2019年商务英语考试BEC中级练习题4

1、2019 年商务英语考试 BEC 中级练习题 4单项选择题1、根据下面内容，回答题Buffet ZoneLucy 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 Scotla

2、nd's leading independent caterers, with a turnover of almost & 6m.She had never planned to own a business, and had certainlyn ever con sidered a career in cater ing. (0).G However,her unplanned career began in 1985, when she returned to Edinburgh and discovered that the takeaway she had work

3、ed in was up for sale. On impulse, she bought it, but admits that at the time she knew nothing about catering. (8)It was adifficult 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

4、 for their lunches. (9)"At one pointthere 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 thedirection of the comp

5、any for good.As Robertson began to win catering contracts, she decided that the company would have to move to larger premises. In1994, 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 c

6、ompetitor, 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 bo

7、ught 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)Manyaccepted a

8、nd the compa ny's tur no ver went from& 700,000 to& 1.5 millio n almost over ni ght.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

9、grow, it might easily have collapsed." But that, she feels, is the challenge of developing your own business.ABut there are plenty of similar contracts to be won in the east of Scotland before Robertson turns her attention elsewhere.BHer way round this particular problem was to recruit the cate

10、ring 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

11、 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

12、 a steady if unspectacular professional path seemed set.(8)应选填空题2、Finding the right peopleWhen a small company grows, managers must take on many new roles. Besides the day-to-day running of the business, they find themselves responsible for, among other things, relations with outside investors, incr

13、eased levels of cashflow and, hardest of all, recruitment.For most managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, the job of searching for, interviewing and selecting staff is difficult and time-consuming. _(0) G_. Interviewing, for example, is a highly skilled activity in itself.“We have found the

14、 whole process very hard,” says DanBaker, founding partner of a PR company.“ In seven years wehave grown from five to eighteen staff, but we have not found it easy to locate and recruit the right people.” _(8)_As Dan Baker explains,“We went to one for out firstrecruitment drive, but they took a lot

15、of money in advance and didn 't put forward anybody suitable. In the end we had to do it ourselves. ”Most recruitment decisions are based on a pile of CVs, a couple of short interviews and two cautious references. David Rowe, a business psychologist, studied how appointments were made in five sm

16、all companies. He claims that selection was rarely based in clear criteria. _(9)_. This kind of approach to recruitment often has unhappy consequences for both employers and new recruits.Small companies often know what kind of person they are looking for. _(10)_. According to David Rowe, this means

17、that small company managers themselves have to devote more time and energy to recruitment. It shouldn ' t be something that is left to the evenings or weekends.Many companies start the recruitment process with over- optimistic ideas about the type of person that will fit into their team. “It 

18、9;s very easy to say you must have the best people in t he top positions, ” says Alex Jones, managing partner of an executive recruitment company.“But someonewho is excellent in one company may not do so well in another environment. _(11)_. You can never guarantee a successful transfer of skills.”Wh

19、atever the candidate ' s qualifications, their personal qualities are just as important since they will have to integrate with existing members of staff. This is where, the recruitment industry argues, they can really help.According to Alex Jones,“a good recruitment agency willvisit your company

20、 and ask a lot of questions. _(12)_. They can ask applicants all sorts of you with a shortlist of people who not only have the skills, but who are likely to fit in with your company's way of doing things.”A. A finance director in a big company, for example, will often make a terrible small compa

21、ny finance director because he or she is used to having a team doing the day-to-day jobs.B. More often than not, the people making the choice prioritized different qualities in candidates or relied on guesswork.C. Recruitment would seem an obvious task to outsource, but the company 's experience

22、 of recruitment agencies was not encouraging.D. They need paying for that, of course, but you will have them working for you and not for the candidate.E. They are usually in very specific markets and the problem they face is that recruitment agencies may not really understand the sector.F. This mean

23、s that companies cannot spend more than the standard ten minutes interviewing each applicant.G. Yet few are trained and competent for all aspects of the task.3、 1. Problems at Southford PlantDear MR Ballard,You asked for a brief report concerning the recent events at the Southford Plant.We have cons

24、ulted 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

25、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 therewas not enough space available to store sufficient components 3We had de

26、cided 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 arise4But we were still only working a two-shiftsystem so the machines were

27、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

28、 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

29、 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.

30、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 th

31、e plant will be coordinated to enable the workers to step up production of the new range of machines.Questions 8 - 12Read 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

32、 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

33、 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 le

34、ss 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 cour

35、se of your work, you find it impossible to keep up with all the new business books.5、Banks and Banking ： Other Bank ServicesA modern bank provides many services other than checking accounts. 1If you went to a bank to open a savings account, you would go through almost the same procedures followed in

36、 applying for a checking account. 2 Then you would be given apassbook in which your initial deposit would be recorded. All deposits and withdrawals from your account are entered into your passbook. 3 With a regular passbook savingsaccount, you would be able to withdraw money wherever you needed it.

37、All you would have to do is fill out a withdrawal order and present it, along with your passbook to the teller.All banks pay interest on savings accounts. 4 Banksalso pay interest at different times. 5 Suppose, forexample, that on January 1, you deposited $ 1,000 in a bank that paid 4 1/2 percent in

38、terest semiannually. By July 1,you would have earned $ 22.50 interest. This interest would automatically be credited to your account; and of you left it in the bank, along with your original deposit, you would receive interest on $ 1,022.50 for the next six-month period. That is, your interest would

39、 be compounded.A. But the majority of them pay semiannually, that is, every six months.B. The interest rate varies from bank to bank, but the general range is from 4 1/2 to 6 percent.C. This means that passbook contains an actual record of all transactions made and that you know the exact amount of

40、savings you have at any one time.D. One of these is checking accounts.E. First you would be asked to fill out a signature card.F. But most banks pay interest at the end of a year.G. One of the most important of these is regular passbook savings.H. One can withdraw money whenever necessary.6、Question

41、s 17-20Using the information in the text, complete each sentence 17-20 with a phrase A-G from the list below.For each question 17-20, mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.Do not use any letter more than once.17 Most people agree that the recent increase in stress is due to changes in .18 The t

42、rainees are taught that the right level of stress at work is important for good.19 Trainees learn that one way of limiting stress is by deciding upon.20 One of the most important parts of the course is learning how to react to_A levels of performanceB shorter deadlinesC employment practicesD higher

43、levels of sicknessE unfair demandsF successful management structureG practical targets简答题7、Part OneYou are a manager in a company which manufactures office furniture. Next month you are going to London to discuss an important contract.Write a note of 30-40 words to your assistant：1. saying when you

44、want to leave and return2. asking him to book flights3. telling him which hotel to bookPart TwoYou recently attended a one-day training course on health and safety. You were disappointed with the course.Read the advertisement below, which gives the details of the course. You have written some notes

45、on the advertisement.Then using your handwritten notes, write a letter to the company, complaining about the course.Do not include postal address.Write 100-120 words.Write on your answer sheet.8、Part OneYou are the Manager of a small printing company. A new employee, Mark McCabe, is joining your company on 10th May.Write a short memo to