剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文十二篇02

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 19:16:37

TEST 2 This 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 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 is always 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.

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 19:16:38

[pause]</p>Now listen, and do the two tasks.
[pause]
Man:       It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, and it has paid off in some ways. Certainly, we did need to make savings in order to compete with other companies. We were paying out far too much on basic services. It just wasn’t allowing for realistic profit margins. Well, the new premises are attractive. The whole place looks much smarter, more in line with the image we’re looking to project. And there’s no problem, yet, with getting the customers in. It’s pretty busy, in fact. The advertising does seem to be helping to keep the products moving. But in terms of staffing, while there’s no problem recruiting them round here, it is proving tricky to get their skills up to standard. We’re just too busy dealing with the customers to have time to work on that.
Man:       It’s gone fairly well. I mean, it was never going to be straightforward, shifting an operation of this size somewhere completely different. Anyway, it had to be done, because so much of the shopfloor was empty. We just didn’t require that sort of area for the equipment. The suppliers seem to have adapted well. Productivity’s up, the managers are happy, the facilities aren’t perfect, but they’ll do. What we didn’t do was to properly predict how many new operatives we’d be needing, and that does mean that the ones we have got are having to do far too much overtime to make up the shortfall. Still, I hope the new adverts will attract a new wave of applications.
Woman: I don’t know - I just can’t get used to it. Everything’s so different here. Not just the building, although of course that’s a big factor. But it’s also their ways of going about things. It’s a completely different corporate culture they’ve brought with them. I guess it must be a recipe for success, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to buy us out. But it would help if this place was better. I mean, the whole building’s so ugly. Just to look at it when you arrive in the morning makes you feel depressed. And the canteen’s too small for all of us, and there’s only one lift. Most of the managers seem unhappy, and I don’t blame them. I’m not sure how long I’m going to stay, to be honest.
Man:       I feel we had little choice but to go. I think it would have been very different if it had been part of our plan. Right up until the last minute, I thought we were going to be able to renegotiate, but they were just so stubborn about the terms, so it was impossible to sign the renewal. Well, at least we’ve finally got the computers, phones and so on sorted out – that was a real nightmare at the beginning. And the paperwork’s back under control, so the managers are looking a bit more content. It’s a pity it’s so much harder to get to than the last place, and it means more people are inevitably turning up late. I’m really not sure what to do about that side of things.
Woman: I still don’t know if we made the right decision, to be honest. I thought it was logical at the time, that it was fairly straightforward to shift the equipment, arrange a new lease, and so on, and that we’d then be much better placed for getting deliveries. And that has worked out OK; I mean, they are managing to get things to us on time now, with the shorter distance to come. But in the food business, you depend on your reputation, and I think that one bad review has done us an awful lot of damage. We’re just not getting enough customers through the door. The waiters are spending time doing nothing, because of the empty tables.
Now listen to the recording again.
[pause]
Now listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end of Part Two.
[pause]

Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.You will hear two managers, a man called Kevin and a woman called Juliet, discussing candidates they have just interviewed for a job.
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 forty-five seconds to read through the questions.
[pause]
Now listen, and mark A, B or C.
[pause]
Man:       Oof! I’m exhausted!
Woman: Me too! It’s so tiring, isn’t it Kevin?
Man:       Yeah, concentrating for that long.

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 19:16:39

Woman: Well, we still have to decide who to choose for the job.</p>Man:       While it’s still fresh in our minds.
Woman: It’s such a responsibility, isn’t it? I mean, even just remembering who’s who, after seeing so many.
Man:       Twelve in a day is a lot. But I can still picture them, what with their application form and CVs with the photos to remind us. The real problem for me is I feel I end up comparing them to each other.
Woman: Well, that’s only natural.
Man:       Yes, but we should be relating them to the criteria we’ve established, I mean keeping to that system of judging their suitability, and not letting our personal opinions get in the way.
Woman: Mmm, not just saying oh, he was better than him.
Man:       Yes. Well, by any measurement I thought Michael White was hopeless.
Woman: Oh quite. Though he was eager to please.
Male:       And he did say some intelligent things.
Woman: But you just can’t trust someone who’s not held down the same position for more than a year.
Man:       At the most! No, absolutely, despite his list of qualifications, definitely not.
Woman: No. That’s why I think the test...
Man:       The personality profile?
Woman: Mm, the psychology one, is so helpful. It shows up that kind of thing.
Man:       The attitudes to management structures?
Woman: Well, I was thinking more of how it highlights attitudes, shows the reactions to the dynamics of operating in groups.
Man:       I have to say I’m more convinced by the case study.
Woman: Because it shows the candidates in real- life situations?
Man:       Hmm, I was thinking of the insights it gives you into what they think is most important, the values they attach to things.
Woman: Because they’ve got time to work it through logically.
Man:       Yes, and I think it’s vital...
Woman: ... given what the job involves. What’s crucial for the position is the way he or she, whoever it is, is going to handle applying developments from Head Office, new approaches...
Man:       ... significant alterations in direction...
Woman: ... of strategy.., that are going to define, shape how the company develops over the next few years. Because the IT department will take responsibility for the technology side of things.
Man:       But it’s a question of following one project through all its stages, isn’t it?
Woman: Yes. I do wish David...
Man:       Which David?
Woman: David James, Development.
Man:       Now, he’s a good manager.
Woman: Yes, and that’s why we should have had him here.

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 19:16:40

Man:       Absolutely. He’s so good at interviewing.</p>Woman: I’ve never seen him conducting one, actually.
Man:       But he wouldn’t have much direct contact with the new person.
Woman: No, but he did come up with the specifications for the post.
Man:       Yeah, and so his input would have been useful.
Woman: Right. Anyway, he wasn’t, so it’s up to us. Personally, I’d go for Elaine Harris.
Man:       Me too. Though her track record’s a little short.
Woman: True, and she does lack some of the wider knowledge I’d like to have seen.
Man:       But she’s clearly a quick learner.
Woman: That’s the thing, isn’t it? Her approach just seems right.
Man:       Very can-do.
Woman: Mmm.
Man:       So that’s it?
Woman: Yeah, and I’m stressed out!
Man:       Well, if we’ve got it wrong, imagine what it would cost in the end.
Woman: Well, that’s life. But I just find it so hard, that process of holding all the various factors in my head simultaneously, balancing.
Man:       Yeah.
Woman: Fitting it all together in my mind.
Man:       Well, I’ll send David an email tomorrow morning. I’m in early, so I can do it first thing. And then, assuming he’s in agreement...
[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.
[pause]
That is the end of the test.

		自动登录	找回密码
密码			立即注册

[BEC真题] 剑桥商务英语高级真题集听力原文十二篇02