发布时间 : 星期一 文章剑桥商务英语中级习题集(2010年春季)听力原文更新完毕开始阅读
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12. Look at the notes below.
You will bear someone in the Production department of a company phoning a colleague in the Human Resources department.
You have fifteen seconds to read through the notes. [pause]
Now listen, and fill in the spaces. [pause]
Woman: Human Resources. Man: Nina, this is Malcolm, from Production. Woman: Hi. What can I do for you? Man: We've just had a big order, to be finished in May. I'm going to need all the people I
can get to do overtime.
Woman: OK, I'll put out a notice for applications. What's the pay rate? Man: It'll be the usual rate of one and a half times, except for Saturdays and Sundays. Then
they'll get double rate.
Woman: Right, I'll get some application forms organised. Who should the staff send them to?
The Production Manager?
Man: Better to hand them to their line managers, then they can bring up any questions. And
I'll need the names by the first of December.
Woman: OK, I'll do that straight away. Man: Oh, and ask them to put down which shifts they'd prefer. We'll work out the hours we
need later.
Woman: All right. Man: Thanks, Nina. Bye. Woman: Bye. [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.
Section One.
Questions 13 to 17.
You will hear five short recordings. The speakers are presenting awards to companies that have excelled in different aspects of business.
For each recording, decide what the company is receiving its award for. 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 fifteen seconds to read the list A-H. [pause]
Now listen, and decide what each company is receiving its award for. [pause] Thirteen
Woman: This chain of clothing stores has been a household name in this country and abroad
for a century. But some years ago, it lost market share and closed most of its overseas branches. Its goods declined in quality, and became dull and out of touch with modern
13
taste. After a period in crisis, the company hired a new team of designers and re-launched its entire range. The upgrading in quality and style have put this store back on the fashion map.
[pause] Fourteen Man: This has been an inspirational success story. Five years ago, the Ty-Ban cheese
company didn't exist. They now supply more cheese to the foreign market than any other cheese company their size. Originally, Ty-Ban was a small farm rearing cattle and sheep, but the family realised they would have to diversify or go out of business. They started experimenting with some old recipes for organic cheese, in spite of warnings that the market was saturated, and came up with a winner.
[pause] Fifteen
Woman: Business consultancy is one of the most competitive areas in the service sector. Huge
fees are charged to the customers, but the customers have huge expectations in return. This has led to a growing feeling of disillusionment - 'What do these people do that we couldn't do for ourselves?' Well, here we have a uniquely creative consultancy company that produces revolutionary ideas for projecting a corporate image to the outside world. Their methods are startling, but they certainly get results.
[pause] Sixteen Man: Some of us can remember the days when a visit to the supermarket was no fun. If you
needed information, there was never an assistant in sight. And when you did find one, they knew less than you. Well, that time is long past, and the seminar I watched recently at our award-winning supermarket was a revelation. It endeavoured to keep sales assistants up-to-date with information about food technology, how to access product information on the store intranet, and so on. And that's what gave this supermarket its edge.
[pause] Seventeen
Woman: Has this happened to you? You've paid a small fortune to have a kitchen installed. The
fitters have gone, you switch on the dishwasher, and the next thing you know, the kitchen's flooded. Our award-winning company has a twenty-four hour phone service, seven days a week, with a reply guaranteed (by real people) within three minutes. And if it's an emergency with one of their appliances, an engineer is out to you on the same day. Service like this is rare these days.
[pause]
Now listen to the recordings again. [pause]
Section Two.
Questions 18 to 22.
You will hear another five recordings.
For each recording, decide what the speaker is doing. 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 fifteen seconds to read the list A-H. [pause]
Now listen, and decide what each speaker is doing. [pause]
14
Eighteen
Woman: My feeling is that we should leave aside VSB's offer. It's obviously very competitive -
way below the others. But how do we know they'd complete the project on time and to the required standard? They're a small company. Would they have the skilled labour or equipment? We could request references from former customers, I suppose. That'd mean putting off the decision and personally I have very little confidence in recommendations - they're easily 'manufactured'. Let's look at the other companies.
[pause] Nineteen Man: You've been in this department for three months, John, and I'm very pleased with your
work. You've obviously mastered the regular things - paperwork, customer enquiries etcetera, and you've made some excellent proposals for improvements. I think it's time to see how you manage more challenging work. How would you feel about taking on my responsibility for the finance committee? It'd mean taking minutes and liaising with the chair. You'd find it interesting and I could concentrate on the end-of-year report.
[pause] Twenty
Woman: From the figures, it's clear that our Canadian outlets are below target - approximately
twenty per cent below for the third quarter, if the finance report is right. Now what should we do about it? Cut our losses and close the outlets? That's the MD's view. I think it's too early to do that. We've invested heavily in Canada and we don't want to lose that investment. Let's send someone over to try to turn the position round and then make a judgment in December.
[pause] Twenty-one Man: You've been a reliable supplier for years and we're very grateful. Would you be
interested in a different form of collaboration now? We're putting on an exhibition of office equipment in the convention centre and we're looking for companies to help us meet some of the costs, such as producing a catalogue. There'd be some useful publicity for you and free tickets and hospitality for your guests. Think about it. We don't need an instant decision. Discuss it with your director.
[pause] Twenty-two
Woman: Thanks for getting back to me so quickly about my request for a transfer, I'm sorry the
company couldn't help, but I really do need to be in London. My husband's been offered a job there and it's too good to turn down. So I've been looking around and there's a possibility in the Publicity section at Richardsons' but they're selecting people tomorrow. I have to provide a testimonial quickly. Would you mind doing me one?
[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 an interview with Ricky Bland, the author of a report on training for service sector staff in the UK.
For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.
15
After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have forty-five seconds to read through the questions. [pause]
Now listen, and mark A, B or C. [pause]
Woman: My guest today is Ricky Bland, whose critical report on how service companies
approach training has just been published. Hello, Ricky.
Man: Hello. Yes I looked at the provision of training by employers in this country, and
found that most have a 'winner-takes-all' approach to training. Despite low levels of basic skills, companies spend most of their training budgets on their most qualified employees, particularly managers. This simply doesn't result in the quality we need.
Woman: But does this really matter? Man: Yes, because even though there have been enormous efforts to make training
available to everyone, the under-development of the workforce in this country is a major factor in our poor productivity. It's also true that the time people spend being trained is below the average of the world's industrialised economies.oman: Training is particularly bad in the fast-food industry, isn't it?
Man: Well, the industry certainly has the image of offering low-paid, low-prestige jobs with
no future prospects. And there are jobs that don't demand a great deal of skill, for instance using the latest technology for cooking. But in fact, that image isn't entirely accurate. Not only are pay and conditions improving, but some fast-food chains are better than many other service sector employers at combining commercial success with the development of its workforce.
Woman: Can you give us an example? Man: Well, the Burger House chain gives its staff the chance to take courses in all sorts of
things, not just those needed for cooking or serving. When the annual training programme is circulated, staff plan with their managers which courses to attend. They encourage people to spend as much time being trained as they think they can benefit from. In the long term, the company gains financially, because it creates a source of potential managers.
Woman: But still, working in a fast-food establishment is much worse than in an expensive
restaurant, isn't it?
Man: In both cases, the work can resemble a production line, with the pressure limiting the
chances of job satisfaction. But, expensive restaurants depend on the reputation of one or two individuals; the rest have little chance to move from low to high-skilled work. In some fast-food chains, almost half the managers have worked their way up from the kitchens. And while the type of service varies, I've seen good and bad quality in expensive restaurants and fast-food places, and that depends on training.
Woman: Where will the pressure for improved training come from? Man: In fact, it’s internal. Although customers are affected by the end result of training,
they also tend to be sensitive to prices. So, in fact, it’s mostly people who have already worked their way up to managerial levels who want to help others in the same way. Another advantage of course, is that training attracts job applicants, which makes recruitment easier.
Woman: What recommendations did you make in your report? Man: My main one is that the government should support training by letting companies
claim tax relief. Many companies already get this for certain types of training, but the proposal would particularly help unskilled workers aiming at intermediate qualifications. The government should also work with the sector skills council to improve training and working conditions in those industries where it's necessary.
Woman: Do you think the government will act on your proposals?
16