1、剑桥商务英语中级口语-6 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、SPEAKING(总题数：1，分数：100.00)Rapid Technology Innovation Creates a Smart, Mobile WorldOver the past 25 years, the digital revolution has changed the way we work and play almost beyond recognition. Yet the smart, interconnected world we live in now is still neith
2、er as smart, nor as connected, as we would like it to be.Consumers want more powerful devices and applications, while businesses seek more cost-effective technology to cope with increasingly complex challenges.Satisfying these demands will lead to explosive growth in data and analytics, to new compe
3、tition in almost every field, and to the disruption and realignment of many industries.Specifically, we expect to see the following changes:Businesses Will Compete on Analytics to Differentiate ThemselvesThe growing number of embedded sensors collecting information about the world, and the rise of s
4、ocial networks that store the data people share, will generate immense quantities of information. IDC, a market research firm, suggests that the amount of digital information created each year will increase to 35 trillion gigabytes by 2020, requiring 44 times more data storage than in 2009.For examp
5、le, telematics applications, similar to global positioning systems, will allow organizations to send, receive and store information via telecommunications devices while controlling remote objects.Although commonly associated with the automotive industry, telematics applications are being developed f
6、or use in medical informatics, health care and other fields. Despite these advances in technology, simply collecting and managing the massive volumes of data will provide minimal value.The real payback comes when business intelligence is applied to enable companies to make better strategic decisions
7、.Business intelligence, which enables organizations to gather quantifiable data on each area of the organization and analyze it in a way that yields information they can act onhelping them enhance decision making, improve performance, mitigate risk and sometimes even create new business models; is g
8、rowing in importance.Smart Mobility Will Change the Way People InteractIncreasingly, smart devicesportable tools that connect to the Internethave become a part of our lives. In the last quarter of 2010, sales of smartphones outpaced those of PCs for the first time, according to data from IDC.By 2014
9、, more smart devices could be used to access the Internet than traditional computers. The move to an increasingly mobile world will create new players and new opportunities for a variety of industries.We expect that new emerging market companies will be significant competitors, growing rapidly in pa
10、rt because a lack of legacy systems will enable them to profit more quickly from new technology as it becomes available.Emerging markets will create plenty of opportunities related to smart technology, and they will not be limited to for-profit enterprises.In Kenya, for example, mobile phones are be
11、ing used to collect data and report on disease- specific issues from more than 175 health centers serving over 1 million people. This technology has reduced the cost of the countrys health information system by 25% and cut the time needed to report the information from four weeks to one week.Technol
12、ogy Blurs BoundariesMany industries will be disrupted by the consequences of technology innovation. The “blur“ created by digital technologies will intertwine geographies, economies, industries, products and even private and business lives. Technology insiders have long spoken of “true convergence“,
13、 and this is it.As smart devices become increasingly accepted, companies will move into adjacent markets to exploit new revenue models such as mobile commerce and mobile payment systems. Already, a number of data and tech giants are jockeying for position.As these waves of disruption continue, whole
14、 new markets will be created even as long-established businesses are destroyed. In this changing environment, network providers, for example, will be faced with a choice: either evolve into the role of innovation provider, or be content simply to serve as a utility.Over the long term, the ultimate b
15、lurring of boundaries might take the form of Web 3.0often called the “semantic web“ a term that refers to functions and activities involving the integration of machines, the web and human beings. Currently the stuff of science fiction, the semantic web is nevertheless an area to watch.Cloud Computin
16、g Takes OffFinallyAnalysts have been talking about cloud computing for years, but cloud-based services are finally starting to take off.By 2016, Gartner, a consultancy, expects all Forbes Global 2000 companies to use public cloud services, transforming much of the current IT hardware, software and d
17、atabase markets into infinitely flexible utilities.When cloud computing becomes widespread, it will transform businesses and business models, potentially reducing both initial and recurring costs for IT buyers, increasing their flexibility and lowering their risks. Whats not to like about an infinit
18、ely scalable, pay-as-you-go business model?Despite concerns related to data security, privacy and business continuity, its value proposition makes the success of cloud computing inevitable. Over time, cloud-based services will grow increasingly sophisticated and evolve into full-scale business proce
19、sses as a service.The Power of the Individual Will Spur InnovationGoogle, Facebook, Twitter, smartphones, tablets and e-readerstechnologies that originated in the consumer spaceare now reshaping the way companies communicate and collaborate with employees, partners and customers.Through the new poss
20、ibilities for “social listening“, businesses are able to better understand what their customers and employees need and want.More change can be expected when the generation that has grown up with new technologies and instant information gratification joins the workforce.For example, by 2014, Gartner
21、forecasts that social networks will become the main form of business communication for 20% of employees worldwide.Governments Role in Innovation GrowsGovernments will increasingly become involved in technology, investing in a broad range of applicationsfrom home-grown innovation incubators to local
22、manufacturing sites that create jobs and manage geopolitical risk.In cloud computing, for example, governments are taking the lead, much as the US did in the development of the Internet.In China, the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology has built the countrys largest industrial cloud-computing
23、platform, designed to serve small-and medium-sized enterprises in government-supported industries, including biotech, pharmaceuticals, new energy and knowledge-intensive manufacturing.At the same time, governments havent forgotten their regulatory role. As citizens share more personal data on websit
24、es such as Facebook, many governments are considering regulations to protect citizens privacy and corporations data.The EU is developing stricter privacy rules, including an “online right to be forgotten,“ which would require websites to delete data permanently at an individuals request.However, the
25、 public pressure to strengthen privacy protection through legislative means is likely to vary by region. Consumers in regions such as North America, for example, seem willing to trade some privacy in return for customized service.（分数：100.00）(1).Answer the following question.Do you agree that no one
26、can possibly achieve any real and lasting success in business by conforming to conventional practices?（分数：50.00）_(2).Discuss the following questions with your partner.a. Why many executives discourage innovation?b. How to improve the situation?（分数：50.00）_剑桥商务英语中级口语-6 答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、SPEA
27、KING(总题数：1，分数：100.00)Rapid Technology Innovation Creates a Smart, Mobile WorldOver the past 25 years, the digital revolution has changed the way we work and play almost beyond recognition. Yet the smart, interconnected world we live in now is still neither as smart, nor as connected, as we would lik
28、e it to be.Consumers want more powerful devices and applications, while businesses seek more cost-effective technology to cope with increasingly complex challenges.Satisfying these demands will lead to explosive growth in data and analytics, to new competition in almost every field, and to the disru
29、ption and realignment of many industries.Specifically, we expect to see the following changes:Businesses Will Compete on Analytics to Differentiate ThemselvesThe growing number of embedded sensors collecting information about the world, and the rise of social networks that store the data people shar
30、e, will generate immense quantities of information. IDC, a market research firm, suggests that the amount of digital information created each year will increase to 35 trillion gigabytes by 2020, requiring 44 times more data storage than in 2009.For example, telematics applications, similar to global
31、 positioning systems, will allow organizations to send, receive and store information via telecommunications devices while controlling remote objects.Although commonly associated with the automotive industry, telematics applications are being developed for use in medical informatics, health care and
32、 other fields. Despite these advances in technology, simply collecting and managing the massive volumes of data will provide minimal value.The real payback comes when business intelligence is applied to enable companies to make better strategic decisions.Business intelligence, which enables organiza
33、tions to gather quantifiable data on each area of the organization and analyze it in a way that yields information they can act onhelping them enhance decision making, improve performance, mitigate risk and sometimes even create new business models; is growing in importance.Smart Mobility Will Chang
34、e the Way People InteractIncreasingly, smart devicesportable tools that connect to the Internethave become a part of our lives. In the last quarter of 2010, sales of smartphones outpaced those of PCs for the first time, according to data from IDC.By 2014, more smart devices could be used to access t
35、he Internet than traditional computers. The move to an increasingly mobile world will create new players and new opportunities for a variety of industries.We expect that new emerging market companies will be significant competitors, growing rapidly in part because a lack of legacy systems will enabl
36、e them to profit more quickly from new technology as it becomes available.Emerging markets will create plenty of opportunities related to smart technology, and they will not be limited to for-profit enterprises.In Kenya, for example, mobile phones are being used to collect data and report on disease
37、- specific issues from more than 175 health centers serving over 1 million people. This technology has reduced the cost of the countrys health information system by 25% and cut the time needed to report the information from four weeks to one week.Technology Blurs BoundariesMany industries will be di
38、srupted by the consequences of technology innovation. The “blur“ created by digital technologies will intertwine geographies, economies, industries, products and even private and business lives. Technology insiders have long spoken of “true convergence“, and this is it.As smart devices become increa
39、singly accepted, companies will move into adjacent markets to exploit new revenue models such as mobile commerce and mobile payment systems. Already, a number of data and tech giants are jockeying for position.As these waves of disruption continue, whole new markets will be created even as long-esta
40、blished businesses are destroyed. In this changing environment, network providers, for example, will be faced with a choice: either evolve into the role of innovation provider, or be content simply to serve as a utility.Over the long term, the ultimate blurring of boundaries might take the form of W
41、eb 3.0often called the “semantic web“ a term that refers to functions and activities involving the integration of machines, the web and human beings. Currently the stuff of science fiction, the semantic web is nevertheless an area to watch.Cloud Computing Takes OffFinallyAnalysts have been talking a
42、bout cloud computing for years, but cloud-based services are finally starting to take off.By 2016, Gartner, a consultancy, expects all Forbes Global 2000 companies to use public cloud services, transforming much of the current IT hardware, software and database markets into infinitely flexible utili
43、ties.When cloud computing becomes widespread, it will transform businesses and business models, potentially reducing both initial and recurring costs for IT buyers, increasing their flexibility and lowering their risks. Whats not to like about an infinitely scalable, pay-as-you-go business model?Des
44、pite concerns related to data security, privacy and business continuity, its value proposition makes the success of cloud computing inevitable. Over time, cloud-based services will grow increasingly sophisticated and evolve into full-scale business processes as a service.The Power of the Individual
45、Will Spur InnovationGoogle, Facebook, Twitter, smartphones, tablets and e-readerstechnologies that originated in the consumer spaceare now reshaping the way companies communicate and collaborate with employees, partners and customers.Through the new possibilities for “social listening“, businesses a
46、re able to better understand what their customers and employees need and want.More change can be expected when the generation that has grown up with new technologies and instant information gratification joins the workforce.For example, by 2014, Gartner forecasts that social networks will become the
47、 main form of business communication for 20% of employees worldwide.Governments Role in Innovation GrowsGovernments will increasingly become involved in technology, investing in a broad range of applicationsfrom home-grown innovation incubators to local manufacturing sites that create jobs and manag
48、e geopolitical risk.In cloud computing, for example, governments are taking the lead, much as the US did in the development of the Internet.In China, the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology has built the countrys largest industrial cloud-computing platform, designed to serve small-and medium-s
49、ized enterprises in government-supported industries, including biotech, pharmaceuticals, new energy and knowledge-intensive manufacturing.At the same time, governments havent forgotten their regulatory role. As citizens share more personal data on websites such as Facebook, many governments are considering regulations to protect citizens privacy and corporations data.The EU is devel
