BEC中级考试真题

BEC中级考试真题READINGQUESTIONS1-45PARTONEQuestions1-7Lookatthesentencesbelowandthejobadvertisementsontheoppositepage.Whichjobdoeseachsentence1-7referto?Foreachsentence,markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.ABCDThispostinvolvessomesecretarialduties.Youwillberesponsiblefortheoperationofacomputersystem.2Youmustbeabletoforecastwhatpeoplewillwanttowear.3Youwillbeabletoworkwithpeoplefrommanydifferentcountriesandbackgrounds.4Youwillhaveaqualificationwhichcoverstwosubjectareas.Itisnecessarytohaveworkedinthissectorbefore.Youwillneedtokeepincontactwiththeheadquartersoftheorganization.Theadvertisementemphasisestheneedtohaveasuitableapproachtoimportantpeople.ABUSINESSMANAGERYouwillberesponsibleforourglobalbusinesswithinspecificcountriesand willhaveagoodunderstandingofinternationaldistribution,possiblybasedonprevious experience,plustheabilitytoworkinmarketsthatarehighlyvariedintheirculture.You willbefluentinasecondlanguage,bewillingtotravelextensively,andpreferablyhavea degree.BDEPARTMENTSTOREBUYERBasedatourheadofficeinLondon,youwillselectandorderstockfrom oursuppliersinItaly.Youwillneedtopredictfashiontrendsandbuildastrongrelationship withourItalianoffice.Youwillhavegainedyourbuyingexperienceinwomen'sfashionandwill holdadegreeindesignwithabusinessstudiescomponent.CLEGALSERVICESADMINISTRATORAsheadofthelegaloffice,yourworkwillincludemanagingthe officeITnetwork,typingreports,diarymaintenanceandsupervisionofanotherstaffmember. Youwillneedgoodorganizationalskillsinordertokeepaheadofavariedworkload.Youwill bedealingwithseniorexecutivesandgovernmentofficials,soamatureandefficientmanneris essential.DREGIONALLEISURESITESMANAGERYouwillberesponsibleforbudgetaryplanning,contract negotiations,localmarketingandeffectiveadministration.Youwillcommunicatefrequentlywith ourmainofficeusingthelatesttechnology.Yourexperiencecouldbefromanybusinesssector butyoushouldenjoyoutdoorlifeandwillideallypossessanestatemanagementqualification.PARTTWOQuestions8-12Readtheextractbelowfromanarticleaboutthecoffeeindustry.Choosethebestsentencefromthelistontheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.Eachgap8-12,markoneletter(A-I)onyourAnswerSheet.Notuseanylettermorethanonce.Coffeeisworthapproximately$50-60bnperannumintermsofworldsales.Itisatruly internationalcommodity,andtodaymorethan50countriesintheworldgrowcoffeebeans. (example) I .ICOorganizationhelpscoffeeproducersandpromotescoffeeconumption worldwide.ICOestimatesthatworldproductionnextyearwillreach97.5millionbags.11.3 millionbagshigherthanthecurrentyear.(8) .Asthelargestproducingcountry, Brazilisparticularlyimportantinthecoffeeworld.In1994Brazilwasresponsiblefor25%of worldproduction,Colombiawasnextwith13.4%,Indonesiahad7.5%,Mexico4.7%,Guatemala3.8% andEthiopiaandVietnamwereequalwith3.4%.Coffeeisatoughcrop,andcanbegrowninareas whereitisdifficultorimpossibletogrowothercrops.(9)However,diseaseisalwaysproblem forcoffeeproduction,aswecanseeinsomepartsofSouthAmericaatthemoment.ICOisactive ineducatingfarmersaboutavoidingdiseaseanddealingwithproblemswhentheyoccur.The distributionchainvariesfromcountrytocountry,explainsDubois.Inmostcountriesthe smallerfarmersselltheircroptoalocaltrader,whothensellsitontoexporters.Thereare, however,otherdistributionsystems.(10) .Somecountries,likeVietnam,have specialgovernmentmarketingorganizationsforcoffee.Coffeepricesoftenvarygreatlyfromone yeartothenext.In1997,forexample,therewasalargeriseintheworldprice,whichwas immediatelyfeltbytheconsumer.Risingpricesalwaysresultinadropinsales,whichwill haveabadeffectonthosedevelopingcountries,whicharehighlydependentonforeignexchange fromcoffeeexports.(11) .IntheopinionofPabloDubois,thebiggestproblemfor hisorganisationistocreategreaterconsumerawarenessofthedifferentvarietiesofcoffee anddifferentwaysofpreparingit.(12) .ICOisthereforeconcentratingits promotionalactivitiesonRussiaandChina.Itisalsoencouragingenvironmentallyfriendly coffeeproduction,andlastyear'sseminaroncoffeeandtheenvironmentcreatedalotof interest.Thefuturelooksbrightforthecoffeeindustry.Itisestimatedthatconsumptionover thenextfewyearswillcontinuetorisesteadily.NewmarketslikeEasternEuropeandChinaare expectedtodevelopfast.Asaresult,themembershipnowrepresents94%ofallexportersand60%ofallimporters.Insomeofthesecountries,thiscanamounttoasmuchas50%ofallexportearning.InNorthAmerica,mostconsumersalreadyhaveaboveaverageknowledgeoftherangeavailable.Forexample,frostandwindareparticularlydamagingtocoffeecrops.Largercoffeegrowers,forexample,frequentlyexportdirectly.ThemainreasonforthisishigherBrazilianoutputasproductionrecoversfromweather damagetocrops.Itiscultivatedinmountainregionswhichcanonlybereachedbyanimaltransport,andin otherdifficultareaswheremodernagriculturalequipmentcannotbeused.ThisisbecausethereisademandforcoffeeinGermany,anditisalsosoldintheUKandin theUS.Thismakethecoffeeindustryfairlyuniversal,accordingtoPabloDubois,Headofthe InternationalCoffeeOrganisation(ICO),basedinLondon.PARTTHREEQuestions13-20Readthearticlebelowaboutstressmanagement,andanswerquestions13-20ontheoppositepage.ALessonInStressManagementDemandsplacedonusatworkcanoftenleadtoconsiderableworryanddiscomfort.Thereare, however,waysofprotectingourselvesfromthestresswefaceatwork.WeinterviewedJane Collard,aconsultantinstressmanagement.InJaneCollard'sopinion,stressisbecominganincreasinglycommonfeatureofthe workplace.Stressisahighlyindividualreaction,whichvariesconsiderablyfrompersonto person,anditisdifficultforsomeemployeestoavoidit.Indeed,stressisregardedbymany aspartoftheorganizationalcultureofourinstitutions:itcomeswiththejob.Recentfigures indicatethattimetakenoffworkbecauseofstresshasincreasedby500percentsincethe 1950s.Undoubtedly,changesinworkingconditionshaveledtogreaterpressureatworkatall levels.Withreductionsinstaffing,workloadsforindividualemployeeshaveincreased.In addition,manyemployeesareleftworryingaboutthesecurityoftheirjobs.Onthestressmanagementcoursesthatsheruns,JaneCollardtriestomakethetrainees realisethatstressinitselfisnotharmful.Everyoneneedsacertainlevelofstresstoenable themtofeelmotivatedandtoperformeffectively.Acompleteabsenceofstresscanbeas damagingasoverstress,sinceitcanmakepeopleloseinterestintheirwork,andevenleadto depression.Thedifficultiesoccurwhentheamountofstressrisesabovealevelwhichis healthyforaparticularindividual.Ifthishappens,theeffectsareveryobviousandthe traineesaretaughttorecognizethesigns.Stressmaybeexpressedphysically,forexample throughheadachesandtiredness,orthroughemotionalproblemssuchasdepression.Aperson sufferingfromstressmayalsostarttobehavedifferently,andcanbedifficulttodealwith.Whileitmaynotalwaysbepossibletopreventstress,thereareanumberofwaysinwhichit canbecontrolled.Thefirstthingthatthetraineeslearnishowtomanagetheirtime effectively.Thisinvolves,firstofall,settingrealisticgoalsforboththeshortandlong term.Oncethisframeworkhasbeenestablished,tasksarethenprioritisedonadailybasis.The traineesarealsoremindedthatwhentheyareunderpressurethelessimportantitemsshouldbe left,andtheyshouldneverhesitatetodelegate.Everyoneisencouragedtolookatwaysof reducing'wastedtime',forexamplebygroupingsimilartaskstogetherordealingwithitems immedkiately.Janefeelsthatoneofthemostusefulfeaturesofthecourseisthatitenablestraineesto dealwiththosedemandsordeadlinesthattheyregardasunreasonable.Theyareencouragedto avoidbeingdefensive,butatthesametimetheyareadvisednottobeafraidofsaying'no'. Theyareaskedtogivereasonsonlyifnecessary.Thetraininghelpsthemtoforeseedifficult situationsorunwanteddemands,andtheylearnhowtopreparethemselvesmentally.Everyoneis encouragednottogetstuckinnegativethoughtpatterns,wherestresscanfeedacircularsense ofhelplessness.Onesolutiontheydiscussistothinkofamoreencouragingalternativefor eachnegativemessage.Theylearn,forexample,toremindthemselvesthatnothingterrible happenswhenademandisrefusedoradeadlinemissed.Lifegoeson.Questions13-16Forquestions13-16,choosethebesttitleforeachnumberedparagraphfromthelistbelow.Foreachnumberedparagraph1-4,markoneletter(A-G)onyourAnswerSheet.Donotuseanylettermorethan13Paragraph1 Paragraph2 Paragraph3 Paragraph4 AHigherstresslevelsamongtopmanagersBCopingwithstressthroughapositiveattitudeCTimelostatworkthroughsicknessDCausesofincreasedstressintheworkenvironmentEExplanationsformisseddeadlinesFstressreductionthroughbetterGTypicalproblemsassociatedwithstressQuestions17-20Usingtheinformationinthetext,completeeachsentence17-20withaphraseA-Gfromthelist below.Foreachquestion17-20,markoneletter(A-G)onyourAnswerSheet.Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.Mostpeopleagreethattherecentincreaseinstressisduetochangesin 18Thetraineesaretaughtthattherightlevelofstressatworkisimportantforgood.Traineeslearnthatonewayoflimitingstressisbydecidingupon.OneofthemostimportantpartsofthecourseislearninghowtoreacttoPARTFOURQuestions21-35ReadthetextbelowaboutjobprospectsattheProvincialBank.ChoosethecorrectwordA,B,C,or,Dontheoppositepagetofilleachgap.Eachquestion21-35,markoneletter(A,B,C,orD)onyourAnswerSheet.EmploymentOpportunitiesforGraduateswiththeProvincialBankTheProvincialBankisoneofthebiggest(example) institutionsintheU.K. Withits1,900branchesand58,000employees,ithas(21) ahouseholdname.Almost 4,000oftheseemployees(22) managerialorexecutivepositions.Thebankhasan outstanding(23) ofprofitability,whichhasbeenachievedbyintroducing innovationsatthesametimeasmaintainingleadershipofthe(24) Thebank's comprehensivetrainingprogrammeconcentrateson(25) themostimportantskills thatgraduatesneedinorderto(26) earlymanagementresponsibility.Traineestake responsibilityfortheirowncontinuousself-developmentthroughvisitingotherbranchesand departments,andby(27) coursesinmanagementskills.Theyalsoreceivetraining inordertoincreasetheirknowledgeofthebank's(28) .Thebanksupports(29) ofstaffwhowishtotakeprofessionalexaminations,anditsGraduateTraining Schemeis(30) tothenationallyrecognizedDiplomainManagement.Obviouslythe qualityofitsmangersisof(31) importancetothebank'sperformance.Itwelcomes goodgraduatesinanysubjectarea,(32) theycandemonstratetheabilityto influenceevents,andhavethepotentialto(33) bothasleadersandaspartofa team.MostgraduatetraineesjointheRetailBankingdivisioninitially.Thosestartingonthis programmewillsoonhavethe(34) toworkinotherpartsofthebankandcan(35) avariedandflexibleworkinglife.Example:AbudgetaryBfiscalCfinancialDeconomicExampleAopenedBenteredCturnedDbecome22AholdBdoCkeepDown23AcareerBcatalogueCrecordDexperience24AareaBtradeCrecordDmarket25AmakingBreachingCdevelopingDheightening26ApresentBtreatCdealDhandle27AobservingBattendingCinvolvingDstaying28AservicesBgoodsCcreationsDabilities29AcolleagueBmembersCpeopleDpersons30AqualifiedBcombinedCfastenedDlinked31AmainBvitalCnecessaryDsuperior32AthereforeBthusCprovidedDonly33AsucceedBrealizeCgainDovercome34AchoiceBchanceClikelihoodDprobability35AforecastBbelieveCsupposeDexpectPARTFIVESectionAQuestions36-40Readthetextbelowaboutaspecialkindofcompetition.Inmostofthelines36-40thereisoneextrawordwhichdoesnotfit.Oneortwolines, however,arecorrect.Ifalineiscorrect,writeCORRECTonyourAnswerSheet.Ifthereisanextrawordintheline,writetheextrawordinCAPITALLETTERSonyourAnswer Sheet.Examples:0TheinternationalYouthSkillsOlympicsisavocationalskillscompetitionin0CO RRECT00whichtheyoungpeopledemonstratetheirachievementsinarangeofareas.00THE36Thecompetition,whichthereisheldeverytwoyears,isorganizedbytheinternational37TrainingOrganisation.AllU.K.competitorsqualifyfortheteambygettingthrough38atoughnationalcompetition.Theirbackgroundsarevaryfromartstosciences,andstudentstotheself-employed.Sincetheydonotknowwhichskillareatheywillbetestedin,theymusttotrainforeverythingbeforethestartofthecompetition.SectionBQuestions41-45Readthetext