2019年商务英语BEC中级考前练习题

1、2019 年商务英语BEC 中级考前练习题单项选择题 1、根据下面内容，回答题 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 Scotlan

2、d's leading independent caterers, with a turnover of almost& 6m.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 i

3、n 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 for

4、 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 company

5、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 com

6、petitor, the oldest catering company in Edinburgh, was causing her some anxiety. "Customer loyally is not to be underestimated," she warns. ButRobertson is not someone who is easily put off. (11)Partly as a result of this, turnover doubled, and having outgrown another site, Robertson bough

7、t 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 an

8、d thecompany's turnover went from & 700,000 to e 1.5 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 undercapitalized companies trying to grow, it m

9、ight 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 beforeRobertson turns her attention elsewhere. B Her way round this particular problem was to recruit the catering ma

10、nager of the rival company. C But this demand was short-lived, andbefore 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 comp

11、anies 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 s

12、teady if unspectacular professional path seemed set.(8)应选 2、根据下面内容，回答题"Businessman of the Year" AwardA. 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

13、. 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 m

14、oment. 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

15、 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

16、 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

17、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

18、time to be chairman of two other large companies. D. Richard Jenkins ： Finance Director of Centron Advertising Labouringin 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

19、 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

20、 to him that Centron is in much better shape than its rivals. This businessman has successfully targeted a different group of consumers.3 、 根据下面内容，回答题 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

21、 likely you are to be offered workplace training. And, incidentally, the more likely you are to then turn (19)the offer, pleadingfamily and personal commitments or (20)of work. Lessqualified staff, on the other hand, are offered fewer training opportunities, but are more eager to (21)themup. In fact

22、, 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)areallocated to management training than to other areas.Employers (23)their better qualified staff as moreimportant to the business, so they pa

23、y them accordingly and invest more in them in (24)of training. This is(25)by the fact that organizations are dependent onproperly (26)managers making the right decisions. Butthis (27)may mean that companies are(28)other partsof the workforce down. The researchers found A growing demand for training

24、among the lower-skilled. Unfortunatelythis demand is not being (29)by employers, even thoughthere are strong indications that companies would benefit from doing so. They also discovered that, despite the substantial (30)between the training provided formanagers and that offered to other staff, there

25、 was still widespread endorsement of training. For the purposes of the research, training was defined as any (31)of plannedinstruction 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 and classro

26、om training (32)to be used equally by employers.But learning on the job, which involved observing A certainprocedure 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)theinternet as an effec

27、tive way to train.( 19)应选A backB overC downD off 填空题4、根据下面内容，回答题Market Research0 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

28、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 f

29、ew 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 addressingstrangers Interviewers are usually expecled to work41 unsupervised

30、 ， 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 or

31、ganize training ， where trainees learn how 45 to recognize socio-economic groups and practice approaching to the public 。 345、1. Problems at Southford PlantDear MR Ballard, You asked for a brief report concerning the recent events at the Southford Plant.We haveconsulted the files and spoken to relev

32、ant 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. 1The handling equipment used to deliver thecomponents to the assembly line has been known to be in need of an overhaul for the past six months. The plant h

33、as 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. 2In itthey warned that there was not enough space available to store sufficient components 3 We had decided toinstall fully automated rob

34、ot 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 werestill only working a two-shift system so the machines were not getting the necessary cover.We a

35、ll agree that thebreakdown was extremely unfortunate and yet we must admitthat, 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 5Added to this is the fact that personnel de

36、partment 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

37、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 si

38、mple.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 t

39、he 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 twic

40、e.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 publ

41、ished 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 caugh

42、t 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 impos

43、sible to keep up with all the new business books.7、Questions 8-12 Read this text on Dave ' s dream. C hoose 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 ： Bypassin

44、g TraditionLike 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 exampleLike most entrepreneurs, Dave has taken a long time to develop his dream. (8)Dave discovered that he h

45、ad astrong interest in studio engineering, He took independentstudy 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,

46、 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 thaneat

47、, Dave observes.Dave faced one major problem-how to distribute Icon sproducts. 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 play

48、ed hardball with manufacturers, forcing them to accept thinmargins. (11)This kept those firms that offered morecustomized 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 i

49、nventory 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 isone where all manufacturers sell their products directly to end user. In this way, even the audiophiles in Dead Horse,

50、 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 producersC. Who provided mass-produced models.D. The firms tend

51、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 major

52、ing 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 wholove to listen to music and appreciate first-rate stereo equipment.I

53、. He sees sales climbing , cash flowing, and hundreds of happy workersStriving to produce top- quality products that delight Icon s customers.8、PART FOURQuestions 21-35Read 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 e

54、ach gap.For each question 21-35, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet.Employment Opportunities for Graduates with the ProvincialBankThe 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 householdname.

55、Almost 4,000 of these employees (22) managerial or executive positions. The bank has an outstanding (23) of profitability, which hasbeen achieved by introducing innovations at the same time as maintaining leadership of the (24) . The bank'scomprehensive training programme concentrates on (25) th

56、e most important skills that graduates need in order to (26) early management responsibility.Trainees take responsibility for their own continuous selfdevelopment through visiting other branches and departments, and by (27)courses in management skills. Theyalso receive training in order to increase

57、their knowledge of the bank's (28) . The bank supports(29)of staff who wish to take professionalexaminations, and its Graduate Training Scheme is (30)to the nationally recognized Diploma inManagement.Obviously the quality of its mangers is of (31)importance to the bank's performance. Itwelco

58、mes 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 aspart 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

59、other parts ofthe bank and can (35)a varied and flexibleworking life.Example： A budgetary B fiscal C financial D economic21 A opened B entered C turned D become22 A hold B do C keep D own23 A career B catalogue C record D experience24 A area B trade C record D market25 A making B reaching C developing D heightening26 A present B treat C deal D handle27 A observing B attending C involving D staying