1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 74及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 A. Metris Companies, Inc. Metris Companies, Inc. (MCI) provides financial products and services throughout the United States. Its primary line of business is the credit card business. The Companys credit card products are primarily unsecured credit cards issu
2、ed through a subsidiary, Direct Merchants Credit Card Bank, National Association. These credit cards generate consumer loans, which, in turn, generate income and cash flow from principal, interest and fee payments. The sales of the Companys other consumer financial products, such as credit protectio
3、n products, generate additional cash flow. MCI targets primarily middle-market customers. Direct Merchants Bank obtains information about prospective customers in the middle market from credit bureau information as well as from other third-party sources including other companies customer lists and d
4、atabases. B. Lowes Companies, Inc. Lowes Companies, Inc. is a home improvement retailer, with a specific emphasis on retail do-it-yourself (DIY) and commercial business customers. Lowes specializes in offering products and services for home improvement, home decor, home maintenance, home repair and
5、remodeling and maintenance of commercial buildings. As of the end of the fiscal year ended January 30, 2004, Lowes operated 952 stores in 45 states, with approximately 108. 8 million square feet of retail selling space. A typical Lowes home improvement store stocks more than 40,000 items, with hundr
6、eds of thousands of items available through its special order system. Each store carries a selection of national brand name merchandise. C. Altamira Mgmt. Ltd. Founded in 1969, Altamira is an independent investment management firm and has long been recognized as one of Canadas leading fund managers.
7、 Currently, with over $16 billion under management, Altamiras innovative investment style has proven successful in all asset classes. There is a constant sharing of ideas and insights among the team. The companys success is dependent on this ideas driven environment, with investment managers from al
8、l disciplines being constantly encouraged to participate with their views and opinions. D. Pankow Since 1963, Pankow has maintained an enviable position in the building industry with an unsurpassed record of performance, value and quality. As a veteran and pioneer of the Design-Build project deliver
9、y system, Pankow boasts a legacy of on time and on budget performance that is respected by clients and peers alike. Pankow is known for its use of innovative management techniques, maintainenance of strict cost and quality controls and as a pioneer of new construction methods. A key to Pankows succe
10、ss is a melding of two proven concepts active participation in the design process by highly experienced personnel and a comprehensive quality control program throughout construction execution. E. EDS EDS, the worlds most experienced outsourcing services company, delivers superior returns to clients
11、through its cost-effective, high-value services model, EDS core portfolio comprises information technology and business process outsourcing services, as well as information technology transformation services. EDS complementary and subsidiary business is A. T. Kearney, one of the worlds leading high-
12、value management consultancies. It supports the worlds leading companies and governments in 60 countries. Here are the numbers: Employees: more than 130,000 2003 revenues: $ 21.5 billion Ranked 80th on the Fortune 500 1 The company orients itself towards medium-market clients. 2 The companys subsidi
13、ary business is management consulting. 3 The company attaches importance to team spirits. 4 The company doesnt deal with wholesale. 5 The company collects customer information through a variety of ways. 6 The company enjoys the reputation of advanced management style. 7 The company belongs to the Fo
14、rtune 500. 8 The company is an excellent building design firm. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read the article below about successful e-mail negotiation. 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
15、 than once. Successful E-mail Negotiation Given that you are involved in a negotiation that must proceed via information technology, how can you best achieve your goals? The following prescriptions are important. Most people overestimate the ability of other people to make sense out of what they mea
16、n. People have a hard enough time deciphering our messages in face-to-face interactions; accuracy decreases dramatically in e-mail exchanges. Many people assume that longer means clearer. It does not. People have a slant attention span and often dislike long e-mail messages, or perhaps even stop rea
17、ding them if they began to fall off of the screen. Must people are capable of only retaining seven, plus-or-minus two, ideas in their head at any one 6rae. As a general rule of thumb, most e- mail messages should fit on a single screen. Screen loading, or the tendency to write very long message can
18、lead to annoyance on the part of the recipient, especially if be or she is busy. Negotiations are more productive when the parties exchange a greater number of shorter e-mails, rather than fewer, but longer e-malls. (9) This also builds reciprocity in exchange. The asynchronous nature of e-mail prov
19、ides people with the dubious luxury of not having to immediately receive of respond to e-mail messages. However, the sender of e-mail messages often expects a timely response. Not responding to e-mail may be perceived as rejection and disinterest. Further, newer forms of software allow senders to as
20、certain whether the recipient has read their e-mail. Failure to provide a timely response to e-mall is akin to giving the “silent treatment“ to someone. (10) . Meta-communication is communication about communication. This boils down to people talking about how they should communicate. (11) In any el
21、ectronic communication, it is important to let team members know how often you check your e-mail, whether you or someone else reads and responds to your e-mail, and whether you forward your e-mail to others. Flaming refers to the insults, criticisms, and character assassinations that people hurl ove
22、r e-mail. Flaming remarks make fun of grammar, include labeling and accusations, character attack, backhanded compliments, and blunt statements. (12) . In contrast, face-to-face groups have mechanisms and norms, such as conformity pressure, that largely prevent flaming. People react to each other wi
23、th less politeness, empathy or inhibition if they cannot sense the others social presence. (13) . There is more uncertainty, doubt, and ambiguity in electronic mail exchanges. (14) .As a consequence, people become frustrated and seek to control the exchange by issuing threats, e.g. “I am not going t
24、o read my e-mail again“. Along lines, do nut chastise or deliver negative feedback via e-mail; face-to-face or telephone communication is more appropriate. A Such and other negative interpersonal behaviors often stem from feelings of isolation. B This stems from the asynchronous nature of communicat
25、ion. C Increasing the rate of e-mail exchange prevents misunderstanding because misperceptions can be quickly rectified. D This will result in the failure of communication. E Suspicion and hostility increase as the communication between parties diminishes. F Negotiators are much more likely to issue
26、 threats when communicating via information technology. G Most people overestimate the ability of other people to make sense out of what they mean. H This is of critical importance in electronic interaction because the norms of mm taking and conversation are not clear. 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the foll
27、owing extract from an article about customer relations and the questions that follow. For each Question 15-20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. Customer relations describes the resources of a company be it a store, manufacturer, or service industry that
28、are devoted to discerning and then serving the needs of customers. In earlier times, this was known as the complaint department, the part of the operation that dealt with negative customer comments, returns, and other concerns. Renaming this function customer relations is more than a word game. It r
29、eflects the proactive nature of the department in modern industry and retailing. Customer service extends beyond sales and advertising to ensure that the company understands its customer base and what its customers really want. Customer relations works within the business to direct the quality of th
30、e product or service, its delivery, and advertising strategy to meet that need. This part of a business operation responds to customer inquiries and complaints and resolves problems so as not to lose customers; at the same time, customer relations works with the marketing department to attract new c
31、ustomers. The short answer to why so much attention should be paid to customer needs and dissatisfied customers is that such attention has been found to support long-term success. Some of the earliest such endeavors began with concern over product reputation as far back as the early days of the Indu
32、strial Revolution in the 1890s. Placing ones name on a product was considered to be a bond of tie between the customer and the merchant and/or the manufacturers. Over the years, many firms developed a policy of “the customer is always right,“ finding that it was more profitable to take a small loss
33、and keep a customer than to argue with customers about alleged defective products or problems that occurred with staff. Firms developed complaint departments to deal with customers who had bad experiences with products or services. As consumer consciousness grew in the late twentieth century the foc
34、us of the industry shifted from dealing with dissatisfied customers as they complained, to a more active approach of reaching out to discover why the complaint was made, to ensure that the dissatisfied customers remain customers, and to study each case and improve the product or service and the way
35、in which it was delivered to customers. In the 1960s the complaint department began to be known as the customer relations department. Customer relations departments still take on complaints. The advent of toll-free numbers makes it easier for people to register complaints and praise. Customers who p
36、hone in praise for or complaints about a product are often offered free coupons and recipes for that product. Studies of the customer relations movement show that the shift to an aggressive policy of customer study is more than “nice“, it is profitable for business. Resources expended in the custome
37、r service area are more than offset by savings from customers not lost. Goodwill toward all customers reaps tangible rewards in the form of increased profits for business. In a study of service industries, Ron Zemke cited two studies by Technical Assistance Research Institute (TARP) in Washington D.
38、 C. , on consumer complaints. TARP found that one in four customers was upset enough about a product or service or both to seek an alternative business for that product or service. Of those unhappy customers, however, only five percent had bothered to complain. The other 95 percent just voted with t
39、heir cash by switching. To reduce the loss of customers in the future, customer relations tries to analyze the five percent who complained in order to understand the ninety-five percent who did not complain yet were unhappy. Customer relations must anticipate the needs of each individual customer, u
40、p and down the social scale, across the racial and cultural lines that make up the American melting pot. Zemke and others offer many strategies for building a good customer relations department. The best strategies involve learning as much as possible about the customer base and training staff well
41、as to what the customers want and the way they want it. Zemke and others show that a company with excellent service toward customers is one that understands the tie between employee relations and customer relations. A well-trained satisfied employee is better able to satisfy the needs of the custome
42、r. 15 In earlier times there was the complaint department that _ . （ A） deals with positive customer comments, returns and other concerns （ B） plays a word game with the customers who had bad experiences with products or services （ C） handles customers who were not satisfied with products or service
43、s （ D） directs the quality of the product or service, its delivery and advertising strategy 16 We can learn from the passage that the goal of the customer relations department is _ . （ A） to respond to customer inquiries and complaints （ B） to keep old customers and attract new ones （ C） to solve pr
44、oblems that customers have （ D） to analyze the quality of the product or service 17 Over the years, many companies developed a policy of “the customer is always right“ finding that _ . （ A） it was more profitable to argue with customers about alleged defective products （ B） to keep a customer at the
45、 expense of a big loss was worthwhile （ C） it was worth arguing with customers to defend the product or service （ D） to keep a customer at a small loss could bring more profit to the company 18 According to the passage, the complaint department was renamed the customer relations department _ . （ A）
46、in the 1960s （ B） in the 1990s （ C） in the 1890s （ D） in the 1970s 19 We can infer from the passage that _ . （ A） companies invest a lot of resources in the customer service area but get less profits in return （ B） those companies that set up customer service section can save a lot of resources and
47、go a long way （ C） offering good customer service is worthwhile as customers kept can bring more profits to the company （ D） goodwill towards all customers can get awards in the business competition for the company 20 The studies conducted by TARP on consumer complaints found that 95 percent of the
48、unhappy customers _ . （ A） phoned to complain about a product or service or both （ B） turned to buy products from other companies （ C） voted against the company from which they had bought defective products （ D） were annoyed enough to make complaints but continued to buy the product 四、 PART FOUR 20
49、Read the article below about market research. 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. Market Research Market research has become increasingly important in recent years. In some organisations, in fact, managers will not initiate any activity without market research to back them up. The first thing about market research is that it is not an (21) to management decision-making. No form of market research, no matter how deep, compli
