剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文
剑桥商务英语听力原文(挂网)
Obviously the benefits of proper planning are very important—and will certainly help to reduce nerves. However there are other things that you can do to fully take control of the nerves before you present.Physical techniquesThe benefits of breathing are often overlooked but this one simple technique can really help to calm you and slow you down. When you are nervous you probably also speed up your speech. So controlling the speed that you speak at is a good way to help control your nerves. Of course, as you can imagine, there are lots of other physical strategies that people employ to help reduce nerves and focus their minds.Psychological techniquesThere are also some key psychological techniques that you can apply to help you to kick out those negative thoughts that can creep into your mind and reduce your confidence.These techniques can help you to maintain a positive mental attitude towards your presentation and help you remain in control if any negative thoughts start to creep into your mind. One technique is to imagine that the presentation has just taken place – and that it was successful.Spend time imagining that success—and how you feel at that time. Imagine the voices and other sounds that you hear at the end of the presentation and what the audiences’ faces look like and what else you can see in the room. Take time to imagine all of the positives about the presentation that made it a success.A lot of the time our imagination focuses on the negatives—so forcing it to focus on the positive can help to turn things around and will help build your confidence.Rehearsing the presentationRehearsing your presentation is essential for practicing and assessing your timekeeping, body language (such as eye contact and hand gestures), voice projection, pace of speech and logical order of content. It gives presenters a chance to amend their presentation and envisage how they will go about presenting on the day. It may be useful to record your voice on a mobile phone, or video yourself and watch it back, noting good points and areas for improvement.The more presentation experience you have the more confident you will feel and less nervous you become. Familiarize yourself with several techniques for overcoming presentation nervousness so that your next speaking engagement can be a fun and rewarding experience.。
新编剑桥商务英语高级第二版 听力
新编剑桥商务英语高级第二版听力全文共3篇示例，供读者参考篇1New Cambridge Business English Advanced Listening - A Student's PerspectiveAs an MBA student, mastering listening comprehension for business settings is crucial. The New Cambridge Business English Advanced 2nd Edition listening section has been an invaluable resource in honing this skill. Let me walk you through my experience with this exceptional learning tool.The listening material covers a wide range ofbusiness-related topics, from corporate strategies and market analysis to workplace dynamics and intercultural communication. This diversity has not only expanded my business vocabulary but also exposed me to various accents, speaking styles, and real-life scenarios I may encounter in the corporate world.One aspect that sets this course apart is the authenticity of the recordings. They are not scripted or artificially slowed down, which can often be the case with some learning materials. Instead, the dialogues and lectures feature native speakersengaged in natural, unscripted conversations and presentations. This authentic approach has trained my ear to adapt to the pace, idioms, and nuances of real business interactions.The listening exercises are well-structured and gradually increase in difficulty, allowing for a smooth progression. Each unit begins with warm-up activities that introduce key vocabulary and context, preparing me for the main listening tasks. These warm-ups are invaluable in activating my prior knowledge and setting the stage for better comprehension.The main listening exercises themselves are diverse and engaging. They range from comprehension questions andnote-taking tasks to summarizing key points and identifying opinions or implied meanings. This variety ensures that I develop a well-rounded set of listening skills, rather than merely relying on rote memorization.What I particularly appreciate is the inclusion ofmulti-speaker scenarios, such as meetings, negotiations, and presentations. These simulations closely mirror the dynamics of real business settings, where multiple perspectives and interruptions are common. Navigating these complexities has significantly improved my ability to follow intricate discussions and extract relevant information.The accompanying transcripts and answer keys are invaluable resources for self-evaluation and review. After attempting the exercises, I can refer to the transcripts to identify areas where I struggled and reinforce the correct pronunciation, intonation, and usage of idioms or phrasal verbs.Moreover, the listening section is seamlessly integrated with the other components of the course, such as reading, writing, and speaking. This holistic approach ensures that the skills I develop in one area reinforce and complement the others, fostering a well-rounded command of business English.Admittedly, some of the listening exercises can be challenging, particularly those involving rapid speech, technical jargon, or unfamiliar accents. However, these challenges are precisely what prepare me for the realities of the global business world, where effective communication often occurs inless-than-ideal conditions.One aspect I would appreciate even more is the inclusion of interactive or adaptive exercises that adjust the difficulty level based on my performance. This could potentially provide a more personalized learning experience and ensure that I spend more time on areas that require additional practice.Overall, the New Cambridge Business English Advanced 2nd Edition listening section has been an invaluable tool in my journey to becoming a proficient communicator in business settings. Its authenticity, diversity, and gradual progression have not only improved my listening comprehension but also equipped me with the confidence to navigate complex business interactions with ease. As I approach the culmination of my MBA program, I feel well-prepared to tackle the challenges of the corporate world, thanks in large part to the invaluable training provided by this exceptional course.篇2New Cambridge Business English Advanced Second Edition Listening - A Student's PerspectiveWhen I first signed up for the New Cambridge Business English Advanced Second Edition Listening course, I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive. Having worked in a professional setting for a few years already, I figured my English listening skills were pretty decent. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening!From the very first class, it became crystal clear that this course was going to push me to my limits and beyond. The authentic recordings we worked with were a world apart fromthe scripted dialogues I was used to in previous courses. Real conversations with all their false starts, filler words, and overlapping speech - it was a harsh reminder that the business world waits for no one.But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me give you an overview of what this course covers. The listening component is divided into six broad sections: meetings, negotiations, presentations, interviews, socializing, and telephone calls. Each section gradually increases in difficulty, starting with relatively straightforward conversations and building up to incredibly complex, multi-speaker situations.The meetings unit, for instance, began with simpleone-on-one catch-ups but quickly escalated to multi-agenda meetings with a dozen or more participants. By the end, I was actually able to follow the gist of those notoriously chaotic boardroom interactions! The negotiations unit was similarly impressive in its progression, taking us from simplecustomer-vendor dealings all the way to high-stakes, multi-party contract negotiations.What really set this course apart though, was its focus on developing specific listening skills and strategies. We spent a considerable amount of time unpacking concepts like activelistening, contextual clues, tone awareness, and speaker identification. Targeted exercises helped drill these skills into our heads through repetition and conscious practice.I still remember our first speaker identification exercise - it was an absolute nightmare trying to keep track of who was saying what! But by the end of the course, I had become adept at rapidly identifying speakers based on subtle vocal cues. It's a skillset that has already proven invaluable in my workplace.The "listening for attitude and opinion" lessons were another game-changer. We learned to decipher meaning not just from the literal words spoken, but from the subtext of tone, stress patterns, and other paralinguistic cues. Suddenly, I found myself picking up on agendas, reservations, and interpersonal dynamics that had previously flown right over my head.Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing. There were many times when I felt utterly swamped by the density of information being thrown at me. The speed at which native speakers communicate, their liberal use of idioms and cultural references, the multilayered nature of group discussions - it was often utterly disorienting. Our amazing instructor deserves a huge shout-out for her patience, encouragement, and knack for breaking things down in an accessible way.Looking back, I can scarcely believe how far I've come. What once seemed like indecipherable white noise has become a constant stream of meaningful input. Meetings that would have left me dazed and confused a few months ago are now highly productive experiences. My newfound ability to pinpoint subtexts and interpersonal undercurrents has been agame-changer in negotiations.Heck, I've even started understanding those thick regional accents and rapid-fire industry jargon that used to leave me utterly stumped! It's been an empowering journey of constant growth and skill-building.I can't recommend the New Cambridge Business English Advanced Second Edition Listening course highly enough. Its no-nonsense, immersive approach provides invaluablereal-world training that simply can't be matched by most academic courses. The skills I've developed will undoubtedly serve me well as I continue climbing the corporate ladder.To any business professionals looking to truly elevate their English listening prowess, this course needs to be at the top of your list. Just be prepared to work your butt off - it's one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, learning experiences I've ever had. But I guarantee, when you find yourself holding your own ineven the most complex multilingual meetings, it will all have been worth the blood, sweat, and tears!篇3Cambridge English for Business Studies Listening - A Student's PerspectiveAs a business student, one of the most crucial skills we need to develop is effective listening comprehension. In today's globalized business world, being able to understand and communicate in English is essential for success. That's why the listening component of the "Cambridge English for Business Studies Second Edition" course is so valuable.At first, I'll admit, I underestimated the importance of dedicated listening practice. After all, I've been studying English for years, and I thought my comprehension skills were pretty solid. Boy, was I wrong! The listening exercises in this course have really challenged me and exposed gaps in my understanding that I didn't even realize were there.One of the things I appreciate most about the listening materials is their authenticity. The recordings we work with aren't scripted or artificially slowed down – they're real conversations, lectures, and presentations given by native English speakers invarious accents and at natural speeds. This has been incredibly helpful in preparing me for the realities of the business world, where I'll need to understand everything from casual workplace chats to formal board meetings.The variety of accents and speaking styles has been particularly valuable. I used to struggle with certain regional accents, like those from Scotland or Australia, but the more exposure I've had through these listening exercises, the more comfortable I've become. I'm also getting better at distinguishing different speaking styles, from the more formal and articulate tones used in presentations to the more relaxed and colloquial language of casual conversations.Another aspect of the listening component that I find really helpful is the focus on specific business contexts and vocabulary. We've listened to recordings on topics like marketing strategies, financial reports, supply chain management, and more. Not only has this exposure to real business terminology and scenarios been great for building my comprehension skills, but it's also helped me become more familiar with the kinds of discussions and situations I'll encounter in my future career.The listening exercises themselves are well-designed and engaging. They often involve multi-part tasks, such as listeningfor gist, specific details, opinions, and purposes. Thismulti-layered approach has really pushed me to develop active listening strategies, rather than just passively absorbing the information. I've learned to listen for context clues, pick up on tone and emphasis, and make logical inferences based on what I understand.One exercise type that I find particularly challenging, but also incredibly valuable, is the note-taking tasks. We're given a recording, often a lecture or presentation, and have to take concise, organized notes on the key points. This has been a real test of my ability to quickly process information, prioritize main ideas, and capture essential details – all critical skills for success in business meetings and discussions.Of course, like any skill, listening comprehension takes practice, and the Cambridge course provides ample opportunities for that. We regularly engage in post-listening activities, such as discussions, written assignments, and even role-plays based on the recordings we've studied. These interactive components not only reinforce what we've learned but also encourage us to apply our listening skills in practical, real-world scenarios.Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of the listening component, though, has been the boost in my overall confidence when it comes to communicating in English. As my comprehension skills have improved, I've found myself feeling more comfortable and capable in all areas of language use –speaking, writing, and even reading. It's almost as if breaking through those listening barriers has unlocked a new level of fluency and understanding for me.Of course, no language learning resource is perfect, and there are a few areas where I think the Cambridge listening materials could be improved. For example, while the variety of accents is generally good, I would love to see even more diversity represented, particularly from non-native English speakers in various business contexts. Additionally, some of the recordings can feel a bit dated at times, and it would be great to have more up-to-date examples that reflect the latest business trends and technologies.Overall, though, my experience with the listening component of the "Cambridge English for Business Studies Second Edition" course has been overwhelmingly positive. It's challenged me, pushed me out of my comfort zone, and ultimately helped me develop the kind of comprehensivelistening skills that are so crucial for success in the business world. As I prepare to enter the workforce, I feel confident that the strategies and practice I've gained through this course will serve me well in navigating everything from casual workplace conversations to high-stakes business negotiations and presentations.。
BEC剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文
BEC剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文为了让大家更好的预备商务英语BEC考试，我给大家整理一下剑桥BEC商务英语考试高级真题,下面我就和大家共享，来观赏一下吧。
剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文1This is the Business English Certificate Higher 3, Listening Test 1.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear the founder of a company called Manshee talking to business students about its development.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes. [pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Man: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m honoured to have this opportunity to talk to you.Eight years ago, I bought my first computer, but I soon discovered that where I lived, it was difficult to find accessories for that particular make. That made me realise that other people must have the same problem.Then I found that foreign magazines contained plenty of advertisements of mail order companies, so I started buying spare parts and things that way and selling them on to my friends at a small profit. That was how my company, Manshee, was born.Four years later, Manshee was making a profit and had reached a turnover of six million pounds. We had four directors - myself and three of my friends - plus a staff of seventeen. The culture was young and the working environment didn’t have any structure. The company just grew and grew with its own momentum, and everything we did seemed to strike lucky. If we needed to buy some equipment or redecorate the sales office, we decided yes or no in isolation, only taking the short term - usually the cash flow for that month - into account.However, the market became increasingly cut throat, and that led to falling margins. We realised, rather unwillingly, that the time had come to structure our future, but we didn’t really have much idea how to set about it. So we went to a firm of consultants who specialise in helping small businesses, and it proved a turning point. They insisted that we four directors sit down and rank our investments in order of importance for the coming years. It seems obvious now, but we’d never realised the value of doing it before.Initially, we set out strategic and financial targets for the next three years, and now we’re pleased with just how many of those objectives we’ve met.The value of bringing in outside expertise was that it gave us objectivity. It’s so easy to take things for granted, and to go on in the same mindset. Using consultants meant we received invaluable advice on our business priorities.剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文2Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will bear the opening of the Factories of the Year awards ceremony.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you bare listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Man: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Factories of the Year award. My name is Jonathan Hargreaves,and I’m Chief Executive o f the Institute of Production Research, which organised these awards, in association with Barrington Business School. I’m delighted to introduce to you the school’s professor of manufacturing science, Jacqueline Allen, who again chaired the panel of judges. Jacqueline.Woman: Thank you, Jonathan, and good morning, everyone. This year’s search for the Factories of the Year has produced a bumper crop of outstanding winners, which is very welcome proof that the old economy isn’t dead, but is emerging revitalised from its recent problems.As ever, we initiated our search for the best by sending each participating factory a questionnaire. This consisted of fourteen pages and probably more questions than the recipients would have liked. From their answers, each factory was assessed on a basket of performance criteria. Some of these were immediately measurable, like handover times, which of course can have a big impact on productivity and which are showing a healthy tendency towards being shortened. Another was delivery reliability, a high score in which is essential for any customer-led organisation.Other criteria which we considered were less tangible, but no less important for that. We took staff morale very seriously, because if it’s poor it ca n have measurable results such as high staff turnover and a high accident rate. And if a business can’t easily handle change, it may well create more problems than it solves, and its future is unlikely to be secure.The next step was for the panel of judges to assess theresults and devise a shortlist. We then visited these factories.I must say, I found it fascinating to see so many factories in action. As a result of these visits, we came up with the three winners in each category.The factories that emerged from this process shared some familiar characteristics. Impressive people-management practices, for a start. A determination among the factory’s management team not to be second best, for another. And acting on the realisation that clever i nitiatives don’t count if they don’t further a factory’s mission. No successful factory can, for a moment, forget its customers, whether they’re internal to the company or external.As ever, new trends emerged: an outstanding level of competence in supply-chain management, as well as in manufacturing, is increasingly important. The links between a factory, its suppliers and its customers can make or break an operation.This year’s winners also demonstrate the importance of optimising the movement of goods and people around the factory. Confused, muddled-looking factories underperform, while successful ones use signs to help staff and visitors find the best route to their destination. And allowing goods or materials to get lost in some dusty corner of the warehouse is unacceptable: the problem of tracking components as they move through production has led to a number of developments, of which electronic tagging is one of the most exciting剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文3.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear part of a talk to a group of business students about the role of free gifts in product promotion.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: Hello. My name’s Sue Barnard. I’ve come to talk to you this afternoon about that old marketing perennial, the free gift. I work as a marketing consultant, on a freelance basis, and I thought that I would begin with an anecdote. One of the companies I work with is a major manufacturer of consumer durables, and so I need to keep in touch with the latest campaigns being launched by rival groups, as well as seeing how our own efforts are looking. So I’m a keen reader of weekly magazines.Although I’m actually based in Manchester, last week I happened to be with some clients at their sales conference, which was being held in Wales. On the way there, waiting at the station, I popped into a newsagents for a browse, to pass the time. The March issue of Prime magazine immediately caught my eye because the cover said ‘Free Gift this Issue: Free Diary’. And it puzzled me because I had seen the same issue on sale in Manchester without any gift. Clearly, people in Wales were getting the same magazine, but all packaged up in a special plastic jacket with this gift inside. Why, I wondered, were people in my area losing out?Well, of course, the answer lies in the marketing policy of the magazine itself. No use giving everyone a freebie because then there’d be no way of gauging how successful it’d been in drumming up extra sales. In other word s, it’s a controlled experiment. In this case, flat sales of Prime in Manchester, coupled with strong sales in Wales, would indicate that the gift had done the trick, and this type of strategy is vital for magazines as more and more, titles crowd the racks.Just looking round the newsagents this week, you’ll find one magazine giving away a book worth six ninety-nine, when the magazine itself only costs two ninety-nine. And it doesn’t stop there. One rival is offering a CD, another a calculator. And so it goes on. You know, it really is a ‘readers’ market at the moment.But, I can see you’re asking yourselves, if the gifts are actually far more expensive than the magazines... ? Well, clearly, the magazines are facing greater competition and it’sall about offering your reader the best possible value. If your competitor’s got something out, then you don’t want to be seen to be lagging behind. And once you’ve started, in a sense, you’ve got to keep on - you do get locked into a ‘circulation war’ wher e the only way to stay on top seems to be through the free gifts. And remember, it doesn’t matter if the gift costs more than the magazine because the real profits come not from the cover price, but from the advertising revenues. To keep those flowing in, you need good figures, and that’s where the free gifts come in.And, of course, it can’t be any old gift. An inappropriate choice would do more harm than good. The gift must reinforce the true brand values of the magazine. The specialist titles are p articularly good at this. And it’s also a good opportunity for people to sample your magazine; it may bring in new readers. With the right gift, you could even be looking at as much as fifteen per cent uplift on your sales, particularly in the teen market, where pop fashions come and go and it’s very important to encourage reader loyalty.[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]That is the end of Part One. You now have 20 seconds to check your answers.[pause]Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.You will hear five different people talking about workshops they have recently attended.For each extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question 13-17, choose the aim of the workshop, from the list A-H. Now look at Task Two. For each question 18 to 22, choose the outcome of the workshop, from the list A-H.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have thirty seconds to read the two lists.剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文44.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear a college lecturer talking to a class of business students about a supermarket chain. As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Man: Good morning. In today’s class we’ll be comparing two supermarket chains whose futures are looking very different at the moment. First of all, the Williams chain.Sharon Tucker joined Williams two years ago as Sales Director, taking over as Chief Executive three months later. The company was struggling. Sales growth was fading away, and profits were falling. Its strategy of focusing on redesigning stores was doing nothing to boost sales. In short, Williams had lost its way.After just one year under Tucker’s leadership, it’s regained its confidence, and with good reason. Sales have been rising for fifteen months, starting almost as soon as she walked in the door. They’re up by five per cent in the last six months, excluding new space, with profits over the same period rising by ten per cent. And the company claims to have attracted a million new customers.Tucker came from the American chain Hurst’s, and her experience there persuaded her that everyday low pricing, the strategy pursued by that giant and by most of the British supermarket groups, wouldn’t work for a small player like Williams. Its larger rivals could too easily undercut it.Instead, she decided to use a high-low strategy, which is你若盛开，蝴蝶自来。
剑桥商务英语考试真题第二版高级
剑桥商务英语考试真题第二版高级全文共6篇示例，供读者参考篇1The Cambridge Business ThingyHey guys! It's me again, your favorite elementary school kid who loves talking about boring business stuff. Today I want to tell you all about this crazy exam called the Cambridge Business English Certificate Higher that I had to take recently. I know, I know, it sounds really dull and grown-up, but just hear me out!So this exam is supposed to test how good you are at using English for work and business situations. Apparently, there are a bunch of big companies out there that want to make sure their employees can communicate properly and not mess everything up with bad English. Can you imagine - one tiny mix-up, and the next thing you know, they've ordered 10,000 porta-potties instead of 10,000 computers! Total disaster.Anyway, the exam has four main parts that you have to get through. The first one is listening, where they play all these recordings of people talking about business-y topics like supply chains, marketing strategies, you know, the real riveting stuff.And you have to answer multiple choice questions showing you understood what was said. I've got to be honest, trying to pay attention when some monotone British guy is droning on about profit margins for an hour is...well, let's just say it's a true test of willpower.Next up is the reading section, which is basically the same deal, except this time you're reading passages about corporate team building retreats and dealing with difficult clients instead of listening to them. Why anyone would want to read that for fun is beyond me, but I guess that's just how some people get their kicks. Give me a nice comic book any day!The writing part is where things got a bit more interesting for me. You have to write two business documents, like reports, proposals, marketing materials - that kind of thing. Finally, a chance to exercise some creativity! Although they did have pretty strict guidelines on formatting, style, even what specific information had to be included. It was like "Here's your chance to be creative...but only if you follow these 47 rules to the letter." Um, okay?But by far the hardest component was speaking. I had to have an actual conversation with an examiner about different business topics and scenarios they gave me. Picture this: A10-year-old kid trying to discuss corporate social responsibility and ethical supply chain management with a straight face. I'm pretty sure the examiner was stifling laughter the whole time. Hey, at least I got some practice at bullshitting my way through things I don't fully understand - a crucial life skill!At the end of the day though, I guess the Cambridge BEC Higher does serve a legitimate purpose in today's global business world. Being able to communicate clearly and effectively in English is pretty crucial when you're dealing with clients, colleagues or suppliers from all over the world. And having a certification that proves your skills can be really valuable.Plus, tackling an advanced English exam like this was definitely a growing experience for me, even if the subject matter wasn't exactly riveting kid's stuff. I had to step up my game in terms of vocabulary, comprehension, speaking fluency and all that jazz. Kinda like exercise for my brain muscles.So while it was a bit of a slog at times, I'm still glad I went through the process of prepping for and taking the Cambridge BEC Higher exam. I mean, how many other fifth graders can say they're certified in business English at a high level? That's some serious cred to pull out at the lunch table.Who knows, maybe this will open some doors for me in the corporate world after I finish elementary school. But for now, I'm just happy to have that certificate safely added to my collection, right next to my Webelos Badge and my Participation Trophy from the Spring Arts & Crafts Fair. Arguably even more valuable, am I right?篇2My Big Adventure with the Cambridge Business English TestHi friends! My name is Timmy and I'm 10 years old. I just had the coolest experience taking a really big English test called the Cambridge Business English Certificate Higher exam. I know what you're thinking - business English for a kid? That sounds super boring! But actually, it was a really fun challenge. Let me tell you all about my big adventure!It all started a few months ago when my parents said I could try taking the BEC Higher exam. They said it would be great practice for my English skills. At first, I wasn't sure what "business English" even meant. I thought it would be all about math and spreadsheets and stuff. Yuck! But my teacher Ms. Roberts explained that it's about using English in a professional work setting.She said the reading had texts like company reports, proposals, news articles and other grown-up things. The listening had recordings of meetings, presentations, interviews and more. For the writing, I'd have to write business documents like emails, reports, marketing materials. And the speaking would be roleplaying workplace situations. It sounded pretty challenging for a 10-year-old!To get ready, we did lots of practice tests from past BEC Higher exams. The reading passages were pretty hard with all the business vocabulary and Topics. Things like "revenue streams," "global logistics," and "integrated marketing campigns." I had to look up so many words! The listenings were tough too with all the different accents.But you know what? The more practice I did, the more I started feeling like a little businessman! I was understanding all the topics better and getting quicker at the tasks. My favorites were the writing questions where I got to pretend to be the director of an company writing all sorts of important documents. Like this one email I wrote telling our fake employees about a new labor union policy. I tried to sound very professional and authoritative!Finally, exam day came. I had my lucky spider-man pencil case and Ms. Roberts gave me a big hug and high five before I went in. The exam was loooong, almost 4 hours in total! The reading was hard but I stayed focused. The listenings threw me a few curveballs with some really strong accents. The writing tasks were great though, I got to write skills endorsements for employees and a proposal for a new eco-friendly product line. For speaking, I roleplayed interviewing someone for a sales director job. I tried putting on my deepest "BusinessTimmy" voice!A few weeks later, the results came. Mom and Dad were so proud when they saw I passed with a good score! To celebrate, we went to my favorite restaurant (a fancy steakhouse, of course - gotta practice those business dining skills!). Ms. Roberts kept calling me her "youngest businessperson."Looking back, studying for the BEC Higher was challenging but also a really unique experience. I don't think many10-year-olds get to pretend they're adult professionals writing important business documents and emails! It helped grow my English skills in a fun, different way. And who knows, maybe I'll end up running my own company someday. CEO Timmy has anice ring to it, don't you think? But first, I've got summer camp and 5th grade to look forward to!篇3The Big Tests for Grown-Ups at WorkHi there! My name is Timmy and I'm 8 years old. I just learned about these really important tests that grown-ups have to take for their jobs. They're called the Cambridge Business English Certificates and they sound super hard!My dad has to take one of them soon. He works at a big company downtown and needs to prove he can speak and write English really well for his job. The tests have funny names like BEC Preliminary, BEC Vantage and BEC Higher. I think those names are kind of silly!The BEC Preliminary is the first level. Dad said it shows you can use simple English for things like taking notes in meetings or writing basic emails. The reading passages have pictures which makes it a bit easier. I'll bet I could do that one no problem!Then there's the BEC Vantage which is a lot tougher. For that one, you need to understand longer readings and be able to write business documents like reports and proposals. My teacherwrites those all the time for the school principal! The speaking part sounds really hard too - you have to discuss technical topics and hypothetical scenarios. What's a hypothetical anyway?But the BEC Higher is the craziest of them all! My dad has been studying his butt off for this one. You need amazing English skills to pass. Like you have to analyze and synthesize complex information from multiple sources. I have no idea what that even means! There's a tough writing task where you have to persuade or negotiate using all the right business language and formalities. Yikes, I'm so glad I don't have to do that anytime soon.From what Dad tells me, these tests are super important if you want a good career and make lots of money. They're recognized by companies all over the world as proof you can communicate effectively in English in a professional setting. Dad's boss told him he has to pass the BEC Higher this year if he wants to be considered for a promotion to Senior Manager.I went with Dad to register for the exam at this big important-looking building downtown. There were students of all ages there, from university kids to grandpas and grandmas! Some looked so nervous, like they were about to take the hardest test of their lives. The exam rooms were huge and hadhundreds of little desks. I definitely wouldn't want to write a test in one of those rooms!Dad said the reading passages cover all sorts of topics like finance, marketing, human resources and international trade. He showed me a practice test with texts about corporate mergers, joint venture negotiations and strategic planning objectives. I couldn't even understand the titles let alone the whole passages! How do grown-ups learn such boring stuff?The listening sections seemed pretty tough too - lots of recordings of meetings, presentations, negotiations, you name it. And there are all these little annoying details you have to pick up on, like the attitudes and opinions of the speakers. No thank you!After the tests, Dad will get scores for each section: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. An overall grade too which combines all the scores together. If he does well enough, he'll get a certificate to show he passed that BEC level. How cool would it be to get an official certificate from Cambridge University just for being good at English?Well, I sure don't envy my dad and all the other grown-ups who have to take these exams. They sound incredibly difficult and way too much work if you ask me. I'll stick to my simple spelling tests for now! But I guess if you want an awesome career,speaking and writing perfect English is pretty important. Best of luck to anyone out there facing these Cambridge BEC monsters. You're going to need it!篇4The Cambridge Bizzniss ExamsHi there! My name is Tommy and I'm going to tell you all about the Cambridge Business English exams. These are tests that grown-ups take to show they can speak and write good English for their jobs. There are different levels, just like in school when you start at kindergarten and work your way up.The first level is callt the Preliminary. That's for people who can use basic English for things like introductions, talking about their job, and asking simple questions. After the Preliminary, there's the Vantage level. People at this level can have more complex conversations about work situations, presentations, meetings and stuff.The next level up is called Higher. Grown-ups who pass this test are really good at English! They can understand long meetings, read difficult documents, negotiate with customers and colleagues, and give presentations to the bosses without getting all tongue-tied. Whew, that sounds hard!But the mega tough level is the top one - it's called Proficiency. Only super smart business people with amazing English skills can pass this test. They have to be able to communicate perfectly in any situation, no matter how complex. Things like legal contracts, high-level negotiations, public speeches...nothing can stump them when it comes to English. I'll need to study really hard if I want to get to that level someday!For each of these tests, the candidates (that means the grown-ups taking the exam) have to show they can read, write, listen and speak English really well for business purposes. There are different sections to test all those skills.In the reading part, they have to read all sorts of business documents like reports, emails, websites, proposals and articles. Then they have to answer questions to prove they understood everything properly. The questions can be multiple choice, filling in tables and charts, or even little essay responses. It's like a reading comprehension test, but super hard!The writing section is where they have to create different types of business documents themselves. Things like company reports, marketing emails, business letters, proposals and meeting notes. The examiners give them a scenario and details on what to include. Then the candidates have to produce awell-written document, using proper language, formatting and organization. Not easy when you're under pressure!Next up is the listening exam. Here the candidates listen to recordings of meetings, presentations, negotiations, lectures and phone calls. As they listen, they have to answer questions, complete notes, fill out forms, and generally show they comprehended all the important details and implied meanings. Missing a key point could mean failing the whole thing! The recordings are pretty realistic too, with background noises, accents and interruptions - just like in a real office.Finally there's the speaking part, which is my favourite because I love to chat! For this, the candidates have a real live conversation with an examiner. They get assessed on things like fluency, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and coherence. The tasks could be role-plays of work scenarios, giving presentations and pitches, negotiating with a client, taking part in discussions and explaining data or diagrams. The examiner throws in some curveballs too by changing topics unexpectedly or asking tricky follow-up questions. No chance for the candidates to just recite memorized answers!Candidates get scores for each section: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Their overall score determines if theypassed that exam level or not. The higher the level, the tougher it is to get a passing grade. I can't even imagine how difficult the Proficiency test must be - you basically have to be perfect in English and able to handle any business communication thrown at you. Woah!So those are the Cambridge business English exams in a nutshell. Grown-ups take them super seriously because a good score can really help their career prospects and open doors to better jobs all around the world. I have a newfound respect for my parents after learning about these intense tests. Who knew business English could be so complicated? I'll be sure to pay close attention in my English classes from now on. Maybe I'll be proficiency level by the time I'm 30...or 40...or maybe 50! Haha, wish me luck!篇5The Big Grown-Up TestMy big sister Jane is in university now, studying business. She has to take this really big test called the Cambridge Business English exam. It's supposed to be super hard and important if you want to get a good job later on. Jane has been studying like crazy for months to get ready!Mom and Dad keep telling me how the Cambridge test shows you can speak and write in English really well for business stuff. Apparently, there are reading sections where you have to read documents and answer questions. There are listening parts too where you listen to recordings and conversations and answer questions on what you heard.The writing sections sound kind of fun though! You have to write emails, reports, proposals and other business documents. Mom says it's important to get the tone and formatting right. I like writing stories and letters, so maybe the writing part would be okay for me. Probably not the rest though!Jane said one of the hardest parts is the speaking test. You have to have a conversation with an examiner and do all sorts of tasks like presentations, negotiations, and roleplays. Yikes! I would be so nervous. Jane has been practicing her business vocabulary and pronunciation a ton.From what I can tell, the whole Cambridge Business English exam is meant to check if you can really communicate effectively in English in a work environment. They look at your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, comprehension skills, and how well you can produce different text types. Phew, that's a lot!Jane keeps going on and on about how important this exam is if she wants to get hired at a big international company after graduating. Lots of businesses and employers really respect and require candidates to have passed this test. My sister definitely feels the pressure!I'm just glad I don't have to worry about anything that advanced and grown-up for many more years. The Cambridge exam sounds crazy difficult to me! But Jane has been working her butt off and I know she's going to do an amazing job. She's so smart and aces everything.I'll be rooting for her on test day. Maybe after she passes, she can teach me some basic business English! Then in a decade or so, I can start prepping for the exam myself. But for now, I'm perfectly content staying a clueless little kid. Let Jane handle those intense, adult assessments. I'll stick to my spelling tests and book reports for the time being!篇6The Really Hard and Annoying Cambridge Business English ExamHi everyone! My name is Timmy and I'm 8 years old. Today I want to tell you all about the super difficult Cambridge BusinessEnglish exam that my parents are making me take. It's supposed to be for adults who work in offices and companies, but my mom and dad said I have to do it too. No fair!First of all, the exam is seriously long. Like, so so long. You have to sit there forever listening to people talk about business-y stuff like sales and marketing and budgets. Blah blah blah. As if I care about any of that boring grown-up nonsense! I'd way rather be outside playing soccer or riding my bike. But noooo, I have to sit inside and listen to endless recordings about corporate meetings and giving presentations. Someone help me!And you know what else? There's a ton of reading too. Huge long passages filled with fancy business words and annoying topics like supply chain management and international trade regulations. What even is that? Why would any kid ever need to know those things? The reading sections are soooo dull. I literally start falling asleep.But easily the worst part is the writing section. For that, you have to write essays and reports and emails using professional business language. Do you know how hard that is for a little kid?? I'm supposed to sound all proper and intelligent when I just want to write like I normally talk. One of the assignments is to review a business proposal and provide recommendations. A proposal forwhat? To get more ice cream servers at my school? Because that's about the only kind of proposal I care about!Oh, and I can't forget about the speaking part too. You have to pretend to have fake conversations and meetings about budgets, sales strategies, global operations...blah blah BLAH. Does anyone actually understand what any of that means?? It's all a bunch of gobbledygook to me. The examiners always say I need to use more formal language and idiomatic business expressions. But how's an 8-year-old supposed to know what that even means?Basically, this whole Cambridge Business English exam is a nightmare for a kid like me. The topics are boring, the tests are hard, and it's wayyy too much stress. Every night I cry to my parents "Why do I have to do this?? I'm just a kid! Let me go play outside!!" But they never listen.If you ask me, the Cambridge Business English exam should be optional for kids. Or at the very least, they need to make an easier version for children where we can write and talk about fun things we actually understand - like playgrounds, birthday parties, and video games. That's my kind of business!Well thanks for listening to me rant and complain, guys. I'm off to go sit for another 3 hour practice test about internationaltax laws and quarterly migration projections. Yippee...I can't wait. This whole thing is what nightmares are made of!!。
bec商务英语高级第三版修订版学生用书听力原文
bec商务英语高级第三版修订版学生用书听力原文In today's globalized business environment, effective communication in English is indispensable for professionals across various industries. The ability to understand and communicate in Business English is particularly crucial for individuals seeking success in international markets. This article will delve into the importance of Business English proficiency and explore how it enhances professional opportunities and facilitates intercultural communication.Firstly, proficiency in Business English enables individuals to engage confidently in international business transactions. Whether negotiating contracts, conducting presentations, or participating in meetings, fluency in English empowers professionals to express their ideas clearly and persuasively. Moreover, it fosters trust and credibility with international partners, as effective communication minimizes misunderstandings and ensures alignment of objectives.Furthermore, Business English proficiency opens doors to a wealth of career opportunities in multinational corporations and globalized industries. In today's interconnected world, companies actively seek candidates who possess strong English language skills to navigate diverse work environments and engage with stakeholders worldwide. From marketing and sales to finance and human resources, proficiency in Business English is a valuable asset that enhances employability and promotes career advancement.Additionally, mastering Business English enhances cultural competence and fosters cross-cultural collaboration. Language serves as a gateway to understanding cultural nuances and fostering meaningful connections with colleagues and clients from different backgrounds. By honing their English language skills, professionals demonstrate respect for cultural diversity and create inclusive work environments where ideas can flourish across borders.Moreover, Business English proficiency equips individuals with the ability to access a wealth of resources and knowledge in the global marketplace. From industry reports and market analyses to online forums and professional networks, English-language materials offer valuable insights and opportunities for learning and professional development. By leveraging these resources, professionals can stay abreast of industry trends, expand their expertise, and remain competitive in the global arena.Furthermore, proficiency in Business English enhances adaptability and resilience in an ever-evolving business landscape. In an era of rapid technological advancement and economic uncertainty, effective communication skills are essential for navigating change and seizing new opportunities. By mastering Business English, professionals can communicate confidently in diverse situations, whether adapting to remote work environments, collaborating across time zones, or capitalizing on emerging market trends.In conclusion, proficiency in Business English is paramount for success in today's globalized business landscape. From facilitating international transactions to unlocking career opportunities and fostering cross-cultural understanding, fluency in English empowers professionals to thrive in diverse and dynamic environments. By investing in language learning and honing their communication skills, individuals can broaden their horizons, expand their networks, and achieve their professional aspirations on a global scale.。
剑桥商务英语考试听力.doc
剑桥商务英语考试听力剑桥商务英语考试听力篇1Woman: OK. Now, if you think about the Chief Executive s problems for a moment...what doyou think he needs to tackle first?Man: There are so many problems! Something needs to be done about the workforce, becausesome departments employ staff without the necessary training. In the long term, of course,they need to develop the photocopiers themselves. But the priority must be to reverse the fallin revenue, even if it means cutting prices, in order to increase the sales volume. Unless they dothat, they ll go out of business very soon.Woman: And what about their advertising?Man: Well, they re using modern media, like the Internet, and targeting their advertising morethan they used to, for instance, by moving from magazine ads to direct mailshots tocompanies. But these have an old-fashioned feel to them; the layout and graphics don t seemto have changed for twenty years.Woman: Right. Now, let s go on to...剑桥商务英语考试听力篇2Man: They seem to miss a lot of opportunities. When they visit a customer to install or repair aphotocopier, it s their chance to look at all the equipment there and suggest how Trident couldsupply the company s needs better. Then there s their problem with spares, the Parts ServicesDepartment keeps stocks low, for financial reasons, but that means the engineers often can tget the parts they need for call-outs, and the customer has to wait.Woman: Now, what about communications within the company? I m sure you ll agree they renot as good as they could be. Why do you think that is?Man: Well, I was a bit surprised, because, in fact, middlemanagers hold regular meetings withtheir departments. But that s because they re given information by the top management aboutpolicy issues and plans, for instance, which they have to pass on. But I have to say that someof them don t seem to think their staff can have anything to say that s worth hearing. And, ofcourse, this creates ill feeling.剑桥商务英语考试听力篇3Man: Well, weak line managers are often a reason, but I can t find any evidence for that here.And even the recent changes, like the cut in bonuses, have been accepted fairly calmly. I think itreflects people s uncertainty about their long-term prospects with the company.Woman: What would you say about the sales staff? There s a lot about them in the casestudy.Man: They re doing the best they can in the circumstances. There s a system for helping themto develop their selling skills, and that s working. The way customers are allocated to eachsalesperson could be improved maybe, to reduce unnecessary travel. But they re gettingcontradictory signals about what they re supposed to be doing: just responding to enquiries,or going out looking for new business.Woman: Uh-huh. And what about service engineers: what s the main weakness in thatdepartment?剑桥商务英语考试听力篇4Woman: Ah, Gareth, do sit down.Man: Thank you.Woman: Now, presumably you ve considered this case study about Trident Appliances?Man: Yes.Woman: Good. Well, let s start with the present situation. Trident manufactures photocopiers,which they sell in bulk to retailers and large organisations. Now, why do you think theyrehaving trouble selling them?Man: It s strange, because there s a big demand for photocopiers, and Trident s arecompetitively priced. But the specifications just don t compare with what s expected these days.It s a shame, because they ve got plenty of technical expertise in their engineering supportteam.Woman: OK. Now, the company is owned by a large multinational. How do they see Trident?Man: Well, the group is largely in the mining sector, and Trident doesn t fit in with that, soyou d expect the parent company to want to sell it. Or alternatively to be active, say by helpingit to expand its markets. But really it seems quite content to take a hands-off approach, aslong as Trident is generating some income.Woman: Hmm... There s clearly poor morale among the employees. Why do you think that is?剑桥商务英语考试听力篇5Right, let s see where we ve gotten to. We ve agreed to recognise when staff have worked hardand achieved their goals. Sales need to have done reasonably well in their area ideally betterthan the forecasts while keeping within budget. And, if we feel a person is worth substantialinvestment, we can go with a five-per-cent pay rise, as well as offering a bonus in exceptionalcircumstances.The figures show quite clearly that we didn t reach the target we set last year. If anything, Ithink we ought to cut back on spending, at least for the next few months. If sales pick up inthe new year and we manage to add new clients to our base, maybe we can think about buyingmore estate and equipment then. If I may say so, we have to be realistic.。
剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文
剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文1This is the Business English Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 1.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear the introduction to a seminar, called the Business Master Class, about the use of Information Technology in the workplace.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: Good morning everyone and welcome. Thanks for coming. My name is Jane Watson and I look forward to meeting you all personally. Some of you are here just for today, others, I know, will be attending for all three days. I’m just going to say a few words on behalf of my company who have organised this event, Global Conferences plc. As you know, today’s seminar is The Business Master Class, to be conducted by our distinguished guest who I will introduce in a moment. But first a few quick points of organisation which perhaps you’d like to note. All the sessions will take place in this hotel except for the last session on Tomorrow’s Software, which will be at the New City Hotel. We will meet there at 2pm and this will give us a chance to see in action some of the things we have been discussing. A map with directions to the New City Hotel is available from me if you wishto make your own way. Alternatively there will be a bus going there at 1.30pm. There is limited car parking at the New City Hotel so if you wish to drive there you will need a permit. You can get one from the conference office.Now to the reason we are all here. We are very fortunate to have a seminar today led by Dr Martin Sangalli, one of the most prominent and well-respected commentators in the world business community. He’s been asked to advise many large corporations. He is a specialist in the strategic use of Information Technology in banking, pharmaceuticals and retail. He has his own company called Logic Solutions, which consults with some of the biggest names in the world of business. He is also an adviser to Intertel and a non-executive director of Global Conferences. Thousands of business and technology managers have benefited from reading his best-selling book, Intelligent Change. Always inspiring and thought provoking, his ideas have helped hundreds of organisations to gain a glimpse of the future. He is Europe’s most famous IT analyst. Dr Sangalli - welcome.Man: Thank you Jane, for that flattering introduction. I hope I can live up to it. So to begin. There are two main difficulties facing all corporations today. Firstly, how to make themselves more customer-driven. Secondly, and as a result of that, is the question of how to go about the major task of developing and implementing new organisational structures. This is a senior management session and is designed to provide you with two things. I hope that by the end of the session you will be equipped to design your own framework for action. To help you do this you will also be able to take away documentation of real- life case studies that I’ve been involved in. So, if you would like to look at the screen...剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文2this is the Business English Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 2.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear a consultant giving a talk to a group of UK business people about exporting to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Man: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the fourth in our series of brief country profiles for companies who are thinking of extending their trading activities into new areas. Our chosen country this afternoon is the United Arab Emirates or UAE. Now, in geographical terms it is relatively small but what makes it very significant in commercial terms is its high purchasing power. The two most important cities, from a commercial point of view at least, are Dubai City and Abu Dhabi City, particularly the former. It is important to remember that the UAE has always been a distribution centre through which goods pass to neighbouring countries. Another point is that in recent years the UAE government has made the legal framework much more user-friendly by simplifying commercial law.What are they like as people to trade with? What are they looking for from you, the potential exporter? Firstly, UAE customers are very knowledgeable about the latest trends.They’re not interested in last year’s fashions or products. They are only interested in the most up-to-date, high-quality products at a keen price.Like everyone else they don’t like unreliability, whether in terms of getting the goods there when you promised them or the performance of the product itself. Above all, however, they insist on your meeting their high expectations regarding after-sales service. And being a small market, geographically speaking, businessmen tend to know each other, so once you do a good job for one customer, then the news travels fast round the UAE and you’ll soon be getting orders from other agencies or whatever, because they’ve heard about you. But be warned - it also works the other way!Another point to bear in mind that’s true of nearly all markets, but, believe me, it is particularly true o f the UAE: don’t imagine mailshots or emails are going to produce good results. Local businesspeople don’t just prefer a personal visit, they insist on it; it’s the only approach possible.Now, how to get started: so what are the various ways of selling goods and services in the UAE? What I would recommend, to make your first contacts, is attending a trade fair - one of the many held in Dubai. Having made your contacts, there are various options open to you. The most popular way to start is with direct sales to local contractors. This method is fine for one-off deals or where you just want to try things out. On the other hand, if you’re thinking of supplying goods or services to a government body then you’ve got to have a local agent. Lastly, there’s the bra nch office option or the possibility of going into a joint venture with a local partner. It is always an expensive option, and the UAE is no exception in this. In general, I wouldadvise exporters to gain at least five years’ experience in the case of the UAE before opening a branch office there, although of course there could be exceptions to this.Now as far as import documentation is concerned...[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers.[pause]Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.You will hear five different people talking about the relocation of their business premises.For each extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question 13-17, choose the reason given for deciding to relocate the company premises, from the list A-H. Now look at Task Two. For each question 18-22, choose the problem described that arose after the relocation, from the list A-H.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have thirty seconds to read the two lists.剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文31 to 12.You will hear a spokesperson telling a group of business people about the Business Support Agency- an organisation which distributes business and research grants.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: Thank you everybody, thank you. The Business Support Agency or BSA are very proud of the part we play in the development of business success. T oday I’ll give you a bit of background on the Agency, and then outline the steps involved in applying for support. OK?What we do, basically, is distribute financial support from our funds, which come from the central government Department of Education on the one hand, and then that sum is matched - the amount fluctuates on a yearly basis –by contributions from a number of multinational companies. We then follow the procedures I’ll be outlining in a moment. Some examples of this work, if you’re interested, can be seen in our annual report - I’ll leave copies out for you to look at. Since we began, we’ve given out over three hundred grants. We made twenty awards last year alone, and expect that figure to rise to twenty-five next year. But we’re not simply giving this money away - our criteria are strict.So, how do you apply? Well, there are four steps to making an application. In the first place, you should get in touch with our Project Coordinating Office. You can call them on 0188 45 45 45 and express your interest. They’ll then send you an application form. It’s quite a lengthy document, I must warn you, and you’ll need to fill in information about the history of your company, outline your requirements, and include the predicted benefits. That gives us the beginning of a picture and enables us to make an initial decision about whether to proceed any further. The third step would be having a meeting with one of our regional consultants. This involves talking through your ideas fordevelopment if you get the grant and should help you to focus clearly on your exact needs. And the fourth step is producing a full plan, which needs to include all costs and dates. By this time, both sides will have a very clear picture. Now, all this obviously takes up quite some time, and you need to think carefully about which personnel within your organisation are going to be availa ble to put in the necessary work. OK, well that’s then your role finished for the time being.Meanwhile, we continue to go through your plans in detail. Ultimately, whether or not you get a grant will be decided by our central committee. This consists of representatives from our funding bodies and a panel of experts. For logistical reasons, they only meet every three months, so it can take a while for you to hear from us. Now, assuming you are successful - and around eighty per cent of applications are - the BSA will be looking to fund seventy per cent of your overall requirement. That proportion is up from a maximum of sixty per cent last year. The payment will be made in quarterly instalments. This has proved to be the most generally useful method all round. The last job for you will be coming up with a progress review, which you need to do at the end of the first year. Right, well, are there any questions?剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文42.You will hear a representative of a company which organises trade fairs for academic recruitment. She is talking to a group of prospective clients.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: OK... well thank you very much everyone. First of all I’d like to introduce myself and my company. I’m Paula Shandling from Praxis Academic Recruitment Fairs and I’m here today to tell you a little about our operations in various parts of the world and the specialist services we offer to make our exhibitions well known for being cost and time effective - reaching your target audience with the minimum of effort on your part.Now firstly I should explain that the main geographical area we serve is Central America. But, and, I understand this is the area of interest for most of the audience here today, we are currently expanding into South-East Asia.Right, regarding our exhibition package, we believe we offer a very comprehensive deal to the prospective exhibitor. We have found over the years that clients prefer to have a self- contained package rather than spending time negotiating add-ons. And because of this we have been able to keep the cost to a minimum. And what that includes is, as you can see, the exhibition stand. Of course, you can’t get very far in an exhibition without one of those –and also full materials delivery. We’ll get everything to the venue for you safely. And a very popular recent addition to the package has been the local trade guide. This has proved very successful because it includes lots of specific information about local conditions - hours of work, past patterns of enrolment in situ, etcetera, etcetera.Now, as well as the full package on site, as it were, we are well aware that one of the most wasteful and demotivatingaspects of fairs from your point of view is the time spent dealing with casual enquirers. For this reason we have been developing over the past two years what we call a ‘filtering system’. By this we mean our set of strategies developed to virtually guarantee that enquirers at your stand are genuine potential customers i.e. mature individuals with the appropriate means, and all this means that you maximise quality contact with potential customers. Now, how our filtering system works is through our targeted advertising and what this essentially means in the case of academic recruitment is to run adverts in academic journals, which of course we research thoroughly to keep up to date, and secondly through our own website. A recent development has been the service we offer to put your business information onto our website a month in advance of the fair and retain on the site for six months.Right now, there are other features of our fairs which we adapt to local conditions –what we call ‘context-sensitive’ features. They are, as you can see, suitable opening times that means you have access when needed and that can make a lot of difference to the number of people attending, plus our interpreter service, particularly useful for undergraduate enquirers wishing to take advantage of language support services in your institutions.A few practical details now - you can get more information from the publicity leaflet which I distributed at the beginning of the talk. This will tell you about venues and about special services and finally about costs.[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers.[pause]。
剑桥商务英语第三版听力原文1(华夏版)
Unit 6 International trade
商务英语专家
Thursday. Er… the other three will arrive towards midday Friday. Could you let me know how long it will take to unload each truck? Rusconi: Yes, er… each truck will take about an hour. Er… I think you should know that we can’t unload more that two trucks at time. Garcia: I see, well, thanks for letting me know that. Er… I wonder if you can tell me what’ll happen if one of the trucks arrives later and can’t be unloaded on Friday? Do you know if it can be unloaded on Saturday? Rusconi: I’m afraid I don’t know, it might have to wait till Monday. Er… you’d have to ask our warehouse manager about that. Garcia: Could you just remind me what his name is again? Rusconi: Yes, of course he’s … er… Mr. Ferrari. Garcia: Ah, and … er… can … can you tell me his number? Rusconi: Yes, it’s 3459800 extension 71. Garcia: Good. Thank you very much. It’s… it’s nice to talk to you. Goodbye. Rusconi: Bye now, Mr. Garcia. 6.1 D You will hear various people asking for information and all of them speak unclearly or quickly. 1. Good morning. Erm… I’ve got to … er… I’ve got to fly to Rockford on Monday and I’ve … um… I’ve left my ticket in my room. I think the check-in time is 4.50, b…b…but I’m not entirely sure. Could you check this for me, please? 2. Good morning. I’ve tried calling Mr. Geoffrey’s room but there’s no answer, so I suppose he’s out. I’ve written a note for him, and I wonder if you could give this to him. It’s for Mrs... Mr. Geoffrey, that’s Geoffrey, G-O…G-E-O-F-F-R-E-Y. OK? 3. Can you reserve theatre tickets for me for the performance on July, and charge them to my credit card? No, wait I gave you the wrong date! Ha! I need two tickets for July 3rd. OK? 4. I’ve booked a room for the whole of this week in the name of Sanders. The thing is on the 29th, that’s the Friday, I’d like to change from a single and have a double instead if that’s possible. 5. I’m expecting a call from our agent in Greece this morning. If he calls could you ask him to call me on 23983? I’ll be there till about 3. After that he can get me on 28393 from about half past three. 6. Could you possibly tell me if there is a special party rate for delegates at conferences? I know I read this somewhere, but I’m not sure where. 7. I wanted to speak to Mr. Wilson, he said he’d be back in his room by this afternoon. Now, it’s 405, I think. Is that right? 8. I need to get to the airport by 7.30 this evening. I’ve probably got plenty of time but as I’ll be out in the eastern suburbs I can’t take the airport but. So how long does it take by cab, would you say? 6.2 Making enquiries A You will hear your boss Fred North talking on phone. Mr. North: … Oh, yeah, we had a really good time up the mountain. Yeah, nice of you to take us up, nice of you. Er… I know what I wanted to ask you: have you ahd any dealings with Arcolite? … Uhuh, oh, that can’t be true. Arecolite Batteries? … Yeah, but they’ve been doing real well… Well,if you got this from him, I guess … er … I guess there must be some truth in it… yeah, we … we kind of depend on them, they’ve been supplying us for … for quite a long time now… No, they’re our … er… sole suppliers. Hmm. Well, thanks for the tip. I’ll… I’ll… get my new assistants to investigate… Sure. Nice talking to you. Goodbye, Fritz.
bec高级试题及答案
bec高级试题及答案BEC高级试题及答案一、听力部分1. 听下面一段对话，回答以下问题：(A) What is the main topic of the conversation?(B) What does the woman suggest they do next?(C) Why does the man agree with her suggestion?答案：(A) The main topic of the conversation is about organizing a team-building event.(B) The woman suggests they should invite an external trainer for the event.(C) The man agrees because he believes an external trainer can provide a fresh perspective.2. 听下面一段独白，回答以下问题：(A) What is the speaker's opinion on remote working?(B) What is the potential issue with remote working according to the speaker?(C) What solution does the speaker propose?答案：(A) The speaker believes that remote working can increase productivity.(B) The potential issue is the lack of face-to-face interaction which can lead to communication problems.(C) The speaker proposes regular video conferences to maintain team cohesion.二、阅读部分1. Read the following passage and answer the questions:(A) What is the primary purpose of the article?(B) According to the article, what are the benefits of using renewable energy?(C) What challenges does the author mention regarding renewable energy?答案：(A) The primary purpose of the article is to discuss the advantages and challenges of renewable energy.(B) The benefits include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy independence.(C) Challenges include the high initial cost of renewable energy technologies and the intermittent nature of some renewable energy sources.2. Read the following business report and answer the questions:(A) What was the main reason for the company's decline in profits?(B) What measures did the company take to address the issue?(C) What was the outcome of these measures?答案：(A) The main reason for the company's decline in profits was increased competition in the market.(B) The company took measures such as reducing costs and investing in new marketing strategies.(C) The outcome was a gradual recovery in profits over the next year.三、写作部分1. Write an email to a potential client introducing your company's new product. Include the following points:- Briefly describe the product.- Explain the benefits of using the product.- Suggest a meeting to discuss further details.答案：Dear [Client's Name],I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to introduce our latest product, the [Product Name], which we believe could be of great interest to your company.The [Product Name] is designed to [brief description of the product]. It offers several benefits, including [list of benefits], which we believe could significantly enhance your operations.We would be delighted to arrange a meeting to discuss how the [Product Name] could meet your specific needs. Please let us know a convenient time for you.Looking forward to your response.Best regards,[Your Name][Your Position][Your Company]2. Write a report summarizing the key findings of a recent market research study on consumer behavior. Include the following:- The main objective of the study.- The methodology used.- The key findings and their implications for businesses.答案：The main objective of the study was to understand the changing consumer behavior in the digital age. The methodology involved conducting surveys and analyzing data from online transactions.The key findings revealed that consumers are increasingly preferring online shopping due to convenience and better deals. They also value personalized experiences and are more likely to engage with brands that offer them.These findings imply that businesses should focus on enhancing their online presence, offering personalized services, and providing competitive pricing to stay ahead in the market.四、口语部分1. Describe a situation where you had to solve a problem at work. Explain the steps you took to resolve it.答案：In a situation where I had to solve a problem at work, I first identified the root cause of the issue. Then, I gathered all relevant information and consulted with my team members. After discussing potential solutions, we decided on the most feasible one and implemented it. Finally, we monitored the results to ensure the problem was resolved.2. Discuss the importance of effective communication in a business environment.答案：Effective communication is crucial in a business environment as it ensures that all team members are on the same page. It helps in avoiding misunderstandings, promotes collaboration, and leads to better decision-making. Clear communication also contributes to a positive work culture and enhances productivity.。
BEC剑桥高级英语听力原文(手录)
1.1 The future of human resources1)I think the problem is that in the last fifteen years,employers haven't showntheir employees much loyalty.They've hired and fired pretty much at will,according to whether the market dictated that they need to increase or reduce the workforce.The flipside of this is that employees now,particularly those in the 25 to 35 age group,don't feel much loyalty to their employer either.Developing strategies to hold on to highly skilled and highly qualified people has become the number one priority in human resources - in all big companies,in fact.2)There's no doubt that in the next ten years there will be a move away from thenine to five office-based model of work. In fact ,it's already happening with women ,who often find it challenging to balance work and domestic schedules.This could mean more 'teleworking', in other words working at home and being linked to the office by computer;or it could mean shorter working weeks or just more flexible hours, Unless companies offer these possibilities,a lot of people will look for alternative types of work.3)Companies are finding that graduates and school leavers aren't well enoughprepared for working life. This is going to drive two changes,I think. One is a greater co-operating between companies and universities or colleges to ensure that at entry level to the company, people have the right skills. We'll also see more investment in corporate training - corporate universities and so on -so that employees' skills can be moulded to the needs of the company.4)As the birth rate decreased and life expectancy increases, there will beshortages in the job market. Consequently, a lot of ex-employees who thought they had finished their careers at 60 or whatever,will be called back to work.This will suit the companies, but it will suit the employees too, because their pensions will probably be inadequate to fund their longer retirement.5)At the moment people in their 50s and 60s are , on the whole , very poorly valuedin companies. Firms want to recruit younger employees who are cheaper to employ and more adaptable to a changing business environment. But as the supply of these younger workers dries up, we'll have to consider older staff differently. I hope that in future the wisdom and experience of this group will become more valued.1.2 An environment accidentJ=Journalist S=SpokespersonJ : So, can you tell me how this happened?S : Well, it was a very unfortunate combination of events. As you know , weather conditions have been severe in the eastern Atlantic for the last couple of days. The ship's captain reported that the ship was in trouble at 11pm last night and was ordered to make for port as quickly as possible. At 2:30 pm he reported that she was grounded on some rocks just off the Cornish coast.J: But this isn't the first time this particular ship has been in an accident.is it? S: She has been involved in two incidents in the past, but these had nothing to do withher sea-worthiness,She is a well-maintained ship in excellent working order with an experience crew on board.J: And what are you intending to do to limit the damage to the environment now? S: Unfortunately, while conditions remain so hostile, there is very little we can do, but the moment the storms subside we will be mounting an operation to transfer the oil off the ship using tugs.J: Do you think that this kind of accident is acceptable?S: I think it needs to be put into perspective. Accidents at sea are far less common than rail or road accidents. The problem is that they attract much more publicity ... J: Well, yes, Whichever way you look at it, it's a PR disaster for your company, isn't it ?S: As I've said, this type of incident does attract a lot of media attention. I just hope that the public can see ...2.1 The PeopleSoft takeoverCOMMENTATOR I think you could sum up PeopleSoft's approach to their employees like this:"We want you to be happy, we want you to do the things you've good at and that you enjoy doing. ' Very few big IT consulting companies are like that.They usually throw people straight in at the deep end: put them on jobs where they don't necessarily have much skill or experience, arguing that it's good for them to learn. But I think that although they have talked a lot about caring for their people and having fun, PeopleSoft put a lot of responsibility on them too. Like they were saying, ' Here's a job you can do and will enjoy doing,but you'll be accountable for the results.' To enforce that they generally started people on low salaries - and I mean low - and explained that greater rewards would come in time. In fairness, it was direct and honest. In December 2004,when Oracle took over,a lot of employees decided to leave. For a start, the feeling was that their applications just weren't as good as PeopleSoft's - in fact they were probably just more difficult to use - and secondly people thought that Oracle didn't respect employees as much. The CEO of PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield, had a very paternalistic approach - he used to sign his emails ' DAD '(which were his initials). It wasn't well-paid work but people felt valued, which is often more important. Also there was a relaxed atmosphere around the company.The moment the merger was announced, that kind of evaporated. It seemed to become tense, people wondering if the new CEO was going to live up to his reputation for wielding the axe. And, in retrospect, you would have to say they were right to be worried!INDUSTRY ANALYST Oracle gets a lot of flak because of its aggressive growth strategy,but i'm afraid in this sector only the big guys are going to survive. The merger with PeopleSoft was a business necessity. It didn't happen because the two companies were so alike - their cultures were very different.At Oracle there's a greater sense of urgency ... It's a stressful environment, but the rewards are huge. I know some reps there who are making millions of dollars. Sure, if you don't cut it, you've toast pretty fast,but that's business. It's survival of the fittest. The differences really come from the nature of the two businesses. Oracle's coreproduct is databases and with databases the customer often make a decision whether to buy or not in a matter of weeks. With ERP applications, which is more PeopleSoft territory, you can be in discussions with customers for months, analysing their needs and then proposing the right solution before a sale is agreed. So that naturally makes for a different culture. The other thing is that the merger happened really quickly - like marrying before you've really got to know the bride. So, of course people are uncertain. I think in the end, though, as both sets of employees adapt to each other's way of working, things will settle down.2.2 Falling sharesCEO ok,hi everyone. I'll make this brief, because I have another meeting to get to ,but what I have to say is no less important for being short.As you know, in our three-year plan we had a target of 20% growth by the end of this year. As things stand, we've going to be quite a bit short of that - trading circumstances haven't been easy. And unless we do something about it in the next few months, the consequences on our share price could be pretty significant. The markets are already getting a bit twitchy as you will have read in the financial press.It's unrealistic to think that we are going to trade our way out of this. All the indications are that the market is going to remain flat for at least the next twelve months. So, what I need you to do is to come up with some possible targets for acquisition. We're looking for a medium-sized business, reasonably well established in the market. It doesn't have to be a toy business, but it must be related ... in other words in the leisure retail sector, because that is where our expertise is. I don't need to tell you your jobs, I know you'll be discreet, but do get on with it - time's not on our side. I'll schedule a meeting for a month's time to hear what you've come up with.3.1 Dealing with problemsCCO=Call centre operator C=CustomerCCO: Hello, Penco Telecommunications.C: At last. I was just about to hang up. I've been on the phone for ten minutes going through various options ... None of which I wanted.CCO: I do apologize for the wait.sir. How can I help you ?C: I've been waiting in all day for an engineer to come and repair my line. He was due to come at ten o'clock this morning ... It's now three in the afternoon. I telephoned at twelve o'clock and one of your operators promised to call me back, but she hasn't. I've wasted my day waiting around and worse than that I still can't receive any calls. CCO: I'm very sorry. Can i have your number and I'll look into it straightaway ? C: Yes , it's 01889 245624.CCO: Ok. One moment - I'm going to see who the engineer is that has been assigned to the job ... Ok, I have his number. I'm going to put you on hold and try to find out what's happened.C: Please don't disappear. As i said, it took me ten minutes to get through in the first place.CCO: Don't worry, I'll come straight back to you. One moment ... Right, I'm afraid he has been delayed on another job. He apologises for not calling you sooner. He normally works until 5pm but he's offered to work later this evening to fit in your job. He can be there by 6pm. Would that be convenient?C: No, it would not. I'm going out to the cinema this evening.CCO: I quite understand. In that case, I'm going to have to reschedule him for another day. Can you tell me when would be convenient ?C: Well, first thing tomorrow morning, but...CCO : I'll see what I can do. Please just bear with me for a moment while I speak to him again ... Right that's arranged for tomorrow morning at nine.C: That's all very well, But what am I supposed to do in the meantime ?CCO: Do you have a mobile phone,sir ?C: Yes.CCO: What I can do is to divert any calls coming into your office number on to your mobile phone until your line is repaired. Would that be acceptable to you ?C: I suppose so. When can you do that ?CCO : If you'd like to tell me your mobile number, I can get that activated immediatelyC: Ok, the number is ...3.2 Exam practiceI imagine most of you are here today because you want to find out more about the job of a coach. Some of you will be sceptical about its benefits, others will have already started making a career out of coaching.I myself have been a coach since the late 90s, but our academy was set up more recently in 2004 in response to a demand for more formal training in the field. We are a private institution and don't rely on any government funding. Our aim was to try to professionalise an industry which until then had been, in this country at any rate, a rather disorganised and unregulated industry. We now have over 450 members and run twelve courses a year in various types of coaching. These range from day seminars for people who are already practising as coaches to four-week courses or the beginner.So what is a coach exactly ? Well, there are many different types of coach offering help in many different aspects of business and personal life: from financial or management coaching through to parent coaching and work-life balance coaching. But the basic principles remain the same whatever the field: using simple psychology and simple direction to help people to believe in themselves and to achieve their goals.The great thing about coaches is that not only do they help you to identify your goals and the obstacles to achieving them, but they stay there cheering you on from the sidelines. In other words, they always help the clients to look forward. This is very unlike traditional counselling, which tends to focus more on past events and mistakes and helping the person to get over these before they can move on.I'm going to show you a short film of a coaching session in a moment, but beforeI do, I will just mention something about the rewards of the job, and the qualifications and resources that you need for it because these are questions that will be concerning many of you.The rewards: Well, job satisfaction is , of course, very high. I mean, how often do you come home from work and are able to say, ' wow, I really made a difference to someone's life today '?As to financial rewards, sessions with coaches usually start at about ￡70 per hour but experienced coaches can earn anything up to ￡400 per hour. As to qualifications, you will need to follow an accredited coaching course, such as the ones we run here at the academy, and also you will need considerable experience in the field that you are coaching in. If you don't have this background it will be difficult for the client to have confidence in you.What else do you need to set up as a coach ? Most coaching is done at the client's office or home, but some coaches also see people at their own homes. In fact there's no need always to meet face-to-face. I know of several coaches who conduct session by phone or online, even sometimes by text message ...4.1 Sales techniquesSarah We make financial software for medium-sized companies. Competition is strong - not necessarily price competition, because in our sector, quality , reliability and service are far more important factors. We use a sales technique that's called ' relationship selling '. In other words, we spend a lot of time getting to know each prospect's individual needs :their business processes, their strategic aims, and um ... Also the issues and constraints they face. The idea is that the customer sees us as a partner, someone who's going to work with them and help them find the best solution for their business. Working this way, there are times when I have to freely admit to people that our products may not be best suited to their particular needs, but to be honest I'd much prefer to be doing that than using some hard-sell technique to push something I don't really believe in myself, you know ...Presenter Thank you, Sarah. Now, Dale Freidman, I know you have a very different approach ...Dale I would say so, yes. In my line of business, it's all about perceived benefits - there are some tangible ones like, for example, use of natural ingredients in our deodorants, but everyone in the industry copies ideas, so it's difficult to sustain any kind of technical competitive advantage for long. So, I use a lot of anecdotes when I sell; I tell stories, get people laughing, My approach is direct - I guess some might say pushy, but I get results. I deal only with the decision maker, who's generally a buyer for a chain of stores. You'd be amazed how much time people waste talking to the wrong guy. I always start by presenting them with the most expensive options, because this increases our average sales, and as soon as I get a buying signal from them - it could be anything, you know, just a question like ' What's your most popular product ? '- I move in and close the sale by discussing quantities required, special delivery arrangements, favorable payment terms, thing that make them feel they're getting added value ...4.2 A sales forecastAnke Reigl Is everyone ready ? Good, then I'll begin. Ok ... Well, based on average growth in sales over the last two years and given the relatively stable state of the market at the moment as far as competition is concerned, we're forecasting a fairly modest increase in the first quarter, about 2to 3%. We expect this to rise to between 7and 10% in the second and third quarters, after the launch of the new slow - release version of the drug. Marketing tells me - thanks, Werner for your help with this ...Werner You're welcome.Anke Reigl ... That demand for this version is strong and should be reflected in sales more or less immediately. So that's the basic picture. There are just a couple of monthly variations to this trend which I'll explain nowIf you look at the graph, you'll see that in March last year sales wet up quite sharply and that the figure predicted for this year is much lower. The reason for this is that Bayer had distribution problems and weren't able to supply the required quantities to their customers. We were fortunate, because we were carting extra stock and were fortunate, because we were carrying extra stock and were able to take advantage of the situation. I think it's worth nothing that disruptions in the supply chain can affect anyone and it really does pay for us to hold a reasonable amount of stock in reserve for events like these.As you know, sales generally decline in April and Mat - it's just a seasonal factor - bur as I already mentioned, the launch of the new version this year is expected to boost them considerably, especially in April directly after the campaign. They'll drop back a little after that, but in July we'll have the usual early summer phenomenon when distributors ...5.1 A culture of debtEconomist Perhaps the greater legacy of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is the way he transformed people’s attitude to credit and debt. During his term of office not only the national debt of America, but also personal debt, increased substantially.Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, people in America have been naturally reluctant to borrow money. But for this generation, in the US and increasingly globally, debt has become respectable. From an early age, young people take out loans to pay their way through college and borrowing against equity in real estate is now at record levels. Re-mortgaging your home was unheard of generations ago: a second mortgage was an indication of a household in trouble. But today it is routine.All this is possible because credit is easy and interest rates are low. Banks are encouraged to lend, and often do so irresponsibly. In some states it’s possible to get a 100% mortgage – in other words with no down – payment –equivalent to four times a couple’s combined annual salary. The market is constantly coming up with new financial products and new ways of extending credit to ordinary people. General Motors, whose automotive business is in decline, now sells home equity loans though a subsidiary: it’s the only part of company that has been consistently profitable in recent years.The reason for this boom in money lending is clear – to fund consumer spending. As long as people are spending, economic growth continues. In other more conservative borrowing cultures, like Germany, economic growth has slowed because in times of uncertainty people tend to save their money, rather than borrowing and spending to make themselves feel better.So does the accumulating debt matter ? Some say that as long as asset values rise faster than debt, there’s no problem. In 2005 Americans were twelve trillion dollars in debt, but their personal assets stood at 64 trillion dollars . Others argue that we are sitting on a time-bomb.Asset value will not continue to rise indefinitely and when they crash, millions of people will be plunged into negative equity. Liabilities remain the same but assets can go up and down in value. This was the case with stock market values, which saw sharp falls around 2000. Crisis was averted only because investors moved their money into real estate.For millions of Americans this only confirmed the culture Alan Greenspan had been promoting – debt is good. And if he turns out to be wrong – well, we all had fun in the meantime.5.2 discussing costsCA=Cost accountant GM=General managerCA Look, we’ve got to do something. Doing nothing is not an option. Our margins will just get squeezed more and more.GM Ok. What do you suggest?CA Personally,I’d recommend cutting the wage bill – either by laying some people off or by freezing salaries.GM Neither of which are going to be very popular options.CA No, but the alternatives are probably worse : reducing material costs will definitely have an impact on product quality and cutting back on advertising expenditure is only a short-term solution – it will hurt us in the long run.GM No, I see that.What about administrative costs or other overheads ? Instead of cutting staff, we could try and do something about getting our energy bills down for example.CA I’ve already done as much as I can in those areas. I have thought about this a lot and for me, the only real solution is to tackle labour costs. It may be painful, but the advantage of it would be that, once done, we could get back to concentrating on selling.GM Ok, I hear what you’re saying, but I think it might create more problems than you think. I’m going to go away and think about it … see if there is an acceptable way of doing it.5.3 Matchingwe are accused frequently of doing nothing about the ageing population and the consequent hole in pension funds. But you have to understand that, at the moment at any rate, there are no popular solutions to this problem. Either we raise theretirement age or we increase taxes on working people. Neither of these is a vote winner. I think a lot of us in government are hoping that if we just hold on a bit, then sooner or later another solution will present itself.5.4 Exam practice1)I don’t believe in the capital markets. For a start they are unpredictable and foranother thing, not everyone has the possibility to take such risks with their money. I have always been of the view that you pay taxes through your working life in order to enjoy certain benefits from the state and certain protection against difficult times. For example, in case of unemployment or sickness or for your retirement, for that matter. So when I retire, I will live on what the government is due to give me. If I can’t afford cruises in the Caribbean, then that’s too bad.2)I’m very lucky to have worked in the civil service, which has its own pensionscheme. My salary has never been as good as it might have been in the private sector, but you accept that when you work for a public service. What you do get is job security, longer holidays, good medical insurance and an excellent pension.My pension is calculated as a percentage of my final salary. That’s very rare in the private sector. Usually private companies take your average salary over a period of, say, twenty years. So all in all I expect to be very comfortable when I retire, even if I haven’t had that much disposable income during my working life.3)People think that as a company director, I’m bound to have all sorts of privilegedpension benefits and company schemes going on – some special executive plan. But it’s not the case. We have a company scheme for all our employees but I don’t actually participate in it. Instead, I’ve put most of my money in a long-term savings account, that gives a good rate of return if you keep it in for long enough.It seems bizarre I know, but I make far more than I need to spend and I guess I’m naturally cautious with my money.4)There’s a saying – I don’t know who by – that you should ‘ inivest in land, becausethey don’t make it any more! ‘I think that’s good advice. Around 2004 there started to be a lot of stories in the media about company pensions and private pensions not delivering the benefits they had promised, mainly because they were linked to stock market investments. At that point I decided to withdraw my money from my own private pension and put it into property. I figured that if I bought a small office building, then by the time I reached retirement age, I would have paid off the mortgage and could live off the rent … so that’s what I did.5)I realized quite early on that my state pension wasn’t going to be sufficient, so Itook out a private one when I was about 30. It works like a managed investment fund – a mixture of blue-chip stocks – so I don’t really have much say in how the money is invested. Unfortunately, like a lot of private pension schemes, it hasn’t really performed as predicted. I think the projected growth rate was between 8 and 12% and it’s grown at about 4.5%, which isn’t much above inflation. There are signs that the stock markets are doing a little better now, so I’m hopeful that inthe long run I will have reasonable funds for my retirement. Would I advise anyone to do the same … with hindsight, probably not .6.1 A contract to supplyB=Barbara P=PaulB Paragon. Can I help you ?P Hello, is that Barbara ?B Yes, speaking.P Hi, Barbara, this is Paul from A1 Flooring in London. I’m just calling to discuss the extension of our contract for next year. Is this a good moment for you ?B Yes, as good as any, I guess. Let me just get a pen and paper so I can make some notes … Ok, so where have we got to ?P Well, first the good news. The Klik laminate flooring has been going really well here – you’ll probably have noticed that from the order book in the last six months or so. Customers really love it : the feedback we’ve had has been excellent.B That’s great.P It is good. I have to say, I’m not so surprised – it’s an excellent product, very high quality and the price reflects that of course. Which brings me on to my next point. Now, I’m not asking for better commission – we’re ok on that – but what would really help is more seasonal discounting from your end. What I mean is, reductions that we could pass straight on to our customers. Generally, we run sales in January, spring and late summer and at the moment Paragon’s products are the only ones that don’t feature. I suppose you could say that gives them a certain exclusivity in the eyes of the customer, but at the same time …B I can see the logic of what you’re saying, and I’ve no doubt it would help sales, but what you must understand is that it’s very difficult for us to have a policy with you that’s different from all our other customers. Let me think … what I could suggest is that we try and feed you more discounted stock when we are coming to the end of a particular product line. I can speak to the boss about that.P Well, could you also mention to him the principle of seasonal discounts, because I think it would generate even more interest in the products.B All right, I will … but I’m not too optimistic. Are there any other points ?P Yes, there is one other problem, which is that when we place an order, it’s quite often the case that you don’t have exactly what we want in stock and you offer us a substitute instead. Let me give you an example: we want engineered wood flooring in a natural oak and you only have it in a stained oak. On the whole we try to be flexible, but it’s something which seems to be happening more and more – and what worries me.B I do understand, Paul, and I apologise. It’s something which we are trying to solve. But it’s not really a problem of our own making. It’s a result of shortage in raw material and delays further up the supply chain. We do try to carry reserve stocks of all types of wood, but as you know it’s a sensitive product to transport and store and we often have to rely on what’s available from our suppliers at a given time. That’s just the nature of the product.P Yes, I appreciate all that, but explaining it to our customers is another thing.Often they’re just not prepared to wait and if they can’t get what they want exactly when they want it, they’ll go elsewhere. In the end, that’s no good for either of us. Are you saying that the situation is unlikely to improve because if you are …6.2 Telephone expressions1) A Can I speak to Yan Lin, please?B I’m sorry, the liner is engaged. Would you like to hold?A No, that’s ok. I’ll call back later.2) A I’m afraid Mr. Chiu is out of the office today.B Ok. Can you take a message ?A Of course. I’ll just get a pen and paper.3) A Hello, Morris Industries.B Can I have the sales department, please ?A One moment. I’ll put you through.4) A I’m afraid our computer are down at the moment.B But I need the information by the end of today.A Ok, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.B Thank you. I’d appreciate that.5) A How can I help ?B Can you ask Esther to bring her laptop with her ?A Sure. I’ll make sure she gets the message.B Thanks.6) A I’m calling about Mr. Signelli. Is his bill for $3,000 or $3,500 ?B One second. I’ll just check my records.7) A Can I speak to Sarah, please ?B Hang on. I’ll see if she’s back from lunch yet.8) A So, it’s the Taj Mahal restaurant at 1 o’clock.B Great. I’ll look forward to seeing you then.7.1 Strengths and weaknesses1)I admire my boss a lot. He’s very capable; he knows exactly what he’s doing andhe’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, not like some managers who think they’re above it all. The one problem is that he takes on too much. I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t trust us to do a good job – it’s because he likes to be involved in everything. He’s a bit of a control freak. The result is that he spreads himself very thin, when he could hand more work out to others, and he’s often overloaded and stressed.2)Cheryl’s not particularly brilliant, but she knows that. She knows her ownlimitations, which is certainly one of her strengths. In fact, I don’t think you have to be particularly bright to be a manager – that’s more a quality you need in a leader. A manager’s job is to bring order to the workplace and the team, so that people are clear about what they should be doing and when they should be doing it.Cheryl is very good at getting everyone working in the most efficient way and that makes our working environment much less stressful.。
bec第二辑听力
A Their retailers are becoming less willing to pay their prices.
9 to become more
10 to establish new
Two outcomes of session:
11 design your own
12 take away documents containing actual
Part two
Questions 13-22
●You will here five different business people talking about trips they have recently been on.
13
14
15
16
17
A to supervise staff training
B to hold job interviews
C to introduce new policy
D to visit possible new premises
E to observe working practices
Listening
Part one:
Question 1-12
●You will hear a consultant giving a talk to a group of UK business people about exporting to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
BEC剑桥高级英语听力原文(手录)
The future of human resources1)I think the problem is that in the last fifteen years,employers haven't shown their employeesmuch 've hired and fired pretty much at will,according to whether the market dictated that they need to increase or reduce the flipside of this is that employees now,particularly those in the25 to 35 age group,don't feel much loyalty to their employer strategies to hold on to highlyskilled and highly qualified people has become the number one priority in human resources - in all big companies,in fact.2)There's no doubt that in the next ten years there will be a move away from the nine to fiveoffice-based model of work. In fact ,it's already happening with women ,who often find it challenging to balance work and domestic schedules. This could mean more 'teleworking', in other words working at home and being linked to the office by computer;or it could mean shorter working weeks or just more flexible hours, Unless companies offer these possibilities,a lot of people will look for alternative types of work.3)Companies are finding that graduates and school leavers aren't well enough prepared forworking life. This is going to drive two changes,I think. One is a greater co-operating between companies and universities or colleges to ensure that at entry level to the company, people have the right skills. We'll also see more investment in corporate training - corporate universities and so on -so that employees' skills can be moulded to the needs of the company.As the birth rate decreased and life expectancy increases, there will be shortages in the job market. Consequently, a lot of ex-employees who thought they had finished their careers at 60 or whatever,will be called back to work. This will suit the companies, but it will suit the employees too, because their pensions will probably be inadequate to fund their longer retirement.At the moment people in their 50s and 60s are , on the whole , very poorly valued in companies. Firms want to recruit younger employees who are cheaper to employ and more adaptable to a changing business environment. But as the supply of these younger workers dries up, we'll have to consider older staff differently. I hope that in future the wisdom and experience of this group will become more valued.An environment accidentJ=Journalist S=SpokespersonJ : So, can you tell me how this happenedS : Well, it was a very unfortunate combination of events. As you know , weather conditions have been severe in the eastern Atlantic for the last couple of days. The ship's captain reported that the ship was in trouble at 11pm last night and was ordered to make for port as quickly as possible. At 2:30 pm he reported that she was grounded on some rocks just off the Cornish coast.J: But this isn't the first time this particular ship has been in an itS: She has been involved in two incidents in the past, but these had nothing to do with her sea-worthiness,She is a well-maintained ship in excellent working order with an experience crew on board.J: And what are you intending to do to limit the damage to the environment nowS: Unfortunately, while conditions remain so hostile, there is very little we can do, but the moment the storms subside we will be mounting an operation to transfer the oil off the ship using tugs.J: Do you think that this kind of accident is acceptableS: I think it needs to be put into perspective. Accidents at sea are far less common than rail or roadaccidents. The problem is that they attract much more publicity ...J: Well, yes, Whichever way you look at it, it's a PR disaster for your company, isn't itS: As I've said, this type of incident does attract a lot of media attention. I just hope that the public can see ...The PeopleSoft takeoverCOMMENTATOR I think you could sum up PeopleSoft's approach to their employees like this:"We want you to be happy, we want you to do the things you've good at and that you enjoy doing. ' Very few big IT consulting companies are like usually throw people straight in at the deep end: put them on jobs where they don't necessarily have much skill or experience, arguing that it's good for them to learn. But I think that although they have talked a lot about caring for their people and having fun, PeopleSoft put a lot of responsibility on them too. Like they were saying, ' Here's a job you can do and will enjoy doing,but you'll be accountable for the results.' To enforce that they generally started people on low salaries - and I mean low - and explained that greater rewards would come in time. In fairness, it was direct and honest. In December 2004,when Oracle took over,a lot of employees decided to leave. For a start, the feeling was that their applications just weren't as good as PeopleSoft's - in fact they were probably just more difficult to use - and secondly people thought that Oracle didn't respect employees as much. The CEO of PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield, had a very paternalistic approach - he used to sign his emails ' DAD '(which were his initials). It wasn't well-paid work but people felt valued, which is often more important. Also there was a relaxed atmosphere around the moment the merger was announced, that kind of evaporated. It seemed to become tense, people wondering if the new CEO was going to live up to his reputation for wielding the axe. And, in retrospect, you would have to say they were right to be worried!INDUSTRY ANALYST Oracle gets a lot of flak because of its aggressive growth strategy,but i'm afraid in this sector only the big guys are going to survive. The merger with PeopleSoft was a business necessity. It didn't happen because the two companies were so alike - their cultures were very Oracle there's a greater sense of urgency ... It's a stressful environment, but the rewards are huge. I know some reps there who are making millions of dollars. Sure, if you don't cut it, you've toast pretty fast,but that's business. It's survival of the fittest. The differences really come from the nature of the two businesses. Oracle's core product is databases and with databases the customer often make a decision whether to buy or not in a matter of weeks. With ERP applications, which is more PeopleSoft territory, you can be in discussions with customers for months, analysing their needs and then proposing the right solution before a sale is agreed. So that naturally makes for a different culture. The other thing is that the merger happened really quickly - like marrying before you've really got to know the bride. So, of course people are uncertain. I think in the end, though, as both sets of employees adapt to each other's way of working, things will settle down.Falling sharesCEO ok,hi everyone. I'll make this brief, because I have another meeting to get to ,but what I have to say is no less important for being short.As you know, in our three-year plan we had a target of 20% growth by the end of this year. As things stand, we've going to be quite a bit short of that - trading circumstances haven't been easy. And unless we do something about it in the next few months, the consequences on our share price could be pretty significant. The markets are already getting a bit twitchy as you will have read in thefinancial press.It's unrealistic to think that we are going to trade our way out of this. All the indications are that the market is going to remain flat for at least the next twelve months. So, what I need you to do is to come up with some possible targets for acquisition. We're looking for a medium-sized business, reasonably well established in the market. It doesn't have to be a toy business, but it must be related ... in other words in the leisure retail sector, because that is where our expertise is. I don't need to tell you your jobs, I know you'll be discreet, but do get on with it - time's not on our side. I'll schedule a meeting for a month's time to hear what you've come up with.Dealing with problemsCCO=Call centre operator C=CustomerCCO: Hello, Penco Telecommunications.C: At last. I was just about to hang up. I've been on the phone for ten minutes going through various options ... None of which I wanted.CCO: I do apologize for the . How can I help youC: I've been waiting in all day for an engineer to come and repair my line. He was due to come at ten o'clock this morning ... It's now three in the afternoon. I telephoned at twelve o'clock and one of your operators promised to call me back, but she hasn't. I've wasted my day waiting around and worse than that I still can't receive any calls.CCO: I'm very sorry. Can i have your number and I'll look into it straightawayC: Yes , it's 01889 245624.CCO: Ok. One moment - I'm going to see who the engineer is that has been assigned to the job ... Ok, I have his number. I'm going to put you on hold and try to find out what's happened.C: Please don't disappear. As i said, it took me ten minutes to get through in the first place.CCO: Don't worry, I'll come straight back to you. One moment ... Right, I'm afraid he has been delayed on another job. He apologises for not calling you sooner. He normally works until 5pm but he's offered to work later this evening to fit in your job. He can be there by 6pm. Would that be convenientC: No, it would not. I'm going out to the cinema this evening.CCO: I quite understand. In that case, I'm going to have to reschedule him for another day. Can you tell me when would be convenientC: Well, first thing tomorrow morning, but...CCO : I'll see what I can do. Please just bear with me for a moment while I speak to him again ... Right that's arranged for tomorrow morning at nine.C: That's all very well, But what am I supposed to do in the meantimeCCO: Do you have a mobile phone,sirC: Yes.CCO: What I can do is to divert any calls coming into your office number on to your mobile phone until your line is repaired. Would that be acceptable to youC: I suppose so. When can you do thatCCO : If you'd like to tell me your mobile number, I can get that activated immediatelyC: Ok, the number is ...Exam practiceI imagine most of you are here today because you want to find out more about the job of a coach. Some of you will be sceptical about its benefits, others will have already started making a career out of coaching.I myself have been a coach since the late 90s, but our academy was set up more recently in 2004 in response to a demand for more formal training in the field. We are a private institution and don't rely on any government funding. Our aim was to try to professionalise an industry which until then had been, in this country at any rate, a rather disorganised and unregulated industry. We now have over 450 members and run twelve courses a year in various types of coaching. These range from day seminars for people who are already practising as coaches to four-week courses or the beginner.So what is a coach exactly Well, there are many different types of coach offering help in many different aspects of business and personal life: from financial or management coaching through to parent coaching and work-life balance coaching. But the basic principles remain the same whatever the field: using simple psychology and simple direction to help people to believe in themselves and to achieve their goals.The great thing about coaches is that not only do they help you to identify your goals and the obstacles to achieving them, but they stay there cheering you on from the sidelines. In other words, they always help the clients to look forward. This is very unlike traditional counselling, which tends to focus more on past events and mistakes and helping the person to get over these before they can move on.I'm going to show you a short film of a coaching session in a moment, but before I do, I will just mention something about the rewards of the job, and the qualifications and resources that you need for it because these are questions that will be concerning many of you.The rewards: Well, job satisfaction is , of course, very high. I mean, how often do you come home from work and are able to say, ' wow, I really made a difference to someone's life today 'As to financial rewards, sessions with coaches usually start at about ￡70 per hour but experienced coaches can earn anything up to ￡400 per hour. As to qualifications, you will need to follow an accredited coaching course, such as the ones we run here at the academy, and also you will need considerable experience in the field that you are coaching in. If you don't have this background it will be difficult for the client to have confidence in you.What else do you need to set up as a coach Most coaching is done at the client's office or home, but some coaches also see people at their own homes. In fact there's no need always to meet face-to-face.I know of several coaches who conduct session by phone or online, even sometimes by text message ...Sales techniquesSarah We make financial software for medium-sized companies. Competition is strong - not necessarily price competition, because in our sector, quality , reliability and service are far more important factors. We use a sales technique that's called ' relationship selling '. In other words, we spend a lot of time getting to know each prospect's individual needs :their business processes, their strategic aims, and um ... Also the issues and constraints they face. The idea is that the customer sees us as a partner, someone who's going to work with them and help them find the best solution for their business. Working this way, there are times when I have to freely admit to people that our products may not be best suited to their particular needs, but to be honest I'd much prefer to bedoing that than using some hard-sell technique to push something I don't really believe in myself, you know ...Presenter Thank you, Sarah. Now, Dale Freidman, I know you have a very different approach ... Dale I would say so, yes. In my line of business, it's all about perceived benefits - there are some tangible ones like, for example, use of natural ingredients in our deodorants, but everyone in the industry copies ideas, so it's difficult to sustain any kind of technical competitive advantage for long. So, I use a lot of anecdotes when I sell; I tell stories, get people laughing, My approach is direct - I guess some might say pushy, but I get results. I deal only with the decision maker, who's generally a buyer for a chain of stores. You'd be amazed how much time people waste talking to the wrong guy. I always start by presenting them with the most expensive options, because this increases our average sales, and as soon as I get a buying signal from them - it could be anything, you know, just a question like ' What's your most popular product '- I move in and close the sale by discussing quantities required, special delivery arrangements, favorable payment terms, thing that make them feel they're getting added value ...A sales forecastAnke Reigl Is everyone ready Good, then I'll begin. Ok ... Well, based on average growth in sales over the last two years and given the relatively stable state of the market at the moment as far as competition is concerned, we're forecasting a fairly modest increase in the first quarter, about 2to 3%. We expect this to rise to between 7and 10% in the second and third quarters, after the launch of the new slow - release version of the drug. Marketing tells me - thanks, Werner for your help with this ... Werner You're welcome.Anke Reigl ... That demand for this version is strong and should be reflected in sales more or less immediately. So that's the basic picture. There are just a couple of monthly variations to this trend which I'll explain nowIf you look at the graph, you'll see that in March last year sales wet up quite sharply and that the figure predicted for this year is much lower. The reason for this is that Bayer had distribution problems and weren't able to supply the required quantities to their customers. We were fortunate, because we were carting extra stock and were fortunate, because we were carrying extra stock and were able to take advantage of the situation. I think it's worth nothing that disruptions in the supply chain can affect anyone and it really does pay for us to hold a reasonable amount of stock in reserve for events like these.As you know, sales generally decline in April and Mat - it's just a seasonal factor - bur as I already mentioned, the launch of the new version this year is expected to boost them considerably, especially in April directly after the campaign. They'll drop back a little after that, but in July we'll have the usual early summer phenomenon when distributors ...A culture of debtEconomist Perhaps the greater legacy of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is the way he transformed people’s attitude to credit and debt. During his term of office not only the national debt of America, but also personal debt, increased substantially.Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, people in America have been naturally reluctant to borrow money. But for this generation, in the US and increasingly globally, debt has become respectable. From an early age, young people take out loans to pay their way through college andborrowing against equity in real estate is now at record levels. Re-mortgaging your home was unheard of generations ago: a second mortgage was an indication of a household in trouble. But today it is routine.All this is possible because credit is easy and interest rates are low. Banks are encouraged to lend, and often do so irresponsibly. In some states it’s possible to get a 100% mortgage – in other words with no down –payment –equivalent to four times a couple’s combined annual salary. The market is constantly coming up with new financial products and new ways of extending credit to ordinary people. General Motors, whose automotive business is in decline, now sells home equity loans though a subsidiary: it’s the only part of company that has been consistently profitable in recent years.The reason for this boom in money lending is clear – to fund consumer spending. As long as people are spending, economic growth continues. In other more conservative borrowing cultures, like Germany, economic growth has slowed because in times of uncertainty people tend to save their money, rather than borrowing and spending to make themselves feel better.So does the accumulating debt matter Some say that as long as asset values rise faster than debt, there’s no problem. In 2005 Americans were twelve trillion dollars in debt, but their personal assets stood at 64 trillion dollars . Others argue that we are sitting on a time-bomb.Asset value will not continue to rise indefinitely and when they crash, millions of people will be plunged into negative equity. Liabilities remain the same but assets can go up and down in value. This was the case with stock market values, which saw sharp falls around 2000. Crisis was averted only because investors moved their money into real estate.For millions of Americans this only confirmed the culture Alan Greenspan had been promoting – debt is good. And if he turns out to be wrong – well, we all had fun in the meantime.discussing costsCA=Cost accountant GM=General managerCA Look, we’ve got to do something. Doing nothing is not an option. Our margins will just get squeezed more and more.GM Ok. What do you suggestCA Personally,I’d recommend cutting the wage bill –either by laying some people off or by freezing salaries.GM Neither of which are going to be very popular options.CA No, but the alternatives are probably worse : reducing material costs will definitely have an impact on product quality and cutting back on advertising expenditure is only a short-term solution –it will hurt us in the long run.GM No, I see about administrative costs or other overheads Instead of cutting staff, we could try and do something about getting our energy bills down for example.CA I’ve already done as much as I can in those areas. I have thought about this a lot and for me, the only real solution is to tackle labour costs. It may be painful, but the advantage of it would be that, once done, we could get back to concentrating on selling.GM Ok, I hear what you’re saying, but I think it might create more problems than you think. I’m going to go away and think about it … see if there is an acceptable way of doing it.Matchingwe are accused frequently of doing nothing about the ageing population and the consequent hole in pension funds. But you have to understand that, at the moment at any rate, there are no popular solutions to this problem. Either we raise the retirement age or we increase taxes on working people. Neither of these is a vote winner. I think a lot of us in government are hoping that if we just hold on a bit, then sooner or later another solution will present itself.Exam practiceI don’t believe in the capital markets. For a start they are unpredictable and for another thing, not everyone has the possibility to take such risks with their money. I have always been of the view that you pay taxes through your working life in order to enjoy certain benefits from the state and certain protection against difficult times. For example, in case of unemployment or sickness or for your retirement, for that matter. So when I retire, I will live on what the government is due to give me. If I can’t afford cruises in the Caribbean, then that’s too bad.I’m very lucky to have worked in the civil service, which has its own pension scheme. My salary has never been as good as it might have been in the private sector, but you accept that when you work for a public service. What you do get is job security, longer holidays, good medical insurance and an excellent pension. My pension is calculated as a percentage of my final salary. That’s very rare in the private sector. Usually private companies take your average salary over a period of, say, twenty years. So all in all I expect to be very comfortable when I retire, even if I haven’t had that much disposable income during my working life.People think that as a company director, I’m bound to have all sorts of privileged pension benefits and company schemes going on – some special executive plan. But it’s not the case. We have a company scheme for all our employees but I don’t actually participate in it. Instead, I’ve put most of my money in a long-term savings account, that gives a good rate of return if you keep it in for long enough. It seems bizarre I know, but I make far more than I need to spend and I guess I’m naturally cautious with my money.There’s a saying – I don’t know who by – that you should ‘ inivest in land, because they don’t make it any more! ‘ I think that’s good advice. Around 2004 there started to be a lot of stories in the media about company pensions and private pensions not delivering the benefits they had promised, mainly because they were linked to stock market investments. At that point I decided to withdraw my money from my own private pension and put it into property. I figured that if I bought a small office building, then by the time I reached retirement age, I would have paid off the mortgage and could live off the rent … so that’s what I did.I realized quite early on that my state pension wasn’t going to be sufficient, so I took out a private one when I was about 30. It works like a managed investment fund – a mixture of blue-chip stocks –so I don’t really have much say in how the money is invested. Unfortunately, like a lot of private pension schemes, it hasn’t really performed as predicted. I think the projected growth rate was between 8 and 12% and it’s grown at about %, which isn’t much above inflation. There are signs that the stock markets are doing a little better now, so I’m hopeful that in the long run I will have reasonable funds for my retirement. Would I advise anyone to do the same …with hindsight, probably not .A contract to supplyB=Barbara P=PaulB Paragon. Can I help youP Hello, is that BarbaraB Yes, speaking.P Hi, Barbara, this is Paul from A1 Flooring in London. I’m just calling to discuss the extension of our contract for next year. Is this a good moment for youB Yes, as good as any, I guess. Let me just get a pen and paper so I can make some notes … Ok, so where have we got toP Well, first the good news. The Klik laminate flooring has been going really well here –you’ll probably have noticed that from the order book in the last six months or so. Customers really love it : the feedback we’ve had has been excellent.B That’s great.P It is good. I have to say, I’m not so surprised – it’s an excellent product, very high quality and the price reflects that of course. Which brings me on to my next point. Now, I’m not asking for better commission – we’re ok on that – but what would really help is more seasonal discounting from your end. What I mean is, reductions that we could pass straight on to our customers. Generally, we run sales in January, spring and late summer and at the moment Paragon’s products are the only ones that don’t feature. I suppose you could say that gives them a certain exclusivity in the eyes of the customer, but at the same time …B I can see the logic of what you’re saying, and I’ve no doubt it would help sales, but what you must understand is that it’s very difficult for us to have a policy with you that’s different from all our other customers. Let me think … what I could suggest is that we try and feed you more discounted stock when we are coming to the end of a particular product line. I can speak to the boss about that. P Well, could you also mention to him the principle of seasonal discounts, because I think it would generate even more interest in the products.B All right, I will … but I’m not too optimistic. Are there any other pointsP Yes, there is one other problem, which is that when we place an order, it’s quite often the case that you don’t have exactly what we want in stock and you offer us a substitute instead. Let me give you an example: we want engineered wood flooring in a natural oak and you only have it in a stained oak. On the whole we try to be flexible, but it’s something which seems to be happening more and more – and what worries me.B I do understand, Paul, and I apologise. It’s something which we are trying to solve. But it’s not really a problem of our own making. It’s a result of shortage in raw material and delays further up the supply chain. We do try to carry reserve stocks of all types of wood, but as you know it’s a sensitive product to transport and store and we often have to rely on what’s available from our suppliers at a given time. That’s just the nature of the product.P Yes, I appreciate all that, but explaining it to our customers is another thing. Often they’re just not prepared to wait and if they can’t get what they want exactly when they want it, they’ll go elsewhere. In the end, that’s no good for either of us. Are you saying that the situation is unlikely to improve because if you are …Telephone expressionsA Can I speak to Yan Lin, pleaseB I’m sorry, the liner is engaged. Would you like to holdA No, that’s ok. I’ll call back later.。
BEC高级全真试题听力材料及答桉
I really don't see how I'm gonna hold all this in my head. I'm sure
points or just generally feeling left out. Latin Americas are very
exciting market at the moment. And I want us to be right in there.
all. If anybody's got any questions…
Part II
13. Well, it's quite interesting, isn't it? I mean, overall you're
BEC高级全真试题听力材料及答案
Listening
1by taxi 2board room 3 computer center 4quality control 5 TV advert
6 production line 7 tpack
TV advert on video. Hopefully they'll be impressed by the image
we're putting out. That'll take us to the question and answer
never going to please everyone always. I think one of the main
剑桥商务英语高级全真试题答案及听力材料(2)
剑桥商务英语高级全真试题答案及听力材料(2)Sample WritingsTask 1The number of complaints increased in most of the sectors. In 1997, there were 18,000 complaints about package holidays abroad, 12.7% up on 1994, when the number was around 15,000. The number of complaints about electric goods went up by 9.2% from 65,000 in 1994 to 70,000 in 1997. Complaints about second-hand cars, financial services increased by 6.7% and 5.2% respectively. The former increased from 80,000 in 1994 to nearly 85,000 in 1997 and the latter rose from roughly 49,000 to above 50,000 over the three years.Also obvious from the chart is that clothing is the only sector where the number of complaints dropped over the period. In 1994, there were around 45,000 co mplaints. However the number decreased to about 43,000 in 1997.Task TwoTo: Board of DirectorsFrom: Marketing DepartmentDate: November 15, 2001Re: An Increased Budget for MarketingAccording to the overall plan of the company, our department has a budget of $50,000 for the next financial year. We find it hardly enough for us to expand our business and we think another $50,000 is needed for this purpose.As is obvious to all, our company has had a very successful year, recording a sales figure of $2m in the last 12 months. And we are considering taking some measures to expand our market so as to stay competitive in the time to come.First, we are in an urgent need of employing a few more sales people who have a good command of English. We are thinking of breaking into the European market and we find it necessary to have our sales reps in the European market if we are to secure any substantial order from the customers there. The problem we have now is that none of the present staff members can speak fluent English. That s why we need to recruit some staff members with fluency in English.An expansion into such a market means more than just a few more sales people who can use English. We need to give our office space a facelift too because we have reason to expect more visitors to our company. Apart from that, the computers in our office need to be upgraded.With these done, we can even try to enter the American market after our success in the Europe. At a rough estimate, our sales figure is likely to increase by around 20% in the next year if the proposed investment is approved.。
新编剑桥商务英语听力第三版01
新编剑桥商务英语听力第三版01新编剑桥商务英语听力第三版011.1WORKING FROM HOMEI： Ok, Michela. You work from home now. Can you tell me about a typical1 day?M： Sure, I always get up aroud 7 and the first thing i do is get the kids ready for school.I take them at eight thirty and then i always start work at 9.I： Do you ever have a day where you decide to have the morning off and start work at nine.M： No,you can't do that. It's important with home-working off and have a timetable and stick to it. If you end up watching TV or doing the cleaning then it isn't for you. SO I have lunch at 12 and finish work at 2：30 to get the children.I： Was that why you gave up your office job?M： Yes, I wanted to spend more time with the children.It gives me more flexibility2. Sometimes I need to work in the evening but usually it isn't a problem.I： So how long have you been doing this kind of work?M： For about five years. I've been with the same company since I left school but with the Internet and technology it's easy now to be at home.I： So your employer3 doesn't mind.M： No. It means4 the company saves money on office space and as long as I get the work done, they're happy.Sometimes I still go into work to meet clients5 and so on. For example, I'M going in nearly every day this week because we have visitors from another company and I can't really invite them overto my house. Besides, it's nice to go in every so often.I like to see people and catch up on the gossip6 and the news with my colleagues7. I miss that side of going into work every day.I： is there anything else you miss?M：ERMM,no, not really. And I'll tell you what I really don't miss and that's having to spend 2 hours commuting on the bus and train every day点击收听单词发音收听单词发音1 typical 5ltwoadj.典型的，象征的，有代表性的参考例句：This is typical Chinese English.这是典型的中式英语。
BECTEST3听力文字稿
TEST 3This is the Business English Certificate Vantage 4, Listening Test 3.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear three telephone conversations or messages.Write one or two words or a number in the numbered spaces on the notes or forms below.After you have listened once, replay each recording.[pause]Conversation One.Questions 1 to 4.Look at the notes below.You will hear a phone conversation between a manager and his PA.You have 15 seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and fill in the spaces.[pause]Man: Hi, Jane. Barry here. Sorry this is a bit rushed, but I need you to fax me a document urgently.Woman: No problem. What do you need?Man: That report I’ve been writing on recruitment. I haven’t printed it off, but you’ll find it on my computer. I called it ‘jobsplan’, all one word. OK?Woman: No problem. Which folder is it in? Personnel?Man: That’s right. No, no, hang on, um, I created a new folder called Current Reports - it’s in there.Woman: OK. I’ve made a note of that. If I can’t locate it, I’ll call you back.Man: Fine. It’s quite a long document by the way. So don’t bother sending the appendix. We don’t really need that. But include the contents page - that’d be quite useful. Woman: Shall I send it to you there at Head Office?Man: Um... let me think. It might be better to fax it to my hotel.Er, no, you’re right. Send it here.Woman: OK.Man: Thanks very much. Bye.[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]Conversation Two.Questions 5 to 8.Look at the notes below.You will hear two colleagues discussing an additional location for their business.You have 15 seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and fill in the spaces.Woman: Hello, Mike, have you got a moment?Man: Sure, what is it? The location?Woman: Yes, we can’t put it off any longer.Man: Hm, especially as we chose the site for the new warehouse last night. We need to get organised.Woman: Exactly. We need a decision today. Where should the discount shop be, then?Man: Well, not too close to our existing branches, that’s for sure. I think it’d better be in the out-of-town retail centre.Woman: I know that’s easier for customers, but the business park, which is the other out-of- town site, would be better for deliveries, which is important.Man: But the trend is towards more and more people using the retail centre, isn’t it? Woman: Well, the survey we did shows people will visit the business park if we open there. Man: Really? I wasn’t expecting that. Is it because we produce specialist goods? Does that make a difference?Woman: Yes.Man: Are there any local grants available?Woman: Not as such, but there are tax benefits if we take on premises in the business park. Man: Right. That’s settled, then. How about...[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]Conversation Three.Questions 9 to 12.Look at the note below.You will hear a woman leaving a message about where to hold a meeting.You have 15 seconds to read through the note.[pause]Now listen, and fill in the spaces.[pause]Hi, it’s Emily Parker in Marketing. I was at the Carlton Hotel yesterday for a sales training meeting. I thought it would be a very suitable place to hold the shareholders’meeting you’re arranging. I heard you’re still looking for somewhere. They’ve recently refurbished all their meeting rooms. I was in a seminar room - it was too small for your event, but I looked at the conference hall and the VIP lounge and either would be perfect - oh, except the conference hall’s booked on the twenty-fifth of October, so it doesn’t leave us any choice. Anyway, they’re both large rooms with comfortable seating, and it’s possible to have a sound system at no extra cost. We’d have to bring a display stand of our own if we wanted one. Assuming you want to go ahead with the twenty-fifth, I mentioned to the Events Manager there that we might want to book, so you’ll need to talk to him, rather than the General Manager in the bookings office. The number’s three-five-seven-two-oh-nine. Bye.[pause]Now listen to the recording again.That is the end of Part One. You now have 20 seconds to check your answers.[pause]Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.Section One.Questions 13 to 17.You will hear five short recordings. Five speakers are talking about delegating at work.For each recording, decide what advice the speaker gives about delegating at work.Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the recording.Do not use any letter more than once.After you have listened once, replay the recordings.You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.[pause]Now listen, and decide what advice each speaker gives about delegating at work.[pause]ThirteenNo matter how much confidence you have in the person you’re entrusting a task to, I think there’s a crucial element to delegating that’s often forgotten. There has to be a framework in place of where and who to go to if they get stuck and need help. I know, as a manager, I’m used to dealing with tasks all by myself, but when I’m delegating to juniors, I always remind myself that not everybody is as independent as me.[pause]FourteenIf you’ve ever delegated to someone else and spent more time on the task than if you’d done it yourself, then it’s time to review where you’re going wrong. If your motivation for delegating is thinking that the other person can do it better than you, or it’ll free you up to do something else, that’s great. But delegation isn’t an easy way out, so if you’re just being lazy or the task seems too small to concern yourself with, always do it yourself.[pause]FifteenOnce you’ve selected someone to delegate a task to - assuming you do have a choice of personnel - there’s something you need to do that’s too important to leave till the job’s finished. It’s a mistake if you don’t make it clear to staff what they’re doing well and what they could improve on. Some managers think it’s a form of interfering and doesn’t give people space to get on with the job, but I find some constructive suggestions are usually helpful.[pause]SixteenWhen you give someone a task to do, there’s not much point in simply listing the particular difficulties involved in carrying it out. You really need to check they understand what challenges they can expect to face and how they might deal with them. So you should sit down with them and explore possible solutions. If they simply say ‘I understand’, it’s not a guarantee that they do. [pause]Once you become an effective delegator, you’ll be talked about by those who see what you and your team can achieve. And, as for team members, well, they’ll appreciate the trust you place in them and the support they’ve received from you. But until you reach that point on the learning curve, keep telling yourself not to give up whenever it doesn’t go to plan. I’ve certainly had some disastrous attempts at delegating in my time.[pause]Now listen to the recordings again.[pause]Section Two.Questions 18 to 22.You will bear another five recordings. Five speakers are talking about the reason for the success of their company’s most recent TV advertising campaign.For each recording, decide what reason the speaker gives for the success of the campaign.Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the recording.Do not use any letter more than once.After you have listened once, replay the recordings.You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.[pause]Now listen, and decide what each speaker says is the reason for the success.[pause]EighteenOur last campaign was the most successful ever. Always worried about the cost, we were on a tight budget, but the results were fantastic. Research had shown our rivals’ products were more attractive, but while the ad was running, one of them had some bad publicity about their products, and we picked up a lot of their trade. Sometimes, it’s not how much you invest or who you use, but just being in the right place at the right time.[pause]NineteenLast year’s TV campaign took the market by storm. In the past, we’d depended heavily on sending out samples to customers - it was a cheap and, we thought, effective way of targeting our core customer base.But last year, we had the good fortune to recruit a dynamic young Marketing Manager who brought with him a group of people who are changing the way we do things. We’re looking to produce another even more successful series of TV commercials next year. [pause]TwentySpend money to earn money! That’s been the philosophy of our organisation for years. The directors liked expensive-looking TV commercials, which appealed to our core customers in the old age bracket. However, our last campaign proved that you don’t always have to go over budget to win new customers. We thought of a new approach, which our agency developed, and it turned out to be cheaper and, to our delight, brought us to the attention of a new, younger market. [pause]Twenty-oneSuccessful TV campaigns can be costly, and good market research is absolutely vital. We’ve always researched thoroughly before a campaign, but there’s something else which was the key to last month’s success. Although some people attribute it to our main rival’s bankruptcy, it was the fact that we found a management group who we brought in to recommend ways of improving our marketing that really helped. A suggestion to use a TV campaign to advertise in-store promotions and mail-order facilities paid off handsomely.[pause]Twenty-twoConsultants recommended hiring a whole new marketing team for the company, but I rejected this. We’ve got a good experienced team in the company. It would’ve been an unnecessary expense. We decided we should put more effort into the groundwork for the campaign. Our team carried out a more detailed customer survey, and on the basis of that, our production company was able to create a commercial that was more accurately targeted.[pause]Now listen to the recordings again.[pause]That is the end of Part Two.[pause]Part Three.Questions 23 to 30.You will hear a radio interview with a businessman called Brett Porter, who developed a product called Rainaway, a type of waterproof map.For each question, 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You have 45 seconds to read through the questions.[pause]Now listen, and mark A, B or C.[pause]Woman: ... and today we’re talking to Brett Porter, whose company developed the hugely successful all-weather maps called ‘Rainaway’. These are waterproof maps that can beused by people who ride motorbikes. Brett, welcome to the programme.Man: Thanks.Woman: You actually invented Rainaway - how did that come about?Man: Well, anyone, like me, who rides a motorbike, understands the problem of ordinary maps falling to pieces when it’s raining or windy. There are three million bikers just inthe UK, who I knew would be willing to pay for a solution to this problem. Nobody hadever produced something like Rainaway - I’d assumed it couldn’t be done.., that thecosts were too great.., but I was disappointed that my needs as a consumer weren’tcatered for, and people I knew kept encouraging me to develop and produce it as abusiness.Woman: Was establishing the company difficult?Man: In fact, I already had my own company - a motorcycle courier firm - but this was completely different and involved setting up a new business. What I’d learnt aboutpricingdidn’t seem to apply - I’d never dealt with a ‘product’as such. But I knew I understood the market better than most. If I could make the product, I’d be meeting a demand.However, knowing where to sell and how to get it into the shops was another matter! Woman: I see.Man: But I was convinced the business would grow fast. I even entered the European Awards Scheme for ideas for business start-ups. It had a first prize of one hundred thousandeuros’worth of software from Croner Consulting. The awards were sponsored byAlliance Business Bank - and because I made the final shortlist, I was offered atwo-per-cent interest loan from them if I needed it. They organised a dinner foreveryone on the shortlist, and I happened to get chatting to their senior businessconsultant, who gave me some invaluable financial advice. It really helped get mestarted.Woman: Did you do any trial production of the maps?Man: Yes. I knew what they should look like - a strong cover and small enough to flick through quickly. But trials took six months. The difficulty was we had to use a reallytough kind of plastic for the cover, and this had to be fed into the printer sheet by sheet- fine for a small output, but absolutely no good for large-scale production.Woman: Did you have any trouble persuading a printing company to make Rainaway?Man: I thought I would - it wasn’t really in a printer’s interest to make a long-lasting product.The real difficulty, though, was my lack of a track record. They thought I was justplanning a one-off print run or a very small-scale operation, which wouldn’t be veryprofitable for them. Once I’d persuaded the boss of one firm that wasn’t the case, heseemed willing to take a chance.Woman: Do you use someone else’s maps to make Rainaway from?Man: Yes, we use Herne Publishing’s. Of course, given they know they’re a crucial supplier, there’s a danger in a few years they might want to buy us out. But in the meantime, Ihave a protected trademark, and the people at Herne Publishing realise it’s better forthem to let me use my knowledge and contacts to establish the business. The alternativefor them would involve spending money on producing a rival product, which I knowthey would be reluctant to do.Woman: You must be pleased with Rainaway’s performance?Man: Absolutely. We launched Rainaway in September two thousand one, and sold two hundred thousand maps in the first year alone. In the last couple of years, the companyturned over in excess of seven hundred thousand pounds, our best result so far, whichisn’t bad when you consider our maps retail at ten to twenty-four pounds each. Woman: Very impressive! What’s next for Rainaway? Do you plan to extend your range? Man: I already have plenty of other ideas for the longer term, but that’s all I can say for now.I’ve been devoting a lot of time recently to facilitating expansion by setting up a callcentre to deal with mail-order sales. That’s just opened, with a staff of twenty-five. Inow need to concentrate on our advertisements - they’ve been very popular so far, butit’s tough coming up with new ideas to continue to attract attention.Woman: I wish you luck.[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]That is the end of Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.[pause]Note: Teacher, stop the recording here and time ten minutes. Remind students when there is one minute remaining.That is the end of the test.（注：文档可能无法思考全面，请浏览后下载，供参考。
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剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文1This is the Business English Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 1.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear the introduction to a seminar, called the Business Master Class, about the use of Information Technology in the workplace.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: Good morning everyone and welcome. Thanks for coming. My name is Jane Watson and I look forward to meeting you all personally. Some of you are here just for today, others, I know, will be attending for all three days. I’m just going to say a few words on behalf of my company who have organised this event, Global Conferences plc. As you know, today’s seminar is The Business Master Class, to be conducted by our distinguished guest who I will introduce in a moment. But first a few quick points of organisation which perhaps you’d like to note. All the sessions will take place in this hotel except for the last session on Tomorrow’s Software, which will be at the New City Hotel. We will meet there at 2pm and this will give us a chance to see in action some of the things we have been discussing. A map with directions to the New City Hotel is available from me if you wish to make your own way. Alternatively there will be a bus going there at 1.30pm. There is limited car parking at the New City Hotel so if you wish to drive there you will need a permit. You can get one from the conference office.Now to the reason we are all here. We are very fortunate to have a seminar today led by Dr Martin Sangalli, one of the most prominent and well-respected commentators in the world business community. He’s been asked to advise many large corporations. He is a specialist in the strategic use of Information Technology in banking, pharmaceuticals and retail. He has his own company called Logic Solutions, which consults with some of the biggest names in the world of business. He is also an adviser to Intertel and anon-executive director of Global Conferences. Thousands of business and technology managers have benefited from reading his best-selling book, Intelligent Change. Always inspiring and thought provoking, his ideas have helped hundreds of organisations to gain a glimpse of the future. He is Europe’s most famous IT ana lyst. Dr Sangalli - welcome.Man: Thank you Jane, for that flattering introduction. I hope I can live up to it. So to begin. There are two main difficulties facing all corporations today. Firstly, how to make themselves more customer-driven. Secondly, and as a result of that, is the question of how to go about the major task of developing and implementing new organisational structures. This is a senior management session and is designed to provide you with two things. I hope that by the end of the session you will be equipped to design your ownframework for action. To help you do this you will also be able to take away documentation of real- life case studies that I’ve been involved in. So, if you would like to look at the screen...剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文2this is the Business English Certificate Higher 2, Listening Test 2.Part One. Questions 1 to 12.You will hear a consultant giving a talk to a group of UK business people about exporting to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Man: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the fourth in our series of brief country profiles for companies who are thinking ofextending their trading activities into new areas. Our chosen country this afternoon is the United Arab Emirates or UAE. Now, in geographical terms it is relatively small but what makes it very significant in commercial terms is its high purchasing power. The two most important cities, from a commercial point of view at least, are Dubai City and Abu Dhabi City, particularly the former. It is important to remember that the UAE has always been a distribution centre through which goods pass to neighbouring countries. Another point is that in recent years the UAE government has made the legal framework much more user-friendly by simplifying commercial law.What are they like as people to trade with? What are they looking for from you, the potential exporter? Firstly, UAE customers are very knowledgeable about the latest trends. They’re not interested in last year’s fashions or products. They are only interested in the most up-to-date, high-quality products at a keen price.Like everyone else they don’t like unreliability, whether in terms of getting the goods there when you promised them or the performance of the product itself. Above all, however, they insist on your meeting their high expectations regarding after-salesservice. And being a small market, geographically speaking, businessmen tend to know each other, so once you do a good job for one customer, then the news travels fast round the UAE and you’ll soon be getting orders from other agencies or whatever, because they’ve heard about you. But be warned - it also works the other way!Another point to bear in mind that’s true of nearly all markets, but, believe me, it is particularly true of the UAE: don’t imagine mailshots or emails are going to produce good results. Local businesspeople don’t just prefer a personal visit, they insist on it; it’s the only approach possible.Now, how to get started: so what are the various ways of selling goods and services in the UAE? What I would recommend, to make your first contacts, is attending a trade fair - one of the many held in Dubai. Having made your contacts, there are various options open to you. The most popular way to start is with direct sales to local contractors. This method is fine for one-off deals or where you just want to try things out. On the other hand, if you’re thinking of supplying goods or services to a government body then you’ve got to have a local agent. Lastly, there’s the branch office option or the possibility of going into a joint venture with a local partner. It isalways an expensive option, and the UAE is no exception in this. In general, I would advise exporters to gain at least five years’ experience in the case of the UAE before opening a branch office there, although of course there could be exceptions to this.Now as far as import documentation is concerned...[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers.[pause]Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.You will hear five different people talking about the relocation of their business premises.For each extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question 13-17, choose the reason given for deciding to relocate the company premises, from the list A-H. Now look at Task Two. For each question 18-22, choose the problem described that arose after the relocation, from the list A-H.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have thirty seconds to read the two lists.剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文31 to 12.You will hear a spokesperson telling a group of business people about the Business Support Agency- an organisation which distributes business and research grants.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: Thank you everybody, thank you. The Business Support Agency or BSA are very proud of the part we play in the development of business success. Today I’ll give you a bit ofbackground on the Agency, and then outline the steps involved in applying for support. OK?What we do, basically, is distribute financial support from our funds, which come from the central government Department of Education on the one hand, and then that sum is matched - the amount fluctuates on a yearly basis – by contributions from a number of multinational companies. We then follow the procedures I’ll be outlining in a moment. Some examples of this work, if you’re interested, can be seen in our annual report - I’ll leave copies out for you to look at. Since we b egan, we’ve given out over three hundred grants. We made twenty awards last year alone, and expect that figure to rise to twenty-five next year. But we’re not simply giving this money away - our criteria are strict.So, how do you apply? Well, there are four steps to making an application. In the first place, you should get in touch with our Project Coordinating Office. You can call them on 0188 45 45 45 and express your interest. They’ll then send you an application form. It’s quite a lengthy document, I must warn you, and you’ll need to fill in information about the history of your company, outline your requirements, and include the predicted benefits. That gives us the beginning of a picture and enables us to make an initial decisionabout whether to proceed any further. The third step would be having a meeting with one of our regional consultants. This involves talking through your ideas for development if you get the grant and should help you to focus clearly on your exact needs. And the fourth step is producing a full plan, which needs to include all costs and dates. By this time, both sides will have a very clear picture. Now, all this obviously takes up quite some time, and you need to think carefully about which personnel within your organisation are going to be available to put in the necessary work. OK, well that’s then your role finished for the time being.Meanwhile, we continue to go through your plans in detail. Ultimately, whether or not you get a grant will be decided by our central committee. This consists of representatives from our funding bodies and a panel of experts. For logistical reasons, they only meet every three months, so it can take a while for you to hear from us. Now, assuming you are successful - and around eighty per cent of applications are - the BSA will be looking to fund seventy per cent of your overall requirement. That proportion is up from a maximum of sixty per cent last year. The payment will be made in quarterly instalments. This has proved to be the most generally useful method all round. The last job for you will be coming up witha progress review, which you need to do at the end of the first year. Right, well, are there any questions?剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文42.You will hear a representative of a company which organises trade fairs for academic recruitment. She is talking to a group of prospective clients.As you listen, for questions 1 to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.After you have listened once, replay the recording.You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.[pause]Now listen, and complete the notes.[pause]Woman: OK... well thank you very much everyone. First of all I’d like to introduce myself and my company. I’m Paula Shandling from Praxis Academi c Recruitment Fairs and I’m here today to tell you a little about our operations in various parts of the world andthe specialist services we offer to make our exhibitions well known for being cost and time effective - reaching your target audience with the minimum of effort on your part.Now firstly I should explain that the main geographical area we serve is Central America. But, and, I understand this is the area of interest for most of the audience here today, we are currently expanding into South-East Asia.Right, regarding our exhibition package, we believe we offer a very comprehensive deal to the prospective exhibitor. We have found over the years that clients prefer to have a self- contained package rather than spending time negotiating add-ons. And because of this we have been able to keep the cost to a minimum. And what that includes is, as you can see, the exhibition stand. Of course, you can’t get very far in an exhibition without one of those –and also full materials delivery. We’ll get eve rything to the venue for you safely. And a very popular recent addition to the package has been the local trade guide. This has proved very successful because it includes lots of specific information about local conditions - hours of work, past patterns of enrolment in situ, etcetera, etcetera.Now, as well as the full package on site, as it were, we are well aware that one of the most wasteful and demotivating aspects of fairs from your point of view is the time spent dealing with casual enquirers. For this reason we have been developing over the past two years what we call a ‘filtering system’. By this we mean our set of strategies developed to virtually guarantee that enquirers at your stand are genuine potential customers i.e. mature individuals with the appropriate means, and all this means that you maximise quality contact with potential customers. Now, how our filtering system works is through our targeted advertising and what this essentially means in the case of academic recruitment is to run adverts in academic journals, which of course we research thoroughly to keep up to date, and secondly through our own website. A recent development has been the service we offer to put your business information onto our website a month in advance of the fair and retain on the site for six months.Right now, there are other features of our fairs which we adapt to local conditions –what we call ‘context-sensitive’ features. They are, as you can see, suitable opening times that means you have access when needed and that can make a lot of difference to the number of people attending, plus our interpreter service,particularly useful for undergraduate enquirers wishing to take advantage of language support services in your institutions.A few practical details now - you can get more information from the publicity leaflet which I distributed at the beginning of the talk. This will tell you about venues and about special services and finally about costs.[pause]Now listen to the recording again.[pause]That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers.[pause]。