellen, a lawyer who works as a consultant for the company. “Im not frightened of having to justify this,“ he says. The shareholders are getting a good deal out of his wife, he reckons, as the company would probably ha
31、ve to pay double for the same services from any other consultant. Kamp robustly defends his own pay and the generous terms of his contract. He reckons he is worth it. “There is a 5 million key man insurance policy on me, and some of our banking arrangements are dependent on me staying with the compa
32、ny. So the outside world reckons Im fairly important that isnt just my opinion. “ He describes himself as being like the captain of a ship, and he has a firm belief in experience rather than management theory. “Youve got to learn your management skills by practical experience; otherwise you confuse
33、delegating with passing the buck and you dont know when people are talking rubbish. I have the strength to fight off this takeover bid. For me its war. I am autocratic, because thats how you win. When you cut out all the emotion, its down to money. William Kamp is worth much more than this most infe
34、rior rival company has suggested. And I know I will be able to convince the shareholders of this. “ 15 Why is Kamps company in the news? （ A） He has problems with management. （ B） Another company wants to gain control of it. （ C） He is looking for new advisers to help run it. （ D） There have been co
35、mplaints about his management style. 16 When the company went through a difficult period in the early 1980s, Kamp （ A） considered resigning from the company. （ B） thought the company was going to go bankrupt. （ C） made his father give up his power over the company. （ D） persuaded his father to chang
36、e his policies. 17 Kamp says that he introduced automation at his factory because he （ A） wanted to make the future of the steel industry more secure. （ B） thought that his men were not working hard enough. （ C） needed to cut down on the running costs of the company. （ D） believed it would encourage
37、 team spirit in his workforce. 18 How does Kamp say he feels about having his wife working for the company? （ A） Embarrassed that people know about it. （ B） Certain that she is better than other consultants. （ C） Afraid that people will misunderstand her role in the company. （ D） Confident he can de
38、fend her contributions to the company. 19 With regard to his own position in the company, Kamp says （ A） people outside the company think hes overpaid. （ B） if he left, the company would lose some of its bank contracts. （ C） hes the most important member of the company. （ D） the value of his work ju
39、stifies an increase in his insurance policy. 20 Kamp says that his management style is characterised by （ A） being able to persuade shareholders to accept his point of view. （ B） showing no sign of emotion when dealing with financial matters. （ C） proving to his rivals that he is a strong leader. （
40、D） giving orders and expecting others to obey them. 四、 PART FOUR 20 Read the article below about the relationship between trade and development. 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 exa
41、mple at the beginning, (0). There is no doubt that the relationship between trade and development is one of the central policy (0) we face today. We live in a world where 50% of humanity lives on less than $2 a day . We live in a world (21) by massive inequality between nations. It is estimated that
42、 about 2 billion extra souls will share our crowded planet within the next 30 years. However, we face a world of incredible (22) and challenges. Trade and trade policy must play their roles as a part of a wider development scenario. And WTOs efforts to push forward this (23) must be strengthened and
43、 coordinated at all levels: national, regional, and (24). 1980s has witnessed the petroleum impact, debts crisis, prices slump, economic (25) in industrial countries and the climax of new policy for trade protection as well. However, in recent years, foreign trade in those developing countries has b
44、een back to the right (26) of remarkable increase, an indispensable force in leading the global economic growth and trade development. The foreign (27) trade policy of the developing countries further indicate that they are (28) entering the WTO family on a larger scale than ever before, which helps
45、 to protect their interests in WTO and take part in the formulation of new rules and (29) of WTO. Since 1990s, many developing countries, especially those East Asian and Latin American countries, have become an important force in the global economic (30). The fact that their economic capacity is gai
46、ning more and more strength leads to a more important role-playing in the WTO system.（ A） completely （ B） controlled （ C） characterized （ D） conquered （ A） risks （ B） dangers （ C） opportunities （ D） games （ A） plan （ B） agenda （ C） discussion （ D） product （ A） area （ B） replace （ C） locally （ D） int
47、ernational （ A） recovery （ B） recession （ C） remarkable （ D） regained （ A） traffic （ B） road （ C） way （ D） track （ A） oriented （ B） directed （ C） business （ D） economic （ A） rapidly （ B） hastily （ C） gradually （ D） blindly （ A） suggestions （ B） services （ C） systems （ D） regulations （ A） integration
48、 （ B） combination （ C） relationship （ D） revolution 五、 PART FIVE 30 Read the text below about playing games at work.For each question (31-40) write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet.There is an example at the beginning, (0).Playing Games at Work Many companies nowadays are finding tha
49、t playing games can (0) beneficial to their executives. Although (31) are certainly plenty of opportunities to play management games, it should not be thought that this is because business people are light-hearted. They are often quite (32) opposite, in fact. With all the pressures of modern business life, many people do not have the opportunity to relax. Games can allow individual self-expression and give business people the time (33) explore practical issues. Many team-based games take place outside. Here the facilitators t
