BEC中级 真题第四辑 Test One 阅读部分.doc

PART ONE Questions 1-7 Look at the statements below and the article about the development of future business leaders on the opposite page. Which section of the article (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 to use some of these letters more than once. 1 、Managers need to take action to convince high-flyers of their value to the firm. 2 、Organisations need to look beyond the high-flyers they are currently developing. 3 、There is a concern that firms investing in training for high-flyers may not gain the benefits themselves.4、 Managers need expert assistance from within their own firms in developing high-flyers. 5 、Firms currently identify high-flyers without the support of a guidance strategy. 6、 Managers are frequently too busy to deal with the development of high-flyers. 7 、Firms who work hard on their reputation as an employer will interest high-flyers. The Stars of the FutureA 、Existing management research does not tell us much about how to find and develop high-flyers, those people who have the potential to reach the top of an organisation. As a result, organisations are left to formulate their own systems. A more effective overall policy for developing future leaders is needed, which is why the London Business School has launched the Tomorrows Leaders Research Group (TLRG). The group contains representatives from 20 firms, and meets regularly to discuss the leadership development of the organisations high-flyers. B 、TLRG recognises just how significant line managers are in the process of leadership development. Unfortunately, with todays flat organisations, where managers have functional as well as managerial responsibilities, people development all too often falls victim to heavy workloads. One manager in the research group was unconvinced by the logic of sending his best people away on development courses, only to see them poached by another department or, worse still, another firm. This fear of losing high-flyers runs deep in the organisations that make up the research group. C 、TLRG argues that the task of management is not necessarily about employee retention, but about creating attraction centres. We must help line managers to realise that if their companies are known as ones that develop their people, they will have a greater appeal to high-flyers, said one advisor. Furthermore, selecting people for, say, a leadership development programme is a sign of commitment from management to an individual. Loyalty can then be more easily demanded in return. D 、TLRG has concluded that a companys HR specialists need to take action and engage with line managers individually about their role in the development of high-flyers. Indeed, in order to benefit fully from training high-flyers as the senior managers of the future, firms must actually address the development of all managers who will be supporting the high-flyers. Without this, managers will not be in a position to give appropriate advice. And when eventually the high-flyers do move on, new ones will be needed to replace them. The next challenge will be to find a new generation of high-flyers. 首先得搞明白的是这篇文章到底讲的什么。不用看具体内容，有两个地方直接告诉了。一个是题目说明的第一句话，另一个是正文的标题。从这两个地方就可以看出全文探讨的是公司未来接班人也就是潜力股的培养问题。 A段讲了TLRG这个贯穿全文的研究组织诞生的原因：现行的研究满足不了需要，于是大多数公司只能自己探索发掘接班人的模式；（即第五题的答案） B段讲了直属经理（line managers）对于发掘接班人的重要性（真是干什么都要从基层抓起），以及经理们的一些疑虑； C段讲的是接班人问题对公司的重要性，并且应该让院线经理们明白这种重要性； D段是针对前面列出的问题，提出的解决建议，什么专家协助等等。 题目解析： 第一题说“经理们必须采取措施使潜力股们相信他们对公司的价值”，也就是要让潜力股们对公司忠诚，即C段说的creating “attraction centres”和loyalty。 第二题说“组织必须把目光投向正在培养中的潜力股以外的地方”，即D段最后两句话所说的寻找新一代的潜力股。 第三题和B段的最后一句话完全是一个意思：怕培养潜力股的投入收不回成本。 第四题说开发潜力股，经理们需要在公司内部得到专家支持。答案是D段的第一句话：公司的人力资源专家需要采取行动。HR specialists就是expert。 第五题说公司现在没有在指导策略的支持下辨别潜力股。也就是说公司是依靠自己来发掘人才的。答案是A段的第一句：现行的研究满足不了需要，所以公司只能形成自己的一套体系。 第六题，经理们太忙了，无暇顾及潜力股的发展。答案是B段的：Unfortunately, with todays flat organisations, where managers have functional as well as managerial responsibilities, people development all too often falls victim to heavy workloads.。不幸落在了高工作负荷的人的肩上。高工作负荷，也就是too busy。 第七题，看重作为雇主名声的公司可以吸引潜力股。答案是C段的这么一句：if their companies are known as ones that develop their people, they will have a greater appeal to high-flyers。如果公司是以开发员工而著称的话，将会对潜力股产生更大的吸引。以开发员工而著称（known as ones that develop their people），名声很好，也就是看重自己作为雇主的名声。PARTTWOQuestions8-12Readthearticlebelowaboutpossiblereasonsforacquiringacompany.Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.Foreachgap(8-12),markoneletter(A-G)onyourAnswerSheet.Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.Thereisanexampleatthebeginning(0).AcquisitionWhenshouldacompanyconsideracquisitionasawayforward?Therearemanycircumstancesinwhichacompanymaywishtotakeoveranotherorganisationthroughanacquisition.Theneedtokeepupwithachangingenvironmentoftendominatesthinkingaboutacquisitions.Onecompellingreasontodevelopbyacquisitionisthespeedwithwhichitallowsthecompanytoenternewproductormarketareas.(0).G.Thisisparticularlytrueofe-commerce.Thestrengthofcompetitorsmayinfluenceacompanytochooseacquisitionasawayforward.Inmarketsthatarestaticandwheremarketsharesofcompaniesarereasonablysteady,itcanbedifficultforacompanytobreakintothemarket,sinceitspresencemaycreateexcesscapacity.(8).Thesameargumentsalsoapplywhenanestablishedsupplierinanindustryacquiresacompetitor.Thismayeitherbetogainthecompetitorsmarketshareor,insomecases,toshutdownitscapacityinordertorestoreasituationwheresupplyanddemandaremorebalanced.Theremaybefinancialmotivesforacquisition.Ifthesharevalueofacompanyishigh,themotivemaybetospotandacquireafirmwithalowsharevalue.(9).Anextremeexampleisassetstripping,wherethemainmotivefortheacquisitionisshort-termgainbybuyingupundervaluedassetsandsellingthemonbitbybit.Theremayalsoberesourceconsiderations.Theremaybealackofresourcesorskillstocompete successfully,sotheymustbeacquired.(10).Itmayalsobethatithasknowledgeofaparticulartypeofproductionsystem,businessprocessormarketneed.Inaninternationalcontext,acquisitionisoftenameansofgainingmarketknowledge.Sometimestherearereasonsofcostefficiencywhichmakeacquisitionlookattractive.Acostefficiencycouldarisefromthefactthatanestablishedcompanymayalreadybeveryexperiencedandhaveachievedefficiencieswhichanothercompanywouldfinddifficulttoachievequicklybyinternalmeans.(11).Inconsumergoodsindustries,costefficiencyisusuallythereasonforanacquisition.Acquisitioncanalsobedrivenbytheexpectationsofkeyshareholders.Shareholdersusuallyexpecttoseecontinuinggrowth,andacquisitionmaybeaquickwaytodeliverthisgrowth.Butthereareconsiderabledangersthatanacquisitioncanlowersharepriceratherthanincreaseit.(12).Thisismorelikelywhenthedecisiontoacquireisspeculativeasopposedtostrategic.Therearesomeshareholderswhofavouracquisitionsimplytobringashort-termboosttosharevalue.AThenecessarydevelopmentandorganisationallearningwouldbetooslow.BInthesameway,anorganisationcanincreasemanufacturingopportunities.CIndeed,thisisoneofthemajorreasonsforthemorespeculativeacquisitionsthattakeplace.DItmaybethattheparentcompanymaynothavesufficientunderstandingoftheacquiredbusiness,andthiscouldremovevalue.EForexample,acompanymaybetakenoverforitsresearchanddevelopmentexpertise.FIf,however,thecompanyentersbyacquisition,theriskofreactionfromindustryrivalsisreduced.GInsomecases,amarketischangingsofastthatacquisitionbecomestheonlywayofsuccessfullybreakingintoit.从标题和副标题能知道这篇文章讲的是收购（acquisition）。具体说来是讲公司选择收购的原因。全文一共八段，除了第一段是总的概括，后面七段一共说明了收购需要考虑的6个原因（6considerations）：几乎每段对应一个，而且非常直接。第二段提到的原因是“keepupwithachangingenvironment”，对应选项G里的“amarketischangingsofast.”第三段的原因是“Thestrengthofcompetitors”。这里的competitors在选项F里替换成了rivals。整个第三段是讲一个公司进入一个稳定市场的风险和困难。所以F选项话锋一转，说“如果收购的话，对对手的行为作出反应的风险就降低了。”第五段的原因是“financialmotives”。最佳的收购时机当然是在一个公司股票价值处于低位的时候。这种收购是有风险性的，也就是选项C所说的“morespeculativeacquisitions”第六段的原因“resourceconsiderations”，也就是为了获取某种资源或技术而进行收购，对应的选项E里所说的“researchanddevelopmentexpertise”第七段的原因“costefficiency”。是说收购现成的公司，需要花费的培养成本较少。那一段一直在强调一个costefficiency,其实就是说收购现成的公司，不需要花费那么多的培养成本。如果不收购，靠企业内部自己消化吸收的话，这个过程会非常的缓慢。也即是选项B所说的“必要的发展和组织学习会很慢”。第八段的原因“expectationsofkeyshareholders”。选择GAP12的句子需要联系上下文，前后讲的都是收购有风险，可能会使股价下跌。所以GAP12应该填入一个负面的，即选项D的“removevalue”。PARTTHREEQuestions13-18Readthearticlebelowaboutchangingattitudestocreativityintheworkplace,andthequestionsontheoppositepage.Foreachquestion(13-18),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.CREATIVITYINTHEWORKPLACENowadays,manyUKcompaniesarestrivingtobemorecreative.Butaccordingtoarecentsurveyofseniormanagers,thelackofacan-domentalityamongstemployeesandanaversiontoriskishinderingBritishbusiness.Manythinkthereistoomuchfocusondeliveringresultsquickly,whichleavesinsufficienttimetothinkcreatively.Somecomplainthatalackofcoherentvisiononcreativitypreventstheirorganisationfrombeingmoreinnovative.Yetwhileseniormanagersmayregretthelackofcreativity,theymusttakemuchoftheblameforcreatingthesituation.Untilrecently,successivegenerationsofmanagementignoredinnovativeideasfromemployees.Indeed,newwaysofthinkingwereoftenregardedasanunwanteddistraction,andoriginalthinkersreceivedlittlesupport.Despitethefactthatmanyorganisationsarenowtakingstepstoreorientthebusinessculturetopromotecreativity,itisnotsurprising,giventhisbackground,thatacreativeenvironmentishardtoestablish.AnotherrelatedissueisraisedbyKatrinaMurray,apartnerinamanagementconsultancy:Whilemanyseniormanagersstillcomplainaboutthelackofsupportforcreativityintheirorganisations,theyalsofailtoappreciatethecontributionthattheythemselvescanmake.Insomecompanies,thereisaperceptionthatonlymanagersatboardlevelcaninfluencethecompanyculture.Murrayfeelsthatsuchorganisationsareunlikelytochange.Forher,creativeorganisationsaremadeupofindividualswhobelievetheycandictatetheirownfuture.Companiesneedtobeabletospottheseindividualsandgentlyencouragethemtoleadtheway.Itisalsonecessaryforseniormanagerstoreexaminetheirrole.AccordingtoAlexSadowski,anAmericanprofessorofmanagementscience,promotingcreativitymeansre-evaluatingmostofwhatweknowaboutmanagement.Itmeansorganisationsmustbepreparedtoinvestinideaswithoutbeingsureofthereturnonthatinvestment.KatrinaMurrayagreeswiththisview.Businessesareexpertatthemeasuredapproach,whichinvolvesanalysisandriskavoidance.Butthereisanotherapproach,whichinvolvesintuitionandnotalwayslookingatthebottomline.Whatishardisestablishingaworkingenvironmentinwhichboththeseapproachescanfunctionsimultaneously.Nevertheless,therearesomepleasingindicatorsofprogressinthisarea.Manyoftheseniormanagersinterviewedinthesurveysaytheirorganisationshaveadoptedanumberofstrategiestoencourageindividualstochanneltheircreativity.Amongthesearegivingopenandhonestfeedback,allowingemployeesthefreedomtomeasuretheirperformanceagainstmoreflexiblegoals,andhighertolerationlevelsoffailure.Seniormanagersalsorecognisethatthewayanorganisationisledandmanagediscriticaltobuildingacreativeenvironmentandthattheythemselveshaveanimportantroletoplay.Buttherearesomeexpertswhobelieveanevenmorefundamentalchangeisneeded.TomRobertson,aprofessorofcreativeeducation,believesthatthelackofcreativityincompaniesisaproblemthatoriginatedinschoolsanduniversities.Thesolution,hesays,liesinmoreenlightenededucationalpolicies.Therearealreadysignsofthis,butcreativityisstillconcentratedincertainsectors,suchaspharmaceuticals,advertisingandthemedia.Thesesectorshavealwaysvaluedcreativity,buttherealchallengewillbetoshiftsomeofthesesectorspracticesintomoretraditionalmanufacturingandservicecompanies.13、ManyseniormanagersfeelthatorganisationshavedifficultiesinnovatingbecauseofAapoorlevelofskillsamongemployees.Banemphasisonrapidachievement.Canincreasedriskassociatedwithchange.Daninsistenceonastandardcompanyphilosophy.14、Accordingtothewriter,manyorganizations todayareAfindingiteasiertointroduceacreativeapproach.Bhavingproblemsunderstandinginnovationasaconcept.Cactivelydevelopingtheconditionsforacreativeapproach.Dresistinginnovativestaffsuggestions.15、Inthethirdparagraph,KatrinaMurrayexpressestheviewthatAtopmanagementmustdictatethepaceofchange.Bsomeemployeeslackacommitmenttochange.Cmostorganisationsareincapableofbringingabouteffectivechange.Dsomeseniormanagersunderestimatetheroletheycanplayinachievingchange.16、AlexSadowskiandKatrinaMurrayagreethattobetrulyinnovative,organisationsmustAinvestintherightmanagers.Bplacelessemphasisonfinancialconsiderations.Chaveadoublefocustotheirpolicies.Dadoptanapproachwithclearlydefinedstages.17Accordingtothesurvey,whichofthefollowingstrategieshasbeenintroducedtoencouragecreativity?AagreateracceptanceoferrorBfinancialrewardsforhigherlevelsofcreativityCtheintroductionofspecificperformancetargetsDthepromotionofcreativeindividualstoseniorposts18TomRobertsonbelievesthat,inthefuture,itwillbedifficulttoachieveAaneducationalsystemthatencouragescreativity.Bacombinationofpracticesthatpromotecreativity.Cthespreadofcreativitytoarangeofbusinesses.Dagreaterrespectforcreativityinpharmaceuticalcompanies.这篇名为工作场所的创造力的文章，分为六段。13题，答案在第一段中找。原文里的“Manythinkthereistoomuchfocusondeliveringresultsquickly”，对应于B的“anemphasisonrapidachievement”。14题的答案稍微绕一点。第二段前面扯得比较远，追究了半天历史责任，而题目问的是today怎么样。在阅读里，转折词，例如although,but,however,despite等等，几乎可以说是答案信号，后面接正确答案的概率相当大。这里的Despite后面接的就是正确答案：Despitethefactthatmanyorganisationsarenowtakingstepstoreorientthebusinessculturetopromotecreativity。15题的答案在第三段很明显：Theyalsofailtoappreciatethecontributionthattheythemselvescanmake，也就是D选项的underestimatetheroletheycanplay。16题答案的原文是“Itmeansorganisationsmustbepreparedtoinvestinideaswithoutbeingsureofthereturnonthatinvestment”也就是投资先不要想着回报。回报当然是跟成本有关的，对应于B选项中的“financialconsiderations”。这题还可以用排除法，A和D首先可以排除，C没有提到。17题也比较直接。第五段一共列举了几个strategies，拿来和答案对照就行了。原文是“Amongtheseare.,andhighertolerationlevelsoffailure”（再次强调连词的重要性，这里的Among后紧跟的就是答案），即A选项的“agreateracceptanceoferror”。18题的答案是最后一段的最后一句：BUT（！）therealchallengewillbetoshiftsomeofthesesectorspracticesintomoretraditionalmanufacturingandservicecompanies.真正的挑战在于把这些行业的实践转移到更传统的制造和服务公司去，也就是扩展到更广泛的地方，即选项C的“thespreadofcreativitytoarangeofbusinesses”PART FOURQuestions 19-33Read the article below about doing business online.Choose the best word or phrase to fill out each gap from A,B,C,D on the opposite page.For each question(19-33),make one letter (A,B,C,D) on your Answer Sheet.There is an example at the beginngn(0).Thesecretofsuccessinelectroniccommerce(0).B.inplacinganewemphasisonawell-establishedarea.Thatareaiscustomerservice,whichisnowtheonlypointof(19)betweenabusinessandthebuyingpublic.Thereareanumberoffactorsinareal-worldshopthat(20)peoplesperceptionsofabusiness:these(21)thelocationandtheappearanceofthepremises,thequalityandthepricingofthemerchandiseorservicesandthebehaviourofthestaff.However,ifacompanyistryingtomakeagoodimpressionwithonlinecustomers,mostofthesefactorsdonot(22)apart.Inthe(23)ofthesefactors,thewaycustomersare(24)whentheyhaveareasontocallhasafundamentaleffectonacompanysabilitytoretainthemascustomers.Evenmorethanregulartelephoneorin-personcustomers,webcustomersareimpatient,easilyfrustratedandalwaysconsciousthattheyhaveotherplaceswheretheycan(25)theirbusiness.Preventingthemfromdoingthatmeansmeetingthemontheirown(26)andprovidingthemwithwhattheywant.Thisnecessity,in(27)meansthatcompaniesthatselloverthenetmustgetback-endfunctionsright.Imposing(28)requirementsoncustomerswillnotwork;abusinessthat(29)oncustomersemailingforassistanceinsteadofusingthephone,forexample,willloserepeatcustom.Ifthephoneisused,itmustbeanswered(30),andthestaffshouldlookforwaysofhelpingeventhemostawkwardcustomers(31),asismoreusual,tryingtofindsome(32)toblamethecustomerforanyproblem.Animportant finalpointisthatitisvitalthatalladdresses weblinksandphonenumbersworkproperlyandefficiently.Thisoughtto(33)withoutsaying.Experience，however,showsthatitdoes