BEC中级阅读习题与答案解析

1、精品文库 2013年商务英语考试中级阅读题精讲 Look at the stateme nts below and the advice to bus in esses on the opp osite p age about using other companies to run their IT services. 1、the need to teach skills to empioyees working on the outsourced process 2、remembering the initial reason for setting up the outsourced p

2、roject 3、the need to draw up agreements that set out how integration is to be achieved 4、addressing the issue of staff who work on the outsourced process being at a distant site 5、the importance of mak ing some one res pon sible for the in tegrati on pr ocess 6、staff on the outsourced project famili

3、arising themselves with various details of the bus in ess 7、 pr oblems being associated with an alter native to outsourc ing When a bus in ess decides to outsource its IT services, it n eeds to con sider the questi on of in tegrati on. Four exp erts give their views. A. Gia niuca Tramcere, Silica Sy

4、stems An outsourced IT service is n ever a fully independent en tity. It is tied to the home respon sibility companys previous and continuing systemsof working. But despite the added of managing new ways of work ing, many bus in esses ignore the in tegrati on pr ocess. They fail to establish con tra

5、cts that defi ne the ways in which the two companies will work alon gside one ano ther, and focus solely on the tech no logical asp ects of service delivery. B. Kev in Rayner, Domola Busin esses n eed to build in tegrati on comp ete ncy cen tres dedicated to man agi ng the in tegrati oneffort. It is

6、 critical to have an in dividual in charge to check that the exter nal and internal bus in ess op erati ons work together. Although companies often think of outsourc ing as a way of gett ing rid of people and assets, they n eed to remember that, at the same time, outsourc ing in volves gai ning peop

7、 le. Because there is a new op erati on being carried out in a differe ntway outside of the home bus in ess, this creates a tra ining eleme nt. C. Clayto n Locke, Digital Soluti ons Commu ni cati on is the key to success, and outsourc ing to other regi ons or cou ntries can lead to a range of proble

8、ms. For any such initiative, it is necessary to create a team where there is good, open commu ni cati on and a clear un dersta nding of objectives and incen tives. Bringing people to the home locati on from the outsourced cen tre is n ecessary, since it can aid un dersta nding of the compl exities o

9、f the existi ng system. To in tegrate efficie ntly, outsourcing personnel have to talk to the home companys executives and users to understand their exp erie nces. D. Kim Noo n, J G Tech One way to avoid the difficulties of i ntegrati on is to create a joi nt-ve nture company with the outsourcer. Th

10、us, a company can swa p its assets for a share of the pr ofits. Yet joint ven tures bring p ote ntial troubles, and companies should be careful not to lose sight of the origi nalrati on ale for outsourc ing:to gain cost efficie ncies and quality of service in an area that for some reason could not b

11、e carried out entirelyin-house. The complexities and costs of a join t-ve nture in itiative should not be un derestimated. 这篇文章讲的是外购(outsourcing),分别有四位专家就这个问题给岀了自己的看法。A段的专家 强调建立合同的重要性，B段专家认为要派专人负责，C段专家讲外派人员和本公司之间要有一个互 动，D段专家讲如果与外包商(outsourcer)组成联合企业的话可能带来的一系列问题。如果对文章有 个大概、基本的了解，很多题目不用细看就可以得岀结论。 第一题的

12、答案稍微有些隐晦，在B段的最后一句。“ Because there is a new op eration bei ng carried out in a differe nt way outside of the homebus in ess, this creates a tra iningeleme nt. ” 因为新的操作是在本公司以外的地方以一种新的方式被执行，所以产生了培训成分。这里的training 对应第一题的“ teach skills to employees” 第二题的答案在 D段中间：companies should be careful not to lose sig

13、ht of the original rati on ale for outsourc ing. 这里的rationale是基本原理、根本原因的意思。 第三题的答案在 A段，非常明显的“ establish con tracts ” 第四段的答案是 C段的最后一句话，outsourcing personnel have to talk to the homecompanys executives and users to understand their experiences.这里的 talk to 对应 address，向. C段最后一句说的外购人员向 谈话。第四题的意思是“说明在远址工作

14、的外购人员的事情”，也就是 公司汇报他们的经历。 第五段的答案在 B 段，相当明显：It is critical to have an in dividual in charge to check that the exter nal and internal bus in ess op erati ons work together。需要派专人负责 in tegrati on 欢迎下载27 a clear un dersta nding of objectives and incen tives. 团队。 ”指的是D段里的“ create a 第七题稍微绕一点。题目里的an alternat

15、ive to outsourci ng ”，建立一个联合企业。D段里的专家一直在强调联 join t-ve nture company with the outsourcer 合企业的麻烦和复杂性(joint ventures bring potential troubles) ，所以是正确答案。 第六题说外派人员要熟悉自身工作的不同细节”，对应C段的create a team where there is ”打造一个对目标和动机都有清晰理解的 2013年商务英语考试中级阅读题精讲 Empio yees can make a bus in ess succeed or fail, so the

16、 people who choose themhave a vital role to play. Employees are a companys new ideas, its public face and its main asset. Hiring the right people is therefore a significantfactor in a companys success.(0) G If the huma“resources dep artme nt makesmistakes with hir ing,kee ping and dismiss ing staff,

17、a bus in ess can disa pp ear over ni ght. Many companies now realise that recruit ing the best recruiters is the key to success. Sarah Choi, Head of HRat Enco pic, believes that thinking commercially is a key quality in HR. Every decisi on an HR man ager makes n eeds to be releva nt to adva ncing th

18、e bus in ess. (8) .C.Thats no lon ger the case. HR man agers have to think more strategically these days. They contin uallyn eed to think about the imp act of their decisi ons on the bottom line. (9).F. For exa mpl e,a chief executive will exp ect the HR dep artme nt to advise on everyth ing from th

19、e headcou nt to whether to p roceed with an acquisiti on. Whydo people go into HRin the firstplace? Choi has a ready answer. I think most people in the pro fessi on are attracted by a lon g-term goal.(10).DNothi ng happens in the company which isnt affected by or does nt imp act on its emplo yees, s

20、o the HR dep artme nt is a crucial part of any bus in ess. Not all op erati onal man agers agree. An in formal survey of attitudes to HR dep artme nts that was carried out last year by a lead ing bus in ess jour nal received comme nts such as What do they actually contribute?(11).A. As Choi points o

21、ut, salaries have n ever bee n higher and, in additi on, HR man agers ofte n receive substa ntial ann ual bon uses. Desp ite the finan cial rewards, HR man agers ofte n feel un dervalued, and this is a major a lack of training and development reason for manyleaving their jobs.(12).EHowever, is a mor

22、e sig nifica nt factor. These days, good pro fessi onal devel opment oppo rtu nities are con sidered an esse ntial part of an attractive p ackage,Choi explains. A But rising levels of remu nerati on dem on strate that the pro fessi onsgrow ing importance is widely recog ni sed. B At one time, a p ro

23、fessi on al qualificati on was required in order to p rogress to the top of HR. C Other dep artme nts and senior executives used to see HR man agers as hav ing a p urely admi nistrative role. D Since its one of the few areas where you can see the whole op erati on, it can lead to an in flue ntial ro

24、le on the board. E Being see n as some one who just ticks off other peop les leave and sick days does not help build a sense of loyalty. F They therefore n eed to be comp ete nt in many asp ects of a companys op erati ons. G On the other hand, recruit ing the wrong staff can lead to disaster. 这篇文章的标

25、题有些 misleading，“ The best people for the job，还以为是招人的标准。 其实这篇文章是关于 Human resource的，所以还是要适当关注文章前的说明：the article below about the cha nging role of huma n resources dep artme nts. 第八题，空格后面的“ Thats no longer the case是很重要的提示。由于空格前面一直在强 调commercial和business，所以在空缺的地方应该是和另一个方面相关的内容。选项C的 admi nistrative role正

26、好满足这个要求。前后文意思搭配在一起完全吻合。 第九题，后面的for example的很关键，是对前面的补充说明。“For example,a chief executive will expect the HRdepartment to advise on everything from the headcount to whether to proceed with an acquisitio n.总裁希望人力资源经理对一切事情提岀建议，从人数统计到是否进行收购。 这种要求就需要人力资源经理具备很多才能。所以F的句子填在这里最合适。 可以和第十题的空格后的 a 第十题，答案稍微不那么明显，

27、不过D句中的an in flue ntial role crucial part相对应，算是答案信号。要从整体上把握第三段，这里认为HRmanager的影响是全局 的、长期的，所以D句的“ see the whole op erati on符合情况。 第题，理解前后文的意思，前面说过去的op eratio nal man agers不那么认可HRma nager的 作用，后面指岀HR managers挣得多，所以中间是转折的意思。A句的But是个信号，“上涨的薪酬 水平意味着这个职位逐渐增加的重要性得到了广泛的认可。”意思和前后都吻合，所以是正确答案。 第十二题，空格前说HRmanagers觉

28、得自己的作用被低估了，所以leaving。空格后一个However, 所以空格处应该还是和leaving有关的，为什么离职。E句的意思是“被视作仅仅对别人的离开和生 病的日子划勾的人是没法帮助建立忠诚感的。”填入此处正好。 2013年商务英语考试中级阅读题精讲 Critical Path When David Hayde n realised his company was head ing for trouble, he took drastic measures to get it back on track David Hayde n foun ded his company, Crit

29、ical P ath, an email pr ovider, i n 1997 to take adva ntage of the boo min email traffic. CriticalP ath becamea p ublic compan ytwo years later, and Hayde n took the oppo rtu nity to ste p dow n from his executive p ositi on in order to work on personal pr ojects. At the same time, he agreed to stay

30、 with the company as Chairman, but the bus in ess was put in the hands of new man agers by its in vestors. With sector-lead ing pr oducts and an expanding market, the company seemed to be on the up and up. However, by early 2001, it was in trouble. Shares that had bee n worth $26 in 1999, whe n they

31、 were first sold, were dow n to a mere 24 cents. Called in by a panicking board, Hayden found himself back in charge as Executive Chairman, trying des perately to rescue what he could. The 1,100 staff had lost con fide nee in the company and did not know what was going to happen to them. And, as Hay

32、den discovered, the management team was incomp ete nt. Those guys did nt un dersta nd the p roduct or the sector, says Hayde n. The heads of de partme nt did nt commu ni cate and they did nt lead. But what was worse, Critical Path had lost the goodwill of its in vestors. Hayden knewthat bringing the

33、 figures under control would be a vital step in the companys turnaround. Youve got to sort out the finances.For me, that meant getting back the goodwill of the investors.That was tough, after what had happened. But although they were angry with the company, they did nt have bad feeli ngs about me. I

34、 told them that I knew I could get the company on its feet aga in. He was authorised to make whatever cha nges were required, and his first act was to find people with in the company he could trust and put them in charge. The n ext thi ng Hayde n had to tackle was morale. Every one left the office a

35、t five on the dot - they could nt get away quickly eno ugh. To get the buzz back and win the staff over, I had to pr ove my own commitme nt and put in the extra hours with them. In retur n, it was assumed that no body would ask for overtime pay un til the company was on its feet aga in. Con trary to

36、 no rmal p ractice, Hayde n was relucta nt to lay people off, and apart from not rep lac ing people as they reached retireme nt age, he left the workforce largely un cha nged, although he did ide ntify key people throughout the company who were give n more respon sibility. But, as Hayde n in sists,

37、before a company reaches such a crisis, there are warning sig ns that any finan cial director or accou ntant should take note of. A bus in ess that has an un realistic p ric ing p olicy or has to n egotiate exte nded credit with its supp liers is in trouble, is his message. Or if you often have to a

38、pply for your overdraft limit to be raised or have trouble paying tax on time, someth ing n eeds to be don e. By 2003, the company was healthy aga in, with reas on ably stable finan ces and a modest but steady share p rice of $1.60. One thi ng that helped save us was that our tech no logy worked, sa

39、ys Hayde n. With 20 millio n email accou nts, we n ever lost a si ngle major clie nt because the product kept on working. With ideas for a fresh venture demanding his attention elsewhere, Hayde n has moved on. It wastime to go, he says. Im not a tur narou nd sp ecialist. I prefer start-u ps. 13 What

40、 eve nt coin cided with Critical Path beco ming a p ublic company? A Hayde n became the Executive Director of Critical Path. B In vestors hired a repl aceme nt team to run Critical P ath. C Critical Path lau nched a successful new p roduct on the market. D Critical P ath was floated on the Stock Exc

41、ha nge at 24 cents per share. 14 Which of the followi ng situatio ns did Hayden face at Critical Path in 2001? A The emplo yees were worried about job security. B The in vestors were call ing for cha nges to the company structure. C The man ageme nt was misleadi ng the staff about the companys p osi

42、ti on. D The board of directors did n ot realise the scale of the companys p roblems. 15 One reas on Hayde n was able to tur n Critical P ath arou nd was that A he man aged to find new in vestors. B the finan cial situati on was not as bad as he had thought. C he had built up a good relati on shi p

43、with the man ageme nt team. D he was give n the support that he n eeded. 16 What was Hayde ns p olicy regard ing the staff of Critical Path? A He p aid overtime to everybody who worked outside office hours. B He reduced the workforce by op erat ing an early retireme nt scheme. C He gave key staff th

44、e opp ortu nity to help him set goals for the company. D He restored motivati on by show ing willi ngn ess to work alon gside staff. 17 Accord ing to Hayde n, what could in dicate that a bus in ess is in trouble? A p roblems kee ping accou nts up to date B supp liers refus ing to offer new credit te

45、rms C a freque nt n eed to in crease the amou nt borrowed D difficulties in gett ing p ayme nt from customers on time 18 Hayde n left Critical Path after he had rescued the company because A he wan ted to devel op the tech no logy for a new internet service. B he wan ted to concen trate on founding

46、a new enterp rise. C he had bee n offered a job with a major internet company. D he decided to go into partn ershi p with a major clie nt. 这篇文章名为Critical Path ，字面上理解是关键路径，但在此文中是指一个公司的名字。整篇 BEC考 文章都是围绕这个公司遭遇的困境，以及这个公司的执行主席是如何力挽狂澜、扭转乾坤的。 试阅读文章的一大特点是逻辑性强，层次分明，读完不会有找不着北的感觉。 13题，题目问当Critical Path成为上市公司时还

47、发生了什么事。 A 不对，原文说的很明白：Hayde n took the opp ortu nity to ste p dow n from his executive position。抓住机会从总裁的位置上退下来。 B 项正确。原文说 the bus in ess was put in the hands of new man agers by its in vestors。 业务被投资者交给了新的经理。和B选项的“投资者雇佣了一个替代团队来运营Critical Path ”说 的是一个意思。 C不对，原文说的是sector-leading products，行业领先的产品，的确是 C选

48、项所说的 successful，但是 new不对。 D不对，首先时间上不吻合，不是Critical P ath成为上市公司时的事，其次这一句的描述也不 对，只是说股价跌倒了24美分，不是float。 Public company： a company whose shares can be bought and sold on the stock market, etc. 上市公司。 14题，题引问在2001年的CriticalPath,这个Hayden面临着什么样的情况。答案在第二段找。 and did not know what was going to happen to them 将会

49、发生什么。和A的意思吻合。 A段说员工们担心工作保障。原文中说The 1,100 staff had lost con fide neein the com pany ”，1100号员工对公司失去了信心，不知道 B、C、D在原文中都没有提到。 这个题目关键是能理解job security的意思，它是商务英语里地道常见的用法（同样的还有 employment security) job security : a situation where a job is likely to last for a long time and you will kee p the job if you do

50、what you are exp ected to eg: Con sumers have cut back on their spending because of worries about job security. 常见搭配（完形填空可能会遇到） a high/low level of job security to have/i mp rove/i ncrease/pr ovide job security 15题，题目问Hayden能够扭转局面的一个原因。 答案在第三段找，并不很直接，需要一点概括。 这一段先说了下公司的一些难处，比如投资人很生气，后果很严重。所幸的是投资人对Hay

51、den并不 反感：He was authorised to make whatever changes were required，他被授权进行一切需要的改 变，也就是D选项所说的得到了需要的支持。 A不对，不需要找新的投资者，原文说的是getti ng back the goodwill of the in vestors 挽回投资人的好感。 B不对，财政状况的确很坏。 C在原文没有提到。原文的最后一句说在公司寻找可以信赖的人并让他们负责，不是说和管理层 建立好关系。 16题，问针对CriticalPath的员工采取的政策是什么。答案是第四段的第一句话：The next thing Hayd

52、en had to tackle was morale。需要解决的是士气问题。也就是 D段所说的 restored motivation 。 这一段是讲Hayden如何与员工站在一起。 A不对，原文说的很清楚： it was assumed that nobody would ask for overtime pay until the company was on its feet aga in。任何人不得索取加班补偿。 B不对，原文是 apart from not replacing people as they reached retirement age C也不对，原文是 whower

53、e given more responsibility，被赋予了更多的责任，不是help him set goals ”。17题，题目问什么可以表明一个公司陷入了困境。答案是第五段的这么一句：A bus in ess that has an unrealisticpricingpolicy or has to negotiate extended credit with its suppliers is in trouble。有一个不现实的定价政策或者需要和供货商谈判提高贷款。 Credit是很眼熟的单词，用法很多，让人晕头转向。这里的意思是: money that finan cial in

54、 stituti ons lend to bus in esses, gover nments and people eg： It is unlikely that the bank will extend additional credit to the firm. 18题，题引问扮演了救世主角色之后的Hayden为什么选择离开。 答案是最后一段： With ideas for a fresh venture demanding his attention elsewhere 禾 和 Im not a turn arou nd sp ecialist. I prefer start-u ps

55、. 企业。也就是B选项所说的想要一个新的企业。 2013年商务英语中级阅读模拟试题（ 29) Read the article below about the cha nging role of huma n resources dep artme nts. The best person for the job Emplo yees can make a bus in ess succeed or fail, so the people who choose them have a vital role to play. Employees are a company s new ideas

56、, its public face and its main asset. Hiring the right people is therefore a sig nifica nt factor in a company s success.(0) G If the human resources dep artme nt makes mistakes with hir ing, kee ping and dismiss ing staff, a bus in ess can disa pp ear over ni ght. Many companies now realise that re

57、cruit ing the best recruiters is the key to success. Sarah Choi, Head of HRat Enco pic, believes that thinking commercially is a key quality in HR. Every decisi on an HR man ager makes n eeds to be releva nt to adva ncing the bus in ess. (8) .C.That s no longer the case. HRmanagers have to think mor

58、e strategically these days. They contin uallyn eed to think about the imp act of their decisi ons on the bottom line. (9).F. For exa mpl e,a chief executive will exp ect the HR dep artme nt to advise on everyth ing from the headcou nt to whether to p roceed with an acquisiti on. 需要一个崭新的需要他的注意力的 Whyd

59、o people go into HRin the firstplace? Choi has a ready answer. I think most people in the pro fessi on are attracted by a lon g-term goal.(10).DNothi ng happens in the company which isn t affected by or doesn t impact on its employees, so the HR department is a crucial part of any bus in ess. Not al

60、l op erati onal man agers agree. An in formal survey of attitudes to HR dep artme nts that was carried out last year by a lead ing bus in ess jour nal received comme nts such as What do they actually contribute?(11).A. As Choi points out, salaries have n ever bee n higher and, in additi on, HR man a