BEC真题阅读--part3-综合总结.doc

BEC中级reading part3阅读题巧解（一）题型介绍BEC Vantage阅读理解题目不能过细地去推敲，正确选项一般都是“原句改写”。 一般说来，命题专家最常用的有四种方式：“语言简化”、“反话正说”、“正话反说”和“关键词替换”。（二）技巧：BEC中的阅读是需要掌握一定的略读技巧的,下面传授给大家:转折重点读后句,并列不用都读完,插入成分可不读,定状成分可删节做题步骤：1、 看题目，把握文章主旨2、 同义匹配是解题关键3、 定位：题目和段落对应4、 选项四大类：1） 正确选项：同义词匹配2） 无关选项：上下文无此内容3） 意思相反：文章讲得是正面。而选项是反面4） 不要做二次推论5、主旨题：看在文章、选项中出现最多的词，主旨题中的选项必须出现此词才有可能是正确选项6、注意段落结构，如果很有规律，可以做出合理推论7、找出题干中的关键词，在文中定位。题目是顺序排列。大写定位，符号定位，同义词定位8、 选项范围太小或太大不选；太绝对不选；不符合实际不选；太具体不选；不包含所有要素不选9、 一般都是考细节，一定要耐心定位10、 每段的中心句一般在段首或段尾，浏览时一定要把握中心意思11、如果题干中出现“in the first paragraph”,很可能得弄懂整段的中心意思才能选出正确答案；11、最后一个题一般在最后一段可以找到答案人邮第二辑真题TEST 1 READING PART 3 HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF（How to market yourself，怎样开发你自己）We manage our own careers now. So knowing how to brand and position yourself in the market as Me plc at different stages of your working life is becoming an increasingly vital skill. At least that is what image expert Mary Spillane believes. Employment as we know it is decreasing. Jobs dont exist, work exists. In the next decade most of us will be suppliers, not staff. We will have clients not bosses. If you are under 30, you probably know that there is only one firm to join for life: Me plc. It promotes you and your potential to others. Were working in multi-national, multicultural, multi-corporate teams and its important to understand the implications of this. We need to create a personal brand that is unique, but complements the brand of the corporation we are working for. You have to find a way to do it so that you are not just a typical employee, advises Spillane. You have to decide what central values you want to project, and also what may need to alter from situation to situation. （树立属于自己的品牌，并且相机而动。 ）Many people only remember Mary Spillane for the years she spent running a cosmetics company, but she actually has masters degrees in information science and politics. She used to hide that hard-hitting（Hard-hitting有活力的/积极的/强有力的;用力打击的 (a) hard-hitting news有影响力的新闻 (n)） side, but is now eager to show it and forget about cosmetics. Now that Im working in the boardrooms of major plcs and global companies, Im playing up(play up强调，突出) my degrees and management background so that the image side is seen only as an addition to the value side, says Spillane. Some contracts take longer than others. The City law firms Im currently working for are really difficult because they dont have any idea of what their brand should be, and are still very traditional even when talking about becoming modern. Im showing them how to do everything from changing their reception areas -which tend to be very off-putting （1. 令人厌恶的 2. 老是推托的 (a)）with their high-fronted reception desks - to how to make small talk that is less formal and rigid. Companies rebrand themselves all the time, spending millions on new office interiors and so on. But without an underlying change of attitudes（没有态度的根本转变(adv)）, it can prove an empty exercise. She argues that for individuals too, there must be more than a surface change, as rebranding goes deeper than a mere change of wardrobe（wardrobe衣柜；行头；全部戏装w:drub (n)）. Beyond advice on appearance, she tells clients, Remind yourself of what you are selling: the personal values（个人价值） that comprise your brand. Learn to present yourself in a way that will project what you want to deliver. Lifelong learning is essential, together with the sort of discovery and adventure that promote personal growth. Always have an up-to-the-minute (最新的，最近的，直到现在的)CV ready to print out, refreshing it every few months with your most recent achievements, just to remind others of your brand value. She believes it is essential that you understand both your public self and your private self, as well as your blind spots（盲点(n)） and your potential, in order to create an effective brand. The public self（公众自我，公众知道） is the image you project to the world, the private self（内在自我，只有自己知道） is what you know about yourself but others dont, arid blind spots are those things that others see about you but you cant see for yourself. By deciding what image you want other people to see, emphasising more of your private self and sorting out a few blind spots, you will increase not only your potential to influence others, but also your self-esteem and self-confidence. 人邮第二辑真题 TEST 2 READING PART 3 Department Store Magic (Department store magic，字面上是百货公司的魔力。讲的是英国的一个百货公司如何摆脱困境。 )(第一段是点明公司所遭遇的困境)For most of the 20th century Smithsons was one of Britains most successful department stores, but by the mid-1990s, it had become dull. （dull钝的；迟钝的；无趣的；呆滞的；阴暗的(a) 使迟钝；使阴暗；缓和(v)）Still profitable, thanks largely to a series of successful advertising campaigns, but decidedly boring. The famous were careful not to be seen there, and its sales staff didnt seem to have changed since the store opened in 1908. Worst of all, its customers were buying fewer and fewer of its own-brand products,the major part of its business, and showing a preference for more fashionable brands. (第二段讲一个女CEO上台开始转变局面)But now all this has changed, thanks to Rowena Baker, who became Smithsons first woman Chief Executive three years ago. Since then, while most major retailers in Britain have been losing money, Smithsons profits have been rising steadily. When Baker started, a lot of improvements had just been made to the building, without having any effect on sales, and she took the bold decision to invite one of Europes most exciting interior designers to develop the fashion area, the heart of the store. This very quickly led to rising sales, even before the goods on display were changed. And as sales grew, so did profits. (第三段具体讲这位女CEO的应对措施)Baker had ambitious plans for the store from the start. Were playing a big game, to prove were up there with the leaders in our sector, and we have to make sure people get that message. Smithsons had fallen behind the competition. It provided a traditional service targeted at middle-aged, middle-income customers, whod been shopping there for years, and the customer base /was gradually contracting（萎缩）. Our idea is to sell such an exciting variety of goods that everyone will want to come in, whether they plan to spend a little or a lot. Bakers vision for the store is clear, but achieving it is far from simple. At first, many employees resisted her improvements because they just wouldnt be persuaded that there was anything wrong with the way theyd always done things, even if they accepted that the store had to overtake its competitors. It took many long meetings, involving the entire workforce, to win their support. It helped when they realised that Baker was a very different kind of manager from the ones they had known. (第四段具体讲这位女CEO的应对措施)Bakers staff policies contained more surprises. The uniform that had hardly changed since day one has now disappeared. Moreover, teenagers now get young shop assistants, and staff in the sports departments are themselves sports fans in trainers. As Baker explains, How can you sell jeans if youre wearing a black suit? Smithsons has a new identity, and this needs to be made clear to the customers. Shes also given every sales assistant responsibility for ensuring customer satisfaction, even if it means occasionally breaking company rules/ in the hope that(怀着的希望 (adv) this will help company profits. (最后一段总结：革命尚未成功，同志仍需努力。)Rowena Baker is proving successful, but the Citys big investors havent been persuaded. According to retail analyst, John Matthews, Money had already been invested in refurbishment of the store and in fact that led to the boost in sales. She took the credit(take the credit (for.) 居功(v) 反义 take the blame for承担过错 (v), but hadnt done anything to achieve it. And in my view the companys shareholders are not convinced. The fact is that unless she opens several more stores pretty soon, Smithsons profits will start to fall because turnover at the existing store will inevitably start to decline. 人邮第二辑真题TEST 3 READING PART 3 Trouble with Teamwork （团队合作的麻烦。文章讲了团队的重要性和很多团队存在的问题，以及怎么样才能打造一个成功有效的团队。 ）Mary Owen examines the role and efficiency of teams Recruiters say that candidates who can give examples of work they have done as members of a successful team are in as strong a position as those who can point to significant individual achievement. Indeed, too much of the latter may suggest that the person concerned is not a team player - one of the more serious failings in the book of management. The importance of being a team player is a side effect of（副作用，.的产物） the increasing interaction across departments and functional divides. Instead of pushing reports, paperwork and decisions around the organisation, teams provide a dynamic meeting place where ideas can be shared and expertise more carefully targeted at important business issues, says Steve Gardner, in his book Key Management Concepts. He adds, Globalisation has added a further dimension（这里的dimension用法比较特别，表示方面，特征 。常见搭配：an extra/added/additional/further dimension）to teamwork（Add a further dimension to teamwork 增加了一维/元进入团队合作(v)）. Multinational teams now study policy decisions in the light of（根据，按照；当作） their impact on the local market. But is teamworking being overdone? Some managers are on as many as seven or eight different teams, says Dr Cathy Bandy, a psychologist who recently ran a conference on the subject. They take up so much time that managers cant get on with core tasks. Forming teams and having meetings has, she says, become an end in itself, （本身变成了目的(v)，毫无意义）almost regardless of purpose. There is also the danger of an unhealthy desire to keep the team going after the work has been done. People feel the need to belong（Feel the need to do sth/for sth 感觉有.需要(v)）, and team membership can provide a kind of psychological support. The idea behind teamworking is that, when the right group of people is brought together, a force develops which is greater than the sum of their individual talents. This is often true in sport, where good players can reach unexpected heights as members of an international team. However,few business situations have as clear a set of objectives, or as clear criteria of success or failure, as winning a match. In business, everyone needs to be clear about what the challenge is and whether a team is the right way of approaching it, says Steve Gardner. Unfortunately, people focus instead on who the members of the team should be and what roles they are to play Dr Bandy agrees. There is always a danger that teams can turn into committees, she says. In a lot of situations, one or two individuals would be much more effective. So what makes a successful team? There are some general qualities that have been identified. Steve Gardner recommends that in every team there should be someone who is good at researching ideas and another who is good at shooting down impractical ones. There should be those who can resolve the tensions that naturally occur in a team and others who are focused on getting the job done. Also, providing a clear and achievable target at the outset（在开始的时候） is the best way of ensuring that the team will move on to greater things. 人邮第二辑真题TEST 4 READING PART 3Market EntryThe PioneerMarc Crystal discusses the be first to market principleThe timing of market entry is critical to the success of a new product. A company has two alternatives: it can compete to enter a new product market first - otherwise known as pioneering or it can wait for a competitor to take the lead, and then follow once the market has been established. Despite the limitations of existing research, nobody denies that there are advantages to being a pioneering company. Over the years, there has been a good deal of evidence to show a performance advantage for pioneers.For many new products, customers are initially unsure about the contribution of product characteristics and features to the products value. Preferences for different characteristics and their desired levels (期望的水平)are learned over time. This enables the pioneering company to shape customer preferences in its favour. It sets the standard to which customers refer in evaluating followers products. The pioneering product can become the classic or original product for the whole category, opening up a flood of similar products onto the market, as exemplified by Walkman and Polaroid.The pioneering product is a bigger novelty when it appears on the market, and is therefore more likely than those that follow to capture customer and distributor attention. In addition, a pioneers advertising is not mixed up with competitors campaigns. Even in the long term, followers must continue to spend more on advertising to achieve the same effect as pioneers. The pioneers can set standards for distribution, occupy the best locations or select the best distributors, which can give them easier access to customers. For example, in many US cities the coffee chain Starbucks, as the first to market, was able to open coffee bars in better known locations than its competitors, In many industrial markets, distributors are not keen to take on second and third products, particularly when the product is technically complex or requires large inventories of spare parts.Switching costs arise when investments are required in order to switch to another product.For example, many people have developed skills in using the traditional qwerty keyboard. Changing to the presumably more efficient dvorak keyboard would require relearning how to type, an investment that in many cases would exceed the expected benefits in efficiency. Switching costs also arise when the quality of a product is difficult to assess. People who live abroad often experience a similar cost when simple purchase decisions such as buying deter- gent, toothpaste or coffee suddenly become harder because the trusted brand from home is no longer available. Pioneering products have the first chance to become this trusted brand. Consequently, the companies that follow must work hard to convince customers to bear the costs and risks of switching to an untried brand of unknown quality.Unlike other consumer sectors, the value to customers of many high technology products relies not only on their features but also on the total number of users. For example, the value of a videophone depends on the number of people using the same or a compatible system. A pioneer obviously has the opportunity to build a large user base before competitors enter the market. This reduces followers ability to introduce differentiated products. There are other advantages of a large user base, such as the ability to share computer tiles with other users. Thus, software companies are often willing to give away products to build the market quickly and set a standard.第3辑阅读【TEXT 4 】part 3Achieving a successful merger However attractive the figures may look on paper, in the long run the success or failure of a merger depends on the human factor. When the agreement has been signed and the accountants have departed, the real problems may only just be beginning. If there is a culture clash between the two companies in the way their people work, then all the efforts of the financiers and lawyers to strike a deal (Strike a compromise达成妥协 (v) strike a deal达成协议(v)Strike a balance结算账目（v）)may have been in vain. According to Chris Bolton of KS Management Consultants, 70% of mergers fail to live up to(Live up to履行/实践（诺言/信仰/原则等）；不辜负/达到(预期目标)/无愧于;与相当(v) Live up to your word实现诺言(v) Live up to ones reputation for行为和名声相符/副其实(v) ) their promise of shareholder value, riot through any failure in economic terms but because the integration of people is unsuccessful. Corporates, he explains, concentrate their efforts before a merger on legal, technical and financial matters. They employ a range of experts to obtain the most favourable contract possible. But even at these early stages, people issues must be taken into consideration. The strengths and weaknesses of both organisations should be assessed and, if it is a merger of equals, then careful thought should be given to which personnel, from which side, should take on the key roles. This was the issue in 2001 when the proposed merger between two pharmaceutical companies promised to create one of the largest players in the industry. For both companies the merger was intended to reverse falling market share and shareholder value. However, although the companies skill bases were compatible, the chief executives of the two companies could not agree which of them was to head up (Head up加盖/封住顶部；植物)长出头状物/结穗; 领导/负责；抬高(v)the new organisation. This illustrates the need to compromise if a merger is to take place. But even in mergers that do go ahead, there can be culture clashes. One way to avoid this is to work with focus groups(Focus group (为测试民意而选定的)典型群众，有代表性的群众；焦点(或重点)小组(n) to see how employees view the existing culture of their organisation. In one example, where two global organisations in the food sector were planning to merge, focus groups discovered that the companies displayed very different profiles. One was sales-focused, exactly what it wanted to achieve and pushed initiatives through. The other got involved in lengthy discussions, trying out options methodically and making contingency plans(准备应急计划(v). The first responded quickly to changes in the marketplace; the second took longer, but the option it eventually chose was usually the correct one. Neither companys approach would have worked for the other. The answer is not to adopt one companys approach, or even to try to incorporate(Incorporate/Integrate)every aspect of both organisations, but to create a totally new culture. This means taking the best from both sides and making a new organisation that everyone can accept. O