【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[听力原文] 23-30
F : OK, Sam, I just had a chance to quickly go over your report on your recent visit to Brazil and Chile, and the potential for eventual penetration of the Central and South American markets. However, that being said, it might be a good idea for you to lay out the main points of the report, all right?
M: Well, let me bring your attention to what I see as the main issues. The purpose of the report is to present findings and conclusions from a visit to Brazil and Chile I undertook last week. This visit was aimed at investigating the potential for Sandoz's formula powdered milk in customer goods markets in Central and South America. I must stress that this was a very small scale survey, and that my findings are, as yet, very tentative.
F: So, what, in a nutshell, are your findings?
M: Well, I found a great deal of interest in our products. I visited two production factories in Brazil and Chile respectively, and in these factories, senior staff were extremely interested in improving the standard and range of formula powdered milk. Top quality imported and domestic products are becoming more and more popular as the spending power of the ordinary people goes up. Goods produced using Sandoz's production lines would, I feel sure, be very attractive to the population.
F: Yes, that's very encouraging. But, are there any obstacles?
M : Well, there are two major concerns. First are the laws in America. Will they make it hard for us to do business there? Second is how to sell in that market. Should we try to sell by ourselves? Or should we get people there to sell for us?
F: As you know, I've asked a legal expert to come today. He isn't here yet, so I think we should get the show started with the second issue, how to sell in that market.
M: Good idea. If we were to consider penetrating that market, the question is, 'What kind of relationship with Central and South American manufacturers would we be talking about?'
F: Can you outline some of the options for me, Sam?
M: Well, we should certainly consider joint ventures, I think.
F: Yes, but the profit margin in joint ventures needs to be carefully considered.
M: Well, let's get something clear. At this moment, we're still at a very early stage of discussion. I don't think anyone's talking about tangible returns from this for at least three or four years. We're really talking about ' seedbed' tactics.
F: Yeah, I think you've got a very good point here. Even if we recommend penetration of the Central and South American markets, in whatever sense, it's very much a long-term project. But Sam, what do you see as the alternatives?
M: Well, there are the joint ventures, as I said. We could also look at import-export arrangements, or local sales and marketing. Then, there are always licensing arrangements. I think the last one would
be extremely good if you wanted to see quick returns in a short time. But I would recommend that we investigate the feasibility of each of these options thoroughly by perhaps arranging another, longer visit to Brazil or Chile early next year. While I was there, I noticed that the main problem in those markets is poor health conditions. We all know what happened to Nests when they sold their powdered milk in Africa. And we don't want that to happen to us.
F: Yes, that was in the news a couple of months ago. In Africa, people had very little clean water. So they put dirty water in with the powder. Many people got sick, and Nests got in trouble because of it. But, can we find a way to prevent this? Isn't it also very hard to find clean water in Central and South America?
M: I guess it might be a big problem. That's why I'm suggesting we do a more thorough investigation.
F: Right, I shall certainly recommend to the Senior Management Group when I meet them next December that we arrange a further exploratory visit in the coming year. OK, thanks Sam for that short briefing. No doubt, we'll come back to the subject in the very near future.

[解析] 本次访谈围绕的主题是新市场的开拓，是在市场经理Sam和他的上级——总经理Grace之间展开的。Sam刚刚从巴西和智利考察归来，正在向Grace汇报考察结果。本题考查的是对具体信息的把握，问Sam 这次南美之行的目的是什么?初看之下，似乎三个备选答案都符合要求。这就要求我们从当中挑选出一个最合适的、也是最佳的答案。我国考生在做BEC的听力理解时，一个惯常的错误就是依照自己个人的理解来选择答案，而本题的题干标明了一个非常明确的限定语“According to Sam”，所以在选择时要多从Sam的角度来进行思考。在对话中，Sam明确地谈到：“This visit was aimed at investigating the potential for Sandoz's formula powdered milk in customer goods markets in Central and South America.”比照选项来看，A项的表述过于笼统，可以排除；而C项的内容则是Sam在回来之后同上级进行讨论的内容，而非本次考察活动的直接目的，所以也可以排除。因此正确选项为B。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题询问Sam在开始汇报时，强调了一个什么问题。我们在听音时注意到，在简单表达了此次考察的目的之后，Sam提到这样的细节，由于他进行的是个小范围的调查，因此所得出的结论还是非常不确定的(tentative)，仅供参考。在听音时要留意关键词“stress”，其后跟着的应该是正确答案。听力材料中是这样表达的：“I must stress that this was a very small scale survey，and that my findings are，as yet，very tentative.”根据这个描述，我们判断A为正确答案。B选项为原因的表述，而选项C的相关性不强，均予以排除。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 本题问Sam此次考察有何发现，考查的是对于关键事实的把握。提醒考生一定要注意细节，尤其是选项中的一些迷惑性信息。在听力材料中这样说道：“Top quality imported and domestic products are becoming more and more popular as the spending power of the ordinary people goes up.”显然同选项C非常契合，因此为正确答案。选项A具有一定的迷惑性，虽然对Sam公司的产品表现出了相当的兴趣，但是对其生产标准和产品系列(standard and range)感兴趣的仅为高级员工(senior staff)，不是一般民众，所以A应该排除。而选项B则是Sam本人根据考察情况做出的合理推测，并非发现的事实，也可排除。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查的是对于考察所遭遇的阻碍或者困难的反向理解，请注意题干中出现的大写NOT。Sam很明确地提出，主要有两个方面的担忧。在听音时，请大家留意材料中出现的序数词，如First、Second，其后跟随的一般为重要信息。听力材料中提到，一个是“laws in America”，即选项B的内容；另一个是“how to sell”，即选项C提到的“selling strategies”(销售策略)。因此这两个选项都可以排除，A为正确答案。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 从材料中我们得知Grace对于建立合资企业(joint ventures)还是持谨慎态度的，题目问的是她表示反对的原因。在听力材料中，Grace比较委婉地表达了自己的反对意见，即句子“but the profit margin in joint ventures needs to be carefully considered”，可见她对建立合资企业的收益还是比较担忧的。本题考查的是根据事实做出合理推测的能力，只要把握住了前面那个句子，做出正确的推测应该不难。选项B具有一定的迷惑性，虽然Grace在后面又谈到了建立合资企业必须是个长期的过程，但导致她反对的直接原因 (或根本原因)依然是出于利润的考虑。由此判断选项C为最佳答案。而选项A则是很明显的干扰项，必须首先排除。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 既然建立合资企业被Grace否决，于是Sam又提出了其他进军该市场的选择。由于BEC听力考试中的考题出现顺序与听力材料中答案出现的顺序保持了一致，所以对于这种针对性较强的问题，考生只要做好笔记就能够解决。在听力材料中，Sam依次提出了自己的想法，包括最初的“joint ventures”，以及他又提到的“import-export arrangements，or local sales and marketing”。请注意连接这些选择方案的标志词 “Well”、“We could also”，还有“Then，there are always…”此后出现的就是“licensing arrangements”，即 “特许经营”；而且他还补充说，最后这种方式是能够在短期内获得最佳回报的。由此判定，选项B为正确答案。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] Sam谈到了雀巢公司进军非洲市场的失败案例，而且所有选项表述的内容在材料中都有提及，这就需要凭借考生根据事实进行分析和综合的能力来找到正确的答案了。他谈话中的逻辑关系如下：首先，他提出公司应该进行一次更为详尽和完备的可行性调查活动，此项活动可以通过对巴西和智利的另一次考察来完成；并且补充说明了自己当时所碰到的主要市场问题“poor health conditions”。如果考生暂时无法理解该逻辑关系，那么后来Grace提问后，Sam的再次表态“That's why I'm suggesting we do a more thorough investigation.”则明确地证实他提出该案例的真实原因。选项B描述的仅为Sam此次考察所发现的问题，并不具有普遍性和持续性，因此排除；选项C则为实施考察的具体措施或者方式，与题干的考查点不一致，也可以排除，所以确定本题应该选A。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查的是关键信息——时间，只要在听音时注意表示时间的词语即可。听力材料中的表达如下：“I shall certainly recommend to the Senior Management Group when I meet them…”注意不要混淆“next December” 和听力材料中的“next in December”。前者指的是“明年12月，下一个12月”；而后者指的是 “即将到来的12月”，只要弄清楚这层含义，就很容易判断正确答案是选项C。