1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 122及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and the five extracts from an article about offshoring, the shift of service jobs to other countries, on the opposite page.Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1-8) refer to?For each statement (1-8), mark one lett
2、er (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet.You will need to use some of these letters more than once.There is an example at the beginning (0).Example:0 Offshore functions will not necessarily stay abroad as financial considerations change. Off shoring AAn article in McKinsey Quarterly says that some
3、companies which have moved their back-office functions offshore have missed huge opportunities to reap efficiencies beyond those that come from just using cheaper labour. These companies often merely replicate what they do at home, where labour is expensive and capital is relatively cheap, in countr
4、ies in which the reverse is true. They forget an additional benefit is that offshoring allows companies to work round-the-clock shifts, ferrying data back and forth from one place to another, and that it also allows them to rethink the way they solve IT problems. The most successful operators redesi
5、gn business processes to take full advantage of the new environments potential.BThere is no doubt that customers with complex queries requiring local understanding do not respond well to far-off operators repeating a series of specially learned responses. Convergys, one of the worlds biggest provide
6、rs of contact-centre services, advises companies to shift simple queries offshore while retaining the more complex ones on the same shore as the caller. It calls this process rightshoring, and estimates that about 80% of the companies that it is working with in Britain are planning to split their ca
7、ll-centre operations in this way.CHarris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, a lobby group, says that offshore locations have so far captured just 3-4% of all American companies outsourcing. The bulk remains onshore in the hands of big firms such as Accenture and
8、IBM. In fact, 60% of major corporates are doing nothing, or are only just beginning to investigate the potential of offshoring. Nevertheless, some big companies have told him that up to 40% of their outsourced business could end up offshore. That suggests the industry still has a long way to grow.DO
9、ne thing currently limiting the ability of companies to outsource tasks offshore is the inflexible architecture of modern business-information systems. It forces firms to perform tasks as a series of discrete steps. So a business wanting to outsource some of those steps (billing, for instance), but
10、not others, gets involved in complicated flows of information that are prone to error. Newer software and hardware promise a future in which firms will be able to outsource smaller slivers of their business. They will not, as now, have to commit to outsourcing the whole of a department or nothing.EM
11、any service jobs are in industries like hotels and restaurants, or in public services like education and health, most of which can never be moved abroad. There are also alternative pools of labour to be tapped at home. Citigroup, for instance, has hired about 100 college students in America to do pr
12、ogramming for it. In addition, some of the tasks currently going to low-cost offshore centres may eventually return because their underlying technologies will evolve in such a way that it makes economic sense to put them back in the home country. 1 There is evidence that the use of offshoring will i
13、ncrease. 2 Offshoring is not an option in certain sectors. 3 The structure of businesses can make offshoring problematic. 4 People consulting offshore staff may find the service unsatisfactory. 5 Offshoring is still an untried and untested concept for many companies. 6 Technology may enable companie
14、s to target aspects of their business for offshoring. 7 The benefits of offshoring are not confined to lower costs. 8 Strategic planning in the location of services may facilitate more successful offshoring. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read this text from an article about job interviews. Choose the best sentence
15、from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps. For each gap (9-14), mark one letter (A-H) on your Answer Sheet. Do not use any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning (0). Interviewing on screenThe problems of global recruitment are disappearing rapidly. The reason for this lie
16、s in the technology that could redefine the traditional job interview. (0).H. These give them access to the global recruitment market, enabling them to interview and assess their choice of candidates on screen, for example via video-conference link, CD-ROM display or electronic file transfer.The dev
17、elopment of the use of technology as a method of recruitment has brought considerable benefits to recruitment practices. For example, it means great savings in terms of both time and the travel budget. 【 P1】 _.One problem with face-to-face interviews is that body language is bound to play an importa
18、nt part in them. 【 P2】_.This necessarily leads to an inherent unfairness in such interviews. Putting distance between candidate and interviewer with the use of a video camera can help to overcome this problem as body language will be less obvious. 【 P3】 _.It could prove an unfair advantage, or possi
19、bly disadvantage, if used only with those unable to attend a face-to-face interview.A great deal has been made in recent years of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), which includes the science of body language and its value in job interviews. 【 P4】 _. Others, however, reject the new technology simpl
20、y because they are afraid of it. The benefits of technology, though, are too great to ignore, when one considers that the best person for a particular job may decide not to attend an interview if he or she has to travel a considerable distance.Appointing senior executives is increasingly seen as a g
21、lobal business. Companies which intend to select candidates for jobs from a wider pool will have little choice but to bear the cost of overseas travel to conventional interviews, or to embrace the new technology. 【 P5】 _. Inevitably, companies will be seeking more cost-effective ways of recruiting q
22、uality candidates, and for this, virtual interviewing may offer a solution.The greatest value of face-to-face interviews is at the stage of final selection. 【 P6】 _. Nevertheless, there are many positive aspects of using technology as a recruitment tool. Times are changing, and unless the die-hards
23、who ignore new technology change with them, they may find themselves left behind.Example:A At the same time, the economic climate suggests that there is a very real prospect of leaner budgets in future.B We are instinctively inclined to feel more positive to people who are similar to us.C However, s
24、ome experts feel that the main advantage of on-screen interviewing is that it addresses flaws in the conventional interview.D For this reason there will always be a place for them.E For some posts, applicants may be able to choose between a face-to-face interview and an on-screen interview.F Some pe
25、ople in industry consider this to be a far more reliable approach to selection than a high-tech interview.G But for it to be completely fair, the on-screen method would have to be used with all candidates.H Employers now have at their disposal a range of communication tools. 9 【 P1】 10 【 P2】 11 【 P3
26、】 12 【 P4】 13 【 P5】 14 【 P6】 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the following article about the problems small companies may have in recruiting staff, and the questions on the opposite page. For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Small companies often struggle in a crucia
27、l area - the recruitment of additional staff. With little time or budget for recruitment and training, mistakes are made all too easily. Last year, Sally Thomas, managing director of a small software company, thought she had found the ideal project co-ordinator to handle long-term client relationshi
28、ps, after a two-year search. We had already tried a couple of internal people, but they were not suited to the role, she says. “The role does not require a detailed knowledge of information technology, but does demand enough expertise to understand current and future projects and the ability to talk
29、 about them meaningfully and sensitively to customers. Ms Thomas and her technical director gave several short-listed candidates in-depth interviews and psychometric tests. They then decided to follow their instinct and pick the individual who had performed least well in the tests but felt like the
30、right person for the job. The new project co-ordinator lasted just six weeks. It was very disappointing, says Ms Thomas. In the end the psychometric test proved to be more accurate than our own belief in who was best. Luckily the candidate who scored most highly in the tests was still available and
31、is now doing well in the job. Tony Jones used personal contacts when setting up his electronic repair services company, recruiting four people he already knew for the top management team. This worked well, but on technical staff he has been less successful, with a 50% drop-out rate in just four mont
32、hs. Its easy to make snap judgements because youre so busy running the business, Mr Jones says. Instead of a thorough testing process you tend to do it too fast. Someone seems like a nice person who knows what theyre doing, so you give them the job but eventually you come to regret your decision. Mr
33、 Jones has tried employment agencies, but finds them expensive and lacking in knowledge of sectors such as electronics. Finding electronic engineers is not like looking for bankers for example, he says. The right people for us tend to have been stuck in the bedroom with a soldering iron in their you
34、th, rather than having done particularly well academically. We could be talking about the dark side of the moon as far as most agencies are concerned. Recruitment from outside is a huge problem for small companies, but according to Louise Punter, chief executive of the Surrey Chamber of Commerce, Pe
35、ople who have moved from other firms bring a fresh look and a big injection of new ideas. Those who have worked for medium-sized or large companies are particularly valuable, because they are familiar with processes and systems that can be just as effective in a company of ten people as in a company
36、 of thousands. Small companies tend to deal only with the immediate problem, whereas a larger organisation would put in place a process that would prevent the same thing going wrong again. People who know how to do this can be very valuable. On the other hand, given the current skills shortage, low
37、unemployment and the expense involved in recruitment, it makes sense to promote from within where possible. A classic mistake is that companies overlook the skills their existing staff have: for example, a marketing person might have good financial skills, says Mrs Punter. She recommends conducting
38、a skills audit to identify staff expertise, in particular what is transferable or not being fully exploited. In larger companies, these issues often come out in appraisals, but in small ones they are easily missed. Not surprisingly, finding the right staff can present small companies with their bigg
39、est challenge. 15 Appointing a new project co-ordinator made Sally Thomas realise that （ A） she had misjudged the value of different methods of selection. （ B） few people had the right combination of qualities for the job. （ C） she had underestimated the time required to choose the best candidate. （
40、 D） internal promotion was unlikely to lead to a successful appointment. 16 In the third paragraph, what point does Tony Jones make? （ A） Different jobs require candidates to have different qualities. （ B） The demands of running a business ought to take priority over interviewing. （ C） The most effe
41、ctive method of selection is personal contact. （ D） A mistake in the choice of candidate can have a long-term effect. 17 What criticism does Tony Jones make of agencies? （ A） They do not hold enough discussions with employers. （ B） They fail to focus on the appropriate skills. （ C） They underestimat
42、e the demand for electronic engineers. （ D） They do not react quickly enough to technical developments. 18 According to Louise Punter, it is useful for small companies to recruit people who （ A） understand the problems of small businesses. （ B） have experience of similar-sized organisations. （ C） ca
43、n apply knowledge gained elsewhere. （ D） have designed systems in their previous job. 19 In the sixth paragraph, what point does Louise Punter make about small companies? （ A） They are not likely to be able to afford to recruit staff with the right skills. （ B） They lack the necessary skills for car
44、rying out staff appraisals. （ C） They may not be aware of some of the skills of their employees. （ D） They depend too heavily on staff developing appropriate marketing skills. 20 Which of the following is the writers main point in the article as a whole? （ A） Finding the right people is crucial for
45、small companies. （ B） Many of the selection tools used by large companies are unsuitable for small companies. （ C） Recruitment experts should provide a better service for small companies. （ D） Small companies need to reduce the cost of recruiting new staff. 四、 PART FOUR 20 Read the article below abo
46、ut promotional discounts. Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. For each question (21-30), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. There is an example at the beginning (0).PROMOTIONAL DISCOUNTS FOR CORPORATECUSTOMERSPromotional discounts are a
47、form of discount used primarily to (0)_ a new product, to try to increase sales of existing products, or to reduce the inventory 【 C1】 _of a particular product or products. They can also be employed to 【 C2】 _customers to place an extra order, or increase the size of a regular order, so that the ord
48、er will 【 C3】_for a price reduction. Many companies use this 【 C4】 _if their products have seasonal 【 C5】 _and troughs. A promotional incentive is a calculated risk that must generate a higher level of orders from customers who dont usually buy in those quantities. If the only result is to encourage
49、 buyers to put a large 【 C6】 _of discounted products in their warehouse, and reduce the size of the next few orders until they have sold the discounted product, then the promotion has failed to 【 C7】_the desired results.When problems - particularly problems of communication regarding the 【 C8】 _ of the discount - occur during the 【 C9】 _ of a promotion, the person who is managing the credit (whether the owner or a designated employee) will be spending too much extra time respond
