剑桥商英高级真题集听力原文第10

1、10TEST 10This is the Business English Certificate Higher 4, Listening Test 2Part One. Questions 1 to 12You will hear a speaker giving a group of managers advice on how to run a project.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listen

2、ed once, replay the recording.You now have 45 seconds to read through the notes.pauseNow listen, and complete the notes.pauseWoman: Um, OK, er, can I have your attention, please? Thanks. Now, er, people ask me how do I know if a project is good and, if so, how do I then keep it on track? Well, there

3、 are no magic formulas, but I do have a few tips for choosing and managing projects that Id like to share with you today.First of all, choose carefully! Your project needs to be large enough to be worthwhile and one in which your basic skills will enable you to succeed. This means sifting through pr

4、oposals very carefully, and so its essential that you allocate enough hours to the selection process. When youve done that, you need to work out how long the project will take. Its pretty tough to maintain a projects freshness and flexibility, so you dont want it running on too long - therefore, you

5、 need to set a sensible, manageable timescale.When you start, you need to think about how your project will be better than the last one, and this means you should constantly keep the customers circumstances in mind and think about what they want. Employees will be enthusiastic about the project if y

6、ou emphasise how important it is. So you should aim to convince them of how crucial teamwork is, and if you can do that, youre more likely to get the best results. Also, good managers have a constantly updated picture of the project performance, and to achieve this, you need to be efficient at recor

7、d-keeping.As the project gets going, you should always keep employees informed and involved in whats going on, so that they understand any constraints. At the same time, this will help them to appreciate the progress being made. And try meeting across boundaries. In well-managed projects, youll find

8、 that any meetings that are held are not exclusive to the project workers, but include people from different disciplines who work in the same organisation. These outsiders may come up with fresh approaches, which can speed up the whole project.Now, encountering problems is almost inevitable; you nee

9、d to recognise that and deal with them. To do this successfully, you need to share information about anything which is not going well. This will allow you to make decisions quickly and minimise any big changes. These may come as a result of the customer altering their requirements. Its vital to be a

10、ble to adjust to these developments, so make an attempt to be as flexible as you can in your dealings with them.The prospect of success rises when those involved are consciously trying to do better than any other businesses or even past practices within their own company, so its important to breed c

11、ompetitiveness - the more the better if you want to get the best result.And finally, dont forget that companies that appear to be doing well all the time owe their success, in part, to a willingness to diversify when the market moves or alters, or as they recognise where they can make a better contr

12、ibution. And, when youre contemplating a risky project, make sure you employ people who have several skills. This means they could be transferred if the original project doesnt succeed.Well, er, I hope thats helped. Urn, now, if anybody has any questions.pauseNow listen to the recording again.pauseT

13、hat is the end of Part One. You now have 20 seconds to check your answers.pausePart Two. Questions 13 to 22.You will hear five different people talking about the companies they work for.For each extract, there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question, 13-17, choose the recent change in the

14、 company the person mentions, from the list A-H. Now look at Task Two. For each question, 18-22, choose the strength of the company the person mentions from the list A-H.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have 30 seconds to read the two lists.pauseNow listen, and do the two t

15、asks.pauseSpeaker OneMan: There seem to have been so many changes already this year., its hard to keep up, to keep taking things on board. The CEOs nothing if not dynamic, thats for sure! Well, they say this new system will work better, compared to the previous one, with its habit of crashing the ne

16、twork on a weekly basis. Its certainly been tough, battling to meet our performance targets, only to find your PC cant access anything all afternoon. Its just so frustrating! So lets hope it proves to be one innovation thats of real benefit, that helps us help clients with what they need., because t

17、hats what were best at, the front line, and I hope we never lose sight of that. Satisfying them is whats rewarding, after all.Speaker TwoWoman:? It always comes down to people in the end, and thats why keeping staff happy is so crucial to success. We have to have a culture of creativity, of imaginat

18、ion, to keep improving. Our growth and profits come from our ability to keep bringing out new models, new features, that keep us ahead, and of course, those ideas all come from people. Thats why I think this latest in-company development makes sense. Instead of having different people spread about i

19、n different departments all over the company, while trying to think in related ways, its much better to group them in one section, especially since weve got the space. I think its a good example of intelligent management - proper strategic thinking at its best. Ill be very interested to see what fre

20、sh angles come out of the new set-up.Speaker ThreeMan: Well, yes, its very much in line with the way we usually go about things, so Im sure itll prove to be a change for the better. I mean, if were saying we want to monitor things, to relate achievement to targets and so on, then of course we should

21、 be looking to have more aspects tied in and programmed. Its only fair that the sales staff should become involved in the setting of targets in the first place, so thats a useful improvement, whichll make them feel more accountable for results. I also think it could have an impact on how they deal w

22、ith their customers, because theyll have more of a stake. Weve always been good at bringing staff on, providing attractive career paths, quarterly bonuses and so on, that keep them motivated.Speaker FourWoman:? Well, in a small company like ours, everything has to count for something, otherwise well

23、 sink., competitions so tight now, we have to be sure that were doing the right thing. Without scale, were never going to be able to compete on price - thats just a fact of life - but where weve always been good, I think, is on getting our name noticed out there. Ingenious promotions, placements, hi

24、gh-profile local sponsorship, that kind of thing., it all adds up. And I think theyve put the right person in charge this time. Johns skills will transfer very well from his old section, and his IT knowledge is second to none, which will come in very handy here as we battle away with our rather anti

25、quated computers!Speaker FiveMan:? I have to say I feel almost uneasy about our success., its as if its too good to be true, and that eventually all this expansion will have to come to a halt. I dont know if I trust the long- term predictions for growth. But then again, I guess we really have got th

26、e right package - a reliable product that customers know they can trust in a market where things are changing so rapidly that they can often feel rather bewildered by all the new developments. What they want to be sure of is getting value for money, and were succeeding by offering high-quality produ

27、cts that dont cost the earth. Anyway, I suppose this refurbishment is the right thing to do, to rearrange the sections like this., its certainly easier than looking for a new site, at any rate.pauseNow listen to the recording again.pauseThat is the end of Part Two.pausePart Three. Questions 23 to 30

28、.You will hear two managers, Peter and Sarah, who are taking an MBA course, discussing their experiences and views of business.For each question, 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have 45 seconds to read through the q

29、uestions.pauseNow listen, and mark A, B or C.pauseMan:Well, Sarah, what do you make of this assignment? Quite tough, isnt it?Woman:Hm, Peter, its not the easiest, thats for sure! But this course was never going to be a holiday, was it?Man:Definitely not! Anyway, the job this time seems to be pretty

30、detailed, analytical.Woman: Mm. But we have to be looking at the wider picture, dont we?. I mean, the strategies these organisations put in place.Man: Yes, how they structure employees.Woman: And its that aspect of organisations were supposed to be reviewing.Man: Yup. I must say, I think the course

31、in general is pretty well put together.Woman:? Yeah, the lecturing inputs pretty high standard, isnt it?Man: No better than I expected., though its probably a bit tipped in favour of the theoretical side, Id say. But whatever, I do feel everyones particular situations taken account of, so we all ?fe

32、el its tailor-made for us, somehow, if you see what I mean.Woman:Mm, I do, though I cant say Im entirely happy.Man: Oh?Woman: Well, we do all the reading - and Ive learnt a lot from that in itself- and then get into our respective groups, but then I find weve all got different concerns.Man:Contexts.

33、Woman:Yeah, yeah, that it doesnt really gel, even in the two-hour slots they give us, which ought to be enough, surely.Man: But dont you find thats true in any work situation?Woman:? Not necessarily, no. Well, er, perhaps Im not at my best in teams, full stop. My motivation comes from seeing steps,

34、you know? A line of particular projects coming up, and the challenge of knocking each one into shape and then going onto the next I think thats the best way to be satisfying client demand, whether youre dealing directly with them or not. I used to be more face-to-face, but I have less of that ?now.M

35、an:Thats interesting, cause where Id like to be further on down the line is in dealing with building up brand image for my company. you know, seeing what strategies can be put in place to increase the perceived quality of what youve got on offer., so thats similar to what youre saying in some ways.W

36、oman:In some ways, yes., course, the question is, how do you get there?Man: To the dream job.Woman:? I expect we both need to talk to a recruitment consultant in the near future.Man: They are the ones with the contacts.Woman:? Mm-hm, yeah, but often in a specialised field. I mean more that theyre in

37、 a position to make you see what employers actually require . you know, take you out of your dream world.Man: Yeah.Woman: and get you into the business of focusing the value of what you offer more precisely onto what a companys looking for. Though their commission can be sky-high.Man: Yes! Do you know, another thing Id be looking for is the chance to work from home more.Woman: Escape c