單項(xiàng)選擇題
1、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
Buffet Zone
Lucy Robertson started working at a take-away food business to supplement her income during her student days at Edinburgh University. Several years later she had bought the business and now, 17 years on, she owns Grapevine Caterers, probably Scotland's leading independent caterers, with a turnover of almost ε6m.
She had never planned to own a business, and had certainly never considered a career in catering. (0)...G… However, her unplanned career began in 1985, when she returned to Edinburgh and discovered that the takeaway she had worked in was up for sale. On impulse, she bought it, but admits that at the time she knew nothing about catering. (8).....It was a difficult time, but essential in terms of gaining the experience she needed. The late 1980s boom was good for business, with large numbers of office workers wanting takeaway food for their lunches. (9)..... "At one point there were 26 food outlets within a 5-kilometre radius," Robertson recalls, as the economy changed and the once packed office blocks started to become vacant, it became clear that Robertson would need to diversify. (10)......It changed the direction of the company for good.
As Robertson began to win catering contracts, she decided that the company would have to move to larger premises. In 1994, the move was made when she bought another catering business that already had a number of profitable contracts for boardroom lunches.
Meanwhile, Robertson's main competitor, the oldest catering company in Edinburgh, was causing her some anxiety. "Customer loyally is not to be underestimated," she warns. But Robertson is not someone who is easily put off. (11)...... Partly as a result of this, turnover doubled, and having outgrown another site, Robertson bought a city-centre location for the group's headquarters.
By now, Grapevine's main competitor was a new catering company called Towngates. Although Robertson tried to raise enough money to buy Towngates, she did not succeed. Then luck intervened and Towngates went bankrupt. (12)......Many accepted and the company's turnover went from ε700,000 to ε1.5 million almost overnight.
However, the company's growth was not as smooth as it sounds in retrospect. Robertson admits, "We were close to the edge during the growth period. Like many under-capitalized companies trying to grow, it might easily have collapsed." But that, she feels, is the challenge of developing your own business.
A．But there are plenty of similar contracts to be won in the east of Scotland before Robertson turns her attention elsewhere.
B．Her way round this particular problem was to recruit the catering manager of the rival company.
C．But this demand was short-lived, and before long, increasing competition made it harder to make a profit.
D．"It was a dramatic learning curve and very small amounts of money were earned at first," says Robertson.
E．She decided that the solution, since many companies required working lunches for meetings with clients, was to prepare and deliver meals to business premises.
F．On hearing this, Robertson immediately contacted all of their clients and offered the services of Grapevine Caterers.
G．Instead, she studied accountancy after leaving university, and a steady if unspectacular professional path seemed set.
（8）應(yīng)選
2、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
King was nominated for the quality of his leadership, with the judges claiming that the Fentons Finance boss is almost revered by his team. He is credited with reinventing Fentons Finance - revitalizing its culture of inflexibility, removing outdated pre-merger barriers and playing a brilliant tactical game. He led everyone to believe he was opposed to large mergers and then jumped on the Westcombe Bank opportunity at just the right moment. History will be the judge, but for now the markets consider King to be a star.
B. Keith Nash: Chief Executive of Hamley's Supermarkets
Nash took over as CEO when Hamley's systems and distribution were out of date and the brand badly needed freshening up. He began refocusing the brand at the higher quality end of the food market and launched several own-brand initiatives for the health conscious. As a result, the share price has gone up nearly 80 per cent. This should be extremely satisfying for Nash, who had left the retailer in 1986, disappointed after failing to secure the top job.
C. Jorge Marquez: Chairman of the Kenwick Group
Marquez was a popular choice for his achievements at Kenwick. The judges say he has been courageous in pushing through the appointment of controversial or inexperienced chief executives to companies within the group, and then sponsoring them as they transformed their businesses. He operates as a "virtual" chairman, without a permanent office in any one company. He phones his CEOs regularly, and several of them have acknowledged the vital contribution he makes to their effectiveness. Everyone is impressed at how he also finds the time to be chairman of two other large companies.
D. Richard Jenkins: Finance Director of Centron Advertising
Labouring in the shadow of a high-profile boss can sometimes draw attention away from the finance director, and the judges considered it was high time Jenkins got that attention. The CEO may be the public face of Centron, but Jenkins is the one who makes it run smoothly. Behind the scenes, he is constantly demonstrating that budgets and forecasts are what is needed to make a company successful, particularly now that the advertising market has been hit by recession, it is largely thanks to him that Centron is in much better shape than its rivals.
This businessman has successfully targeted a different group of consumers.
3、 根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
Who Benefits Most from Company Training?
According to recent research, the better educated and the higher up the socioeconomic(0)...C...you are, the more likely you are to be offered workplace training. And, incidentally, the more likely you are to then turn (19)......the offer, pleading family and personal commitments or (20)......of work. Less qualified staff, on the other hand, are offered fewer training opportunities, but are more eager to (21).....them up. In fact, people with few or no educational qualifications are three times more likely to accept training when it is offered.
In the majority of companies, more (22).....are allocated to management training than to other areas. Employers (23).....their better qualified staff as more important to the business, so they pay them accordingly and invest more in them in (24)......of training. This is (25).....by the fact that organizations are dependent on properly (26).....managers making the right decisions. But this (27).....may mean that companies are(28).....other parts of the workforce down.
The researchers found A．growing demand for training among the lower-skilled. Unfortunately this demand is not being (29)....by employers, even though there are strong indications that companies would benefit from doing so. They also discovered that, despite the substantial (30)....between the training provided for managers and that offered to other staff, there was still widespread endorsement of training.
For the purposes of the research, training was defined as any (31)....of planned instruction or tuition provided by an employer with the aim of helping employees do their work better. It therefore included A．wide variety of approaches. on-the-joB．a(chǎn)nd classroom training (32).....to be used equally by employers. But learning on the job, which involved observing A．certain procedure and then practising it, was easily the most popular method for all categories of employees. While many felt that learning from colleagues was best, very few(33).....the internet as an effective way to train.
（19）應(yīng)選
A．back
B．over
C．down
D．off
填空題
4、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
00 0f people．The purpose of research can vary from discovering the popularity of a political
34 party to assessing whether is a product needs changing or replacing．Most work in
35 consumer research involves interviewers employed by market research agencies，but
36 certain industrial and social research is carried out by any specialist agencies．Interviews
37 may be with individuals or groups and can last anything as from a few minutes to an hour
38 0r more．In some interviews，people may be asked to examine or try out products before
39 giving up their opinion．Successful interviewers tend to like meeting people and should
40 not only be shy of addressing strangers．Interviewers are usually expecled to work
41 unsupervised，organizing their own workload．Self-discipline is absolutely essential，and
42 as are motivation and enemy．There are no specific age limits for such a work，though
43 many agencies prefer to employ older applicants with experience of meeting people。
44 Market research agencies which frequently organize training，where trainees learn how
45 to recognize socio-economic groups and practice approaching to the public。
34__________
5、
You asked for a brief report concerning the recent events at the Southford Plant.
We have consulted the files and spoken to relevant members of the higher management and thus are able to provide an explanation for the breakdown reported in the press on 17 May of this year.
____1____ The handling equipment used to deliver the components to the assembly line has been known to be in need of an overhaul for the past six months. The plant has been working to full capacity to finish the American orders according to schedule.
As you know, we had commissioned a study by Industrial Research Consultants. ____2____ In it they warned that there was not enough space available to store sufficient components ____3____
We had decided to install fully automated robot system. However, at the same time it was clear to our production director that given the present maintenance staff, we would not have sufficient staff available if big problems were to arise____4____But we were still only working a two-shift system so the machines were not getting the necessary cover.
We all agree that the breakdown was extremely unfortunate and yet we must admit that, under the circumstance, it was not entirely unexpected.
We now believe that we have managed to sort out the major problems which we had been having with the conveyor equipment ____5____ Added to this is the fact that personnel department has been successful in recruiting some highly qualified maintenance staff who makes us confident that a repetition of the 16 May now seems entirely unlikely.
A. They also recommended expanding the present two-shift system to a three-shift one.
B. And also when the new robots are installed in September, we feel certain that such problems will become a thing of the past.
C. Unfortunately, as you know, there has been a major problem with recognizing the maintenance schedule.
D. The wide range of machine we operate is not fully supervised at all times.
E. The cause of the breakdown was very simple.
F. They submitted their report on April 5.
G. There have been a number of delays and breakdowns in production recently which have been reported in the press.
H. The firm has been advertising for maintenance engineers for some weeks.
I. All the facilities in the plant will be coordinated to enable the workers to step up production of the new range of machines.
6、
Questions 8 - 12
·Read this advertisement about business book reviews.
·Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
·For each gap 8 - 12, mark one letter A - I on your Answer Sheet.
·Do not mark any letter twice.
A) These introductory texts are the most important books and using them can pay big dividends.
B) Discover practical tips and techniques you can apply without delay.
C) In order to avoid this problem, we select for you only the truly worthwhile titles and reject the rest.
D) According to studies published in psychology journals, you retain the content of a summary better than a book.
E) He or she would take the most important ideas from each one, and compile them into a neat executive summary.
F) With the breadth and depth of knowledge gained from books, it is less likely that you'll be caught off guard.
G) Each contains all the key points in the original book, but instead of 200 to 500 pages there are only eight pages.
H) There's a sample of the superb business titles that we summarise for you.
I) With all the reading you have to do in the normal course of your work, you find it impossible to keep up with all the new business books.
7、
Questions 8-12
·Read this text on Dave’s dream.
·Choose the best sentence from the Opposite page 68 to fill each of the gaps.
·For each gap 8-12, mark one letter A - I on your Answer Sheet.
·Do not mark any letter twice.
Icon Acoustics: Bypassing Tradition
Like most entrepreneurs, Dave Fokos dreams a lot. He imagines customers eagerly phoning Icon Acoustics in Billerica, Massachusetts, to order his latest, custom-made stereo peakers ____example____
Like most entrepreneurs, Dave has taken a long time to develop his dream. ____(8)____ Dave discovered that he had a strong interest in studio engineering, He took independent-study courses in this area and by graduation had designed and built a pair of marketable stereo speakers. Following graduation, Dave pursued his interest in audio engineering. He landed a job as a loudspeaker designer with Conrad-Johnson, a high-end audio-equipment manufacturer headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia ____(9)____
Dave identified a market niche that he felt other speaker firms had overlooked ____(10)____These affluent, well-educated customers are genuinely obsessed with their stereo equipment. ‘They’d rather buy a new set of speakers than eat,’ Dave observes.
Dave faced one major problem---how to distribute Icon’s products. He had learned from experience at Conrad-Johnson that most manufacturers distribute their equipment primarily through stereo dealers. Dave did not hold a high opinion of most such dealers; he felt that they too often played hardball with manufacturers, forcing them to accept thin margins. ____(11)____This kept those firms that offered more customized products from gaining access to the market. Perhaps most disturbing, Dave felt that the established dealers often sold not what was best for customers, but whatever they had in inventory that month.
Dave dreamed of offering high-end stereo loudspeakers directly to the audio-obsessed, bypassing the established dealer network. ____(12)____ “My vision for the future is one where all manufacturers sell their products directly to end user. In this way, even the audiophiles in Dead Horse, Alaska, can have access to all that the audio-manufacturing community has to offer.”
Example: I.
A. At the age of 28, Dave set out to turn his dreams into reality.
B. Furthermore, the dealers concentrated on only a handful of well-known producers
C. Who provided mass-produced models.
D. The firms tend to plow their money in to developing their products and have little left over to market them.
E. Within four years, Dave had designed 13 speaker models and decided to start his own company.
F. To serve the audio-addicts segment, Dave offers only the highest-quality speakers.
G. It all began while majoring in electrical engineering at Cornell.
By going directly to the customers, Dave could avoid the dealer markups and offer top-quality products and service at reasonable price.
H. This niche consisted of “audio-addicts”----people who love to listen to music and appreciate first-rate stereo equipment.
I. He sees sales climbing , cash flowing, and hundreds of happy workers
Striving to produce top-quality products that delight Icon’s customers.
8、
PART FOUR
Questions 21-35
•Read the text below about job prospects at the Provincial Bank.
•Choose the correct word A, B, C, or, D on the opposite page to fill each gap.
•For each question 21-35, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet.
Employment Opportunities for Graduates with the Provincial BankThe Provincial Bank is one of the biggest (example) ____________ institutions in the U.K. With its 1,900 branches and 58,000 employees, it has (21) ____________ a household name. Almost 4,000 of these employees (22) ____________ managerial or executive positions. The bank has an outstanding (23) ____________ of profitability, which has been achieved by introducing innovations at the same time as maintaining leadership of the (24) ____________. The bank's comprehensive training programme concentrates on (25) ____________ the most important skills that graduates need in order to (26) ____________ early management responsibility. Trainees take responsibility for their own continuous self-development through visiting other branches and departments, and by (27)____________ courses in management skills. They also receive training in order to increase their knowledge of the bank's (28) ___________. The bank supports (29)____________ of staff who wish to take professional examinations, and its Graduate Training Scheme is (30)_____________ to the nationally recognized Diploma in Management.Obviously the quality of its mangers is of (31)____________ importance to the bank's performance. It welcomes good graduates in any subject area, (32)____________ they can demonstrate the ability to influence events, and have the potential to (33)____________ both as leaders and as part of a team. Most graduate trainees join the Retail Banking division initially. Those starting on this programme will soon have the (34)____________ to work in other parts of the bank and can (35)____________ a varied and flexible working life.
Example: A budgetary B fiscal C financial D economic
21 A opened B entered C turned D become
22 A hold B do C keep D own
23 A career B catalogue C record D experience
24 A area B trade C record D market
25 A making B reaching C developing D heightening
26 A present B treat C deal D handle
27 A observing B attending C involving D staying
28 A services B goods C creations D abilities
29 A colleague B members C people D persons
30 A qualified B combined C fastened D linked
31 A main B vital C necessary D superior
32 A therefore B thus C provided D only
33 A succeed B realize C gain D overcome
34 A choice B chance C likelihood D probability
35 A forecast B believe C suppose D expect
9、
PART THREE
Questions 13-20
Read the article below about stress management, and answer questions 13-20 on the opposite page.
A Lesson In Stress Management
Demands placed on us at work can often lead to considerable worry and discomfort. There are, however, ways of protecting ourselves from the stress we face at work. We interviewed Jane Collard, a consultant in stress management.
1. In Jane Collard's opinion, stress is becoming an increasingly common feature of the workplace. Stress is a highly individual reaction, which varies considerably from person to person, and it is difficult for some employees to avoid it. Indeed, stress is regarded by many as part of the organizational culture of our institutions: it comes with the job. Recent figures indicate that time taken off work because of stress has increased by 500 per cent since the 1950s. Undoubtedly, changes in working conditions have led to greater pressure at work at all levels. With reductions in staffing, workloads for individual employees have increased. In addition, many employees are left worrying about the security of their jobs.
2. On the stress management courses that she runs, Jane Collard tries to make the trainees realise that stress in itself is not harmful. Everyone needs a certain level of stress to enable them to feel motivated and to perform effectively. A complete absence of stress can be as damaging as overstress, since it can make people lose interest in their work, and even lead to depression. The difficulties occur when the amount of stress rises above a level which is healthy for a particular individual. If this happens, the effects are very obvious and the trainees are taught to recognize the signs. Stress may be expressed physically, for example through headaches and tiredness, or through emotional problems such as depression. A person suffering from stress may also start to behave differently, and can be difficult to deal with.
3. While it may not always be possible to prevent stress, there are a number of ways in which it can be controlled. The first thing that the trainees learn is how to manage their time effectively. This involves, first of all, setting realistic goals for both the short and long term. Once this framework has been established, tasks are then prioritised on a daily basis. The trainees are also reminded that when they are under pressure the less important items should be left, and they should never hesitate to delegate. Everyone is encouraged to look at ways of reducing 'wasted time ', for example by grouping similar tasks together or dealing with items immedkiately.
4. Jane feels that one of the most useful features of the course is that it enables trainees to deal with those demands or deadlines that they regard as unreasonable. They are encouraged to avoid being defensive, but at the same time they are advised not to be afraid of saying 'no'. They are asked to give reasons only if necessary. The training helps them to foresee difficult situations or unwanted demands, and they learn how to prepare themselves mentally. Everyone is encouraged not to get stuck in negative thought patterns, where stress can feed a circular sense of helplessness. One solution they discuss is to think of a more encouraging alternative for each negative message. They learn, for example, to remind themselves that nothing terrible happens when a demand is refused or a deadline missed. Life goes on.
Questions 13-16
For questions 13-16, choose the best title for each numbered paragraph from the list below.
For each numbered paragraph 1-4, mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
Do not use any letter more than once.
13 Paragraph 1 ______ 14 Paragraph 2 ______
15 Paragraph 3 ______ 16 Paragraph 4 ______
A Higher stress levels among top managers
B Coping with stress through a positive attitude
C Time lost at work through sickness
D Causes of increased stress in the work environment
E Explanations for missed deadlines
F stress reduction through better organisation
G Typical problems associated with stress
簡(jiǎn)答題
10、• Read the article below about the winner of a business award .
• In most of the lines 34-45 there is one extra word . It is either grammatically incorrect or
doesn’t fit in the meaning of the text . Some lines, however, are correct .
• If a line is correct , write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet .
• If there is a extra word in the line , write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTER on your Answer Sheet.
• The exercises begins with two examples , (0) and (00) .
Examples
1、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
Buffet Zone
Lucy Robertson started working at a take-away food business to supplement her income during her student days at Edinburgh University. Several years later she had bought the business and now, 17 years on, she owns Grapevine Caterers, probably Scotland's leading independent caterers, with a turnover of almost ε6m.
She had never planned to own a business, and had certainly never considered a career in catering. (0)...G… However, her unplanned career began in 1985, when she returned to Edinburgh and discovered that the takeaway she had worked in was up for sale. On impulse, she bought it, but admits that at the time she knew nothing about catering. (8).....It was a difficult time, but essential in terms of gaining the experience she needed. The late 1980s boom was good for business, with large numbers of office workers wanting takeaway food for their lunches. (9)..... "At one point there were 26 food outlets within a 5-kilometre radius," Robertson recalls, as the economy changed and the once packed office blocks started to become vacant, it became clear that Robertson would need to diversify. (10)......It changed the direction of the company for good.
As Robertson began to win catering contracts, she decided that the company would have to move to larger premises. In 1994, the move was made when she bought another catering business that already had a number of profitable contracts for boardroom lunches.
Meanwhile, Robertson's main competitor, the oldest catering company in Edinburgh, was causing her some anxiety. "Customer loyally is not to be underestimated," she warns. But Robertson is not someone who is easily put off. (11)...... Partly as a result of this, turnover doubled, and having outgrown another site, Robertson bought a city-centre location for the group's headquarters.
By now, Grapevine's main competitor was a new catering company called Towngates. Although Robertson tried to raise enough money to buy Towngates, she did not succeed. Then luck intervened and Towngates went bankrupt. (12)......Many accepted and the company's turnover went from ε700,000 to ε1.5 million almost overnight.
However, the company's growth was not as smooth as it sounds in retrospect. Robertson admits, "We were close to the edge during the growth period. Like many under-capitalized companies trying to grow, it might easily have collapsed." But that, she feels, is the challenge of developing your own business.
A．But there are plenty of similar contracts to be won in the east of Scotland before Robertson turns her attention elsewhere.
B．Her way round this particular problem was to recruit the catering manager of the rival company.
C．But this demand was short-lived, and before long, increasing competition made it harder to make a profit.
D．"It was a dramatic learning curve and very small amounts of money were earned at first," says Robertson.
E．She decided that the solution, since many companies required working lunches for meetings with clients, was to prepare and deliver meals to business premises.
F．On hearing this, Robertson immediately contacted all of their clients and offered the services of Grapevine Caterers.
G．Instead, she studied accountancy after leaving university, and a steady if unspectacular professional path seemed set.
（8）應(yīng)選
2、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
"Businessman of the Year" Award
A. James King: Chief Executive of Fentons Finance King was nominated for the quality of his leadership, with the judges claiming that the Fentons Finance boss is almost revered by his team. He is credited with reinventing Fentons Finance - revitalizing its culture of inflexibility, removing outdated pre-merger barriers and playing a brilliant tactical game. He led everyone to believe he was opposed to large mergers and then jumped on the Westcombe Bank opportunity at just the right moment. History will be the judge, but for now the markets consider King to be a star.
B. Keith Nash: Chief Executive of Hamley's Supermarkets
Nash took over as CEO when Hamley's systems and distribution were out of date and the brand badly needed freshening up. He began refocusing the brand at the higher quality end of the food market and launched several own-brand initiatives for the health conscious. As a result, the share price has gone up nearly 80 per cent. This should be extremely satisfying for Nash, who had left the retailer in 1986, disappointed after failing to secure the top job.
C. Jorge Marquez: Chairman of the Kenwick Group
Marquez was a popular choice for his achievements at Kenwick. The judges say he has been courageous in pushing through the appointment of controversial or inexperienced chief executives to companies within the group, and then sponsoring them as they transformed their businesses. He operates as a "virtual" chairman, without a permanent office in any one company. He phones his CEOs regularly, and several of them have acknowledged the vital contribution he makes to their effectiveness. Everyone is impressed at how he also finds the time to be chairman of two other large companies.
D. Richard Jenkins: Finance Director of Centron Advertising
Labouring in the shadow of a high-profile boss can sometimes draw attention away from the finance director, and the judges considered it was high time Jenkins got that attention. The CEO may be the public face of Centron, but Jenkins is the one who makes it run smoothly. Behind the scenes, he is constantly demonstrating that budgets and forecasts are what is needed to make a company successful, particularly now that the advertising market has been hit by recession, it is largely thanks to him that Centron is in much better shape than its rivals.
This businessman has successfully targeted a different group of consumers.
3、 根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
Who Benefits Most from Company Training?
According to recent research, the better educated and the higher up the socioeconomic(0)...C...you are, the more likely you are to be offered workplace training. And, incidentally, the more likely you are to then turn (19)......the offer, pleading family and personal commitments or (20)......of work. Less qualified staff, on the other hand, are offered fewer training opportunities, but are more eager to (21).....them up. In fact, people with few or no educational qualifications are three times more likely to accept training when it is offered.
In the majority of companies, more (22).....are allocated to management training than to other areas. Employers (23).....their better qualified staff as more important to the business, so they pay them accordingly and invest more in them in (24)......of training. This is (25).....by the fact that organizations are dependent on properly (26).....managers making the right decisions. But this (27).....may mean that companies are(28).....other parts of the workforce down.
The researchers found A．growing demand for training among the lower-skilled. Unfortunately this demand is not being (29)....by employers, even though there are strong indications that companies would benefit from doing so. They also discovered that, despite the substantial (30)....between the training provided for managers and that offered to other staff, there was still widespread endorsement of training.
For the purposes of the research, training was defined as any (31)....of planned instruction or tuition provided by an employer with the aim of helping employees do their work better. It therefore included A．wide variety of approaches. on-the-joB．a(chǎn)nd classroom training (32).....to be used equally by employers. But learning on the job, which involved observing A．certain procedure and then practising it, was easily the most popular method for all categories of employees. While many felt that learning from colleagues was best, very few(33).....the internet as an effective way to train.
（19）應(yīng)選
A．back
B．over
C．down
D．off
填空題
4、根據(jù)下面內(nèi)容，回答題
Market Research
0 Market research involves in collecting and sorting facts and opinions from specific groups 00 0f people．The purpose of research can vary from discovering the popularity of a political
34 party to assessing whether is a product needs changing or replacing．Most work in
35 consumer research involves interviewers employed by market research agencies，but
36 certain industrial and social research is carried out by any specialist agencies．Interviews
37 may be with individuals or groups and can last anything as from a few minutes to an hour
38 0r more．In some interviews，people may be asked to examine or try out products before
39 giving up their opinion．Successful interviewers tend to like meeting people and should
40 not only be shy of addressing strangers．Interviewers are usually expecled to work
41 unsupervised，organizing their own workload．Self-discipline is absolutely essential，and
42 as are motivation and enemy．There are no specific age limits for such a work，though
43 many agencies prefer to employ older applicants with experience of meeting people。
44 Market research agencies which frequently organize training，where trainees learn how
45 to recognize socio-economic groups and practice approaching to the public。
34__________
5、
1. Problems at Southford Plant
Dear MR Ballard,You asked for a brief report concerning the recent events at the Southford Plant.
We have consulted the files and spoken to relevant members of the higher management and thus are able to provide an explanation for the breakdown reported in the press on 17 May of this year.
____1____ The handling equipment used to deliver the components to the assembly line has been known to be in need of an overhaul for the past six months. The plant has been working to full capacity to finish the American orders according to schedule.
As you know, we had commissioned a study by Industrial Research Consultants. ____2____ In it they warned that there was not enough space available to store sufficient components ____3____
We had decided to install fully automated robot system. However, at the same time it was clear to our production director that given the present maintenance staff, we would not have sufficient staff available if big problems were to arise____4____But we were still only working a two-shift system so the machines were not getting the necessary cover.
We all agree that the breakdown was extremely unfortunate and yet we must admit that, under the circumstance, it was not entirely unexpected.
We now believe that we have managed to sort out the major problems which we had been having with the conveyor equipment ____5____ Added to this is the fact that personnel department has been successful in recruiting some highly qualified maintenance staff who makes us confident that a repetition of the 16 May now seems entirely unlikely.
A. They also recommended expanding the present two-shift system to a three-shift one.
B. And also when the new robots are installed in September, we feel certain that such problems will become a thing of the past.
C. Unfortunately, as you know, there has been a major problem with recognizing the maintenance schedule.
D. The wide range of machine we operate is not fully supervised at all times.
E. The cause of the breakdown was very simple.
F. They submitted their report on April 5.
G. There have been a number of delays and breakdowns in production recently which have been reported in the press.
H. The firm has been advertising for maintenance engineers for some weeks.
I. All the facilities in the plant will be coordinated to enable the workers to step up production of the new range of machines.
6、
Questions 8 - 12
·Read this advertisement about business book reviews.
·Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
·For each gap 8 - 12, mark one letter A - I on your Answer Sheet.
·Do not mark any letter twice.
A) These introductory texts are the most important books and using them can pay big dividends.
B) Discover practical tips and techniques you can apply without delay.
C) In order to avoid this problem, we select for you only the truly worthwhile titles and reject the rest.
D) According to studies published in psychology journals, you retain the content of a summary better than a book.
E) He or she would take the most important ideas from each one, and compile them into a neat executive summary.
F) With the breadth and depth of knowledge gained from books, it is less likely that you'll be caught off guard.
G) Each contains all the key points in the original book, but instead of 200 to 500 pages there are only eight pages.
H) There's a sample of the superb business titles that we summarise for you.
I) With all the reading you have to do in the normal course of your work, you find it impossible to keep up with all the new business books.
7、
Questions 8-12
·Read this text on Dave’s dream.
·Choose the best sentence from the Opposite page 68 to fill each of the gaps.
·For each gap 8-12, mark one letter A - I on your Answer Sheet.
·Do not mark any letter twice.
Icon Acoustics: Bypassing Tradition
Like most entrepreneurs, Dave Fokos dreams a lot. He imagines customers eagerly phoning Icon Acoustics in Billerica, Massachusetts, to order his latest, custom-made stereo peakers ____example____
Like most entrepreneurs, Dave has taken a long time to develop his dream. ____(8)____ Dave discovered that he had a strong interest in studio engineering, He took independent-study courses in this area and by graduation had designed and built a pair of marketable stereo speakers. Following graduation, Dave pursued his interest in audio engineering. He landed a job as a loudspeaker designer with Conrad-Johnson, a high-end audio-equipment manufacturer headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia ____(9)____
Dave identified a market niche that he felt other speaker firms had overlooked ____(10)____These affluent, well-educated customers are genuinely obsessed with their stereo equipment. ‘They’d rather buy a new set of speakers than eat,’ Dave observes.
Dave faced one major problem---how to distribute Icon’s products. He had learned from experience at Conrad-Johnson that most manufacturers distribute their equipment primarily through stereo dealers. Dave did not hold a high opinion of most such dealers; he felt that they too often played hardball with manufacturers, forcing them to accept thin margins. ____(11)____This kept those firms that offered more customized products from gaining access to the market. Perhaps most disturbing, Dave felt that the established dealers often sold not what was best for customers, but whatever they had in inventory that month.
Dave dreamed of offering high-end stereo loudspeakers directly to the audio-obsessed, bypassing the established dealer network. ____(12)____ “My vision for the future is one where all manufacturers sell their products directly to end user. In this way, even the audiophiles in Dead Horse, Alaska, can have access to all that the audio-manufacturing community has to offer.”
Example: I.
A. At the age of 28, Dave set out to turn his dreams into reality.
B. Furthermore, the dealers concentrated on only a handful of well-known producers
C. Who provided mass-produced models.
D. The firms tend to plow their money in to developing their products and have little left over to market them.
E. Within four years, Dave had designed 13 speaker models and decided to start his own company.
F. To serve the audio-addicts segment, Dave offers only the highest-quality speakers.
G. It all began while majoring in electrical engineering at Cornell.
By going directly to the customers, Dave could avoid the dealer markups and offer top-quality products and service at reasonable price.
H. This niche consisted of “audio-addicts”----people who love to listen to music and appreciate first-rate stereo equipment.
I. He sees sales climbing , cash flowing, and hundreds of happy workers
Striving to produce top-quality products that delight Icon’s customers.
8、
PART FOUR
Questions 21-35
•Read the text below about job prospects at the Provincial Bank.
•Choose the correct word A, B, C, or, D on the opposite page to fill each gap.
•For each question 21-35, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet.
Employment Opportunities for Graduates with the Provincial BankThe Provincial Bank is one of the biggest (example) ____________ institutions in the U.K. With its 1,900 branches and 58,000 employees, it has (21) ____________ a household name. Almost 4,000 of these employees (22) ____________ managerial or executive positions. The bank has an outstanding (23) ____________ of profitability, which has been achieved by introducing innovations at the same time as maintaining leadership of the (24) ____________. The bank's comprehensive training programme concentrates on (25) ____________ the most important skills that graduates need in order to (26) ____________ early management responsibility. Trainees take responsibility for their own continuous self-development through visiting other branches and departments, and by (27)____________ courses in management skills. They also receive training in order to increase their knowledge of the bank's (28) ___________. The bank supports (29)____________ of staff who wish to take professional examinations, and its Graduate Training Scheme is (30)_____________ to the nationally recognized Diploma in Management.Obviously the quality of its mangers is of (31)____________ importance to the bank's performance. It welcomes good graduates in any subject area, (32)____________ they can demonstrate the ability to influence events, and have the potential to (33)____________ both as leaders and as part of a team. Most graduate trainees join the Retail Banking division initially. Those starting on this programme will soon have the (34)____________ to work in other parts of the bank and can (35)____________ a varied and flexible working life.
Example: A budgetary B fiscal C financial D economic
21 A opened B entered C turned D become
22 A hold B do C keep D own
23 A career B catalogue C record D experience
24 A area B trade C record D market
25 A making B reaching C developing D heightening
26 A present B treat C deal D handle
27 A observing B attending C involving D staying
28 A services B goods C creations D abilities
29 A colleague B members C people D persons
30 A qualified B combined C fastened D linked
31 A main B vital C necessary D superior
32 A therefore B thus C provided D only
33 A succeed B realize C gain D overcome
34 A choice B chance C likelihood D probability
35 A forecast B believe C suppose D expect
9、
PART THREE
Questions 13-20
Read the article below about stress management, and answer questions 13-20 on the opposite page.
A Lesson In Stress Management
Demands placed on us at work can often lead to considerable worry and discomfort. There are, however, ways of protecting ourselves from the stress we face at work. We interviewed Jane Collard, a consultant in stress management.
1. In Jane Collard's opinion, stress is becoming an increasingly common feature of the workplace. Stress is a highly individual reaction, which varies considerably from person to person, and it is difficult for some employees to avoid it. Indeed, stress is regarded by many as part of the organizational culture of our institutions: it comes with the job. Recent figures indicate that time taken off work because of stress has increased by 500 per cent since the 1950s. Undoubtedly, changes in working conditions have led to greater pressure at work at all levels. With reductions in staffing, workloads for individual employees have increased. In addition, many employees are left worrying about the security of their jobs.
2. On the stress management courses that she runs, Jane Collard tries to make the trainees realise that stress in itself is not harmful. Everyone needs a certain level of stress to enable them to feel motivated and to perform effectively. A complete absence of stress can be as damaging as overstress, since it can make people lose interest in their work, and even lead to depression. The difficulties occur when the amount of stress rises above a level which is healthy for a particular individual. If this happens, the effects are very obvious and the trainees are taught to recognize the signs. Stress may be expressed physically, for example through headaches and tiredness, or through emotional problems such as depression. A person suffering from stress may also start to behave differently, and can be difficult to deal with.
3. While it may not always be possible to prevent stress, there are a number of ways in which it can be controlled. The first thing that the trainees learn is how to manage their time effectively. This involves, first of all, setting realistic goals for both the short and long term. Once this framework has been established, tasks are then prioritised on a daily basis. The trainees are also reminded that when they are under pressure the less important items should be left, and they should never hesitate to delegate. Everyone is encouraged to look at ways of reducing 'wasted time ', for example by grouping similar tasks together or dealing with items immedkiately.
4. Jane feels that one of the most useful features of the course is that it enables trainees to deal with those demands or deadlines that they regard as unreasonable. They are encouraged to avoid being defensive, but at the same time they are advised not to be afraid of saying 'no'. They are asked to give reasons only if necessary. The training helps them to foresee difficult situations or unwanted demands, and they learn how to prepare themselves mentally. Everyone is encouraged not to get stuck in negative thought patterns, where stress can feed a circular sense of helplessness. One solution they discuss is to think of a more encouraging alternative for each negative message. They learn, for example, to remind themselves that nothing terrible happens when a demand is refused or a deadline missed. Life goes on.
Questions 13-16
For questions 13-16, choose the best title for each numbered paragraph from the list below.
For each numbered paragraph 1-4, mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
Do not use any letter more than once.
13 Paragraph 1 ______ 14 Paragraph 2 ______
15 Paragraph 3 ______ 16 Paragraph 4 ______
A Higher stress levels among top managers
B Coping with stress through a positive attitude
C Time lost at work through sickness
D Causes of increased stress in the work environment
E Explanations for missed deadlines
F stress reduction through better organisation
G Typical problems associated with stress
簡(jiǎn)答題
10、• Read the article below about the winner of a business award .
• In most of the lines 34-45 there is one extra word . It is either grammatically incorrect or
doesn’t fit in the meaning of the text . Some lines, however, are correct .
• If a line is correct , write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet .
• If there is a extra word in the line , write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTER on your Answer Sheet.
• The exercises begins with two examples , (0) and (00) .
Examples
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INCREASING CUSTOMERS LOYALTY |
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0 Customers are not revolutionaries. They are attracted to be the certainty of knowing that 00 what they buy it will be good value for money or will perform a particular task effectively. 34 They are cautious but their loyalty , without once achieved , is the key to business success. 35 Brands can help to create customer loyalty by providing us a signpost to certainty and 36 safety . Ideally , when a customer sees off a product , it leads to a range of positive thoughts 37 so that the product is being bought . Unfortunately , only a small number of products have 38 reached to this level . While everyone in business is aware of the need to attract and 39 retain customers , that they often overlook the second , more important , half of the 40 equation . In the excitement of beating against the competition and securing orders, 41 managers often fail to ensure that the customer remains a customer . It has been 42 estimated that since the average company loses between 10 to 30% of its customers 43 every year and this only recently have organizations started to wake up to these lost 44 opportunities and to calculate the financial implications . Established customers often 45 buy more and, in the addition , they may also provide free word-of-mouth advertising. |