单选题·For each question 23-30 mark one letter (A, B, C or D)·After you have listened once, replay each recording.

单选题Why the World is Sold on Gold Gold is a measure of wealth C which is recognized all over the world. For centuries it was the foundation of the international monetary system and, (19) today, it remains one of the most important components of a country's foreign currency reserves. What (20) gold attractive is that it has a value of its own for both industrial and ornamental purposes, (21) paper banknotes, which are worthless (22) themselves. As a result, gold is bought as an (23) in times of financial uncertainty. Until the 1930s, several European currencies were based on the Gold Standard, which meant that the value of a (24) of currency was fixed in (25) of a stated quantity of gold. People could freely (26) any banknotes they had for gold. In 1931, worldwide financial problems (27) the Gold Standard to be dropped. Then, in 1935, the USA, France and the UK (28) the price of gold at $ 35 an ounce, which remained the price until 1971. Because the demand for gold (29) so fast, however, the price of gold for ornamental and industrial purposes was (30) to rise. Today one ounce of gold costs $ 390 in London. Gold for jewellery is mixed up. (31) a metal alloy and the purity of the gold is measured in carats. Most gold sold to the public has 40% gold and is (32) nine-carat gold. Gold investors can buy pure gold from dealers in the (33) of gold bars or gold coins.

单选题·Read the article below about product life cycles and the questions on tile opposite page.·For each question (13-18), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. {{B}}Sales Strategies .Vary with Product Life Cycles{{/B}} One of the most important concepts in sales management and marketing is that of tile product life cycle. This is a historical record of the life of a product, showing the stage in its life the product has reached at a particular time. By identifying the stage that a product is in or may be heading towards, companies can formulate better marketing plans. All products have 'lives' in as much as they are created, sell with varying profitability over a period of time, and then become obsolete and are replaced or simply no longer produced. A product's sales position and profitability can be expected to fluctuate over time and so, at each successive stage in the product's cycle, it is necessary to adopt different tactics. The two main features of the product life cycle are unit sales and unit profit. The unit sales figures usually jump on introduction, as a response to heavy advertising and promotion, as customers buy the product experimentally. This is generally followed by a leveling off while it is evaluated -- the length of this period depending on the use to which the product is put. Then, unit sales rise steadily through the growth phase to the maturity phase, when the product is widely accepted, and so on to saturation level. By this time, competitors will have entered the market with their own version and, from this point, the sales team will have to work even harder to win all additional sales. Eventually, the product's sales decline as better versions enter the market and competition becomes too strong. In retrospect, most firms know what happened to their products from launch to withdrawal. They can compile this information from the records of unit sales. Unfortunately, unit sales are not the complete story as it is unit profit that is the decisive factor, although this is not always recorded accurately. It is this figure that sales management has to monitor, though, to ensure an effective marketing strategy and to produce effective profits. At launch, the product is costed accurately on the basis of production costs plus selling costs. Initially these remain fairly stable, but, when the product is proving successful, competitors will bring out their own 'copy-cat' products. With a competitor in the field, the original firm has to respond in order to maintain its market position. It can run special sales promotions, improve deliveries, make more frequent sales calls and so on. Often the extra expenditure is not accurately charged to the product and the result is that, long before unit sales are noticeably falling, the unit profit has already fallen. The product life cycle, then, presents a picture of what happened in the product's 'lifetime', so how can this be used as all ongoing aid to management decision- making? Every sales manager has a chart on which the progress of sales is plotted and this can be used as a guide to the stage of development each product is currently in. An essential management skill is being able to interpret sales results and draw in the stages as they occur. Deciding where each stage begins and ends can be a random exercise, though usually the stages are based on where the rate of sales growth or decline becomes pronounced.

单选题·Read the article below about inventory.·For questions 13—18, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. {{B}}Inventory{{/B}}Inventory belongs to an important element of the cost of doing business in a large company. If a company is assembling cars, they must have a large number of parts in hand so that the assembly line does not stop because one part is missing. If cars are going down the assembly line and one person is supposed to fasten wheels on to the car, the whole line will stop if he runs out of fasteners. This means that several hundred men will be waiting while someone must find fasteners for the wheel. So there must be a sufficient number of parts of all sorts nearby in order to keep the car assembly line running smoothly.A large supply of spare parts is very expensive, so a company will try to keep its inventory as low as it can without finding it necessary to stop production for lack of a part.In a planned company, i.t was often difficult to secure spare parts and so many companies ordered many extra parts and kept large supplies of parts so that if a mistake was made in planning, they could continue to produce. This was known as just-in-case inventory.As an economy moves from s planned economy to a market economy, the-important thing for a business is to make money and not just produce. It's very expensive to keep large suppliers available just in case there is a delay in delivery. So increasingly, companies are moving to another system of inventory of spare parts as low as possible. This way they do not have to pay for parts used in production until just before they are paid for the finished product. This saves them much capital and is a much more efficient method of operating. The problem with this is that if a shipment is delayed or lost for some reason, the whole factory may have to stop because they don't have one little part. This is very expensive.Most modern industries try to keep inventory as low as possible, but when they adopt just-in-time inventory control, they try to keep at least some extra in stock for emergencies:

单选题Advertising can legally include opinions and exaggerations which may be misleading. These "legal lies" are called puffs because they puff up a product's qualities and make it seem better than it really is. Learn how to spot advertising puff. Advertising is controlled by law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the content of advertisements what the manufacturer can and can not say about its product. You as a consumer can protect yourself from misleading ads by learning how to recognize them. Misleading advertising often presents the seller's opinion as if it were fact. "Zeno's Cola is the finest soft drink." "Acme Cars give you the most comfortable ride in town." When you see advertisements like this, ask yourself, "who says so?" This is the type of advertising puff that reflects an opinion. The words "finest" and "most" show that a judgement is being made--a personal opinion, not a statement of fact. Of course the Zeno Company thinks their cola is the finest. They want you to think so too, so you'll buy it. Some advertising puffs try to connect an unrelated quality to a product. For example, beauty and popularity are often linked with perfume, cars, mouthwash, or toothpaste. This kind of advertising is called "image making". Will you really meet nicer people if you drive a Panther automobile? Will people think you're sexier if you brush your teeth with Sparkle toothpaste? Of course not. When you see these advertisements, remember that very few products will automatically make you a better or happier person. Some advertising puffs describe the product accurately but are still misleading. For instance, a leading hamburger is described as a quarter of a pound. This statement is true: the hamburger does weigh a quarter of a pound--before cooking. Since it's purchased after being cooked, this claim may be classified as puff. Check the frozen food aisle in your supermarket. A frozen pie is labeled as a "nine-inch pie". This statement is true if you measure the pie from the outside of the rim on one side to the outside of the rim on the other side. The actual body of the pie is only 7.5 inches. If you buy a standard nine-inch pie plate for making your own pies, you'll see that the nine-inch measurement is for the inside of the pie. You should always question the claims made by any advertisement. Ask yourself: will the product really do all of these things? Is it really the best? Who says so?

单选题Thephoneswillbehandledby

单选题GOODMANRINGUniversalMoversOurref:UM/2/A21stAugust,2010DearMr.Chamberlin,Re:BusinessequipmentremovalYourenquiryletterofAugust16thisacknowledgedwiththanks.Iamwritingtoprovideyouwiththequotationthatyourequested.Inaddition(19)this,Iamincludingfurtherdetailsofourservice.Thepriceisbasedontheitemsthatyoumentionedinyourletterandwill,ofcourse,(20)ifyoudecidetoaddextraitemsor(21)some.Wewillmoveyourequipmentwhenitismostconvenientforussoastokeepthecostaslowas(22).Wewilltrytocombineyourmovewith(23)ofotherclientswhoaskustotransportgoodsataroundthesametime.Iamsureyouwill(24)thatifweweretomakeaspecialtripjustforyourequipmentthecost(25)bemuchhigher.Thismeansthat(26)yourequestedamoveon23rdSeptember,thisprecisedatemaynotbepossible.However,weregularlytransportgoods(27)SingaporeandHongKong,andwewould(28)tobeabletomoveyourequipmentwithintwoorthreedaysofyourrequesteddate.The(29)doesnotincludepacking.Iunderstandthatyou(30)tocarryoutyourownpackingsince(31)ofyourequipmentisquitefragile.Itisoursincerehopethattheseinitialdetailsmeetwithyour(32)andaskthatyoudonothesitateto(33)usifyourequireanyfurtheradvice.Yourssincerely,ChadRingTransportManager

单选题According to the expert, American industry ... a. is paying millions to compensate their customers for noise. b. passes on the costs of noise to their customers. c. does not follow the regulations because they are too expensive.

单选题· Read the memo below about business report writing.· Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page.· For each question 19-33, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. {{B}} Memo{{/B}}To: All Staff Date: Jan. 22, 2003From: Head of Training Faculty{{B}} {{U}}How to write a good business report{{/U}}{{/B}}The business report is one of the most important communications in business world. To help our staff handle their report-writing tasks successfully, we give some suggestions below: 1. Collect ail the data you need to provide in your report before you begin to write, and be sure that it is complete and accurate. Incomplete or inaccurate data about sales, employee {{U}}(19) {{/U}}, or any other subject can lead the person {{U}}(20) {{/U}} your report to make an unwise, if not {{U}}(21) {{/U}} decision. 2. Organize the data you have collected so that you can {{U}}(22) {{/U}} the clearest, most concise, and most {{U}}(23) {{/U}} report possible. When you can, {{U}}(24) {{/U}} information in tables, charts, graphs, or {{U}}(25) {{/U}} rather than paragraphs. 3. Consider the reader of your report and the subject about which you are writing in deciding what {{U}}(26) {{/U}} to give your report. Under most circumstances, the "you and I" approach is {{U}}(27) {{/U}} to the "writer and reader" approach. However, always be sure to gear your report -- in all {{U}}(28) {{/U}} -- to your reader, and remember that someone other than the person to whom you are writing may read it also. {{U}}(29) {{/U}} and managers often request reports, read them, and {{U}}(30) {{/U}} them along to others up the {{U}}(31) {{/U}} 4. Keep your report as short as possible. Remember that you am writing fur one basic purpose: to provide information about a {{U}}(32) {{/U}} subject. Therefore, unless you have been requested to do so or are reasonably certain that your reader will welcome your doing so, do not {{U}}(33) {{/U}} personal opinion, or state your own conclusions or recommendations, for example.

单选题· Read the article below about educational background of successful managers.· Choose the best word to fill each gap, from A, B, C or D,· For each question 19—33 mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet.· There is an example at the beginning. {{B}}Educational Background of Successful Managers{{/B}}Psychologist Douglas Bray and Ann Howard have for more than 25 years been studying college graduates in entry-level management rank for AT&T. Here are some of their findings.Master's degree can be{{U}} (19) {{/U}}Howard says of Master's degree holders, "They bring us greater{{U}} (20) {{/U}}and interpersonal skills and more motivation for{{U}} (21) {{/U}}and money, but they are not any smarter." This applied equally to{{U}} (22) {{/U}}of an MA, MS, and MBA.There are key{{U}} (23) {{/U}}between technical and non-technical majors. Business majors led the pack in organizing, planning, and decision-making skills{{U}} (24) {{/U}}and social science graduates also{{U}} (25) {{/U}}high. Math, science, and engineering majors scored much, lower in these skills. Technical majors did have{{U}} (26) {{/U}}general mental ability, but they were not as{{U}} (27) {{/U}}or as good at interpersonal skills. As you might expect, social science majors were quite low on{{U}} (28) {{/U}}skills. Business majors were the ones most eager to get ahead.For the future managers, AT&T is still looking for about a third each of business, technical, and liberal arts majors. While they are still looking for master's degrees, some firms say that the{{U}} (29) {{/U}}of the MBA has passed. Many companies{{U}} (30) {{/U}}the same management training programs for their new people, whether or not they have a master's degree.{{U}}(31) {{/U}}the success/failure studies of managers, educational background is probably less important than{{U}} (32) {{/U}}skill that people develop. As one president of a large company puts it, "We're really looking for a particular kind of{{U}} (33) {{/U}}rather than a particular degree."

单选题Why do people seldom sign contracts with relatives?

单选题ThecrisismetbyJapanesechemicalgroupsiscausedby,oneofthereasons______.

单选题WhateffectwillthecurrentfinancialsituationhaveonTelekom?

单选题Who Benefits Most from Company Training? According to recent research, the better educated and the higher up the socioeconomic scale you are, the more likely you are to be offered workplace training. And, incidentally, the more likely you are to then turn 16 the offer, pleading family and personal commitments or 17 of work. Less qualified staff, on the other hand, are offered fewer training opportunities, but are more eager to 18 them up. In fact, people with few or no educational qualifications are three times more likely to accept training when it is offered. In the majority of companies, more 19 are allocated to management training than to other areas. Employers 20 their better qualified staff as more important to the business, so they pay them accordingly and invest more in them in 21 of training. This is 22 by the fact that organizations are dependent on properly 23 managers making the right decisions. But this 24 may mean that companies are 25 other parts of the workforce down. The researchers found a growing demand for training among the lower-skilled. Unfortunately this demand is not being 26 by employers, even though there are strong indications that companies would benefit from doing so. They also discovered that, despite the substantial 27 between the training provided for managers and that offered to other staff, there was still widespread endorsement of training. For the purposes of the research, training was defined as any 28 of planned instruction or tuition provided by an employer with the aim of helping employees do their work better. It therefore included a wide variety of approaches. On-the-job and classroom training 29 to be used equally by employers. But learning on the job, which involved observing a certain procedure and then practising it, was easily the most popular method for all categories of employees. While many felt that learning from colleagues was best, very few 30 the internet as an effective way to train.

单选题AIOreferstoA.actions,involvementandoptions.B.activities,interestsandopinions.C.advertising,impactandopportunities.

单选题· Read the extract below from a company chairman's annual report to shareholders.· Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page.· For each question (19-33), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. {{B}} Chairman's Report{{/B}}I am pleased to report that, although we had been expecting poor results for this half year because of slow growth in the world economy, the company has performed very satisfactorily. Operating profits for this first half are in fact very much{{U}} (19) {{/U}}with those for the corresponding{{U}} (20) {{/U}}last year. Profits reached ￡115 million before tax, compared with￡116.3 million last year. Much of our success in the last six months can be{{U}} (21) {{/U}}to the fact. that all our major construction projects remained on schedule. Particularly pleasing was the early{{U}} (22) {{/U}}of a major building contract in Canada.The company has made good progress with the initiatives announced at the Annual General Meeting. The majority of shareholders{{U}} (23) {{/U}}the Board's decision to sell the company's loss-making engineering{{U}} (24) {{/U}}It was the Board's belief that the company would{{U}} (25) {{/U}}most benefit by{{U}} (26) {{/U}}its resources on the expansion of its construction activities. Negotiations with a potential buyer began in February and are now at a critical{{U}} (27) {{/U}}However, we feel that we are not as yet in a{{U}} (28) {{/U}}to comment on what the outcome is likely to be.In June, we made a successful{{U}} (29) {{/U}}for the Renishaw Construction Company of Hong Kong SAR, in order to give us greater{{U}} (30) {{/U}}to markets in South East Asia. We still have sufficient resources to pursue our growth{{U}} (31) {{/U}}and are at present{{U}} (32) {{/U}}several other business opportunities which, like Renishaw Construction, would{{U}} (33) {{/U}}new markets to us.