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剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文
目
录
BEC
高级真题集听力原文
(2010
版
)
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TEST 2
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TEST 3
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TEST 4
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TEST 5
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TEST 6
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TEST 7
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TEST 8
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1
BEC
高级真题集听力原文
(2010
版
)
TEST 1
第二辑
3 3 3
This is
the Business English Certificate Higher 2,
Listening Test 1.
Part One. Questions 1
to 12.
You will hear the introduction
to a seminar, called the Business Master Class,
about the use of
Information Technology
in the workplace.
As you listen, for
questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to
three words or a number.
After you have
listened once, replay the recording.
You now have forty-five seconds to read
through the notes.
[pause]
Now listen, and complete the notes.
[pause]
Woman:
Good morning everyone and welcome.
Thanks for coming. My name is Jane Watson
and I look forward to meeting you all
personally. Some of you are here just for today,
others, I know, will
be
attending for all three days. I’m just going to
say
a few words
on behalf of
my company who have organised this event, Global
Conferences plc. As
you
know,
today’s
seminar
is
The
Business
Master
Class,
to
be
conducted
by
our
distinguished guest who I will
introduce in a moment. But first a few quick
points of
organisation which
perhap
s you’d like to note. All the
sessions will take place in this
hotel
except for the last session on Tomorrow’s
Software, which will be at the New
City
Hotel. We will meet there at 2pm and this will
give us a chance to see in action
some
of the things we have been discussing. A map with
directions to the New City
Hotel is
available from me if you wish to make your own
way. Alternatively there will
be a bus
going there at 1.30pm. There is limited car
parking at the New City Hotel so
if you
wish to drive there you will need a permit. You
can get one from the conference
office.
Now to the reason we are
all here. We are very fortunate to have a seminar
today led
by Dr Martin Sangalli, one of
the most prominent and well-respected commentators
in
the
world
busines
s
community.
He’s
been
asked
to
advise
many
large
corporations.
He
is
a
specialist
in
the
strategic
use
of
Information
Technology
in
banking,
pharmaceuticals
and
retail.
He has
his
own
company
called
Logic
Solutions,
which
consults
with
some
of
the
biggest
names
in
the
world
of
business.
He
is
also
an
adviser
to Intertel and a non-executive director of Global
Conferences. Thousands of
business and
technology managers have benefited from reading
his best-selling book,
Intelligent
Change.
Always
inspiring
and
thought
provoking,
his
ideas
have
helped
hundreds of
organisations to gain a glimpse of the future. He
is Europe’s most famous
1
Man:
IT analyst. Dr Sangalli
- welcome.
Thank you Jane, for that
flattering introduction. I hope I can live up to
it. So to begin.
There
are
two
main
difficulties
facing
all
corporations
today.
Firstly,
how
to
make
themselves more customer-driven.
Secondly, and as a result of that, is the question
of
how to go about the major task of
developing and implementing new organisational
structures. This is a senior management
session and is designed to provide you with
two things. I hope that by the end of
the session you will be equipped to design your
own
framework
for
action.
To
help
you
do
this
you
will
also
be
able
to
take
away
documentation of real-
life
case studies that I’ve been involved in. So, if
you would
like to look at the screen...
[pause]
Now listen to the
recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part One. You now
have twenty seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part
Two. Questions 13 to 22.
You will hear
five different business people talking about trips
they have recently been on.
For each
extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For
each question 13-17, choose the
purpose
of each trip, from the list A-H. Now look at Task
Two. For each question 18-22, choose
the problem described, from the list
A-H.
After you have listened once,
replay the recording
You
now have thirty seconds to read the two lists.
[pause]
Now listen, and do
the two tasks.
[pause]
Man:
Of course, I was looking forward to it.
I mean, it meant seeing the results of quite a
lengthy
process
to
find
the right
person,
which
I
myself
had
invested
quite
a
lot of
time
in.
It’s
a
demanding
post,
with
a
lot
of
responsibility.
I
think
the
potential
we
thoug
ht we’d spotted is
being realised, and that she’s going to deliver
the sort of new
initiatives we hoped
for. She’s already got the team adapting to her
approach. But I
did feel a bit stupid
in the meeting, sitting there without the right
figures. I just ca
n’t
believe I didn’t pick up the chart. I
could still see it, sitting on my desk.
Woman:
Well, the whole thing
was a serious challenge, and if I’m honest I
didn’t really feel up
to it in the
first place. It wasn’t a good time to be going
away from the offi
ce, and I
certainly didn’t feel happy, being
asked to present pretty different ideas at this
stage of
the
game.
I
completely
understand
that
the
last
thing
they
wanted
was
to
have
someone
dropping in from above, as it were, and saying,
oh, well, we’ve deci
ded to
change the rules, etcetera. They’d been
applying the system as it was in good faith.
2
And then I was
just so tired. What with the wedding celebration
going on in the hotel,
I definitely
didn’t get enough rest, and that left me
disorientated, so I und
erperformed.
Man:
I wasn’t happy to be
going out there when there was so much that had to
be dealt with,
just
left
there
on
my
desk.
My
secretary’s
extremely
good,
but
she
can’t
do
the
impossible, obviously. But it was
clearly crucial to get some kind of idea of what
it
looked like, whether we were on to
the right kind of thing. Getting the right
location
and space is vital. I’m more
or less convinced that this is right for what we
want. It
will attract customers. The
trouble is, I had out-of-date
architect
’s plans with me, so I
kept
getting
confused
about
the
dimensions.
But
the
hotel
staff
were
really
helpful
when we were trying
to get the up-to-date stuff faxed through.
Woman:
It’s
the
first
time
I’ve
been
over
there
since
we
decided
to
go
ahead
with
the
expansion and I must say I was
impressed with the number of really good
candidates
there were. It really is a
good region, in terms of being able to attract and
recruit the
right people and I’m
confident we chose
the right people. I
wish the same thing was
true for
the other branches. What I just can’t
believe is that
I managed to set such a
bad example by arriving a whole hour
after we should have started. I felt like a real
fool, going on about heavy traffic,
when I’d never accept that kind of excuse
myse
lf!
Man:
They
said it was all different, and they certainly
weren’t wrong! I could hardly believe
some of it! It’s definitely
eye
-opening to see what policy can mean
in reality. But the
way they’re
applying it, I mean the actual techniques, really
is impressive. I didn’t say
anything,
of course, just took my notes, and I will be
drawing up my report as soon as
I can.
FI1 definitely be recommending that some of their
ways of going about things
get applied
in the other branches. It was confusing at the
same time, I have to admit.
They were
showing me all these graphs, different models of
analysis, and I couldn’t
really follow
that way of presenting the data. And then that
guy’s accent! Great hotel,
though.
[pause]
Now listen to the
recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part Two.
[pause]
Part
Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You
will
hear
part
of
a
conversation
between
a
management
consultant
and
the
Human
Resources manager of Jenkins, a company
which manufactures
children’
s
clothing.
For each question
23-30, mark one letter, A, B or C, for the correct
answer.
After you have listened once,
replay the recording.
You have forty-
five seconds to read through the questions.
[pause]
3
Now listen, and mark A, B or C.
[pause]
Woman:
Good morning, nice to meet you. Do sit
down.
Man:
Thank you.
Woman:
Now,
you’re
Human
Resources
manager
of
Jenkins,
aren’t
you?
Give
me
some
background on the company - so I get a
general picture.
Man:
Stephen
Jenkins
founded
the
company
nearly
thirty
years
ago,
and
named
it
after
himself,
and
he
ran
it
for
a
long
time.
Last
year
one
of
our
competitors
proposed
combining, with the
idea that separately the two companies were too
small to survive.
They were probably
right, but anyway Stephen turned down the offer.
Then, because
he was getting on, he
handed over the day-to-day running to his
daughter, Catherine,
while retaining
full control himself.
Woman:
And you make children’s clothes, don’t
you? Aren’t there problems in the
sector?
Man:
Well, we mostly sell to retail chains,
which sell them under their own brand labels.
Things aren’t as easy as they were,
what with cheap imports, and the more expensive
children’s
boutiques
making
inroads
at
the
top
end
of
the
market.
But
we
position
ourselves in the middle range, so we’re
not too badly affected. We’re under increasing
pressure to cut our profit margins,
though, because of growing competition between
High Street retailers.
Woman:
What would you say is
the company’s strength?
Man:
It certainly helps that we supply those
large retailers I mentioned, and in fact some of
them
have
been
customers
for
years.
I
suppose,
though,
that
we
wouldn’t
have
survived this long if it wasn’t for the
fact that we won’t send anything out unless it
meets
very
exacting
standards.
Our
customers
appreciate
that,
plus
the
fact
that
we
aim to
keep the time from order to delivery very short,
and they’re prepared to pay a
premium
for it.
Woman:
What about
weaknesses?
Man:
Well, we’ve
got a poor record in providing training on the
machines we’re currently
using. And I
have to say that Stephen used to run the company
in a very old-fashioned,
autocratic
way,
which
alienated
a
lot
of
the
workers.
Despite
Catherine’s
more
enlightened
approach,
it’s
an
uphill
struggle
to
try
to
change
attitudes
and
improve
co-
operation.
Woman:
Never an
easy task!
Man:
No.
Woman:
You
mentioned
on
the
phone
that
there’s
a
problem
with
a
particular
group
of
workers.
Man:
Yes, there’s a very
high turnover among the machinists, that’s the
people who actually
make the clothes.
They say they’re faced with
unr
easonable demands all the time, like
having to learn to operate several
machines instead of just one or two. Many of them
4
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
[pause]
Now listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of
Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer
your answers to your Answer
Sheet.
Note: Teacher, stop the recording here
and time ten minutes. Remind students when there
is one
minute remaining.
[pause]
That is the end of
the test.
TEST 2
第二辑
3 3 3
This is the Business
English Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 2.
5
think they
could get an easier job for the money, because
there are plenty of other jobs
on offer
locally. The reasonably healthy state of our order
books gives them a certain
amount of
job security, but they just don’t seem to
care.
How’s their work
organised?
We’ve changed to
a ‘sectionalised flow’ approach, which means the
machinists work
in teams. Rather than
each machinist being assigned a complete item of
clothing, the
work is divided into
batches involving various operations, each of them
undertaken by
one
machinist.
As
that
person
finishes,
the
work
is
passed
on
to
the
machinist
responsible for
the next stage.
Has that had any impact
on what you produce?
Yes, it’s enabled
Catherine to introduce a policy of rapid
diversification of the product
range,
so the number of itemised clothes has leapt.
That’s the total number of different
styles, in all the different
sizes. And that’s reduced batch sizes:
long runs on an item
are a thing of the
past. At least half the styles used to be carried
through from one year
to the next, but
now only a quarter are, so as you can see, it’s
had quite an impact on
the rate of
change.
What’s the effect on the
machinists?
That policy was
part of a raft of changes, one of which is that
the machinists are now
paid on a
piecework basis, rather than at an hourly rate.
They’re furious about that,
though
to
be
fair,
the
rate
th
at’s
paid
for
learning
to
use
a
new
machine
has
been
calculated so as to make sure that no-
one loses out in the short term. And
they’re also
aggrieved
because
so
much
is
new,
and
far
more
batches
of
work
fail
quality
inspections and have
to be redone.
Now tell me something
about training...
Part One. Questions 1
to 12.
You will hear a consultant
giving a talk to a group of UK business people
about exporting to the
United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
As you listen, for
questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to
three words or a number.
After you have
listened once, replay the recording.
You now have forty-five seconds to read
through the notes.
[pause]
Now listen, and complete the notes.
[pause]
Man:
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the
fourth in our series of brief country profiles for
companies who are thinking of extending
their trading activities into new areas. Our
chosen
country
this
afternoon
is
the
United
Arab
Emirates
or
UAE.
Now,
in
geographical
terms
it
is
relatively
small
but
what
makes
it
very
significant
in
commercial terms is its high purchasing
power. The two most important cities, from a
commercial point of view at least, are
Dubai City and Abu Dhabi City, particularly the
former.
It
is
important
to
remember
that
the
UAE
has
always
been
a
distribution
centre through
which goods pass to neighbouring countries.
Another point is that in
recent
years
the
UAE
government
has
made
the
legal
framework
much
more
user-friendly by
simplifying commercial law.
What are they like as people to trade
with? What are they looking for from you, the
potential
exporter?
Firstly,
UAE
customers
are
very
knowledgeable
about
the
latest
trends.
They’re
not
interested
in
last
year’s
fashions
or
produ
cts.
They
are
only
interested in the most up-to-date,
high-quality products at a keen price.
Like everyone else they don’t like
unreliability, whether in terms of getting the
goods
there
when
you
promised
them
or
the
performance
of
the
product
itself.
Above
all,
however,
they
insist
on
your
meeting
their
high
expectations
regarding
after-sales
service.
And
being
a
small
market,
geographically
speaking,
businessmen
tend
to
know each other, so once
you do a good job for one customer, then the news
travels
fast
round the UAE
and you’ll soon be getting orders
from
other agencies or whatever,
because
they’ve
heard about you. But be warned
- it also works the other way!
Another point to bear in mind that’s
true of
nearly all markets, but,
believe me, it is
parti
cularly true of the
UAE: don’t imagine
mailshots or emails
are going to produce
good
results. Local businesspeople don’t
just prefer a
personal visit, they
insist on it;
it’s the only
approach possible.
Now, how
to get started: so what are the various ways of
selling goods and services in
the UAE?
What I would recommend, to make your first
contacts, is attending a trade
fair -
one of the many held in Dubai. Having made your
contacts, there are various
options
open
to
you.
The
most
popular
way
to
start
is
with
direct
sales
to
local
contractors. This method is fine for
one-off deals or where you just want to try things
6
[pause]
Now listen to the
recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part One. You now
have twenty seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part
Two. Questions 13 to 22.
You will hear
five different people talking about the relocation
of their business premises.
For each
extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For
each question 13-17, choose the
reason
given for deciding to relocate the company
premises, from the list A-H. Now look at Task
Two.
For
each
question
18-22,
choose
the
problem
described
that
arose
after
the
relocation,
from the list A-H.
After you
have listened once, replay the recording.
You now have thirty seconds to read the
two lists.
[pause]
Now
listen, and do the two tasks.
[pause]
Man:
It
seemed
like
the
right
thing
to
do
at
the
time,
and
it
has
paid
off
in
some
ways.
Certainly, we did need to make savings
in order to compete with other companies. We
were paying out far too much on basic
services. It just wasn’t allowing for realistic
profit
margins.
Well,
the
new
premises
are
attractive.
The
whole
place
looks
much
smarter, more in line
with the image we’re looking to project. And
there’s no problem,
yet, with getting
the customers in. It’s pretty busy, in fact. The
advertising does seem
to be helping to
keep the products moving. But in terms of
staffing, while there’s no
problem
recruiting
them
round
here,
it
is
proving
tricky
to
get
their
skills
up
to
standard. We’re just too busy dealing
with the customers to have time to work on
that.
Man:
It’s
gone
fairly
well.
I
mean,
it
was
never
going
to
be
straightforward,
shifting
an
operation
of
this
size
somewhere
completely
different.
Anyway,
it
had
to
be
done,
because
so much of the shopfloor was empty. We just didn’t
require that sort of area
for
the
equipment.
The
suppliers
seem
to
have
adapted
well.
Productivity’s
up,
the
managers are happy, the
facilities aren’t perfect, but they’ll do. What we
didn’t do was
to properly predict how
many new operatives we’d be needing, and that does
mean
7
out.
On
the
other
hand,
if
you’re
thinking
of
supplying
goods
or
services
to
a
government
body
then
you’ve
got
to
have
a
local
agent.
Lastly,
there’s
the
branch
office
option or the possibility of going into a joint
venture with a local partner. It is
always an expensive option, and the UAE
is no exception in this. In general, I would
advise exporters to gain at least five
years’ experience in t
he
case of the UAE before
opening a branch
office there, although of course there could be
exceptions to this.
Now as far as
import documentation is concerned...
that
the
ones
we
have
got
are
having
to
do
far
too
much
overtime
to
make
up
the
shortfall. Still, I hope the new
adverts will attract a new wave of applications.
Woman:
I don’t know
-
I just can’t get used to
it. Everything’s so different here. Not just the
building, although of course that’s a
big factor.
But it’s also
their ways of going about
things.
It’s
a completely different corporate
cultur
e they’ve
brought with
them. I guess
it must be a recipe
for success, otherwise they wouldn’t
have been
able to buy us out.
But it would help if this place
was better. I mean, the whole
building’s so ugly. Just to
look at it
when you arrive in the morning
makes
you feel depressed. And the canteen’s
too small for all of us, and there’s
only one lift. Most of the managers seem unhappy,
and I don’t blame them. I’m not sure
how long I’m going to stay, to be
honest.
Man:
I
feel we had little choice but to go. I think it
would have been very different if it had
been part of our plan. Right up until
the last minute, I thought we were going to be
able
to
renegotiate,
but
they
were
just
so
stubborn
about
the
terms,
so
it
was
impossible
to sign the renewal. Well, at l
east
we’ve finally got the computers, phones
and
so
on
sorted
out
–
that
was
a
real
nightmare
at
the
beginning.
And
the
paperwork’s back under
control, so the managers are looking a bit more
content. It’s a
pity it’s so
much harder to get to than the last
place, and it means more people are
inevitably turning up late. I’m really
not sure what to do about that side of
things.
Woman:
I
still don’t know if we made the right decision, to
be honest. I thought it was logical
at
the
time,
that
it
was
fairly
straightforward
to
shift
the
equipment,
arrange
a
new
lease, and
so on, and that we’d then be much better placed
for getting deliveries. And
that has
worked out OK; I mean, they are managing to get
things to us on time now,
with
the
shorter
distance
to
come.
But
in
the
food
business,
you
depend
on
your
reputation, and I think
that one bad review has done us an awful lot of
damage. We’re
just
not
getting
enough
customers
through
the
door.
The
waiters
are
spending
time
doing nothing, because of the empty
tables.
Now listen to the recording
again.
[pause]
Now listen to
the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part Two.
[pause]
Part
Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You
will
hear
two
managers,
a
man
called
Kevin
and
a
woman
called
Juliet,
discussing
candidates they have just interviewed
for a job.
For each question 23-30,
mark one letter, A, B or C, for the correct
answer.
After you have listened once,
replay the recording.
You have forty-
five seconds to read through the questions.
8
[pause]
Now listen, and mark A, B or C.
[pause]
Man:
Oof!
I’m exhausted!
Woman:
Me too! It’s so tiring, isn’t it
Kevin?
Man:
Yeah,
concentrating for that long.
Woman:
Well, we still have to decide who to
choose for the job.
Man:
While it’s still fresh in our
minds.
Woman:
It’s
such
a
responsibility,
isn’t
it?
I
mean,
even
just
remembering
who’s
who,
after
seeing
so many.
Man:
Twelve in a
day is a lot. But I can still picture them, what
with their application form
and
CVs
with
the
photos
to
remind
us.
The
real
problem
for
me
is
I
feel
I
end
up
comparing them to each other.
Woman:
Well, that’s only
natural.
Man:
Yes, but we should be relating them to
the criteria we’ve established, I mean keeping
to that system of judging their
suitability, and not letting our personal opinions
get in
the way.
Woman:
Mmm, not just saying oh, he was better
than him.
Man:
Yes. Well, by
any measurement I thought Michael White was
hopeless.
Woman:
Oh quite.
Though he was eager to please.
Male:
And he did say some intelligent things.
Woman:
But you just can’t
trust someone who’s not held down the same
position for more than
a year.
Man:
At the most! No,
absolutely, despite his list of qualifications,
definitely not.
Woman:
No.
That’s why I think the test...
Man:
The personality
profile?
Woman:
Mm, the
psychology one, is so helpful. It shows up that
kind of thing.
Man:
The
attitudes to management structures?
Woman:
Well, I was
thinking more
of how it
highlights attitudes, shows the reactions to the
dynamics of operating in groups.
Man:
I have to say I’m more
convinced by
the case study.
Woman:
Because it shows the
candidates in real- life situations?
Man:
Hmm,
I
was
thinking
of
the
insights
it
gives
you
into
what
they
think
is
most
important, the values they attach to
things.
Woman:
Because
they’ve got time to work it thr
ough
logically.
Man:
Yes, and I
think it’s vital...
Woman:
... given what the job involves. What’s
crucial for the position is the way he or she,
whoever
it
is,
is
going
to
handle
applying
developments
from
Head
Office,
new
approaches...
9
Man:
... significant
alterations in direction...
Woman:
...
of
strategy..,
that
are
going
to
define,
shape
how
the
company
develops
over
the
next few years. Because the IT
department will take responsibility for the
technology
side of things.
Man:
But it’s a question of
following one project through all its stages,
isn’t it?
Woman:
Yes. I do wish David...
Man:
Which David?
Woman:
David James, Development.
Man:
Now, he’s a good
manager.
Woman:
Yes, and that’s why we should have had
him here.
Man:
Absolutely. He’s so good at
i
nterviewing.
Woman:
I’ve never seen him conducting one,
actually.
Man:
But he wouldn’t have much direct
contact with the new person.
Woman:
No, but he did come
up with the specifications for the post.
Man:
Yeah, and so his input
would have been useful.
Woman:
Right. Anyway, he wasn’t, so it’s up to
us. Personally, I’d go for Elaine
Harris.
Man:
Me
too. Though her track record’s a little
short.
Woman:
True, and she does lack some of the
wider knowledge I’d like to have seen.
Man:
But she’s clearly a
quick le
arner.
Woman:
That’s the thing, isn’t it? Her
approach just seems right.
Man:
Very can-do.
Woman:
Mmm.
Man:
So that’s it?
Woman:
Yeah, and I’m
stressed out!
Man:
Well, if we’ve got it wrong, imagine
what it would cost in the end.
Woman:
Well,
that’s
life.
But
I
just
find
it
so
hard,
that
process
of
holding
all
the
various
factors in my head
simultaneously, balancing.
Man:
Yeah.
Woman:
Fitting it all together in my mind.
Man:
Well,
I’ll
send
David
an
email
tomorrow
morning.
I’m
in
early,
so
I
can
do
it
first
thing.
And then, assuming he’s in
agreement...
[pause]
Now listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of
Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer
your answers to your Answer
Sheet.
[pause]
Note: Teacher, stop
the recording here and time ten minutes. Remind
students when there is one
minute
remaining.
10
[pause]
That is the end of
the test.
TEST 3
第二辑
3 3
3
This is the Business
English Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 3.
Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
You
will
hear
a
spokesperson
telling
a
group
of
business
people
about
the
Business
Support
Agency- an organisation which
distributes business and research grants.
As you listen, for questions 1 to 12,
complete the notes, using up to three words or a
number.
After you have listened once,
replay the recording.
You now have
forty-five seconds to read through the notes.
[pause]
Now listen, and
complete the notes.
[pause]
Woman:
Thank
you
everybody,
thank
you.
The
Business
Support
Agency
or
BSA
are
very
proud of the p
art we play in
the development of business success. Today I’ll
give you
a bit of background on the
Agency, and then outline the steps involved in
applying for
support. OK?
What
we
do,
basically,
is
distribute
financial
support
from
our
funds,
which
come
from the central government Department
of Education on the one hand, and then that
sum is matched - the amount fluctuates
on a yearly basis
–
by
contributions from a
number of
multinational
companies. We then follow
the procedures I’ll be
outlining in
a
moment.
Some
examples
of
this
work,
if
you’re
interested,
can
be
seen
in
our
annual report
-
I’ll leave copies out for you
to
look at. Since we began,
we’ve given
out
over
three
hundred
grants.
We
made
twenty
awards
last
year
alone,
and
expect
that
figure to rise to twenty-
five next
year. But we’re not simply
giving this
money
away - our criteria are strict.
So, how do you apply? Well,
there are four steps to making an application. In
the first
place,
you
should
get
in
touch
with
our
Project
Coordinating
Office.
You
can
call
them on 0188 45
45 45 and express your interest.
They’ll then
send you an application
form.
It’s
quite
a
lengthy
document,
I
must
warn
you,
and
you’ll
need
to
fill
in
information
about
the
history
of
your
company,
outline
your
requirements,
and
include the predicted benefits. That
gives us the beginning of a picture and enables us
to make an initial decision about
whether to proceed any further. The third step
would
be
having
a
meeting
with
one
of
our
regional
consultants.
This
involves
talking
through your ideas for development if
you get the grant and should help you to focus
clearly on your exact needs. And the
fourth step is producing a full plan, which needs
11
to include all costs and dates. By this
time, both sides will have a very clear picture.
Now,
all
this
obviously
takes
up
quite
some
time,
and
you
need
to
think
carefully
about which
personnel within your organisation are going to be
available to put in the
necessary work.
OK, well that’s then your role finished for the
time being.
Meanwhile, we
continue to go through your plans in detail.
Ultimately, whether or not
you
get
a
grant
will
be
decided
by
our
central
committee.
This
consists
of
representatives from our funding bodies
and a panel of experts. For logistical reasons,
they
only
meet
every
three
months,
so
it
can
take
a
while
for
you
to
hear
from
us.
Now, assuming you are
successful - and around eighty per cent of
applications are -
the BSA will be
looking to fund seventy per cent of your overall
requirement. That
proportion
is
up
from
a
maximum
of
sixty
per
cent
last
year.
The
payment
will
be
made in quarterly instalments. This has
proved to be the most generally useful method
all round. The last job for you will be
coming up with a progress review, which you
need to do at the end of the first
year. Right, well, are there any questions?
[pause]
Now listen to the
recording again.
[pause]
That is the end 6f Part One. You now
have twenty seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part
Two. Questions 13 to 22.
You will hear
five different people talking about changing their
jobs.
For each extract there are two
tasks. Look at Task One. For each question 13-17,
choose the
reason for changing jobs,
from the list A-H. Now look at Task Two. For each
question 18-22,
choose the problem area
in the new workplace, from the list A-H.
After you have listened once, replay
the recording
You now have thirty
seconds to read the two lists.
[pause]
Now listen, and do the two tasks.
[pause]
Man:
I’d
been feeling for some time that a move was
overdue, and
I suppose it was just the
fact that I thought I’d miss the
friendliness of the place that held me back. But
in the
end I realised that I could
spend my life there and not move up the ladder -
you could
see how the roles with
responsibility were filled by p
eople
who weren’t themselves
about to move
on. I’m glad overall
- I can see my
role will continue to develop here,
and
I’ve had no second thoughts
- the only
drawback is that it is a bit chaotic here. So
even though I’d say I was pretty
effective at meetin
g deadlines, there
are others who
aren’t, and their
inability to sort out each day’s tasks can create
bottlenecks that cause
frustrations.
12
Woman:
I
was
getting
tired
of
the
sense
of
doing
the
same
thing
over
and
over
again
and
decided
it was time to ring t
he changes. I’m
pleased I did, because I’ve got a greater
range of responsibilities now, and it
means my skills and abilities are put to better
use.
It is a smaller outfit, of course,
and the MD does rather keep himself to himself,
but,
generally, I like the independence
that leaves me, particularly with such high-
quality
support staff. On the other
hand, something that should be addressed here is
the issue
of assessment -
the system here isn’t actually very
relevant to what people actually do,
so
sometimes
you’re judged on the wrong
issues.
Man:
I’d
been looking around for some time, but it wasn’t
until
I went to see a recruitment
onsultant that I began to focus my
aims. I suppose it’s not surprising
- I
was doing so
many different things that
it was actually quite hard to work out what the
core of the
job was -
but it
was certainly at some distance from what I’d spent
so long studying,
and the consultant
helped me to realise my dissatisfaction came from
under-using that
background. So I do
feel a lot more focused here. One drawback, I
guess, is the failure
to
make
the
most
of
all
the
IT,
so
that,
for
example,
I
end
up
sitting
here emailing
away to
colleagues who can’t even be bothered to reply
o
- react.
Woman:
Well, I’d been convinced for quite a
while that my old company wasn’t moving
in
the
right direction. But
of course it was only me that seemed to think
so... everyone else
was perfectly happy
trundling along. So I was delighted when this
opportunity came
up, the chance to
properly investigate market trends, even if it
meant a greater number
of trips. Some
people might think it dull, but I get a lot out of
it. I have to say I’d get
even more out of it if I thought they
had the big picture a bit clearer in their heads.
At
the moment no-one knows what to do
with my findings because the Board
don’t know
where they’re going long
term.
Man:
Hm,
well
I
was
feeling
stuck.
It’s
not
that
I’m
hugely
ambitious
-
I
guess
I’d
be
looking at re-training myself if that
was the case - but certainly my interpersonal
skills
w
eren’t
being
used
to
their full
extent. All
I’d
ever
done
was
deal
with
one
or
two
suppliers occasionally,
whereas now I’m meeting clients and
other
contacts on a daily
basis,
which
is
what
I
was hoping
for. The
downside
is
that
my
lack
of knowledge
about
computers
is
beginning
to
show.
This
place
is
so
well
equipped
with
all
the
latest
software
that
I’m
a
bit
out
of
my
depth.
In
my
defence,
I’d
say
it
wouldn’t
matter
so
much
if
they
had
more
than
one
poor
overworked
guy
that
you
could
contact to ask for
help when something goes wrong.
[pause]
Now listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of
Part Two.
[pause]
13
Part Three.
Questions 23 to 30.
You will hear Tania
and Jerry, two managers from a furniture
manufacturer, have just attended.
discussing a meeting they have just
attended.
For each question 23-30, mark
one letter, A, B or C, for the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay
the recording.
You now have forty-five
seconds to read through the questions.
[pause]
Now listen, and mark
A, B or C.
[pause]
Woman:
Whew, what a meeting! Were you as
surprised as I was, Jerry?
Man:
You bet. When the Chairman called us to
it, I thought it might be about the takeover
that
there
have
been
rumours
about,
but
I
didn’t
expect
anything
like
the
Chie
f
Executive
being forced out.
Woman:
No.
It
doesn’t
seem
fair
to
blame
him
for
the
American
project
not
making
much
money, when it hasn’t had long to
establish itself. And I can’t see why the Board
have
decided to end it now. After all,
they didn’t seem wo
rried earlier this
year, when the
markets panicked about
it and our share price dropped.
Man:
And
fancy
Keith
Barnes
becoming
Chief
Executive!
Did
you
know
he
joined
as
a
trainee, thirty years ago?
Woman:
Yes, he certainly
knows the company, but he’s had very little time
in positions that’ll
help him as Chief
Executive. I doubt if he’s got what it takes to
run a big company
like this. If you ask
me, the Chairman wanted to make an internal
appointment, and
Keith was in the right
place at the right time. Well
we’ll see
how he turns out, but I
reckon he’ll
only keep the job for as long as the Chairman’s
behind him.
Man:
Yeah, you’re probably right. And what
about these new plans Keith talked about? It
seems pretty risky to expand into areas
where we’ve got no e
xperience or
expertise.
This
company
has
been
making
furniture
for
years,
and
we
ought
to
stick
to
what
we’re
good at, and maybe expand through
acquisitions.
Woman:
Well, it might be a good idea.
Man:
I know our market
share’s growing, but the strategy sti
ll
relies too much on low prices
to
attract customers. What we really need to do more
is to make people want our beds
and
furniture because they’re special, not because
they’re cheap.
Woman:
You mean moving into niche markets?
Man:
I’d describe it as
stayi
ng in the mass market, but
standing out from the rest.
Woman:
Right. Consumers are becoming more
demanding these days, after all.
Man:
Exactly. What about you, Tania? How do
you feel about your new responsibility?
Woman:
It’s going to be
quite a challenge,
I reckon. I mean,
sorting out the reorganisation of
the
business into divisions sounds simple enough, but
I suspect it’ll produce plenty of
headaches.
And
with
several
brands
to
deal
with,
some
of
which
cut
across
the
14
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
[pause]
Now listen to the
recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part Three. You now
have ten minutes to transfer your answers to your
Answer
Sheet.
[pause]
Note: Teacher, stop the recording here
and time ten minutes. Remind students when there
is one
minute remaining.
[pause]
That is the end of
the test.
TEST 4
第二辑
3 3
3
15
divisions, it’s going to be pretty
complicated. I suspect it’ll be tough to finish it
in the
time
I’ve
been
given.
And
of
course,
congratulations
on
becoming
Export
Sales
Manager, Jerry.
Thanks.
You don’t sound very
enthusiastic. Don’t you want the job?
Oh yes, it’s just the
sort
of challenge I need. Something to get my teeth
into, and the
chance
to
use
what
I
learnt
when
I
was
in
Export
Sales
before. But
there
are
other
people who’ve stayed in the department
who might resent me going back into it over
them.
Well,
surel
y if you work closely with them,
they’ll realise you’re all right?
Yes, I’m sure I can do it. I just need
to get things off on the right foot right from the
beginning.
So will you be
involved in the TV advertising campaign that Keith
talked about?
I hope not! It’s all very
well promoting our cabinet furniture brands, but I
think the
money would be better spent
on pushing bed sales: that’s the side of the
business that
needs more consumer
awareness.
Right. I can see why they’ve
picked
this time to plan a campaign, as
advertising costs
are relatively low at
the
moment, but
I agree,
they haven’t got the plan quite right.
Actually I’m not very happy about the
way they’ve allocated money in general.
You aren’t going to turn down the
p
ay rise, are you?
No, I’m
not that idealistic. And of course it’s right to
spend money on new products
and
machinery.
But
we’ve
been
asking
for
ages
for
better
facilities
for
the
factory
workers in particular, and it doesn’t
look as though much is b
eing done for
them.
Maybe if we keep pressing for
that...
This is the Business English
Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 4.
Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
You
will
hear
a
representative
of
a
company
which
organises
trade
fairs
for
academic
recruitment. She is
talking to a group of prospective clients.
As you listen, for questions 1 to 12,
complete the notes, using up to three words or a
number.
After you have listened once,
replay the recording.
You now have
forty-five seconds to read through the notes.
[pause]
Now
listen, and complete the notes.
[pause]
Woman:
OK... well thank you
very much everyone. First of all I’d like to
introduce myself and
my company. I’m
Paula Shandling from Praxis Academic Recruitment
Fairs and I’m
here today to tell you a
little about our operations in various parts of
the world and the
specialist
services
we
offer
to
make
our
exhibitions
well
known
for
being
cost
and
time
effective
-
reaching
your
target
audience
with
the
minimum
of
effort
on
your
part.
Now
firstly
I
should
explain
that
the
main
geographical
area
we
serve
is
Central
America. But, and, I
understand this is the area of interest for most
of the audience
here today, we are
currently expanding into South-East Asia.
Right, regarding our
exhibition package, we believe we offer a very
comprehensive
deal to the prospective
exhibitor. We have found over the years that
clients prefer to
have
a
self-
contained
package
rather
than
spending
time
negotiating
add-ons.
And
because
of
this
we
have
been
able
to
keep
the
cost
to
a
minimum.
And
what
that
includes is, as you can see, the
exhibition stand. Of course, you can’t
get very
far in
an
exhibition
without
one
of
those
–
and
also
full
materials
delivery.
We’ll
get
everything
to
the
venue
for
you
safely.
And
a
very
popular
recent
addition
to
the
package
has
been
the
local
trade
guide.
This
has
proved
very
successful
because
it
includes
lots
of
specific
information
about
local
conditions
-
hours
of
work,
past
patterns of enrolment in situ,
etcetera, etcetera.
Now, as
well as the full package on site, as it were, we
are well aware that one of the
most
wasteful and demotivating aspects of fairs from
your point of view is the time
spent
dealing with casual enquirers. For this reason we
have been developing over the
past two
years what we call
a ‘filtering
system’. By this we mean our set of
strategies
developed
to
virtually
guarantee
that
enquirers
at
your
stand
are
genuine
potential
customers i.e. mature individuals with
the appropriate means, and all this means that
you maximise quality contact with
potential customers. Now, how our filtering system
works is through our targeted
advertising and what this essentially means in the
case
of academic recruitment is to run
adverts in academic journals, which of course we
research
thoroughly
to
keep
up
to
date,
and
secondly
through
our
own
website.
A
16
recent
development
has
been
the
service
we
offer
to
put
your
business
information
onto our website
a month in advance of the fair and retain on the
site for six months.
Right now, there
are other features of our fairs which we adapt to
local conditions
–
what
we call
‘context
-
sensitive’
features. They are, as
you can see,
suitable opening
times that means you
have access when needed and that can make a lot of
difference
to the number of people
attending, plus our interpreter service,
particularly useful for
undergraduate
enquirers
wishing
to
take
advantage
of
language
support
services
in
your institutions.
A few practical details now - you can
get more information from the publicity leaflet
which I distributed at the beginning of
the talk. This will tell you about venues and
about special services and finally
about costs.
[pause]
Now
listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part One. You now
have twenty seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part
Two. Questions 13 to 22.
You will bear
five different people speaking about changes in
personnel in their place of work.
For
each extract there are two tasks. Look at Task
One. For each question 13-17, choose the
reason for the change in personnel from
the list A-H.
Now
look
at
Task
Two.
For
each
question
18-22,
choose
the
action
that
has
been
taken
as
a
result, from the list A-H.
After you have listened once, replay
the recording.
You now have thirty
seconds to read the two lists.
[pause]
Now listen, and do the two tasks.
[pause]
Man:
It’s
a shame in many ways because Andrew was doing an
excellent job and was a very
useful
member of the team. The truth is he’s probably
contributed more than anyone
else in
terms of sheer energy and ideas to the projects
he’
s worked on. Certainly, he
was a lot more popular with the team
than his predecessor, in fact he’s so good with
people
from
different
backgounds and
different
countries,
he
used
to
make
me
sick
sometimes. But having said that, he was
less good at getting on with superiors, I mean
you can’t keep disagreeing with your
line manager over quite basic matters. It’s just
not on. There was too much conflict.
The company had to choose between the two of
them.
So
he’s
paid
the
price,
but
he
won’t
have
any
problems
ge
tting
a
new
job.
Anyway
Margaret won’t be doing anything urgent, until
they decide what to do about
a
new
appointment.
She
had
planned
a
two-week
break
starting
yesterday
but
now
17
that’s all been put off
for two or three months.
Woman:
Well, we knew she was
a high-
flyer from her previous company
and she’s impressed
the Board with her
results, especially in the last six months. She
can extract the main
arguments
from
long
documents
in
no
time.
Other
people
have
to
study
them
for
hours. Certainly, we need more
people like her at the top. I didn’t
think it’d be this
quick, but it’s true
that she’s the person to make an impact. However,
it does create a
few
headaches
for
us,
because
the
MD
wants
her
to
start
at
Head
Office
almost
straight away. What’s happening is
we’re putting back the dates for the Canada Report
and for the big meeting on the new
training programme for four weeks by which time
we hope to have somebody in the post.
Man:
Remember
that
working
practices,
systems,
the
management
structure,
the
whole
culture
of
the
company
have
changed
a
great
deal
just
in
the
last
five
years.
Then
there’s been all the pressure and worry
of the takeover, and the longer working day
we’ve had since that time. It was a
shock when I first heard he’d handed his notice
in,
but
then
when
I
think
about
it
I’m
not
really
surprised.
I
don’t
really
know,
but
I
should think he now regrets not taking
early retirement when it was a possibility. And
don’t forget there’s the issue of his
wife’s health too, so I think John wants to
sor
t of
bring
forward
some
of
the
plans
he’d
made
for
retirement,
like
travelling
to
South
America and China. The
immediate consequence will be quite a few late
evenings for
his two deputies plus a
lot of weekend work, because the annual report has
got to be
sorted out by the end of the
month and there are quite a few other outstanding
matters
on the contract side.
Woman:
Martin has had quite
a bit of overseas experience, mainly on sites in
South America.
Nobody’s better at
getting on with local managers and
r
esolving conflicts between the
various parties working on a project.
In the situation we’ve got out there he’ll be just
the right man for the job. I’ve been
very impressed with everything he’s done since he
came to us, I think he’s got the
perfect mix of expertise and track record, but
we’re
going
to
miss
him
at
this
end.
Fortunately,
the
woman
we’ve
signed
up
to
fill
the
temporary gap is available for exactly
the period that Martin’s going to be away. She’s
been working for an electronics company
in France
that’s just been taken over
by a
German firm. Actually the boss met
her quite by chance the very day she was made
redundant. What could be very useful is
that she’s done quite a lot of budgeting work
on development projects.
Woman:
She’s a total
workaholi
c - always the first to arrive
at the office and the last to leave -
but she spends a lot of time at the
leisure centre as well. Mind you, we’ve all been
under pressure with the
re-
organisation, so it’s doubtless been
even worse for her in
Human Resources,
having to cope with so many
redundancies and resignations. It’s
something you only expect to happen to
older employees, isn’t it? Anyway it actually
happened
during
a
Finance
Committee
meeting,
but
the
medical
team
were
very
18
efficient.
Anyway,
let’s
hope
she
won’t
be
away
too
long!
There
are
a
couple
of
managers just back from
secondments. They’re going to do more of her work
at Head
Office, it seems, with
weekly visits. Everybody’s assuming it
isn’t too
serious.
[pause]
Now listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of
Part Two.
[pause]
Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You will hear part of a radio interview
with Paul Jefferson, who set up his own import
business.
For each question 23-30, mark
one letter, A, B or C, for the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay
the recording.
You have forty-five
seconds to read through the questions.
[pause]
Now listen, and mark
A, B or C.
[pause]
Woman:
Today
in
our
series
on
setting
up
your
own
business,
I’m
talking
to Paul Jefferson,
who
gave
up
his
job
as
a
college
lecturer
in
business
studies
to
start
an
import
business. Paul, what
made you do it?
Man:
Importing, because whenever I go abroad
I see things I’m sure would sell here. And
working alone, because I wanted to be
very hands-on, and do everything from finding
suppliers to selling.
Woman:
Did you set yourself a financial
target?
Man:
Well, nothing
specific. In the long term, it’d be great to have
plenty of money: I can
just see myself
with a big house and a yacht. To be honest I think
I might have quite a
wait, though. In
the meantime, I owe a bit of money, but it’s at a
level I can live with,
so I suppose
I’ll be happy when I’m earning enough to pay the
bills, with a little bit
over to be
able to eat out from time to time, and something
to plough back into the
business.
Woman:
And are you making
enough to live on yet?
Man:
No,
in
a
word. But
I’m
lucky,
I’ve
got
an
investor,
Sarah
Hall.
She
backs
me
with
enough to live on each month in return
for a share of my future profits. She’s
actually
a successful
importer herself, in a different sector, and she’s
given me a lot of useful
advice on
selling. Though I’ve mostly done things my own
way. But making a profit
is incredibly
difficult.
Woman:
Is that
because of competition?
Man:
I’m
not
quite
sure
what
the
competition
is,
really.
Actually
I
have
to
admit
I’m
hopeless
at
driving
a
hard
bargain,
and
I
know
some
of
my
suppliers
are
taking
19
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
[pause]
Now listen to the
recording again.
[pause]
advantage of that. So I have to pay a
lot, which makes it difficult to sell to customers
at a profit.
Are margins the
only problem?
Well not the
only one. You see, at first I tried selling lots
of different products to a
variety of
small shops, toyshops, jewellers, and so on. But I
got very few actual sales.
So then I
considered supermarkets. I managed to see a
product development manager,
who seemed
interested in my range of specialist food
products. But then I heard from
the
company
that
they
weren’t
going
to
order
anything
-
a
new
buyer
had
been
appointed - and if I contacted them
again in due course
, they’d
reconsider.
What happened next?
Out of the blue, a restaurant chain
placed a large order for food products. There was
some difficulty about the price, but
that was settled.
It sounds like a
turning point.
Unfortunately it
w
asn’t. The first consignment arrived
from my supplier, I called the
restaurant chain to fix delivery dates,
only to be told they’d stopped trading. That was
quite a blow.
I can imagine.
Then
I
persuaded
the
food
buyer
of
a
major
department
store
to
meet
me.
When
I
looked
around their food hall I could see they were
already selling everything I hoped
to
supply them with, and my heart sank. But then the
buyer said that they felt they
were
over-
dependent
on
their
existing
supplier,
and
had
decided
to
do
something
about it. So
that’s where I came in.
It
seems your original strategy, of offering
everything from toys to jewellery, didn’t
produce the volume of sales, or profit,
you needed.
I’d imagined that by
selling lots of different lines I’d get a good
spread of customers,
but
it
didn’t
really
work
out
like
that.
Now
I’m
increasing
my
turnover
by
concentrating on just a few lines that
I can sell to customers in the same sector. And
with food, there are plenty
of retailers out there, of all sizes,
just waiting for me to
come and sell to
them, so I’ve dropped
everything else.
How do you see the next
twelve months?
I’d like to say I’ll be
hiring someone to handle existing customers, while
I concentrate
on drumming up new
business, and that I want to move into export as
well as import.
To be realistic,
that’ll have to wait until I’ve built up my
customer base and turnover
quite
significantly.
Paul, how do you feel
about your first year?
It’s been great.
I wish I’d star
ted years ago!
20
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