1、剑桥商务英语高级-87 及答案解析(总分：96.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、READING(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、PART ONE(总题数：1，分数：8.00)ARegular European business travellers view travelling on commercial airlines as inefficient and inconvenient Mostly it is not the airlines fault but the infrastructure they have to work with. Private aircraft are
2、being bought primarily not to save money on tickets but to save time. Scheduled flights in Europe cover only 10 per cent of the destinations available. Delays, more likely than not in European travel these days, waste precious time. The number of hours top executives with huge salaries waste has a d
3、irect impact on cost-effectiveness.BThe gradual completion of Europes single market means that more and more executives are crisscrossing Europe looking for business. With European domestic air fares extremely high, a corporate jet looks more attractive for executives flying three or four times a mo
4、nth. Even some of Europes smaller companies are investigating it. However, the larger European airports operate priority regulations which govern slot allocation for take-off and create delays; airlines have first priority, chartered flights come second, air taxis third and business jets are fourth
5、on the list. Smaller airports pose problems of access and a risk of inadequate ground handling.CMost businesses will not discuss their corporate aircraft or even reveal whether the already high-earning chief executive has an aircraft, for fear of shareholder reaction. There is still some stigma atta
6、ched to ownership of a business jet. With new planes costing anything from $5 million upwards plus extra comforts in the interior, many companies feel they cant justify the expense to shareholders and employees. For some European managers a private jet is seen as an unacceptable perk indicating seri
7、ous problems in a companys management.DThe market for private aircraft divides into two sectors: the no-expense-spared rich mans plaything - the popular image - and the serious business tool owned by corporations. Manufacturers deliver the former as what is called a green aircraft - a plane that is
8、unfinished except for a green corrosive-resistant paint which covers the bare metal. Owners personalise the plane with telephones, dining areas and even cinemas. The latter sector is very different and planes are normally bought with straightforward seating.EFractional ownership of aircraft has open
9、ed up the market, as the low acquisition costs and predictable monthly fees are more palatable to shareholders, and to first-time buyers. Some of the biggest names in the business jet industry have launched their own fractional ownership schemes. Several smaller companies are also getting in on the
10、act and are trying to beat the larger companies down the runway by offering cheaper prices. Yet critics claim that fractional ownership is untested and faces the customer with a wide range of liabilities.（分数：8.00）(1).The expense of plane ownership is seen as unacceptable by large numbers of people.（
11、分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(2).Increased business travel is leading to greater interest in plane ownership,（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(3).Company-owned planes are less luxurious than might be expected,（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(4).Rules concerning flights may slow down privately owned travel.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(5).The justification fo
12、r plane ownership is related to senior management pay levels,（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(6).Plane ownership may be taken as a sign of a business being poorly run.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(7).Competition is increasing among businesses which sell planes.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(8).Plane ownership enables more rapid access to man
13、y places.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_三、PART TWO(总题数：1，分数：6.00)Management buy-outsInvolving staff in management buy-out (MBO) negotiations can help smooth the path for the future Employees are becoming increasingly familiar with the fluctuations and instability that their working environments can present. Its no
14、t just mergers and acquisitions that can upset the situation. Internal MBOs can also be particularly unsettling for employees In some cases, the MBO takes place to save an ailing company. In others, it is the result of senior management and board disagreements, or is to prevent a hostile takeover bi
15、d. (9) This insecurity can be very damaging.One of the most important factors, often not considered during the process of an MBO, is the reaction of the workforce, yet it is those employees who more often than not can make or break the future success of any new management team. (10) By maintaining c
16、hannels of communication across the floor, new management teams could find the rank and file a useful ally in the bid to take over. Showing those employees that a buy-out could be to their advantage, creating new opportunities for promotion or career development, will in the long-term be advantageou
17、s to the entire company.The challenge for new management teams should be to reinspire employees. (11) If the new team doesnt engage old employees in future plans or consider the contribution they can make, the idea that the MBO was meant to save everyone is lost. In this situation, long-term employe
18、es begin to see the new management team and shareholders as the only beneficiaries in the buy-out and feel in the end that the only people saved are those at the top of the corporate ladder. (12) This will mean that the rescue will fail before it has really started.It is depressingly common for new
19、MBO teams not to learn from the past. (13) If the new team can find innovative ways to involve staff actively in various aspects of the buy-out process, the benefits are manifold, (14) A package with such components can gain their support and be invaluable in building success for the venture, and is
20、 one that enlightened MBO teams tend to adopt.A Including them in any buy-out discussions can improve the new companys future prospects.B In such circumstances it is easy for the new board to make the same mistakes as the old.C Possibilities for realising these include decision-making, setting goals
21、, and offering the chance of a future stake in the new company.D Whatever its origins, those lower down the corporate ranks can often be left out of the equation, wondering what is to become of them.E Nobody benefits if the company fails to meet its objectives.F Yet the new start represents a golden
22、 opportunity.G This requirement is particularly relevant when a company has failed or when staff have lost faith in the previous management.H Internal MBOs can also be particularly unsettling for employees.（分数：6.00）填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_四、PART THREE(总题数：1，分数：6.00)Not long ago inn
23、ovation was The Big Idea in marketing circles. Now, however, its hard to see the benefits of this rush to innovate. Indeed if anything, companies seem to be drawing back from innovation, not charging ahead. But just a few years ago many companies were combining a commitment to create entirely new pr
24、oduct categories through innovative technologies - working to hugely ambitious growth targets -with a root-and-branch organisational overhaul designed to free up creativity and speed new product roll-outs.The result was that as resources were shifted away from core businesses, sales and profits falt
25、ered, share prices slumped and CEOs were ousted. Now the mantra is a more conservative focus on the top brands, the top retail customers and the top markets. Its being rewarded in many cases by healthier share prices. This sustained effort to cut long tails of smaller brands and focus marketing reso
26、urce on existing leaders seems to be paying off.So were we wrong to pinpoint innovation as key to tong-term market success? Surely not. But we might have underestimated the enormous complexity of this beast. The term innovation may be simple enough but it spans a vast landscape, including the type a
27、nd degree of innovation, marketing purpose, management process and market circumstance - not all of which are well understood.Take type of innovation. Are we talking about new products only? Or new processes, new channels, underlying technologies, organisational structures and business models? When
28、should the innovation involve a new brand? Or take degree. Are we aiming for blue-sky inventions that will transform markets and create new categories? Or marginal tweaks in, say, formulation or packaging that give us an excuse to advertise something New! Improved!? Likewise, is the marketing purpos
29、e of the project to steal a march on competitors and drive incremental growth, or to update an obsolete product line and play catch-up to competitors? As one business news editorial complained, innovation is often just simple proliferation of similar products. Then theres process. What is the best w
30、ay to manage this particular innovation? Is it to employ creative revolutionaries and set them free, or is disciplined risk management, requiring the careful testing and sifting of options to pick winners, a better approach? In larger organisations, has, senior management really made time spent in c
31、ross4unctional teams a recognised element of successful career paths? What time frames (eg payback periods) and degrees of risk is senior management comfortable with? And does the organisation have a culture that fits the chosen approach? Does it celebrate failure, for example, or is it actually a r
32、isk-averse blame culture (despite what the CEO says in the annual report)?Successful innovation requires clearing two hurdles. First, it needs the right project with the right degree of innovation to fit with the right marketing purpose, the right innovation process, corporate culture and market cir
33、cumstance. Second, it needs senior managers that understand the interplay between these different factors, so that rather than coming together simply by chance, they are deliberately brought together in different ways to meet different circumstances.Clearing Hurdle Two can happen by accident. Cleari
34、ng Hurdle One requires real skill We can all point to admirable, inspiring innovations. But how many companies can we point to and say, these people have mastered the art of innovation? Brilliant innovations are a wonderful thing, Expert innovation management is even better and much rarer.（分数：6.00）(
35、1).According to the first paragraph, a few years ago companies（分数：1.00）A.trusted in technology to improve existing products.B.chose to focus heavily on marketing activities.C.expected that growth would increase steadily, D.believed they needed to produce new goods.(2).What problem is indicated in th
36、e second paragraph?（分数：1.00）A.Insufficient attention to brand identity damages company profits.B.A lack of product diversity reduces a companys appeal.C.Business leaders are not attracted to slow-performing companies.D.Slow reactions to business trends reduce investors interest.(3).According to the
37、third paragraph, it would be a mistake to（分数：1.00）A.rely on future benefits in business planning.B.deny the benefits of pursuing innovation.C.neglect the importance of strategic issues.D.predict the outcomes of innovations.(4).According to the fourth paragraph, companies should ensure that（分数：1.00）A
38、.their approach to risk management is fully new.B.the progress of an innovation is as speedy as possible.C.their new products are radically different from competitors.D.the benefits of participating in teamwork are fully acknowledge(5).What is suggested in the fifth paragraph?（分数：1.00）A.The steps in
39、volved in innovation must be tackled in sequence.B.Market forces should be a companys primary consideration,C.The types of innovation sought must be appropriate to a companyD.Elements of chance should be assumed in decision-makin(6).Doubt is expressed in the final paragraph as to whether（分数：1.00）A.m
40、ost businesses realise the conditions required for innovation.B.businesses should trust in benefits which they did not predict.C.the majority of businesses are able to innovate successfullyD.businesses should expect individual staff to generate ideas.五、PART FOUR(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Decisions, decisions .
41、Poor decisions are commonplace. In fact, they are often institutionalised In the workplace, poor decisions (21) good ones in many situations. While management consultants (22) companies on many aspects of running a business, basic decision-making is often (23) out of the equation. Professor Larry Ph
42、illips, who teaches at the London School of Economics, says: Because we make decisions all the time, it is (24) that we know how to do it. It is a skill which is supposed to come (25) but many of us would fare better with coaching.Psychologist Rob Yeung of consultancy Kiddy airlines have first prior
43、ity, chartered flights come second, air taxis third and business jets are fourth on the list. Smaller airports pose problems of access and a risk of inadequate ground handling.CMost businesses will not discuss their corporate aircraft or even reveal whether the already high-earning chief executive h
44、as an aircraft, for fear of shareholder reaction. There is still some stigma attached to ownership of a business jet. With new planes costing anything from $5 million upwards plus extra comforts in the interior, many companies feel they cant justify the expense to shareholders and employees. For som
45、e European managers a private jet is seen as an unacceptable perk indicating serious problems in a companys management.DThe market for private aircraft divides into two sectors: the no-expense-spared rich mans plaything - the popular image - and the serious business tool owned by corporations. Manuf
46、acturers deliver the former as what is called a green aircraft - a plane that is unfinished except for a green corrosive-resistant paint which covers the bare metal. Owners personalise the plane with telephones, dining areas and even cinemas. The latter sector is very different and planes are normal
47、ly bought with straightforward seating.EFractional ownership of aircraft has opened up the market, as the low acquisition costs and predictable monthly fees are more palatable to shareholders, and to first-time buyers. Some of the biggest names in the business jet industry have launched their own fr
48、actional ownership schemes. Several smaller companies are also getting in on the act and are trying to beat the larger companies down the runway by offering cheaper prices. Yet critics claim that fractional ownership is untested and faces the customer with a wide range of liabilities.（分数：8.00）(1).The expense of plane ownership is seen as unacceptable by large numbers of people.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_ （正确答案：C）解析：(2).Increased business travel is leading to greater interest in plane ownership,（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_ （正确答案：B）解析：(3).Company-owned planes are less luxurious than might be expected,
