商务英语(BEC)考试高级阅读真题及答案

商务英语

(BEC)

考试高级阅读真题及答案题 目

PART ONE

Questions 1

–

8

Look at the statements below and at the five reports about companies on

?

the opposite

page

from

an

article

giving

advice

to

self- employed

consultants

about

negotiating

fees

for

their

services.

Which book (A, B, C,D or E) dose each statement 1

–

8 refer to ?

?

For each statement !

–

8, make one letter (A, B, C,D or E) on your Answer

?

Sheet .

You will need to use some of these letters more than once .

?

Example :

0 Lack of self-confidence will put you at a disadvantage in a negotiation .

0 A B C D E

1. This company has been involved in diversifying its business activities.

2. Although this company is doing well, it has a number of internal difficulties to deal

with

3. This company has reduced the profits it makes on individual items

4. One statistic is a less accurate guide to this company’s performance than another

5. The conditions which have helped this company are likely to be less favourable in the

future

6. This company’s share

price has been extremely volatile over the last twelve months

7. This company is likely to be the subject of a takeover bid in the near future

8. This company’s performance exemplifies a widely held belief

A

1

/

13

Chemical Company

Masterson’s interim

pre-tax profits growth of 20% was somewhat inflated as a result of

the

income

received

from

the

disposal

of

several

of

the

company’s

subsidiaries.

The

underlying

8%

rise

in

operating

profits

is

a

more

realistic

gauge

of

the

company’s

true

progress.

However

,

Masterson’s impending merger with Bentley and Knight and its appointment of a new chief

executive

should

mean

that

the

company

will

be

able

to

sustain

growth

for

the

foreseeable

fut5ure.

The share price has varied little during the course of the year and now stands at

￡

6.75

B

Hotel Group

During the past year the Bowden Hotel Group has acquired 77 new properties, thus doubling

in

size

.

last

week

the

group

reported

pre-tax

profits

of

￡

88

million

in

the

first

six

months

of the year, ahead of expectations and helped by a strong performance from its London-based

hotels and newly expanded US business. However. There is still some way to go. Integration of

the

new

acquisitions

is

still

not

complete

and,

while

the

share

price

has

risen

recently,

major

problems with integration have yet to be solved.

C

High-tech Company

This time last year a share in Usertech was worth just over

￡

1. six months ago it was

worth

￡

40. today it is priced at under

￡

8 . if proof were need, here is an illustration

of

how

much

of

a

lottery

the

technology

market

can

be.

But

some

technology

companies

are

fighting

back and Usertech is one of them . What has renewed excitement in the company is the opening

of its new American offices in Dallas and its ambitious plans to expand its user base in both

North and Latin America.

D

Building Company

Renton’s share price has risen gradually over the past year from ￡

2.4 to

￡

3.8 . The

company

has

been

successful

in

choosing

prime

location

for

its

buildings

and

has

benefited

from

the buoyant demand for housing. Whilst this demand is expected to slow down somewhat during

the next year, investors are encouraged by the company’s decision to move into building

supermarkets. Work has already begun on two sites in London, and the company is expected to

sign a contract within the next month for building four large supermarkets in Scotland.

E

Pottery Manufacturer

Milton Dishes has been through a shake- up over the past year. The group, which has been

cutting margins and improving marketing, may post a small profit this year. The many members

of the

Milton

family, who between them own 58 per cent

of

the business,

have been watching

the

share price rise steadily and several are looking to sell. Trade rival Ruskin has bought up

just over 17 percent of the shares and could well be spurred into further action by the signs

of a recovery at the firm.

[NextPage]

答案

:

1 D 2 B 3 E 4 A 5 D 6 C 7 E 8 C

这种类型的题不过是一个句子换一 种说法，关键是看对每一段话的理解。我们看一下

1

到

8

在说什

么，然后到

A

到

E

中寻找答案。

1.

该公司正在对其商业活动进行多样化。

2.

尽管该公司业绩不错，内部也有 一些困难需要处理。

3.

该公司单个产品收益减少

4.

一项 统计数据对该公司的表现不像另外一个那样有准确的指导作用。

5.

曾经 帮助过该公司的环境在将来可能就不那么好了。

6.

该公司的股票价格在过去的一年 里变化很大。

7.

该公司未来很可能会被收购。

8.

该公司的表现让人很有信心

那么，再读一下

A

到

E

表达的什么意思，很容易对号入座

3

/

13

Questions9

–

14

Read the text about career-planning services.

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 .(0)

Your Career Path Can Lead You Anywhere

We used to be advised to plan our careers. We were told to make a plan during the later

stages of our education and continue with it through our working lives.(0)_____ some people

still see careers in this way. However, to pursue a single option for life has always been

unrealistic.

Planning

for

a

single

career

assumes

that

we

set

out

with

a

full

understanding

of

our

likes

and dislikes and the employment opportunities open to us. (9)____ For most people this degree

of certainty about the future does not exist.

Our initial choice of career path and employer is often based on inadequate knowledge and

false

perceptions.

But

with

age

and

experience,

we

develop

new

interests

and

aptitudes

and

our

priorities alter. The structure of the employment market

and, indeed

of

employment itself, is

subject to change as both new technologies and new work systems are introduced (10) _____ We

must face the uncertainties of a portfolio career.

It is clear from the recent past that we cannot foresee the changes which will affect our

working lives. The pace of change is accelerating , as a result of which traditional career

plans

will

be

of

very

limited

use.

(11)_____

They

will

need

updating

to

reflect

changes

in

our

own interests as well as in the external work environment. Flexible workers already account

for about half the workforce. (12)______ We are likely to face periods as contract workers,

self-employed freelances, consultants, temps or part-timers.

Many

employers

encourage

staff

to

write

a

personal

development

development

(PDP)

(13)_____

Although some people

use it only

to review the skills needed for

their job, a PDP could be the

nucleus of wider career plan

–

setting out alternative long-term learning needs and a plan of

self-development.

A report issued by the Institute of Employment Studies advises people to enhance their

employability by moving from traditional technical skills towards the attainment of a range

of

transferable

skills.

(14)_____

Instead,

special

schemes

should

be

established

to

encourage

people to examine their effectiveness and to consider a wider range of needs.

0 A B C D E F G H

A This dual effect means that the relationship between employers and workers has evolved

to such and extent that we can no longer expect a long-term relationship with one employer.

B.

It

carries

an

implicit

assumption

that

we

ourselves,

and

the

jobs

we

enter,

will

change

little during our working lives.

C.

This

growth

suggests

that

a

career

plan

should

not

be

expressed

only

in

terms

of

full- time

employment but should make provision for the possibility of becoming one of the.

D this is a summary of one’s personal learning needs and an action plan to meet them.

E Consequently, they must now accommodate a number of objectives and enable us to prepare

for each on a contingency basis.

F

However,

it

warns

that

employers

often

identify

training

needs

through

formal

appraisals,

which take too narrow a view of development.

G . Such a freelance of consultant would be constantly in demand.

H We were expected to work towards that one clear goal and to consider a career change as

a bad thing.

[NextPage]

答案

:9 B 10 A 11E 12C 13D 14F

9.< /p>

本段是说在职业生涯中设立一个单独的目标的影响。而且首段也说了

assume

，根据前后文，应该

选择

B

。

10.

本段说了一些不确定的因素来说明在职业生涯中一直追求 一个目标不切实际。

而空白前面说的是

就业市场结构，