大学剑桥商务英语中级阅读分类模拟试题

大学剑桥商务英语中级阅读分类模拟试题

READING

PARTONE

A

ManagementTrainees

Forthisexcitingpositionintheleisureindustryweareseekingmanagementtraineesto

developexcel-lentbuyingskills.Possiblyanewgraduate,thesuccessfulapplicantmayhave

experiencewithabignationalretailer,butmustcertainlypossessexcellentnegotiationand

communicationskills.

B

MarketingExecutive

Thisimportantpositionhasrecentlybeencreatedbyoneofthecountry'sleadingclothes

manufactruers.Itisanoutstandingopportunityforagraduatewithtwoyears'experienceindesign

ormagazinepublishing.Thesuccessfulcandidatewillbegivenresponsibilityforamajor,recently

launchedbrand.Itwouldbeanadvantagetohaveexperienceofpromotionalactivities.Excellent

fringebenefitsonoffer.

C

ProductManager

Thiscompanyhasatpresentabout30%ofthemarketandaturnoverofmorethan£500

million.Thepersonappointedwillhaveresponsibilityforalong-establishedproductwhichisa

householdname.Experienceintheinsurancemarketisnecessaryandabackgroundin

accountancywouldbehelpful.

D

GroupproductManager

Thisisarareopportunitytoworkataseniorlevelforamarketleaderinthefoodindustry,

locatedinthenorthofthecountry.ThepersonappointedwillreportdirectlytotheMarketing

Directorandtakefullresponsibilityforaturnoverinexcessof£80millionandateamofthree

managers.Applicantsneedtohaveaminimumoffiveyears'experienceinproductmanagement.A

marketresearchqualificationwouldbeanadvantage.

1、Togetthisjobitisnotnecessarytohaveworkexperience.

2、Suchahigh-rankingpositiondoesnotcomeupveryoften.

3、Experienceinadvertisingwouldbehelpfulinthisjob.

4、Thisjobwouldprobablysuitsomebodywhohasworkedinthepurchasingdepartmentofa

largechainofstories.

5、Threeyears'experiencewouldnotbeenoughforthisjob.

6、Forthisjobitwouldbeusefulifyouhavestudiedhowtocarryoutsurveysintoconsumer

attitudes.

7、Inthisjobyouwouldtakechargeofaproductwhichhasbeenonthemarketformanyyears.

PARTTWO

YESTERDAY'SIBM

IBMwasestablishedinthestateofNewYorkonJune15,1911astheComputing-

Tabulating-RecordingCompany.Butitsoriginscanbetracedbackto1890,whentheUnitedStates

wasexperiencingwavesofimmigration.TheU.S.CensusBureauknewitstraditionalmethodsof

countingwouldnotbeadequateformeasuringthepopulation,soitsponsoredacontesttofinda

moreefficientmeansoftabulatingcensusdata.ThewinnerwasHermanHollerith,whosePunch

CardTabulatingMachineusedanelectriccurrenttosenseholesinpunchcardsandkeepa

runningtotalofdata.Capitalizingonhissuccess,HollerithformedtheTabulatingMachineCo.in

1896.

8ThecombinedComputing-Tabulating-RecordingCo.,orC-T-R,manufacturedandsold

machineryrangingfromcommercialscalesandindustrialtimerecorderstomeatandcheese

slicersand,ofcourse,tabulatorsandpunchcards.

ThomasJ.Watsonjoinedthecompanyasgeneralmanagerin1914,whenthediversified

businessesofC-T-Rproveddifficulttomanage.Watsonboostedcompanyspiritwithemployee

sportsteams,familyoutingsandacompanyband.Hepreachedapositiveoutlook,andhisfavorite

sloganwas"THANK".9Heunderstoodthatthesuccessoftheclienttranslatedintothesuccess

ofhiscompany,abeliefthat,yearslater,manifesteditselfinthepopularsaying,"Nobodywasever

firedforbuyingfromIBM."

Within11monthsofjoiningC-T-R,Watsonbecameitspresident.Thecompanyfocusedon

providinglarge-scale,custom-builttabulatingsolutionsforbusinesses,leavingthemarketforsmall

officeproductstoothers.DuringWatson'sfirstfouryears,revenuesdoubledto$2million.He

alsoexpandedthecompany'soperationstoEurope,SouthAmerica,AsiaandAustralia.10

DuringtheGreatDepressionofthe1930s,IBMmanagedtogrowwhiletherestoftheU.S.

economystruggled.Watsontookcareofhisemployees.11Whilemostbusinesseshadshut

down,Watsonkepthisworkersbusyproducingnewmachinesevenwhiledemandwasslack.

Thankstotheresultinglargeinventoryofequipment,IBMwasreadywhentheSocialSecurityAct

of1935broughtthecompanyalandmarkgovernmentcontracttomaintainemploymentrecordsfor

26millionpeople.Itwascalled"thebiggestaccountingoperationofalltime,"anditwentsowell

thatordersfromotherU.S.governmentdepartmentsquicklyfollowed.

IBM'ssizeandsuccessinspirednumerousanti-trustactions.A1952suitbytheJustice

Department,settledfouryearslater,forcedIBMtosellitstabulatingmachines—atthetime,IBM

offeredthemonlythroughleases—inordertoestablishacompeting,used-machinemarket.

Anotherfederalanti-trustsuitdraggedonforthirteenyearsuntiltheJusticeDepartmentconcluded

itwas"withoutmerit"anddroppeditin1982.12

A.IBMwasamongthefirstcorporationstoprovidegrouplifeinsurance,survivorbenefits

andpaidvacations.

B.IBMisthemostprominentcasualtyofthetechnologyspendingfreeze,butothersare

sufferingaswell.

C.In1911,Hollerith'scompanywasmergedwithtwoothers,ComputingScaleCo.,of

AmericaandInternationalTimeRecordingCo.

D.Butitsoriginscanbetracedbackto1890,whentheUnitedStateswasexperiencing

wavesofimmigration.

E.IBM'scompetitorsfiled20anti-trustsduringthe1970sandnonesucceeded.

F.In1924,toreflectC-T-R'sgrowingworldwidepresence,itsnamewaschangedto

InternationalBusinessMachineCorp.,orIBM.

G.Watsonalsostressedtheimportanceofthecustomer,alastingIBMprinciple.

PARTTHREE

DepartmentStoreMagic

Formostofthe20thcenturySmithson'swasoneofBritain'smostsuccessfuldepartment

stores,butbythemid-1990s,ithadbecomedull.Stillprofitable,thankslargelytoaseriesof

successfuladvertisingcampaigns,butdecidedlyboring.Thefamouswerecarefulnottobeseen

there,anditssalesstaffdidn'tseemtohavechangedsincethestoreopenedin1908.Worstofall,

itscustomerswerebuyingfewerandfewerofitsownbrandproducts,themajorpartofitsbusiness,

andshowingapreferenceformorefashionablebrands.

Butnowallthehaschanged,thankstoRowenaBaker,whobecameSmithson'sfirstwoman

ChiefExecutivethreeyearsago.Sincethen,whilemostmajorretailersinBritainhavebeenlosing

money,Smithson'sprofitshavebeenrisingsteadily.WhenBakerstarted,alotofimprovements

hadjustbeenmaketothebuilding,withouthavinganyeffectonsales,andshetookthebold

decisiontoinviteoneofEurope'smostexcitinginteriordesignerstodevelopthefashionarea,the

heartofthestore.Thisveryquicklyledtorisingsales,evenbeforethegoodsondisplaywere

changed.Andassalesgrew,sodidprofits.

Bakerhadambitiousplansforthestorefromthestart,'We'replayingabiggame,toprove

we'reuptherewiththeleadersinoursector,andwehavetomakesurepeoplegetthatmessage.

Smithson'shadfallenbehindthecompetition.Itprovideatraditionalservicetargetedat

middle-aged,middle-incomecustomers,who'dbeenshoppingthereforyears,andthecustomer

basewasgraduallycontracting.Ourideaistosellsuchanexcitingvarietyofgoodsthateveryone

willwanttocomein,whethertheyplantospendalittleoralot.'Baker'svisionforthestoreisclear,

butachievingitisfarfromsimple.Atfirst,manyemployeesresistedherimprovementsbecause

theyjustwouldn'tbepersuadedthattherewasanythingwrongwiththewaythey'dalwaysdone

things,eveniftheyacceptedthatthestorehadtoovertakeitscompetitors.Ittookmanylong

meetings,involvingtheentireworkforce,towintheirsupport.Ithelpedwhentheyrealisedthat

Bakerwasaverydifferentkindofmanagerfromtheonestheyhadknown.

Baker'sstaffpoliciescontainedmoresurprises.Theuniformthathadhardlychangedsince

dayonehasnowdisappeared.Moreover,teenagersnowgetyoungshopassistants,andstaffin

thesportsdepartmentsarethemselvessportsfansintrainers.AsBakerexplains,'Howcanyou

seejeansifyou'rewearingablacksuit?Smithson'shasanewidentity,andthisneedstobemade

cleartothecustomers.'She'salsogiveneverysalesassistantresponsibilityforensuringcustomer

satisfaction,evenifitmeansoccasionallybreakingcompanyrulesinthehopecompanyprofits.

RowenaBakerisprovingsuccessful,buttheCity'sbiginvestorshaven'tbeenpersuaded.

Accordingtoretailanalyst,JohnMatthews,'Moneyhadalreadybeeninvestedinrefurbishmentof

thestoreandinfactthatledtotheboostinsales.Shetookthecredit,buthadn'tdoneanythingto

achieveit.Andinmyviewthecompany'sshareholdersarenotconvinced.Thefactisthatunless

sheopensseveralmorestoresprettysoon,Smithson'sprofitswillstarttofallbecauseturnoverat

theexistingstorewillinevitablystarttodecline.'

13、Accordingtothewriter,inthemid-1990sSmithson'sdepartmentstore

A.wasmakingaloss.

B.hadaproblemkeepingstaff.

C.wasunhappywithitsadvertisingagency.

D.mostlysoldgoodsundertheSmithson'sname.

14、Accordingtothewriter,Smithson'sprofitsstartedrisingthreeyearsagobecauseof

A.animprovementintheretailingsector.

B.thepreviousworkdoneonthestore.

C.RowenaBaker'schoiceofdesigner.

D.achangeintheproductsonsale.

15、AccordingtoRowenaBaker,oneproblemwhichSmithson'sfacedwhenshejoinedwas

that

A.thenumberofpeopleusingthestorewasfallingslowly.

B.itscompetitorsofferedamorespecialisedrangeofproducts.

C.thestore'spricesweresetatthewronglevel.

D.customerswereunhappywiththeserviceprovided.

16、Accordingtothewriter,manystaffopposedBaker'splansbecause

A.theywereunwillingtochangetheirwayofworking.

B.theydisagreedwithhergoalsforthestore.

C.theyfelttheywerenotconsultedenoughaboutthechanges.

D.theywereunhappywithherstyleofmanagement.

17、Bakerhaschangedstaffpoliciesbecauseshebelievesthat.

A.thecorporateimagecanbeimprovedthroughstaffuniforms.

B.thepreviousruleswerenotfairtocustomers.

C.customersshouldbeabletoidentifywiththestaffservingthem.

D.employeesshouldshareincompanyprofits.

18、WhatproblemdoesJohnMatthewsthinkSmithson'sisfacing?

A.Moremoneyneedstobeinvestedinthepresentstore.

B.Thecompany'sprofitswillonlycontinuetoriseifitexpands.

C.Therefurbishmentofthestoreisprovingunpopularwithcustomers.

D.Smithson'sshareholdersexpectaquickreturnontheirinvestments.

PARTFOUR

WhoBenefitsMostfromCompanyTraining?

Accordingtorecentresearch,thebettereducatedandthehigherupthesocioeconomic

scaleyouare,themorelikelyyouaretobeofferedworkplacetraining.And,incidentally,themore

likelyyouaretothenturn19theoffer,pleadingfamilyandpersonalcommitmentsor20of

work.Lessqualifiedstaff,ontheotherhand,areofferedfewertrainingopportunities,butaremore

eagerto21themup.Infact,peoplewithfewornoeducationalqualificationsarethreetimes

morelikelytoaccepttrainingwhenitisoffered.

Inthemajorityofcompanies,more22areallocatedtomanagementtrainingthanto

otherareas.Employers23theirbetterqualifiedstaffasmoreimportanttothebusiness,so

theypaythemaccordinglyandinvestmoreinthemin24oftraining.Thisis25bythefact

thatorganizationsaredependentonproperly26managersmakingtherightdecisions.But

this27maymeanthatcompaniesare28otherpartsoftheworkforcedown.

Theresearchersfoundagrowingdemandfortrainingamongthelower-skilled.Unfortunately

thisdemandisnotbeing29byemployers,eventhoughtherearestrongindicationsthat

companieswouldbenefitfromdoingso.Theyalsodiscoveredthat,despitethe

substantial30betweenthetrainingprovidedformanagersandthatofferedtootherstaff,there

wasstillwidespreadendorsementoftraining.

Forthepurposesoftheresearch,trainingwasdefinedasany31ofplannedinstruction

ortuitionprovidedbyanemployerwiththeaimofhelpingemployeesdotheirworkbetter.It

thereforeincludedawidevarietyofapproaches.On-the-jobandclassroomtraining32tobe

usedequallybyemployers.Butlearningonthejob,whichinvolvedobservingacertainprocedure

andthenpractisingit,waseasilythemostpopularmethodforallcategoriesofemployees.While

manyfeltthatlearningfromcolleagueswasbest,veryfew33theinternetasaneffectiveway

totrain.

19、A.backB.overC.downD.off

20、A.forceB.pressureC.strainD.load

21>A.pickB.keepC.takeD.put

22、A.meansB.reservesC.financesD.resources

23、A.imagineB.regardC.supposeD.know

24、A.requirementsB.specificationsC.statesD.terms

25、A.allowedB.approvedC.justifiedD.accepted

26、A.understandingB.intelligentC.informedD.knowledgeable

27、A.stressB.emphasisC.weightD.strength

28、A.lettingB.cuttingC.breakingD.setting

29、A.reachedB.achievedC.gainedD.met

30、A.spaceB.gapC.holeD.room

31、A.frameB.structureC.formD.order

32、A.showedB.appearedC.demonstratedD.presented

33、A.ratedB.thoughtC.markedD.believed

PARTFIVE

•Inmostofthelinesthereisoneextraword.Itiseithergrammaticallyincorrectordoesnot

fitinwiththemeaningofthetext.Somelines,however,arecorrect.

•Ifalineiscorrect,writeCORRECTonyourAnswerSheet.

•Ifthereisanextrawordintheline,writetheextrawordinCAPITALLETTERSonyour

AnswerSheet.

AMemotoSomeMarketingDirectors

Re:NewAdCampaign

Developmentofournextmagazineadvertisingcampaignisunderway,ournew

advertisingfirm,MarshallandDupree,hashavepreparedtwocontrasting

34approachesforustoconsider.Wemustoughtchoosebetweenthesetwo

35conceptsatthisstagesothatMarshallandDupreecancontinuethe

36developmentofourchoice.Developmentoftwobothapproachesbeyondthis

37stageisprohibitivelyexpensive.Therefore,Iamenclosingtwosketcheswhich

38areintendedtogiveyouanmyideaofwhatthefinal,photographedads

39wouldlooklike.Asyouwillseefromthefirstsketch,thisadreflectsour

40thetraditionaladvertisingapproachofpresentingourautomobilesinan

41attractivesettingthatwouldappealtoaffluentcustomers.Thisparticular

42adshowsourspiritmodelandtheyassociatesitwithanactive,sportingcouple.

43Tousinganewdepartureforthesecondad,MarshallandDupreehasresponded

44ittothecurrentdemandforhighqualityworkmanship,Thequotefromthe

45assemblylineworkerisintendedtoinstillconfidenceintheexcellenceof

ourproducts.Inaddition,theadhastheeffectofhumanizingourcompanyinthe

eyesofthepublic.

答案：

READING

PARTONE

1、2、3、4、5、6、7、

PARTTWO

8、9、10、11、12、

PARTTHREE

13、D14、C15、A16、A17、C18、B

PARTFOUR

19、C

［解析］固定搭配题。该空格处应该填入一个可以和动词turn搭配的介词，同时又可以后接宾语

offero通过对四个选项进行分析可知，这四个介词均可以与turn搭配；turnback意为“往回走，阻挡”；

turnover意为"移交给，把……反过来”；turndown意为"拒绝"；turnoff意为"关掉，关闭”；将这四个

短语语义代入原文，选项C最符合文义。

空格所在句语义为：“当你越有可能被给予培训的机会，然而，你却越容易拒绝它。”

20、B

［解析］语义理解题。文中此处缺少一个名词与work搭配，构成拒绝培训的理由之一，将四个选

项进行分析可知只有选项B最符合要求。短语pressureofwork意为“工作压力”；选项A意为“力量，军

队”;选项C意为“紧张,张力”;选项D意为“载重，负载"，workload意为“工作量”。

空格所在句语义为：“拒绝的理由有：家人的恳求，个人所承担的一些义务和工作压力。”

21、C

［解析］固定搭配题。题中空格处需填入一个和介词up搭配的动词，四个选项动词均可以和介词

up搭配，故需要判定每个短语的意思是否符合文章语境。选项A中pick与up搭配意为“捡起，拿起”；

选项BU」keep与up搭配意为“保持，继续”；选项C中take与up搭配意为“接受，占有”；选项DUput与

叩搭配意为“举起，建造”；将四个短语分别代入文章之中，可以判定选项C为正确答案，takethemup

在文中指接受培训的机会。

空格所在句语义为：“那些技能差的员工很少能够得到培训的机会，但是他们都很渴望接受培

训。”

22、D

［解析］惯用搭配题。此处需填入一个名词与动词allocate搭配。选项A意为“方式，手段”；选项B

意为“储备，储存”；选项C意为“财政，金融”；这三个选项均不能与allocate搭配，故排除。选项D意

为“资源，财力”，可以与allocate搭配，allocateresources意为“分配资源”。

空格所在句语义为：“在大多数公司，资源都被分配到管理培训中去。”

23、B

［解析］固定搭配题。此处需填入一个动词与后面的介词as搭配，通过对题中四个选项的分析，只

有选项B中regard可以与as搭配，意为“把……当作，认为”。其余三个选项均不能与as构成搭配。

空格所在句语义为：“老板认为优质的员工对于企业更为重要。”

24、D

［解析］固定短语题。本题考查对固定短语intermsof的用法，intermsof意为"在……方面，根

空格所在句语义为：“所以他们在培训方面投入得更多。”

25、C

［解析］惯用搭配题。此题空格处所填入的动词必须能够与fact搭配。选项A意为“允许，容许"；选

项B意为“同意，批准”；选项D意为“接受，承认”；这三个选项均不能与fact搭配。只有选项C可以与fact

构成语义搭配，thisisjustifiedbythefactthat……意为“事实证明……工

空格所在句语义为：“事实证明：公司的运营需要依靠那些信息十分灵通的经理来做正确的决

定。”

26、C

［解析］语义理解题。此题空格处需要填入一个形容词，同时还要能够被副词properly所修饰。选

项A意为“理解的，了解的"；选项B意为“聪明的，智能的”；选项D意为“有学问的，博学的”；以上三个

选项都能被properly修饰，故只有选项C符合条件，选项C意为“了解的，消息灵通的”,properlyinformed

manager意为“言息十分灵通的经理”。

空格所在句语义为：“事实证