1、BEC商务英语（中级）阅读模拟试卷 153及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and the information on the opposite page about feedback on staff performance. Which section(A, B, C or D)does each statement 1-7 refer to? For each statement(1-7), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. You will need
2、to use some of these letters more than once.Example:0 the reluctance of companies to base pay on staff feedback Changes in Performance FeedbackA In the past, feedback about your performance used to mean a quiet chat with the boss. But now 360-degree feedback - the system where employees are also giv
3、en feedback from peers and from the people they manage - is taking root in corporate culture. The system is characterised by greater participation and has grown out of the desire of companies to create more open working environments where people work better together and ideas and opinions are exchan
4、ged between teams and across levels of seniority.B PCs linked to the company IT network are set to become the feedback machines. Many firms introducing 360-degree feedback are using Personal Development Planner software. Feedback on an individual, which is based on a questionnaire relating to attrib
5、utes needed for that persons role in the company, is collected using this electronic system. All the information gathered is analysed and the end result is a suggested development plan. The advantage is that individuals make requests for the feedback themselves and receive the results directly.C Sar
6、ah Rains, from the pharmaceutical company Optec, said, Now feedback is available on our network, we encourage managers to choose how they use it. It is a flexible tool and we tell them that waiting for the annual event of a formal appraisal neednt apply. At the engineering company NT, 250 technical
7、managers have been through the feedback process. Jack Palmer, a senior manager there said, We needed to develop the interpersonal skills of these technically-minded people. In particular, we wanted to build on their team-working and coaching skills.D So, how is the new feedback culture likely to aff
8、ect you? It could form the basis of your personal development programme, providing pointers to your strengths and also to those areas you need to develop more. Or feedback could be used for succession planning, where companies use the information to speculate on who has the right skills to move into
9、 more senior positions. As yet, few organisations have stretched the role of feedback so far as to link it to salaries. But one thing is clear: the future will bring even wider participation by all members of staff. 1 staff being reminded that it is not essential to restrict feedback to once a year
10、2 the way in which feedback could identify people suitable for promotion 3 the aim of improving staff communication throughout an organisation 4 the feedback obtained on an employee being linked to requirements for a particular job 5 aspects of a group of employees work that were identified as requi
11、ring improvement 6 feedback indicating both positive and negative aspects of an individuals work 7 the participation of less senior personnel in a member of staffs feedback 二、 PART TWO 7 Read the article below about developments at a bank. Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each
12、 of the gaps. For each gap(8-12), mark one letter(A-G)on your Answer Sheet. Do not mark any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning(0). The Pan-Slavic Trading BankWhen Miroslav Novak started work as a graduate trainee, his employer, the Pan-Slavic Trading Bank(P-STB), was a state
13、-owned bank specialising in export trade. Though only the countrys fourth bank in size and turnover, it was well run and had a proven track record.(0)_G_ Despite its inclusion in the governments programme of privatisation, expansion or major change were not on the agenda.Today, ten years on, Mirosla
14、v has come a long way from his modest beginnings. Recently appointed director of the branch network, he now sits on the executive board.【 P1】 _ Of particular concern is the fact that the P-STB has become a retail bank, no longer dealing exclusively with large companies. This sector has, in fact, bee
15、n downgraded to secondary status, since the most important market is seen to be elsewhere.The new emphasis is on offering a wide range of products to the general public. 【 P2】 _ When this policy was first put forward, Miroslav and his colleagues doubted its feasibility, since it was not part of thei
16、r financial culture. The directors went ahead with their plans, however, and, as success followed success, their doubting employees were forced to admit to having been mistaken.The source of the P-STBs change of direction was to be found abroad; the directors of a bank from Luxembourg had been monit
17、oring the progress of the P-STB as it moved towards privatisation.【 P3】 _ After lengthy negotiations, including with government departments, the Luxembourg bank was successful and became the majority shareholder. The P-STB now found itself the subsidiary of a foreign bank.No time was wasted in flyin
18、g in a team of managers from the parent company. No sooner had they arrived than major changes began to be implemented.【 P4】 _This was exciting and challenging, but there was a high price to pay. The average working day increased from eight to twelve hours almost immediately, and several of the long
19、er-serving staff were given early retirement. Those who remained felt extremely uncomfortable about the contrast in their fortunes.The next few months under new ownership were extremely demanding and Miroslav found little to be optimistic about. 【 P5】 _ Miroslav grew to enjoy the demands made on him
20、, and before long was promoted to his present position, with responsibility for converting all the branches in the network to retail banking. He spends less time than he would like with his family, and still misses former colleagues, but the work itself is more satisfying than he could ever have ima
21、gined.Example: A Liking what they saw, they put in a bid, in fierce competition with at least five other financial institutions.B Despite this, and although he is one of the relatively few to have prospered, he feels that his position is far from secure.C Gradually, though, as the new structure took
22、 shape, the bank began to feel like a modern company with an exciting future.D Young employees were given responsible positions, including Miroslav, who was put in charge of a department.E The bank has, in effect, become a financial supermarket, where customers can purchase the services they need of
23、f the shelf.F They decided that it was the right moment to exploit this area of weakness.G With a client base restricted to national corporations, for whom it financed overseas trade, the P-STB put its success down to reliability and conservatism. 8 【 P1】 9 【 P2】 10 【 P3】 11 【 P4】 12 【 P5】 三、 PART T
24、HREE 12 Read the magazine article below about Andy Seymour, the Chief Executive of a chain of book stores called Bookroom, and the questions on the opposite page. For each question(13-18), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. CHALLENGING TIMES AT BOOKROOM Bookroom isnt a very successfu
25、l company at the moment. Its heavily in debt, and its rumoured that its owner, P&K, wouldnt turn down a suitable offer. Even its own store managers are said to be unhappy - those who havent left, that is. A recent change in strategy is proving too much for many of them: theyve been told to concentra
26、te on giving more space to a limited number of bestsellers, advertised nationally by the company, and not to titles which sit on the shelves for weeks. The challenge of taking Bookroom back into profit falls to the Chief Executive, Andy Seymour, who was moved a year ago from P&Ks music chain, MusicW
27、orld, with an impressive record of efficiency improvements. He increased the floor space of the more successful MusicWorld stores and closed down the loss-making ones. New computer systems gave him better stock control, and allowed him to produce up-to-date charts of the top CDs for display in the s
28、tores, with a positive impact on turnover and profits. In addition, he negotiated a pay and productivity deal with the employees. All in all, it was a period which saw the chain reach its peak. Seymour, though, doesnt take any credit for MusicWorlds success. Even before I became Chief Executive, all
29、 the stores were run by top quality people doing everything they could, at a time when the public werent spending much on leisure, he says. They all stayed on, and that was the decisive factor. The only things I did were to change the advertising agency - they werent keeping up with developments in
30、the music industry - and make some minor innovations in the stores. Customers were coming into the shops, and it was up to us to make the most of this. Luck had been against him in his previous job, though, as operations director of Clarksons, the do-it-yourself retailer which P&K had just acquired.
31、 Soon after his move to the company, there was a recession, which meant that the market for home improvement products collapsed. Seymour was involved in endless consultations with the board, discussing ways to turn the company round. They were in a high-risk situation and, despite his efforts, Clark
32、sons lost millions. But even when things were at their worst, Seymour didnt resign, as most would have done, and he was highly thought of for that. He has a reasonable track record, certainly, but some would say not brilliant. And will he succeed at Bookroom? His first year has been disappointing, b
33、ut there are signs of improvement. Hes continued the strategy of opening new shops, and although many store managers have gone, their replacements have been picked carefully. Hes also done something about one of the main reasons for the present difficulties, reducing targets to allow for the fact th
34、at the book market is still flat. Seymour is an experienced retail manager. At MusicWorld he proved himself a good manager of people with a particular gift for motivating his staff. But hes also strong on detail, and has already improved Bookrooms financial control. It looks as though his strategy w
35、ill pay off in the long term. The only thing you could blame him for is not being strong enough in opposing all the negative talk about Bookroom, because that is what is damaging the company. And unless Seymour does something about that, he may find himself looking for a new job. 13 According to the
36、 first paragraph, what are Bookroom store managers not pleased about? （ A） the number of recent staff redundancies （ B） the reduction in the range of books on sale （ C） P&Ks current plans to sell the company （ D） P&Ks approach towards advertising different titles 14 Which of the following contribute
37、d to Andy Seymours success at MusicWorld? （ A） investing more time in researching music trends （ B） training staff to use the computerised order system （ C） offering staff a greater incentive to sell more items （ D） bringing new stock into the poorly performing stores 15 Seymour says that MusicWorld
38、 was successful because （ A） sales of music products were booming. （ B） the store managers were very capable. （ C） its advertising had been highly effective. （ D） his innovations attracted a wider target group. 16 While Seymour worked for Clarksons he was respected because he （ A） was willing to tak
39、e certain risks in order to stay in business. （ B） had predicted the downturn in the home improvements industry. （ C） kept the store managers informed about the companys situation. （ D） continued as director despite the company experiencing difficulties. 17 According to the writer, Bookroom had prob
40、lems during Seymours first year because （ A） he had been too cautious about the location of new stores. （ B） he failed to recognise what consumers were looking for. （ C） there was a shortage of suitable staff to take over managers jobs. （ D） the expected volume of book sales had been unrealistic. 18
41、 In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that in his present role, Seymour needs to （ A） take action to improve the companys reputation. （ B） pay more attention to every aspect of his strategy. （ C） make sure there are sufficient funds for his expansion plans. （ D） encourage loyalty by strengthen
42、ing staff-management relationships. 四、 PART FOUR 18 Read the article below about a company that sells household products. Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. For each question(19-33), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. There is an example at
43、the beginning(0). DACs Margins Hit in Battle of the BrandsIn a surprise trading statement, DAC Household Products yesterday gave (0)_C_of lower margins and weak profits growth. Shares in the company slumped by 22p to 459p after DAC said that its forecast of double-digit earnings growth in 2009 had b
44、een【 C1】 _to low single digits. The company【 C2】 _that it had failed to spend enough on promoting its own brands and conceded that its market share in India was under assault from【 C3】_discounting by various competitors. Its major rival, KC Products, is offering big price discounts to attract consum
45、ers from DAC brands, which have traditionally【 C4】_the household products sector. DAC also predicted a downturn in consumer【 C5】 _and strong price competition in Europe, and signalled that it was making【 C6】 _for an expensive brands battle.DACs chairman, David Chan, said that sales volumes had behav
46、ed as predicted, but that waves of discounting and store promotions from rivals had adversely【 C7】 _price forecasts. As a【 C8】_the company now needed to increase investment in advertising and introduce keener pricing.DAC had until【 C9】 _sought to increase revenue growth at the same time as improving
47、 profit margins. However, Chan confirmed that margins would be【 C10】 _as DAC increased spending on advertising and promotion to【 C11】_those products under attack from competing brands. This commitment means【 C12】 _the long-term health of the business ahead of the【 C13】 _.of short-term financial targ
48、ets, he said.Rudy Mitcham, DACs finance director, said that the companys recent cost-cutting programme would be【 C14】 _.to help finance the increased spending, although he declined to reveal the【 C15】 _.amount of money it would invest in additional advertising and promotion.Example:A advice B cautio
49、n C warning D threat 19 【 C1】 （ A） diminished （ B） fallen （ C） declined （ D） reduced 20 【 C2】 （ A） admitted （ B） expressed （ C） communicated （ D） confided 21 【 C3】 （ A） stern （ B） heavy （ C） harsh （ D） stiff 22 【 C4】 （ A） directed （ B） governed （ C） dominated （ D） ruled 23 【 C5】 （ A） assurance （ B） confidence （ C） belief （ D） conviction 24 【 C6】 （ A） actions （ B） measures （ C） preparations （ D） steps 25 【 C7】 （ A） touched （ B） affected （
