bec中級真題集
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真題可以讓我們提前了解bec往年的考試范圍，題型和內(nèi)容，對我們有很大的參考價(jià)值，為了方便大家備考，下面小編給大家?guī)韇ec中級真題集。
bec中級真題集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately $2.5 billion)
37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)椋蔀?。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)?，成為。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)椋蔀?。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)椋蔀?。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)?，成為。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)?，成為。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)?，成為。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
bec中級真題集相關(guān)文章：
3.BEC商務(wù)英語究竟是什么?BEC商務(wù)英語成績說明及相關(guān)常識解答
5.BEC中級通過率
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
這篇文章是介紹一個(gè)生產(chǎn)商面臨的困境及所采取的措施。
34題，這個(gè)句子并不是定語從句，主謂賓都很齊全，主語companies，謂語are，賓語its customers.所以which是多余的
35題，正確的
36題，keep on doing繼續(xù)做什么，接名詞的話直接用keep，keep sales steady保持銷售平穩(wěn)，on多余。
37題，正確的
38題，but和despite不能同時(shí)使用，必須去掉一個(gè)。but后面要接完整的句子，這個(gè)后面不是句子，是名詞性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39題，turn… into 變?yōu)?，成為。固定詞組。turning survival into growth變生存為增長。Up多余。
40題，句子前后并沒有指代的含義，代詞those多余。
41題，a one-time competitor是修飾前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在這里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42題，both表并列，而這個(gè)句子前后是沒有并列的含義的，只說了擴(kuò)展規(guī)模。所以both多余。
43題，too是副詞，在這里用法不對
44題，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45題，while用來引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語從句，而很明顯這個(gè)句子并不是，只是由that引導(dǎo)的從句，句子成分很齊全。去掉while。
bec中級真題集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
這篇文章主要是關(guān)于定價(jià)(pricing)的。題目算是閱讀第一部分里比較隱晦的了。四個(gè)部分分別介紹了影響定價(jià)的一些因素。
第一題，公司沒有合理定價(jià)。答案是B段引用的一個(gè)例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因?yàn)闆]有對數(shù)碼相機(jī)合理定價(jià)，所以一個(gè)消費(fèi)品公司破產(chǎn)了。和第一題吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消費(fèi)品。
第二題，大環(huán)境使得漲價(jià)很困難。答案是A段，有點(diǎn)不太明顯，甚至可能需要點(diǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)基礎(chǔ)：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工業(yè)國家的低通貨膨脹率使得漲價(jià)變得困難。通貨膨脹率是衡量一國宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要指標(biāo)，也就是這題所說的context。低通貨膨脹率，說明經(jīng)濟(jì)不太景氣，漲價(jià)會(huì)很困難。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻礙
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三題，公司隱瞞定價(jià)策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最壞的方法是試圖讓定價(jià)結(jié)構(gòu)對消費(fèi)者保密。今天，它更有可能導(dǎo)致失去合同而不是大的利潤。
第四題，一個(gè)公司確保定價(jià)準(zhǔn)確的方式。答案是B段的這么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一個(gè)瑞士的醫(yī)藥公司為每一位銷售代表的手提電腦引進(jìn)了軟件，確保他們提供持續(xù)準(zhǔn)確的定價(jià)。這里的accurate對應(yīng)于precision，引進(jìn)的軟件就是方式(means)。
第五題，公司了解降價(jià)的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明顯：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以輕易追蹤客戶的彈性—他們的購買習(xí)慣是如何對漲價(jià)或打折做出反應(yīng)的。這個(gè)題需要理解一個(gè)常見的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)術(shù)語：彈性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
這個(gè)術(shù)語的概念基本吻合第五題所說的。能夠了解客戶的需求彈性，也就了解了漲價(jià)或者降價(jià)的效果。
第六題，對產(chǎn)品定價(jià)首要的是根據(jù)客戶所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他們的支付意愿。這里的based on對應(yīng)于the first sector。
第七題，粗糙的定價(jià)準(zhǔn)則的廣泛應(yīng)用。答案在C段，有點(diǎn)隱晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.雖然公司可以用一種更復(fù)雜的方式來衡量，遵守基本的規(guī)則仍然是定價(jià)的最普遍的方式。BUT是個(gè)信號。rough可以從反面對應(yīng)于sophisticated,,the most common way對應(yīng)于widespread use。
bec中級真題集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的話題。圍繞獵頭公司(headhunter)展開，說明了獵頭公司的發(fā)展和重要性，以及用人單位對獵頭公司的一些疑問。第一段引出話題，說現(xiàn)在正是獵頭公司占領(lǐng)市場的時(shí)候。接下來幾段順序介紹了獵頭市場的發(fā)展階段，從起步階段(第二段的內(nèi)容)，到逐步發(fā)家(第三段)，當(dāng)中列舉了一個(gè)獵頭公司的情況加以說明(第四段)，然后第五段介紹了用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑。最后一段是總的概括。做這種題一定要理清文章的邏輯順序，從整體上把握文章脈絡(luò)。
第八題，第二段的最后一句。第二段是簡單引出獵頭公司的起步，起步階段并沒有多少公司認(rèn)識到獵頭公司的重要性，就如第八題前面的一句話所說：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很難高估這個(gè)的重要性，也就是說獵頭公司的作用并沒有被完全的認(rèn)識到。后面的空格應(yīng)該相應(yīng)的填入獵頭公司不太被重視的句子。E選項(xiàng)正好滿足這個(gè)特點(diǎn)：直到幾年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用獵頭公司來填補(bǔ)一兩個(gè)職位。
第九題，主要是介紹Pinnacle這個(gè)獵頭公司的情況。前面說這個(gè)公司的市場份額在10%到15%，空格后面一個(gè)rather(相反)，說定義公司成功的應(yīng)該是公司所處理的高質(zhì)量的工作和客戶。中間應(yīng)填入一個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市場份額有關(guān)。A句滿足這個(gè)要求：雖然其他人可能把它(指市場份額)估計(jì)得更低，但一個(gè)公司的名聲不僅僅是建立在市場份額基礎(chǔ)上的。
第五段，集中填入三個(gè)句子，所以一定要從意思上進(jìn)行把握。這一段是用人單位對獵頭公司的一些質(zhì)疑，然后獵頭公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards進(jìn)行了一些反駁。
這一段第一句話說人力資源部經(jīng)理認(rèn)為Pinnacle發(fā)揮了很重要的作用，接著空格后面說的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了擔(dān)心，所以中間的第十題應(yīng)該填入表示轉(zhuǎn)折意思的句子，而且可能是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮的作用的消極看法。D滿足這一要求：但是這種認(rèn)可不代表他們完全的高興。BUT是個(gè)關(guān)鍵的信號，acceptance是指代前面人力資源經(jīng)理們對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的認(rèn)可。
第十一題，前面的句子是對獵頭公司發(fā)揮作用的擔(dān)心，認(rèn)為它們權(quán)力過大了。這一題后面的句子是引用一個(gè)人力資源經(jīng)理的解釋，進(jìn)一步說明獵頭公司的影響力太大。所以十一題也應(yīng)該與此相關(guān)。B符合：他們首要擔(dān)心的是獵頭公司會(huì)創(chuàng)造或者破壞管理職業(yè)生涯。Worry是關(guān)鍵詞，同前面的concern相對應(yīng)，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所說的權(quán)利過大，簡直擁有生殺大權(quán)。
第十二題，理解了前面的，不難做出選擇。這里很明顯就是獵頭公司為自己辯護(hù)。前面指責(zé)獵頭公司的評價(jià)會(huì)影響個(gè)人的選擇。而空格后面是Edwards的解釋，說最終的決定權(quán)是掌握在客戶自己手中。所以這一題很明顯應(yīng)該填入對前面表示反駁的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明顯的信號：Edwards反對這種說法，聲稱他所做的無非就是尋找候選人然后鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)ド暾埬硞€(gè)特定的職位。
bec中級真題集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介紹了一個(gè)經(jīng)營健康俱樂部的公司的情況，依舊是形勢喜人。
19題，一句話包含三個(gè)空，聯(lián)系在一起做。昨天開會(huì)，宣布了一系列結(jié)果。報(bào)告稅前收益增長了38%，公司并沒有經(jīng)歷它的競爭對手所暴露的問題。19題選report，20題experienced，21題，revealed by its rival，被競爭對手暴露的問題。
22題，remains strong保持強(qiáng)勁;單看單詞的意思，貌似keep也可以(不過說實(shí)話，如果不是有同學(xué)提醒，我壓根想不到會(huì)填keep)聯(lián)系此句上下文，提到了在對手出現(xiàn)問題時(shí)這個(gè)公司表現(xiàn)依然強(qiáng)勁remain在英文詞典的解釋是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相關(guān)人和事出現(xiàn)狀況時(shí)仍然存在，所以，remain更符合這個(gè)題目的條件
23題，on track 步入正軌。公司正在實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的正道上。這個(gè)詞在其他完型也出現(xiàn)過，不過不是正確答案。
24題，slow down放緩，固定用法。經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩。
25題，bring to，使總數(shù)達(dá)到51，這個(gè)題怕是要靠語感。put肯定不對，get to到達(dá)，mount在這里用法不對。
26題，proved to be證明是，固定用法
27題，這里填入的詞要和前文對照，前面說新開了12家新的俱樂部，這里的空格前有個(gè)even和more，所以應(yīng)該是填入與new相對應(yīng)的詞。established是已確立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28題，retention rate保留率，專有名詞(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司稅后收益所保留的那一部分。
29題，公司吸引力的證據(jù)。clear evidence明顯的證據(jù)。不選sign，sign只是跡象。
30題，simply修飾too many從用法和意思上都對，在這里就是表強(qiáng)調(diào)的，意思是公司太多了。
31題，consolidation強(qiáng)化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互競爭，所以需要進(jìn)行一個(gè)整合。這是商英里的固定說法。
32題，in business在經(jīng)營。是說很快這個(gè)市場上的公司會(huì)淘汰的只剩下三個(gè)。
33題，理解了venture的意思就不難做出選擇，在這里是指商業(yè)冒險(xiǎn)，也是商英地道說法。公司要在西班牙進(jìn)行一些投機(jī)活動(dòng)，因此增加了額外的管理費(fèi)用。
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bec中級真題集
