Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1 ANNO
30/05/2002
Write all answers on the blank answer-sheet provided, and not on this question-sheet. In order to
earn maximum points, you should give answers which are both complete and to the point; and you
should use your own words wherever possible.
1. The following expressions have been removed from the text. On your answer sheet, indicate
where you think they should go by linking the letters to the numbers.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
they usually manage their time better than men and may even work harder
it may well be women who bring the greatest changes to how business is conducted
the failure rate of those run by women is substantially lower than that
one in three new businesses is started up by women
the ones doing most of the talking will almost certainly be the men
2. Why does the author say that business is still a boys game?
3. What two possible explanations are given in the passage for the increase in the number of
self-employed women in Britain?
4. ...male bank managers seem only too happy to finance [womens] businesses. What leads
the author to make this observation?
5. What, in the authors opinion, may have been the key to the phenomenal growth of The
Body Shop empire? Give a complete answer.
6. List the factors cited as being particularly important when setting up a company.
7. According to the passage, what area of business are women especially suited to, and why?
8. A womans place is in the home. Discuss. Your answer should be approximately 80-100
words in length.
Sample Answers
1. 1-d, 2-c, 3-a, 4-e, 5-b.
2. The author says that business is still a boys game because the vast majority of
managers in most European countries are men.
3. First, the author says that women who start up their own businesses may be forced to do so
after their career progress has been blocked by male colleagues. The other possible
explanation is that women may have management qualities which make them more suited to
self-employment.
4. The author makes this observation because, although 40 per cent of new businesses close
down in their first two years, businesses started up by women have a much lower failure
rate.
5. The author says that caution may have been the key to the success of The Body Shop
empire. Anita Roddick, the founder, decided not to purchase new shops, but chose to go into
franchising, and so was able to expand her business with relatively low overhead costs.
6. The author maintains that the most important factors when setting up a new company are
caution, forward planning and tight budgeting.
7. In the authors opinion, women are particularly suited to people-oriented areas of business,
as they seem to be better listeners, and generally better at communicating, than men.