KEY Sample В

To: P. Jones
Test 1 Reading From: Manager
Date: 21 November 2002
Part 1 Subject: Lateness
1C 2 A 3 В 4 D 5 A 6 Hi, Jones
7 С
Nowadays you arrives late for work very often. I
Part 2 feel you may have particular reasons for it. But if
you keep going your lateness, other staff in the
8 D 9 С 10 E 11 В 12 F office may be late like you. I’m worrying about
it. How about considering of being more
Part 3 punctual?
13 D 14 A 15 С 16 В 17 В Thanks!
18 С

Part 4 Band 3
All the content points are covered, though at times
19 В 20 A 21 D 22 A 23 С the register is not always entirely successful. There
24 С 25 D 26 A 27 В 28 С is evidence of an adequate range of structures and
29 D 30 В 31 С 32 В 33 В vocabulary for this level, but with some non­
impeding errors.
Part 5
34 ITSELF 35 IN 36 C O R REC T Part 2
37 WHILE 38 SEEN 39 FRO M Sample С__________________________________
40 C O R R EC T 41 TH O SE 42 FOR
Report on customer complaints
43 W ITH 44 THAT 45 C O R REC T
INTRODUCTION
This report has the purpose of presenting the
reasons for customer complaints in 2002.
Test 1 Writing
FIELDINGS
Part 1 The customer complaints received in 2002 were
Sample A 300 in January. Then they increased to 540 in
February because of the computer system’s
breakdown.
To: P. Jones
In March they fell to 230 because an improved
From: Luisa Gambon
order system was introduced.
Date: 21 November 2002
The reasons for complaints from January to
Subject: Lateness
March were analysed:
Mr Jones, • firstly the company received complaints for
incorrect orders delivered. These errors were
I have noticed that you often arrive late for work,
fewer in March.
especially on Monday mornings. As your
• secondly the time taken to deliver is too high, •
colleagues are starting to complain about that,
but the company has planned to recruit new
you understand that unless this habit changes, I
agents.
will take disciplinary action against you. • Finally customers complain for the poor
Come and see me tomorrow at 9 a.m. in my
product quality. In order to solve this problem
office.
more quality controls are making.
Thank you
CONCLUSIONS
At the moment all customers aren’t satisfied but
Band 5
many measures have been taken to improve their
All content points are covered, using natural
satisfaction.
sounding language and a consistently appropriate
tone.
 *
Test 1

Band 4 9 IN FO RM ATION PACK

There is a satisfactory range of structures, with 10 PARK H O TEL
some errors, but these do not impede 11 FRO N T GATE
understanding. The content points are adequately 12 NEW DESIGNS
covered, and the register is appropriate. The
information is generally well organised, using Part 2
headings and other discourse markers.
13 E 14 В 15 G 16 F 17 A
18 С 19 G 20 H 21 E 22 В
Sample D
Part 3
Customer Complaints Reports
(2002 Jan-M ar) 23 В 24 В 25 С 26 A 27 С
28 В 29 A 30 С
Background
- Number of customers complains received
showed very high points in February
- It became less half than February’s in March.
Tapescript
Analysis
Listening Test 1
- The breakdown of computer system in This is the Business English Certificate Vantage 2,
February lead to a lot of complaints. Listening Test 1.
- On the other hand the introduction of
improved order system decrease the amount. Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
- Fewer incorrect order delivered in March. It You will hear three telephone conversations or
result in few complaints. messages.
- More than half of complaints are because of
late deliver. Write one or two words or a number in the
- Unsatisfactory product quality’s complaints numbered spaces on the notes or form s below.
showed 28% of all.
After you have listened once, replay each
Recommendation recording.
- To improve delivery system is important, it
leads the decrease of complaints. It should be Conversation One. Questions 1 to 4.
improved. L o o k at the form below.
- To reduce poor quality product. Products
should be cheack before shipping. You will hear a man asking a colleague for
information about a form er employee.
You have 15 seconds to read through the form .
Band 2
The organisation of the report is reasonable, as is [pause]
the register and format. However, not all content
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
points are adequately addressed, a limited range of
language is used, and there are some distracting Woman: Personnel. . .
errors. M an: Hello, it’s Tim here, from Finance.
Woman: Hi, Tim.
M an: I’ve had a letter from the tax office about a
student who worked here last summer - I
Test 1 Listening wonder if you could look him up in your
Part 1 records.
Woman: Sure, what’s the name?
1 JAYE M an: The surname’s Jaye. First name Stephen.
2 CUSTO M ER SERVICES Woman: How does he spell his surname?
3 O FFICE ASSISTANT Man: J-A-Y-E. Got that?
4 45 7 .6 0 Woman: Oh yes, here we are . . . lives at a
5 EUROPE HOLIDAYS hundred and eighty-three School Road,
6 BUSINESS CARDS Barnfield . . .
7 M ARKETIN G EXECUTIVES M an: Yes, that’s the one.
8 (THE) (COMPANY) LOGO Woman: And you say he was working in Finance?
Key
M an: Uhm, Customer Services, actually.
Woman: Aah - they had lots of students working
for them last summer.
Man: Well, the tax people want to know his exact
job title - I’m not sure why.
Woman: Mm, let me see . . . He was an office
assistant.
M an: Right, got that. They also want to know
about his monthly earnings.
Woman: Let’s have a look . . . five hundred and
thirty-eight pounds seventy a month . . . Oh,
sorry, he was a scale one, so that’s four hundred
and fifty-seven pounds sixty. Anything else?
M an: That’s fine, thanks. I’ll send them the
information today . . .
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
Conversation Two. Questions 5 to 8.
L o o k at the note below.
You will hear a man describing a problem with an
order.
You have 15 seconds to read through the note.
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Woman: Hello, Blackwell Printers. Julie Davidson
speaking. How may I help you?
M an: Hello. This is M ark Jones from Europe
Holidays. I was hoping to speak to Steven Kirby
about the stationery you’re printing for us.
Woman: I’m afraid Steven’s away until Friday.
M an: Oh - you see I’m not very happy with the
business cards and I wanted to see if I could
make a couple of changes to the paper too.
Woman: Would you like me to pass on a message?
Man: Yes, please. The thing is, I’ve just received
your proofs - the cards themselves are fine, but
you seem to have misunderstood the quantities.
I’m sure I asked for five hundred for each of the
marketing executives and seven hundred and
fifty for me but you’ve put everyone down for
seven hundred and fifty.
Woman: Right, I’ve made a note of that. Is there
anything else?
Man: Yes, well this is my mistake really. Could
you ask Steven to move the company logo
further to the left? It’s too close to the address at
the moment. I think that’s all for now. Thanks.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
100
[pause]
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12.
L o o k at the notes below.
You will hear a w om an m aking the arrangements
for a delegation w ho are going to visit her
company.
You have 15 seconds to read through the notes.
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Woman: Geoff?
Man: Yes?
Woman: I just want to finalise the preparations
for the delegation next week.
M an: Certainly. It’s Thursday, isn’t it?
Woman: Yes. Now, can you make sure that each
of them gets a name badge and an information
pack. The badges are done, but you’ll need to
prepare the packs with all the relevant
information.
M an: Ok, that shouldn’t take too long. W hat
about catering?
Woman: Coffee’s organised for eleven and three,
but lunch - it’s at one - we need to reserve it for
twelve people . . . The office restaurant is closed
next week . . . can you ring the Park Hotel? The
Grand Hotel was a bit disappointing last time.
Man: I’ll get onto that.
Woman: Now, they’ll be coming straight from the
station, and their taxi will bring them to the
front gate, so make sure you’re there to greet
them. That’ll be about ten.
Man: Ten. And then . . .
Woman: Into Reception, I think. M ake sure the
new designs are on display, I want them to see
those first.
Man: OK.
Woman: Let me know when it’s all finalised.
Bye.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Part One. You now have 20
seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.
Section One. Questions 13 to 17.
You will hear five short recordings.

For each recording, decide which type o f
docum ent the speaker is talking about.
Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
D o not use any letter m ore than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings.
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
[pause]
N ow listen, and decide which type o f document
each speaker is talking about.
[pause]
Thirteen
Woman: Well no wonder the bank’s returned it
unpaid. Look, the figures don’t match the
amount in words. I expect someone was filling it
in in too much of a hurry. Let’s see, we’d better
issue another one straight away to pay Mrs
Burton, because it’ll be another three weeks if
we wait for the next cycle of payments. Her
expenses on that sales trip were pretty high, and
it wouldn’t be fair to keep her waiting much
longer.
[pause]
Fourteen
M an: Some of the suppliers are already asking
about the increases. I’ll check, but I seem to
remember from last week’s meeting that in the
end we agreed on three per cent. So what I’ll do
is go down each column and calculate the new
amounts, and then it can be printed in time to
be inserted into the new brochures. Can you
check the figures for me, though, before it goes
to the printers?
[pause]
Fifteen
Woman: We’ve just received the paperwork from
you about cleaning our premises, and I have to
say that it doesn’t reflect what we agreed in our
conversation last week. For one thing, it says
that we have to supply our security code, and
for another it specifies monthly payment in
advance, and I told you both of those were out
of the question. I’m afraid I really can’t sign this.
Could you send me a revised one?
[pause]
Test 1
Sixteen
M an: O f course, this only gives a very general
picture. But as you can see, cash is a particularly
healthy area. That’s even when we take into
account regular outgoings on loans and leasing
equipment, which are included in the final
totals. And even more significantly, unpaid
orders are actually excluded from the final
calculation. These represent a sum of
approximately thirty thousand pounds. With
that in mind, we can say that the company’s
overall position is still strong.
[pause]
Seventeen
Woman: I’ve just asked the Arden Conference
Centre about availability for our next training
seminar, and they said they still haven’t been paid
for the one before last, which should have been
dealt with six months ago. I’ve had to ask them to
send a duplicate! We really must be careful. Arden
give us very favourable prices, but we haven’t got
a contract with them - Can you deal with it
straight away so we stay in their good books?
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
[pause]
Section Two. Questions 18 to 22.
You will hear another five recordings.
For each recording, decide ivhat the speaker’s
purpose is.
Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
Do not use any letter m ore than once.
After you have listened once, replay the
recordings.
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
[pause]
N ow listen, and decide what each speaker’s
purpose is.
[pause]
Eighteen
Man: Hello. This is Guy Cooper from Centron
Electronics here. I believe you rang for some
advice about your alarm system, which isn’t
functioning properly. The message I got said you
weren’t sure if you needed someone to come and
101
Key
sort it out, or if we could advise you over the
phone. Well perhaps you’d like to get back to
me as soon as it’s convenient and tell me exactly
what the problem is, and I’ll see what I can do.
[pause]
Nineteen
Woman: Well, as you say, Redlon has been
supplying us for years but, quite honestly, two-
thirds of the complaints we receive about our
products are actually due to faults in
components we’ve had from Redlon. So I talked
to the Production Manager and he agreed that I
should look at some alternatives. FutureWorld’s
range is fine for us, and one of their customers
who I spoke to recommended them highly, so
that’s why we’ve changed to using them.
[pause]
Twenty
Woman: The competition’s getting tougher, and
you know we’re facing serious problems. We
need to see more benefit from the undeniably
hard work we’re putting in, and this means
saying no to jobs which aren’t profitable. It
would be much more beneficial to put all our
efforts into winning higher-margin contracts. So
the way I feel you can help most is by
identifying the types of contacts which will bring
in the income we need in order to ensure our
future.
[pause]
Twenty-one
M an: John Woods here, phoning about the project
we discussed earlier. Could you give me a ring so
that we can talk about it a bit more? I’ve done a
few calculations and I’m beginning to wonder
whether it’s really a practical proposition. I still
think the project’s got potential, but there are
significant additional costs which we hadn’t
taken into account. So could you get back to me
as soon as you can, please?
[pause]
Twenty-two
Woman: Hello, Sally here, from Pagwell Paints,
returning your call. I’m very sorry you aren’t
happy with the latest consignment you’ve had
from us. It’s rather strange, because following
your complaint about the last delivery, we did in
fact take action to change the specifications in
the way you suggested. So it isn’t quite fair to
/
102
say that we ignored your advice. I know it’s
important to achieve the consistency that you
require, but perhaps your recommendation
wasn’t exactly what’s needed.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Fart Two.
[pause]
Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You will hear the chairman o f a business institute
m aking a speech abou t new business awards that
his institute has sponsored.
For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, В or
C) fo r the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have 45 seconds to read through the
questions.
[pause]
N ow listen, and mark A, В or C.
[pause]
M an: Who are the managers of the best
innovation developments in British industry?
That was the question which the first Business
Today Innovation Awards set out to answer.
This project is all about rewarding good
practice and performance. So, rather than
simply recognising excellence in the design of
specific products, or analysing their financial
impact on profits, the awards set out to take an
objective look at exactly how companies
manage the development process itself.
Over three hundred and fifty organisations
entered the competition and were initially
reduced to about forty. Then, after further
careful checking, a short list of just fourteen of
them was arrived at. These finalists, all
manufacturers, were then visited by the
competition judges, a panel of four chief
executives from leading companies. The panel
toured the finalists’ facilities, received
presentations on the companies and their
projects, and interviewed the key development
team members. The products varied enormously
in their scale, function and degree of technology
- from bread for a supermarket chain to a
printer inside an automatic cash dispenser.
 ✓

Test 2

Initially the organisers were concerned that this Links with suppliers were also seen as an
range could create difficulties in the assessment important factor, but not all supplier
process. But this fear proved baseless, as most experiences were positive. Occasionally serious
elements in the innovation process are shared by problems had to be solved where suppliers were
all manufacturers. working hard to meet specifications, but the
Interestingly, the finalists broke down into companies that the suppliers were using to
two distinct and equal groups: large firms with adapt their machinery were not so efficient.
one thousand employees or more and small This led to disappointing faults or fluctuations
firms with two hundred and fifty employees or in quality.
fewer. With both groups the judges decided to But in conclusion the awards demonstrate
concentrate on two of the clearest indicators of that innovation isn’t just for high-tech internet
a successful innovation process, which are: how companies. You can also be successful in mature
well the new product is combined with the markets with determination and skill.
company’s existing business, and secondly, how
[pause]
well the innovation methods are recorded and
understood. Small firms naturally tend to do N ow listen to the recording again.
well in the first category since they have fewer
[pause]
layers of management and thus much shorter
communication lines. But they seem to put less That is the end o f Part Three. You now have ten
emphasis on creating formal development minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer
methods which would be repeatable in future Sheet.
innovations.
N ote: Teacher, stop the recording here and time
Large firms, on the other hand, have
ten minutes. Remind students when there is one
difficulty integrating the new development
minute remaining.
within their existing business for reasons of
scale. But they tend to succeed in achieving [pause]
well-documented and repeatable development
That is the end o f the test.
methods. This is because larger companies,
with their clear emphasis on training, fixed
management structure and administrative
systems, require more formal, daily record­ Test 2 Reading
keeping from their staff.
So what were the key questions the judges Part 1
had in mind when assessing the finalists? One IB 2 с 3 A 4 D 5 D
of the most important areas concerned how 6 В 7 с
thoroughly a company checks what is
happening in other fields in order to incorporate Part 2
new ideas into the development process. Many
of the finalists impressed in the area. Natura, 8 С 9 в 10 E 11 A 12 D
for example, had demonstrated genuine energy
in searching for new ways of producing their Part 3
range of speciality breads. They had looked at 13 D 14 С 15 A 16 A 17 С
styles of home cooking in different countries, as 18 В
well as the possibility of exploiting new
production technologies in order to achieve Part 4
equally good results but on a high-volume
19 D 20 D 21 A 22 С 23 A
production line.
24 С 25 В 26 A 27 A 28 D
What then occupied much of the judges’
29 С 30 A 31 С 32 D 33 В
thoughts was the quality of the links which the
development team established with senior
Part 5
management, suppliers, the market and
manufacturing. The best examples of the first 34 THAT 35 C O R REC T 36 ONLY
category were found in small firms, where the 37 SO 38 C O R REC T 39 TH E
individual entrepreneur at the top was clearly 40 HOW 41 C O R REC T 42 OUT
driving the innovation forward. 43 C O R REC T 44 WILL 45 BE

103
Key

Test 2 Writing Part 2

Part 1 Sample С
Sample A
Introduction.
The purpose of this report is to assess and
To: All Staff recomend a taxi firm that will become our regular
From: Managing Director transporter. We will need them especially during
Date: 7 December next year trade fair and conferences. There are
Subject: Staff reward two firms to assess.
I would like to thank you for the contribution in Findings:
increasing the company’s profit. The profit As regards to Telecars we have a good references
increased due to very hard work and long on them. It is very experienced traditional firm
working hours. Each of the staff will receive an and is also very reliable. They provide 24-hours
envelope with a reward on Tuesday. The reward is service that is useful during night meetings and
a trip to Hawaii, and I hope that this will be the negotiations. StreetlightCabs is brand new
perfect reward. Enjoy! company and there are no references on them. But
they provide long distance routes which we use
Thank you very often and they are also cheaper. On the other
hand they don’t have web page and so internet
Band 4 booking isn’t available.
All points are adequately covered and developed. Conclusion:
There is an adequate range of language, though I recommend to choose Telecars because of
with some repetition. their reliability, long tradition and well trained
staff.
Sample В

To: All Staff Band 4

From: Paul Blake
Date: 7 December 2002
Subject: Staff reward
I am very pleased to tell everybody that our
company was make a great profit in this year.
Thank a lot everybody’s contribution for the
company. Due to work hard, the management
decided that every body would get the oppotunity
to add the salary and paid holiday.
Band 2
All the content points are addressed, although
poor control of basic structures, e.g. ‘was m a k e’,
‘oppotunity to add the salary’, obscure the
message at times.
All the content points are covered and are well
organised. The range of language is good, and
though some errors occur, these do not obscure the
message. The register is appropriate.
Sample D
From: The General Manager
To: The line manager
THE PROPOSAL
In order to have a taxi firm that it could use on a
regular bases for our staff and clients, we should
choose the better one. The things following below
are my proposal. In the advertisement of
TELECARS, it gaves details. It’s a good reference.
The three details are useful for us. we need the 24-
hour service, because our company is runned for
whole day, and we need meet the clients at any
time.
Compared with the other one, I think the one of
STREETLIGHTCABS is not well. It’s a new
company and it has not any references. The
distance is important for us because we are in the
urban. If no distance is too far, it not good for our
business. And it also has no internet booking.
So I think the advertisement of TELECARS fits for
our requires.

104
 *

Test 2

Band 2 N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.

An attempt is made to address all the language
Man: Good morning, Oakleaf Business Training.
points, but this is not always successful. Generally
How can I help you?
the range of language is fairly limited and basic
Woman: Hello, my name’s Enid Stevens, of
errors occur.
Appleyard Smith. I’ve booked two one-day
courses, but now I need to change one of
Listening them.
Test 2 M an: Let me get your details up on the screen.
Part 1 Right, you’ve booked Report Writing next
month . . .
1 TAKING MINUTES
2 13(TH) O CTO BER Woman: Yes, that one’s OK. It’s Taking Minutes
that I can’t manage, on the eighth of July. Do
3 CERTIFICATE
4 CUSTO M ER SERVICE you know when it’s running again?
5 W ORLDNET/WORLD N ET M an: Let me see. Not until the eighteenth of
6 OUTSIDE LINES September, I’m afraid.
7 TRANSFER CALLS Woman: That sounds fine. Oh, I think I’ll be
8 (THE) EQUIPMENT abroad then.
Man: Then there’s the first and the thirteenth of
9 TRAD E FAIR
October.
10 AFTER LUNCH
11 REVISED BUDGETS Woman: I’d like the later date, please.
Man: Fine, I’ll change your booking.
12 HEAD OFFICE
Woman: Another thing; it says in your brochure,
everyone attending a course gets a certificate,
Part 2
but I haven’t received one from a course I took
13 H 14 E 15 F 16 A 17 D last January.
18 G 19 E 20 С 21 В 22 H Man: I’m sorry about that. Which course was it?
Woman: Something to do with dealing with the
Part 3 public . . . ?
24 A 26 С 27 A Man: That must have been Customer Service.
23 С 25 A
Woman: Sounds familiar.
28 С 29 В 30 В
Man: OK, I’ll put it in the post today.
Woman: Thank you very much. Goodbye.
Man: Goodbye.
Tapescript
[pause]
Listening Test 2
N ow listen to the recording again.
This is the Business English Certificate Vantage 2,
[pause]
Listening Test 2.
Conversation Two. Questions S to 8.
Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
You will hear three telephone conversations or L o o k at the note below.
messages. You will hear a woman ringing about problem s
with a new telephone system.
Write one or two words or a number in the
num bered spaces on the notes or form s below. You have 15 seconds to read through the note.
After you have listened once, replay each [pause]
recording.
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Conversation One. Questions 1 to 4.
M an: Hello, Swinburn Telecoms.
L o o k at the form below. Woman: I’d like to speak to Tony Wilson, please.
M an: I’m afraid Tony isn’t available. Can I take a
You will hear a w om an calling abou t training
message?
courses.
Woman: Yes please. I’m Sheila Dallas, from
You have IS seconds to read through the form. Worldnet.
Man: Right.
[pause]

105
 Key
Woman: I’m ringing about the telephone system
your firm installed here yesterday. We’re not
happy with it.
Man: Oh dear. W hat seems to be the problem?
Woman: First of all, your engineer said that with
the number of extensions we’ve got, six outside
lines would be enough, but we asked for eight,
and anyway you’ve charged us for the larger
system.
Man: Right, we’ll look into that.
Woman: Then, whenever we try to transfer calls
from one extension to another we lose them.
We’re following the instructions, but it just
doesn’t work.
Man: I see.
Woman: And finally, could you ask Tony to check
the invoice, please? He promised us a discount
on installation, which is shown, and one on the
equipment, but that isn’t there.
Man: Right. I’m sorry about all that. I’ll get Tony
to contact you as soon as he’s free.
Woman: Thank you. Goodbye.
Man: Goodbye.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12.
L o o k at the note below.
You will hear a woman calling about the
arrangements fo r a meeting.
You have 15 seconds to read through the note.
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Man: Good morning. Marketing Department.
Peter Menzies speaking.
Woman: Hello. Could I speak to John Fitzgerald,
please?
■Man: I’m afraid he’s not in the office at the moment.
Woman: Well, this is Elizabeth Parnell calling. I
wanted to talk to John about the meeting next
week. You see, I only get back on Tuesday night
from a trade fair in the States.
M an: So, would you like me to give him a
message?
Woman: Yes, could you ask him if we can
postpone Wednesday’s meeting? Till after lunch.
That would be easier. It was originally going to
be at ten a.m.
M an: OK. I’ll ask him to change it. I’ll get back to
you with a time. t you, with effective answers you can give.
106
Woman: Thanks. And could you also ask him to
add another item for discussion at the meeting? I
thought we were going to talk about the revised
budgets - but I can’t see this on the agenda.
Man: OK. I’d better ask him to call you . . .
Woman: Yes, please. I’m at Head Office at the
moment. Can he phone me here today - I won’t
be back at my own desk until tomorrow
afternoon.
Man: Right, I’ll give him the message.
Woman: Thanks.
Man: Bye.
Woman: Goodbye.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Part One. You now have 20
seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.
Section One. Questions 13 to 17.
You will hear five short recordings. Five people are
talking abou t different business boo ks they have
read.
For each recording, decide which b o o k the speaker
is talking about.
Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
D o not use any letter m ore than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings.
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
[pause]
N ow listen, and decide which b o o k each speaker is
talking about.
[pause]
Thirteen
Woman: Yes, it was interesting . . . some of it was
rather obvious, of course, like dressing smartly,
making sure you arrive on time, that sort of
thing . . . but there was also quite a lot I’d never
really considered . . . like ways to interpret wha
the advertisement is really asking for, reading
between the lines . . . and a section which lists
some of the harder questions they tend to ask

[pause]
Fourteen
M an: Invaluable, I’d say . . . certainly helps
prevent you making some of the more
embarrassing mistakes. It gives you a kind of
timescale to follow through. For example, they
stress that you need to get publicity up and
running a good six months before you want to
stage the event. And get your main speakers
booked earlier than that. They say you must
make sure you’ve got a good assistant to
support you, check the details.
[pause]
Fifteen
Woman: Actually, although it was a bit long, it
was definitely useful. The trouble often is, when
the management take on new staff, they don’t
necessarily really know what skills or qualities
are needed. I want someone who’s more than
just a secretary typing out letters every day . . .
I’m looking for a right hand, someone to do
everything . . . and this book spells out what
that means . . . it’s helped me to draw up a job
description.
[pause]
Sixteen
Man: Well, I wish I’d read it years ago! That
would have saved me from some of my worst
inefficiencies. I’d recommend it to anyone. It
shows you how to produce a perfect schedule
for getting through your workload . . . Once
you’ve got yourself organised, made lists of
tasks and priorities, you can make best use of
each and every day . . . otherwise you’re just
constantly confusing your PA with endless
requests, all terribly u rgent. . .
[pause]
Seventeen
Woman: Certainly, a lot of the book was very
specialised . . . but it did give me an idea of how
the agencies do the job. O f course, they’re the
people with the creative ideas, the expertise, so
I’m happy to trust the image development work
to them . . . but I read the book so I could talk
to them on equal terms about what we’re trying
to do, and how it fits in with our overall
business strategy.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
Test 2
[pause]
Section Two. Questions 18 to 22.
You will hear another five recordings. Five people
are talking about why they decided to use a
particular company to supply their office
equipment.
For each recording, decide what reason each
person gives.
Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
D o not use any letter m ore than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings.
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
[pause]
N ow listen, and decide w hat reason each person
gives.
[pause]
Eighteen
Man: We were having problems with the company
we normally use so we looked at a number of
other companies and decided to give this one a
try. They’re just new in the business and we were
impressed as they promised they would deliver
the goods we wanted within two days and they
did. We had to pay more than we would have
liked but the results were worth it. Since then,
I’ve told a lot of other people about them.
[pause]
Nineteen
Woman: Apparently they’re an established
company in Scotland with an excellent
reputation, but I didn’t know that at tjie time. I
found them through the internet. I was just
browsing through the list of suppliers one day
and I noticed their name. I looked them up and
found that they had this fantastic discount
available that particular month. We ordered
various things and the quality was so good
we’ve continued using them.
[pause]
Twenty
M an: We like to try out different suppliers to
make sure we’re always getting the best deal.
This particular company was running a big
publicity campaign. I’d seen the ads on TV and
they really put me off. I just couldn’t see the
107
Key
appeal. But then someone I met at a training day
told me we should use them. His company had
used their service for years with no complaints
so we followed his advice.
[pause]
Twenty-one
Woman: We’d looked round the market to find
the cheapest deal possible but to be honest there
wasn’t much to choose, in terms of cost,
between any of the local suppliers. However, we
had a visit from a sales representative from one
company and we asked him to make up some
complimentary printed letterheads for us. They
were exactly what we wanted so that was the
deciding factor. I think that personal touch gives
a company far better results than advertising
ever can.
[pause]
Twenty-two
M an: Obviously there are many different factors
to consider when you choose a new supplier. We
always used a local company because they were
relatively near and we could even pick things up
ourselves if necessary. But unfortunately they
just became too expensive. Now that express
delivery services are widely available, distance is
no longer a consideration and we’ve been able
to choose someone who can give us the best
package for the lowest cost.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Part Two.
[pause]
Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You will hear a radio report about the London
stock market.
For each question 23 -3 0 , mark one letter (A, В or
C) fo r the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have 45 seconds to read through the
questions.
[pause]
N ow listen, and m ark A, В or C.
[pause]
108
Woman: Hello. I’m Jane Bowen with our regular
Friday look at the week just finished on the
London stock market.
The general picture is pretty mixed. Shares in
the major banks are trading down, while mining
companies have surprised analysts with a small
rise. Overall, it’s been a week of considerable
movement, with the highest level reached at the
close two days ago and a sharp fall yesterday. A
strong recovery saw most of those losses being
made up today, but the closing figure still fell
short of Wednesday’s. Now here’s Charles
Wrighton with some company news.
M an: Thanks Jane. And first, clothing retailer,
Brownlow. Having finally found a buyer for
their loss-making sports footwear subsidiary, Hi-
form, they’ve rejected a take-over bid from a
leading French retail chain which has been
looking to buy into the British market for some
time. This activity has moved Brownlow’s shares
up by twenty per cent to ninety-six pence.
There’s a lot of interest in the Lek energy
group, which recently bought Westwales
Electricity. To the relief of Westwales managers,
Lek haven’t brought in their own people to run
the company. Despite predicted job cuts of
something like a third of the engineering staff,
no announcement has been made, and indeed,
Lek’s comprehensive training scheme has been
opened to all grades of staff in Westwales. Back
to you, Jane.
Woman: We’ve had a number of emails from
investors asking what to do with their shares in
gas and electricity companies after their
consistently poor performance recently. Many of
you might be thinking of getting rid of yours as
quickly as possible. But financial experts are
fairly optimistic about the outlook for the power
sector, and investors may do better to see what
happens over the next few months. With so
many other investors deciding to cut their losses
and sell now, interest in this sector may increase,
and that, of course, would push share prices up.
Pharmaceutical companies have done well
today. Recently we’ve seen several periods of
rapid expansion in this sector, only for it to be
overtaken a short time later by the strong
financial institutions. But I actually think the
recent performances of pharmaceuticals
companies has hidden a steep drop in the share
prices of many other companies. All other
sectors have lost considerable amounts, but this
simply has not been reflected in the overall value
of the market, because pharmaceuticals
companies are keeping the value high.
 /

Test 3

Looking next at the sectors whose troubles Part 2

have been in the news recently: supermarkets,
8 D 9 F 10 С 11 E 12 A
having suffered a downturn in business for over
a year, at last have some reason for optimism.
Part 3
The leisure industry, which has suffered even
more than supermarkets, is also showing signs 13 D 14 В 15 С 16 A 17 В
of a turnaround. The same cannot be said of the 18 С
building sector, though, which expects little
relief for at least another six months. Part 4
Charles . . .
19 D 20 С 21 A 22 С 23 D
Man: One company in the news is Freewaves,
24 С 25 A 26 С 27 A 28 В
which owns a chain in internet cafes. Like
29 D 30 A 31 A 32 В 33 В
other new companies, Freewaves has tended to
pay low dividends to investors, preferring to
Part 5
re-invest profits in research and development.
Although Freewaves was able to turn in a 34 TO O 35 C O R R EC T 36 RESULTS
healthy profit in the first quarter, taking 37 BY 38 C O R REC T 39 SO
everyone by surprise, the company has now 40 CON CERN IN G 41 C O R REC T
declared operating losses close to a million 42 ONES 43 THAT 44 ABOUT
pounds. This, of course, will make 45 C O R REC T
shareholders think about whether to keep their
shares.
And news from Simpson’s, the big retail Test 3 Writing
group. For years Simpson’s have been acquiring
other chains, giving them a strong market Part 1
position, and they now sell everything from Sample A
make-up to computers. But today Simpson’s
announced that they are to consolidate their Dear colleagues,
three home improvement chains into one, under As I adviced you in our last meeting, there will be
the Fresca name. a visit from health and safety inspectors on
Woman: Now for the figures . . . Monday, 1st April from 9 a.m. until 15 p.m.
The inspection is necessary for our quality
[pause]
management certificate.
N ow listen to the recording again. Please be prepared for the inspection by telling the
staff to tidy up their workplace.
[pause] Regards
That is the end o f Part Three. You now have ten
minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Band 5
Sheet. All the content points are successfully addressed,
[pause] with a controlled, natural use of language, and
evidence of a wide range of vocabulary and structure.
N ote: Teacher, stop the recording here and time
ten minutes. Remind students when there is one Sample В
minute remaining.
That is the end o f the test. It was decided that health and safety inspectors
would visit our factory to see how it is working.
The reason of this inspection is for our staff’s
safety and health. It is assumed to take about a
Test 3 Reading week. We are expected to give them a certain right
to inspect them.
Part 1
1C 2D ЗА 4 В 5 A 6B Band 3
7 С The email is reasonably organised and the range of
vocabulary and structure is adequate. However,
the third content point is not clearly addressed.

109
Key

Part 2
Sample С
Report on efficiency of different advertising
methods
Introduction
This report aims to evaluate different advertising
methods Norlec is currently using.
Findings
The key findings are summerised bellow.
Direct mails to customers did not achieve the
expected results because not many people read
them.
The number of prospectivs who learnt about
Norlec from its website is likely to increase due to
the new link to some wholesaler’s sites.
Printed advertisings are very effective particularly
those in specilised magazines.
For this reason the number of magazins should be
increased.
The other methods are similar to last year’s
results.
Conclusion
It was concluded that radio and magazin
advertisements are still the leaders.
Recommendations
Inspite of the high annual costs for radio
advertising this method is suggested to be
continued because most customers were reached
by it.
Due to expected increase of prices for billboard
advertising it is recommended to give this up.
Band 4
All the content points are adequately covered and
satisfactorily organised. As well as achieving an
appropriate register, the candidate demonstrates a
good range of vocabulary, e.g. ‘key findings’. There
are, however, a number of spelling errors.
Sample D
Introduction
The aim of this report is to find out which
methods of advertising are the most effective for
us.
Findings
The result of reasearch clearly shows that 40% of
customers met first Norlec on radio. We spent a
lot of money, but we got a valuable effect. In spite
of the fact that costs of magazines are definitely
much cheaper than billboards, magazines are
more effective than billboards. Nowadays internet
users are increasing dramatically, and it is the one
of the increasing advertising market. Therefore,
figures of website likely to increase, while they are
surfing Internet, they learns about Norlec. Many
people do not read direct mail any more.
Therefore, costs of direct mail is similar with
magazines but the effect of this is the lowest.
Conclusion
It is concluded that radio, magazines, and website
are the most effective methods.
Recommendations
It is recommended that billboards advertising will
be stopped because of increasing costs and value.
We also recommend that we need to try more
magazines.
Conclude
Band 2
The content points are addressed, using a
satisfactory range of language. However, the
message is obscured by poor organisation and
coherence.
Test 3 Listening
Part 1
1 CUSTO M ER DATABASE
2 COM M UNICATIONS D IREC TO R
3 PRODUCT DEM O N STRATION
4 M EDIUM
5 RACING WEAR/RACING CLOTHES
6 SPECIFICATIONS
7 PRICE LISTS
8 SPARE PARTS
9 RETAIL PARK
10 LOADING AREA
11 RECEIPT
12 (OLD) PH O TO CO PIER

Part 2
13 E 14 F 15 С 16 A 17 H
18 E 19 A 20 D 21 H 22 С

110

Part 3
23 С 24 A 25 В 26 В 27 С
28 А 29 С 30 В
Tapescript
Listening Test 3
This is the Business English Certificate Vantage 2,
Listening Test 3.
Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
You will hear three telephone conversations or
messages.
Write one or two w ords or a number in the
numbered spaces on the notes or form s below.
After you have listened once, replay each recording.
Conversation One. Questions 1 to 4.
L oo k at the form below.
You will hear a conversation betw een two
salespeople at B-A-S, a softw are company.
You have 15 seconds to read through the form.
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
[pause]
Man: Hi, Janet. This is Alan. I’ve just had an
interesting conversation with a man from
Electrolin. It should really be followed up with a
visit or something - but I’m on holiday from
tomorrow, so could you do it for me?
Woman: Sure. Is he interested in the accountancy
package?
Man: I wish he were! For the time being, he’s only
asking about a customer database. Something to
keep a record of contacts and action taken.
Woman: OK. W ho’s the contact person? Is it the
sales manager?
Man: N ot this time. It’s the new communications
director, Steve M cCormack.
Woman: OK. The first thing they’ll want to do is
look at it, so I’ll give him a ring and suggest he
comes here for a product demonstration.
Man: That’s a good idea. Can you arrange it
before I get back?
Woman: I should think so. How urgent is it?
Should I contact him immediately?
Man: I wouldn’t say it’s top priority. More like
medium, I’d say. Get in touch with him when
you’ve got time. Anyway, uh, thanks. Bye for
now. I’ll talk to you again soon.
Test 3
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
Conversation Two. Questions 5 to 8.
L ook at the notes below.
You will hear a sales representative phoning a
colleague at H ead Office.
You have 1 5 seconds to read through the notes.
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Man: Whiteway Cycles. Phil M oore, Sales.
Woman: Hello, Phil. It’s me - Sandra.
Man: Hi, Sandra. What can I do for you?
Woman: We’ve just got the sales literature for the
Paris trade show next week, and there’s some
problems. Can you get it sorted out for me?
M an: Go ahead.
Woman: First of all, we need some more
catalogues for racing wear. There’s a lot of
interest in it, especially the shorts and shoes.
M an: OK. Er, thirty enough?
Woman: That should do it. And you know the
little pull-out leaflet for the new children’s
cycles? Well, there’s a mistake on the third page.
The specifications for the wheels are wrong.
M an: Oh, that’s bad. We’ll change that and get
you new copies by the weekend. Anything else?
Woman: Erm . . . Yes, the touring cycles - the
lightweight ones - I can’t find any price lists for
them. Please ask if they’ve been sent out.
M an: OK. And are you all right for order forms?
Woman: No! Thanks for reminding me. We’re
short of forms for spare parts. Could you send
us some more?
Man: Right, got that.
Woman: Ah, that’s it then. Thanks, Phil.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12.
L o o k at the form below.
You will hear a customer telephoning a company
abou t a delivery.
You have 15 seconds to read through the form .
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Ill
Key
Woman: Hello, A-P-T Office Equipment.
Man: Hello. This is John Raymond, from Planet
Design Shops. Pm calling about our order for
a security camera. It’s being dispatched
tomorrow and the driver will need delivery
instructions.
Woman: OK . . .
M an: Address first - the order confirmation gave
the retail park as the delivery address, but your
invoice has our central branch.
Woman: Oh . . .
M an: That’s not where we want it to be delivered.
The confirmation was right.
Woman: OK.
M an: Now, parking . . . the spaces opposite the
shop are for disabled drivers only, so your driver
should use the loading area while he sets up the
equipment.
Woman: I’ve got that.
Man: We’ll have payment ready for you.
Woman: That’s fine. Thanks. I’ll make out a
receipt for the driver to give you when he makes
the delivery. Will you be paying by cheque?
Man: Yes.
Woman: And you have something for the driver to
collect, I understand.
Man: Yes. We’ve come to the end of the rental
period on our photocopier - we’ve bought a
new model, so the old one’s to be returned.
Woman: Right, the driver will call you tomorrow
with a definite time . . .
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Fart One. You now have 20
seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Fart Two. Questions 13 to 22.
Section One. Questions 13 to 17 .
You will hear five short recordings.
For each recording, decide what action the speaker
is proposing.
Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
D o not use any letter m ore than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings.
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
[pause]
112
N ow listen, and decide what action each speaker is
proposing.
[pause]
Thirteen
Man: We’ve looked at various measures and we’ll
be making recommendations to senior
management next week. We think the company
should consider introducing an evening shift to
maintain seventy per cent capacity on all the
machines. We’re also aware of the hold-ups on
the packaging line, and we’d like to bring in an
additional machine and split the line in two.
That’ll speed things up. We did consider bonus
schemes for certain categories of employee, but
decided that this wouldn’t have sufficient impact.
[pause]
Fourteen
Woman: When we first acquired the factory
premises, the rent was well within our means.
But because that area of the city has developed
more quickly than others, it’s now a prime site
and the cost of retaining it has risen accordingly.
In fact, we would make considerable savings by
relocating to the industrial estate on the other
side of town, which would improve product
distribution, anyway. A second suggestion is to
vacate the top floor of the building - we do have
fewer staff now.
[pause]
Fifteen
Man: As you know, we adopted various measures
three years ago with the aim of boosting sales.
We managed to increase output and cut costs by
introducing new machines. We also cut our
profit margins still further. But even though we
were able to lower prices as a result, I’m afraid
we still didn’t meet targets. The demand for this
particular commodity just isn’t there any more,
so we should stop production as soon as current
contracts expire.
[pause]
Sixteen
Woman: I think your analysis of the situation is
correct. The product is already doing very well,
but demand hasn’t peaked yet, by any means.
And if we want to take full advantage of a
boom, we’ve got to step up our promotion and
have mechanisms in place to increase
manufacturing capacity if necessary. And that
means we’ll need additional funding before long.

So, let’s start approaching people who’ve
expressed an interest in us in the past.
[pause]
Seventeen
Man: Two or three years ago there were ten, or
even twenty, applicants for every job we
advertised, but things have changed.
Unemployment in general is right down and
everyone’s competing for workers now,
especially skilled labour. If we want to get good
people, and retain them, we’ll have to offer a
better package. I’m not suggesting we put wages
up yet; I think we ought to try other things first,
like one-off welcome payments, relocation
allowances, and, possibly, loyalty bonuses.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
[pause]
Section Two. Questions 18 to 22.
You will hear another five recordings.
For each recording, decide what the speaker’s
reason was fo r accepting their present job.
'Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
D o not use any letter m ore than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings.
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
[pause]
N ow listen, and decide what each speaker’s reason
was fo r accepting their present job.
[pause]
Eighteen
Man: I was actually quite happy where I was, but
when the opportunity came along to work for
Tindall’s, I thought, I can’t say no, can I? O f
course, the extra I’m earning now goes on travel
to work, but I still reckon it was a good move,
because if I decide to change jobs in the future, I’ll
only have to say I work for them, and any other
company in this field will be glad to take me on.
[pause]
Nineteen
Woman: I was looking to move into a managerial
role, and applied for jobs all over the country, as
I was prepared to live anywhere. To my surprise
Test 3
I got two offers, both from pretty well-known
companies. There was very little to choose
between them, but my working environment is
very important to me, and this place had just
been completed. The salary wasn’t quite so
good, but I felt that the benefits outweighed the
disadvantages, so I came here.
[pause]
Twenty
Woman: On the whole I was happy where I was,
working in a new, very well-designed building,
nice colleagues, and the company provided
plenty of training. But I was stuck behind a desk
all day. Then I saw the ad for my present job -
similar field of work, just a different way of
doing it - and decided to apply. Now I’m on the
road most of the time, meeting people, and I get
to go abroad as well, which is great.
[pause]
Tiventy-one
Man: When I applied, I did a crash course in a
computer programme I hadn’t used before,
because the advert said knowledge of it would
be an advantage. That helped me get the job, so
it was money well spent. The pay’s no better, but
with share options and things on top, it was
worth changing. I miss the place where I used to
work, though, which was inconvenient but had
character. You certainly can’t say that about
these modern office blocks.
[pause]
Twenty-two
Woman: The job was getting more and more
demanding. And with the commuting on top of
it, I had very little time for other things. My new
job is based just as far from my home, but the
advantage is the direct rail link, which means I
spend half as long travelling to work. I’m doing
much the same as before, organising a training
programme, though now it’s for a company in a
different sector.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
That is the end o f Part Two.
[pause]
Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You will hear the Purchasing M anager o f a
manufacturing company giving a presentation to
113
Key
senior management abou t four possible new
suppliers.
For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, В or
C) fo r the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have 45 seconds to read through the questions.
[pause]
N ow listen, and m ark A, В or C.
Woman: As you know, the main supplier of our
components announced suddenly last month that
they were closing down shortly, leaving us in a
very difficult situation. I shortlisted four potential
replacement suppliers, and have visited them all.
I’ll report on each, though I’ve only found one
company that meets our needs entirely.
Initially, I was optimistic about the first
company I saw. I was given an enthusiastic
welcome and generous hospitality by the M D,
but when he took me on a tour of the factory, I
began to have a few doubts about his
commercial expertise. The factory is enormous -
a converted aircraft shed, I think, almost too big
to be practical. There is certainly enough
machinery to produce the quantities we need,
and that, of course, is vital.
However, I had one main concern. The
company has recently invested heavily in state-of-
the-art production equipment and in a
comprehensive training programme for machine
operators. But I was surprised to see that half the
factory wasn’t in use because several important
customers had cancelled orders. I was reassured
that orders are dispatched quickly, and delivery
times are impressive, and distribution isn’t a
problem - but I’d need to inspect their products
more closely to see if the quality’s what we require.
The second company looked promising too,
because they are based in the region that
produces the natural resources to make our
components. Everything needed for their
activities is available on their doorstep. They
have a good working relationship with the local
mine owners, who are known to have good
safety records. During my visit, the company
went into great detail about the quality
inspections carried out on the material before it
leaves .the mines.
This company seemed to have no problems
with transport - until I looked more closely. The
factory is in a very mountainous region, about
six hundred kilometres from the capital city.
Passenger flights are fairly frequent, taking under
two hours, but the journey by road can take
114
days. The roads are really inadequate - the
whole infrastructure needs massive investment.
There is a seaport just over the border with the
neighbouring country, which would certainly cut
down on distance, but, as far as I can see, it
might also bring other problems. We simply can’t
risk depending on such fragile communications.
The third company I looked at, on the other
hand, is on the coast, with good access to the
main seaport. Transport and shipping of goods
are well organised and, in fact, they own a
haulage company as one of their subsidiaries.
The production unit is new - built and equipped
with the help of investment from the Ministry of
Industry. W hat’s more, company workers are
involved in decision-making, and industrial
relations are excellent. Perfect so far.
Unfortunately, though, their finished products
are not of the quality we demand. The
specifications are right for our components, so
no modifications in design would be necessary.
But when I did a quick inspection, I found a
higher percentage of faults than we’d be
prepared to tolerate. If we chose them, we’d
certainly have to negotiate longer warranties
than those they’re offering at present.
The final company I visited seems to have
everything, though. It’s ten years old, well
established, located between the capital and a
major seaport. The company has grown rapidly
and has just modernised its factory, thanks to a
loan from the World Bank, which has enabled it
to install the most up-to-date equipment
available on the market. The production unit is
now fully automated, and efficiency is the
company’s great strength.
This company has a well-deserved reputation
for the quality of its finished goods. Given their
high standard, it’s not surprising that the costs are
considerable, and they’re asking higher prices than
the other companies I visited. But I’m confident
we’ll be able to negotiate on this. The key point in
their favour, in my opinion, is their ability to meet
deadlines for the duration of a long-term contract.
It’s easy to meet one deadline, of course - the
difficult thing is to do it all the time.
To sum up, then . . .
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Part Three. You now have ten
minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer
Sheet.
 ✓

Test 4

[pause] Band 5
All the content points are covered, with controlled,
N ote: Teacher, stop the recording here and time
natural use of language.
ten minutes. Remind students when there is one
minute remaining.
Sample В
[pause]
To: Despatch Co-ordinator
That is the end o f the test. From: Mrs Zoss
Mr Little, who is the manager of River Company,
informed me about the order that had not been
Test 4 Reading arrived. He ordered 5000 white paper, 5000 pale
grey paper and 1000 envelopes. I think we should
Part 1
get the order ready again and sent it asap.
1 С 21A 3 В 4 D 5 A 6
Thank you
7 D

Part 2 Band 3
All content points are addressed. The range of
8 D 5> F 10 в 11 A 12 С language is adequate and errors are non-impeding.

Part 3 Part 2
13 A 14 A 15 B 16 С 17 с Sample С
18 В
Dear Sir or Madam
Part 4
I would like to thank you for your letter, dated
19 С 20 A 21 В 22 D 23 A 15.5.2003.
24 В 25 D 26 В 27 A 28 D Firstly, unfortunately, we have an international
29 С 30 A 31 С 32 В 33 D conference on the 10th of June.
Therefore, this date is not convenient for us.
Part 5 Could you please start at the 11th of June?
34 FO R 35 C O R REC T 36 THE Furthermore, we would like to know how long
38 W ITH 39 C O R REC T the work will take.
37 OF
40 SUCH 41 C O R REC T 42, SO
43 TYPE 44 AROUND 45 IT Concerning the numbers. The system you
announced seems to be difficult. Is there an easier
way to handle this problem with different
numbers?
Test 4 Writing
Part 1 As for our further requests, could we have a direct
telefon number as well as the name of the person,
Sample A dealing with us?

To: Despatch department
From: Y. Brown - Manager
Subject: Failure arrival order client
Dear sir,
According to recent information the ministry of
foreign affairs has not received its latest printing
order.
Following details are: one hundred copies of
financial statements 2002, please check cause of
failure and resend copies as soon as possible.
Kindest regards
We are looking forward to paying the bill as soon
as the work is successfully finished in case of any
theesing problems.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Band 4
The content points are more than adequately
addressed. A range of discourse markers and
linking devices is used. Both the register and
format are appropriate to the task, and the
language is generally accurate.

115
Key

Sample D Part 3
23 С 24 A 25 A 26 С 27 A
Dear Mr Young, 28 В 29 В 30 С
Thank for you letter about install new telephone
switchboard in our office. But there are some
problems we should solved. First, on Tuesday 10 Tapescript
June in our office will take part a celebration of
our companys’ anniversary. So you can start Listening Test 4
installation after 10 June in any time you would This is the Business English Certificate Vantage 2,
be able to do it. Listening Test 4.
Second, I would like to know how many days’
work will be. Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
Next, I would like to mention that the system of
You will hear three telephone conversations or
numbering an extention numbers is to
messages.
complicated, and I hope that you can suggest me
any other way to solve that problem, that you 'Write one or two words or a number in the
suggesting me now. num bered spaces on the notes or form s below.
Also, can you tell me the name of your technical
representative. After you have listened once, replay each recording.
As you see there are some technical problems with Conversation One. Questions 1 to 4.
installing new telephone switchboard, and after
solving these problems and when the job would be L o o k at the form below.
finished we pay for you. Looking forward to
You will hear a woman leaving an answerphone
hearing from you.
message fo r a company.
Yours sincerely,
You have 15 seconds to read through the notes.
Band 3 [pause]
The content points are covered adequately, and the
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
format and register are satisfactory. While the
organisation and cohesion are generally Woman: Hello. This is a message for M ax Jacobs.
satisfactory, there are instances where the reader is It’s Alison Gates from Merland Healthcare
not clearly informed. calling. We’re currently working on a website
for our healthcare products and we’re looking
for a company like yours to develop a database
Test 4 Listening for us. The reason I’m contacting you is that I
spoke to one of our suppliers and he was very
Part 1 positive about the work you’d done for him.
1 DATABASE I’d be very glad if you could contact me. I’m
2 SUPPLIER away all next week but I’ll still be able to access
3 HOWARTH my emails - the best thing would be for you to
4 IT CO-ORD IN ATOR email me at: agates (all one word) at howarth-
5 (QUALITY) DESIGN dot-com. ‘Howarth’ spelt H-O-W-A-R-T-H, then
6 EUROPE dot-com.
7 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN If you are interested, the best thing would be
8 DISCOUNTS for us to meet. It would also be useful for you to
9 CO M M ERCIA L HALL talk to our IT co-ordinator at the same time. So
10 380 (SHAREHOLDERS) if you could indicate your availability over the
11 M ICRO PH O NES next few weeks, that’d be good. I look forward
12 AMENDED FIGURES to hearing from you. Goodbye.
[pause]
Part 2
N ow listen to the recording again.
13 D 14 G 15 A 16
18 G 19 В 20 A 21 [pause]

116

Conversation Two. Questions 5 to 8.
L o o k at the notes below.
You will hear a marketing manager reporting on
sales o f a product.
You have IS seconds to read through the notes.
[pause]
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
M an: Mike Shepherd.
Woman: Hello, it’s Karen Peterson here, from
Marketing. I’ve been called away on urgent
business, but I wanted you to have my report on
the MusicM ate cassette player to discuss at the
Directors’ meeting this morning.
Man: Oh, right. OK then, I’d better make a note
of this.
Woman: Right. MusicMate has been our second
all-time best-seller, with a reputation based on
quality design at an inexpensive price.
Man: OK, I’ve got that.
Woman: Sold originally only on the Asian market,
it was then launched in Europe, which rapidly
overtook Asia in sales volume, giving us a sure
sign that the USA, an even bigger market,
should be our next target.
M an: Fine. I don’t think we’ll be making any
decisions about new markets, though.
Woman: OK, back to the UK market then. I think
it’s important not to neglect our loyal customers
here. What would be really helpful would be a
new advertising campaign, but I’m aware there’s
not enough in the budget for that. So I’m
suggesting that the way forward is to offer
greater discounts - this should form the basis for
our marketing plan. That’s it. Oh, and, also, any
rumours of my department wanting to phase out
MusicMate are false. We’re very optimistic
about its future.
Man: Fine . . . Well look, it’s been a pleasure
talking . . .
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12.
L o o k at the notes below.
You tvill hear a woman phoning fo r information
abou t a meeting.
You have IS seconds to read through the notes.
[pause]
Test 4
N ow listen, and fill in the spaces.
Woman: M ike, this is Tessa Jones. About the
shareholders’ meeting on the twenty-fourth.
Man: Yeah.
Woman: The Managing Director says there won’t
be enough room at the Bankers’ Institute.
M an: So what’s the alternative?
Woman: We contacted the Commercial Hall -
they can take us, but they need the booking
immediately. You’ve got all the details.
M an: OK. W hat do you need to know?
Woman: First, how much seating should we
book?
M an: Well, there are seven hundred and twenty
shareholders, but only about half of them ever
turn up. So three hundred and eighty chairs
would be adequate.
Woman: Mm, what sort of equipment should we
ask for?
M an: There’ll be five members of the Board on
the platform - they’ll each need a microphone
and we’ll also need a couple of OHPs. A video
won’t be necessary.
Woman: Right, and what about photocopies? I
can see to those. W hat do we need done?
M an: Oh, the agenda - that’s essential. The
shareholders have already received the annual
report, of course, but there were some mistakes
in it so we’ll need to hand out amended figures
at the meeting. I’ll let you have those to copy.
Woman: OK. I’ll get them done and make sure
there are staff available to hand them out. I’ll
talk to you later.
Man: Fine. Bye.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Part One. You now have 20
seconds to check your answers.
[pause]
Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.
Section One. Questions 13 to 17.
You will hear five short recordings.
For each recording, decide ivhich opinion the
participant gives about a seminar.
Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
recording.
D o not use any letter m ore than once.
117
Key

After you have listened once, replay the recordings. style wasn’t exactly entertaining. I noticed that a
few of the other participants looked rather fed
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
up, too. I was just glad that it was only a half­
[pause] day event.
N ow listen, and decide which opinion each [pause]
participant gives abou t a seminar.
Seventeen
[pause]
Woman: I usually enjoy seminars. It’s a chance to
Thirteen get away from the office, and there’s the
opportunity to share experiences. I know these
Woman: I only went because several colleagues
events aren’t cheap, especially when the
who’d been before said how great it was. To be
speaker’s somebody well known. At this
honest, I usually get bored at these events.
particular seminar I went to, the speaker was
Instead of just listening to someone talking, I’d
unknown so I was unsure how good it would
rather be doing something. But as everyone had
be, but I found it really useful - it gave me new
recommended it, I had high hopes it’d be good,
ideas on selling techniques, which I’ve already
and I wasn’t disappointed. I found the speaker
started using . . . with some success. So I’d say it
really entertaining; the thing was, he couldn’t
was well worth the fee.
cover everything - they should have allowed a
full day. [pause]
[pause] N ow listen to the recordings again.
Fourteen [pause]
Man: I know you’re supposed to pick up lots of Section Two. Questions 18 to 22 .
new ideas at these seminars and I suppose it was
You will hear another five recordings. For each
useful - I did get a few ideas, which is just as
recording, decide which aspect o f business the
well because now I’ve got to give a talk to staff
speaker is talking about.
on the same topic. What I was actually hoping
for, though, was to be able to make the most of Write one letter (A-H) next to the number o f the
the opportunity in other ways, too. As some of recording.
the other participants I networked with may well
Do not use any letter m ore than once.
become major clients, I’d definitely go again.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings.
[pause]
You have 15 seconds to read the list A-H.
Fifteen
[pause]
Woman: The seminar was held in a really smart
hotel. I did wonder how much my company was N ow listen, and decide which aspect o f business
having to pay for me to attend. I hope they each speaker is talking about.
think it was worth sending me along. I tried to
[pause]
take lots of notes just in case my manager asked
me to write a report about it afterwards. I must Eighteen
admit, though, I didn’t write much because
Woman: I think where we went wrong was in
although the speaker was highly entertaining, I
assuming that price is always the most
couldn’t exactly say I learnt anything new.
important concern, and simply keeping our
Shame, really.
margins low. Clearly, by doing this we haven’t
[pause] managed to regain market share. Our marketing
consultant has suggested that we change our
Sixteen
strategy and give increased attention to other
Man: Well, what we covered was all really things which are very important to people, such
important stuff, some of which was mainly as reliability - of quality and of delivery - even
common sense. And I’ll certainly be trying out if it involves charging more.
the ideas I picked up. The trouble was, I know
[pause]
the speaker’s someone quite well known - he’s
even had a book in the best-seller list - but his

118
 4
Nineteen
M an: We’ll be implementing various measures as
quickly as possible. In the short term, we’re
going to reduce the number of quality control
staff on the factory floor - we think we can do
this without causing too many problems. We’re
also looking at the supplier of our metal casings
- we think we can negotiate a better deal for
these elsewhere. And we also need to give
serious thought to the question of overheads.
[pause]
Twenty
Woman: I’ve looked at the figures for the last five
years and they’re rather worrying. I feel we must
do something to retain people longer. As things
are, the cost to the company isn’t easy to
quantify - we don’t have any reliable method of
calculating it - but it must be considerable. After
all, it takes quite a few weeks, or months -
depending on the type of work, for anyone new
to achieve maximum productivity, because
there’s so much information to acquire.
[pause]
Twenty-one
Man: Our assets are very healthy - the capital
value of the hotel building has almost doubled
since we acquired it. But although we’ve
renovated about a third of the rooms, we can’t
complete the programme without funds, and we
can’t generate any substantial income until we
start trading. So we’ve decided to open for
business immediately, and offer discounts to
compensate for the inconvenience of the ongoing
building work. We’re sure there’ll be a market.
[pause]
Twenty-two
Woman: Research suggests that saturation point
was reached in this country some time ago,
despite falling prices. So we shouldn’t expect
consumption here to increase much more in the
future. However, income levels in our traditional
overseas markets are steadily rising, so a
product like ours, which is regarded as a luxury
there right now, will soon be regarded as a
necessity. So, in general terms, the figures will be
much as they were.
[pause]
N ow listen to the recordings again.
[pause]
Test 4
That is the end o f Part Two.
[pause]
Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You will hear a discussion between two .
consultants, Christina Shaw and David Yates,
about a management training program m e for a
company called Sandfords.
For each question 23-30, m ark one letter (A, В or
C) fo r the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have 45 seconds to read through the
questions.
[pause]
N ow listen, and m ark A, В or C.
Woman: Well, that was an interesting visit to
Sandfords this morning.
Man: Yes, I’d really like to get the contract with
them. They’d be an excellent company for our
portfolio.
Woman: Absolutely. Talking to the department
managers was extremely useful. How did you
get on in discussion with the senior management
team?
M an: Mm, a similar experience - very
informative. I was impressed - they’re operating
in a highly competitive market, yet they’re
totally committed to investment in training.
Woman: N ot all companies take that view, of
course, especially when the economy is on a
downturn.
M an: Quite. Sandfords’ view is long-term. Instead
of being satisfied that they’re already known as
a good company to work for, they want their
management programmes to create an
established, committed team and keep those
people in the company.
Woman: The staff I spoke to had plenty to say
about the training they received in the past.
Man: So did the senior managers. As you
probably found out, they’ve always tried to run
their own in-house programmes before, using
the knowledge areas of a number of their own
personnel. They were very keen for management
training to be attended by all managers - of
course, they rarely succeeded in getting everyone
together at the same time. Sessions kept getting
cancelled and people were generally irritated by
the changes to arrangements, though those
sessions that did take place were well received,
especially ones on the more specialist topics.
119
Key
Woman: Yes, the middle managers I interviewed
commented that they’d like training to cover
more specialist areas. To be honest, though, I
think they’re involved in such a lot of training of
new and existing junior staff that they don’t
fully appreciate the benefits of receiving training
themselves.
M an: Mm . . . could be challenging for us then.
Woman: Yes. Whilst welcoming the efforts of
senior management, one of the marketing
managers I spoke to was quite open about his
and his colleagues’ views . . . he made the point
that there was a widespread feeling that the
motivation behind this new programme wasn’t
clear. They thought it might be used as a way to
assess their performance. Because of that, they
hadn’t been able to make up their minds either
way about whether they were in favour.
M an: OK, well, let’s think about the content of
the programme.
Woman: Right, well we must include sessions on
the areas they’ve actually asked for. Let’s have a
look . . . customer care and presentation
techniques were certainly on their list.
M an: Didn’t some of them mention negotiating
skills as well?
Woman: OK, let’s kick off with what they
identified as their priority areas - so we could do
presentation techniques this time round and
then put forward a proposal for sessions on
negotiating skills and customer care and
anything else they might want in the future.
Man: That sounds good. We’ll go with that.
Woman: We should have more chance like that of
fitting in with people’s availability.
Man: Well, the company always tried for
residential courses at weekends before.
Woman: I gather that wasn’t popular. Also, the
managers I spoke to weren’t keen to come into
work even earlier for training sessions.
120
M an: Mm. Well, if we start off with a series of
full-day events during work time, I think that’d
be best.
Woman: Yes, sessions early in the morning would
be too short - we wouldn’t achieve much.
Man: OK, we’ll propose that.
Woman: Did you discuss when we’d start?
M an: I suggested March - I’d have liked to get
this contract underway before the end of our
financial year, and we’re already quite booked
up from the end of May onwards.
Woman: Don’t they have a big launch coming up
in the first week of April?
M an: Yes, they said M arch will be hectic, so as
soon as the launch is over and they’ve had a
week to clear up would fit in best.
Woman: OK. So what needs to be done next?
Shall we put together a proposed schedule?
Man: Mm, we’ll need to do that soon. For now,
we’ve got to get on with devising a survey to go
out to everyone included in the programme. We
can start working on costings to send to their
senior management as soon as we’ve done that.
Woman: OK, let’s ju s t . . .
[pause]
N ow listen to the recording again.
[pause]
That is the end o f Part Three. You now have ten
minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer
Sheet.
[pause]
N ote: Teacher, stop the recording here and time
ten minutes. Remind students when there is one
minute remaining.
That is the end o f the test.
Test 1
READING 1 hour

PART ONE

Questions 1-7

• Look at the statements below and the text on the opposite page about the use of
coaching in staff development.
• Which section (А, В, С or D) does each statement (1-7) refer to?
• For each statement (1-7), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• You w ill need to use some of these letters more than once.

Example:

0 the best coaches being com m itted to their w ork and feeling pleased w ith what
they achieve

A B C

1 the contact between coach and employee not solving all difficulties at work

2 the discussion of how certain situations could be better handled if they occur again

3 a coach encouraging an employee to apply what has been taught to routine work
situations

4 coaching providing new interest to individuals who are unhappy in their current positions

5 coaching providing a supportive environm ent to discuss performance

6 employees being asked to analyse themselves and practise greater self-awareness

7 coaching enabling a company to respond rapidly to a lack of expertise in a certain area

18
 Reading

C o a chin g

Coaching involves tw o or more people sitting down together to talk through issues
that have come up recently at work, and analysing how they were managed and how
they m ight be dealt w ith more effectively on subsequent occasions. Coaching thus
transfers skills and inform ation from one person to another in an on-the-job situation
so that the w ork experience of the coach is used to advise and guide the individual I
being coached. It also allows successes and failures to be evaluated in a non- j
threatening atmosphere. I

Coaching means influencing the learner's personal development, for example his or her
confidence and ambition. It can take place any tim e during an individual's career.
Coaching is intended to assist individuals to function more effectively, and it is a powerful
learning model. It begins where skills-based training ends, and helps individuals to use
form ally learnt knowledge in day-to-day work and management situations. Individuals
being coached are in a demanding situation w ith their coach, which requires them to
consider their own behaviour and question their reasons fo r doing things.

The coach professionally assists the career developm ent of another individual, outside
the normal manager/subordinate relationship. In theory, the coaching relationship
should provide answers to every problem, but in practice it falls short of this. However,
it can provide a space for discussion and feedback on topics such as people management
and skills, behaviour patterns, confidence-building and tim e management. Through
coaching, an organisation can meet skills shortages, discuss targets and indicate how
ain
employees should deal w ith challenging situations, all at short notice.
в work

D
sitions
Effective coaches are usually those who get satisfaction from the success of others and j
who give tim e to the coaching role. Giving people coaching responsibilities can support
their development, either by encouraging management potential through small-scale
one-to-one assignments, or by providing added job satisfaction to managers who feel
:s
they are stuck in their present jobs. A coach is also a confidential adviser, accustomed
to developing positive and effective approaches to com plex management,
>area
organisational and change problems. I

19
Test 1

PART TWO

Questions 8-12

• Read the article below about a catering company.

• Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
• For each gap (8-12), mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).

BUFFET ZONE
Lucy Robertson started working a t a take­ have to move to larger premises. In 1994, the
aw ay food business to supplement her move was m ade when she bought another
incom e during her student days a t Edinburgh catering business th a t already had a number
University. Several years later she had bought of profitable contracts for boardroom
the business and now, 17 years on, she owns lunches.
Grapevine Caterers, probably Scotland's
leading independent caterers, with a turnover Meanwhile, Robertson's main competitor, the
of almost £6m. oldest catering com pany in Edinburgh, was
causing her some anxiety, 'Customer loyalty is
She had never planned to own a business, and not to be underestimated,' she warns. But
had certainly never considered a career in Robertson is not someone who is easily put off.
catering. (0) ... .. , However, her unplanned (1 1 ) Partly as a result of this, turnover
career began in 1985, when she returned to doubled, and having outgrown another site,
Edinburgh and discovered tha t the takeaw ay Robertson bought a city-centre location for
she had worked in was up for sale. On impulse, the group's headquarters.
she bought it, but admits th a t a t the time she
knew nothing a b o u t catering. ( 8 ) ................It By now, Grapevine's main com petitor was a
was a difficult time, but essential in terms of new catering com pany called Towngates.
gaining the experience she needed. The late Although Robertson tried to raise enough
1980s boom was good for business, with large money to buy Towngates, she did not
numbers of office workers wanting takeaw ay succeed.Then luck intervened and Towngates
food for their lunches. (9) 'At one point went bankrupt. (12) .............. Many a cce p te d
there were 26 food outlets within a 5-kilometre and the com pany's turnover w ent from
radius/ Robertson recalls. As the econom y £700,000 to £1,5 million almost overnight.
changed and the once packed office blocks
sfarted to becom e vacant, it becam e clear However, the com pany's growth was not as
tha t Robertson would need to diversify, smooth as it sounds in retrospect. Robertson
(10) It changed the direction of theadmits, 'We were close to the edge during the
com pany for good. growth period. Like many under-capitalised
com panies trying to grow, it might easily have
As Robertson began to win catering con­ collapsed.' But that, she feels, is the challenge
tracts, she decided that the com pany would I of developing your own business.

20
 Reading

А В С/ D E F G
Example:
i— i i— i i— i i— i i— i i— i mm

A But there are plenty of sim ilar contracts to be won in the east of Scotland before
Robertson turns her attention elsewhere.

В Her way round this particular problem was to recruit the catering manager of the
rival company.

С But this demand was short-lived, and before long, increasing com petition made
it harder to make a profit.

D 'It was a dramatic learning curve and very small amounts of money were earned
at first,' says Robertson.

E She decided that the solution, since many companies required w orking lunches
fo r meetings w ith clients, was to prepare and deliver meals to business
premises.

F On hearing this, Robertson im m ediately contacted all of their clients and offered
the services of Grapevine Caterers.

G Instead, she studied accountancy after leaving university, and a steady if

unspectacular professional path seemed set.

21
Test 1
PART THREE
Questions 13-18
• Read the article below about an image consultant who advises people on how to
present themselves in the w orld of work, and the questions on the opposite page.
• For each question (13-18), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF
We manage our own careers now. So knowing
how to brand and position yourself in the
market as ‘Me pic’ at different stages of your
working life is becoming an increasingly vital
skill. At least that is what image expert Mary
Spillane believes. ‘Employment as we know it is
decreasing. Jobs don’t exist, work exists. In the
next decade most of us will be suppliers, not
staff. We will have clients not bosses. If you are
under 30, you probably know that there is only
one firm to join for life: Me pic. It promotes you
and your potential to others.’
‘We’re working in multi-national, multi­
cultural, multi-corporate teams and it’s impor­
tant to understand the implications of this. We
need to create a personal brand that is unique,
but complements the brand of the corporation
we are working for. You have to find a way to do
it so that you are not just a typical employee,’
advises Spillane. ‘You have to decide what
central values you want to project, and also
what may need to alter from situation to situa­
tion.’
Many people only remember Mary Spillane
for the years she spent running a cosm etics
company, but she actually has masters degrees
in information science and politics. She used to
hide that hard-hitting side, but is now eager to
show it and forget about cosm etics. ‘Now that
I’m working in the boardrooms of major pics
and global companies, I’m playing up my
degrees and management background so that
the image side is seen only as an addition to the
value side,’ says Spillane.
Some contracts take longer than others. ‘The
City law firms I’m currently working for are
really difficult because they don’t have any idea
of what their brand should be, and are still very
22
traditional even when talking about becoming
modern. I’m showing them how to do every­
thing from changing their reception areas -
which tend to be very off-putting with their
high-fronted reception desks - to how to make
small talk that is less formal and rigid.
Companies rebrand themselves all the time,
spending millions on new office interiors and so
on. But without an underlying change of atti­
tudes, it can prove an empty exercise.’
She argues that for individuals too, there
must be more than a surface change, as
rebranding goes deeper than a mere change of
wardrobe. Beyond advice on appearance, she
tells clients, ‘Remind yourself of what you are
selling: the personal values that comprise your
brand. Learn to present yourself in a way that
will project what you want to deliver. Lifelong
learning is essential, together with the sort of
discovery and adventure that promote per­
sonal growth. Always have an up-to-the-minute
CV ready to print out, refreshing it every few
months with your most recent achievements,
just to remind others of your brand value.’
She believes it is essential that you under­
stand both your public self and your private
self, as well as your blind spots and your poten­
tial, in order to create an effective brand. ‘The
public self is the image you project to the world,
the private self is what you know about yourself
but others don’t, and blind spots are those
things that others see about you but you can’t
see for yourself. By deciding what image you
want other people to see, emphasising more of
your private self and sorting out a few blind
spots, you will increase not only your potential
to influence others, but also your self-esteem
and self-confidence.’
 Reading

13 In the first paragraph, Mary Spillane says people should learn how to market
themselves because

A it encourages companies to give them a job fo r life.

В in the future it w ill be a company requirement.
С in many careers it is becoming d ifficult to succeed.
D it w ill help them adapt to developments in the job market.

14 Spillane says that, when creating a personal brand, it is im portant to

A change things depending on the circumstances.

В decide what image people w ould like you to present.
С make sure that colleagues feel at ease w ith your image.
D fo llo w the example of someone in the company you w ork for.

15 W hat do we learn about Spillane in the third paragraph?

A She is embarrassed about her career w ith a cosmetics company.

В She doesn't like talking about her academic background.
С She has qualifications many people are unaware of.
D She worries about how other people see her.

16 Which problem does Spillane refer to when talking about the companies she is
presently working with?

A They find it d ifficult to accept her ideas.

В They are unaware o f how to rebrand themselves.
С They don't want to spend large amounts of money.
D They are unw illing to modernise their w ork environment.

17 When advising people on rebranding themselves, Spillane tells them to

A attend courses to gain specialist skills.

В update regularly their w ritten proof of what they can do.
С try out different ways of presenting themselves to others.
D remember that what they look like is the most im portant point.

18 Spillane says that, in order to rebrand yourself successfully, it is im portant to

A ask fo r other people's opinions about your image.

В feel confident about what you are trying to achieve.
С learn how to make use of all aspects of your character.
D model yourself on people w ith a certain am ount of influence.

23
Test 1

PART FOUR

Q uestions 19-33

• Read the text below about planning.

• Choose the best word or phrase to fill each gap from А, В, С or D on the opposite
page.
• For each question (19-33), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answ er Sheet.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).

Planning
In any planning system , from the sim plest budgeting to the m ost com plex corp o­
rate planning, there is an annual ( 0 ) . . . . . T h is is partly due to the fact that firm s
(19) their accounting on a yearly (20)............, but also becau se sim ilar (21)..........
often occu r in the m arket.

U sually, the larger the firm , the longer the planning takes. B u t typically, planning
for next year may start nine m onths or m ore in advance, with various stages o f
evaluation leading to (22)......... o f the com plete plan three m onths before the start
o f the year.

P lanning continu es, however, throughout the year, since m anagers (23) .........
progress against targets, while looking forward to the next year. W hat is happen­
ing now will (24) ......... the objectives and plans for the future.

In today’s business clim ate, as m arkets constantly change and b ecom e m ore diffi­
cult to (25) .......... , som e analysts believe that long-term planning is pointless. In
som e m arkets they m ay be right, as long as com panies can build the sort o f flexi­
bility into their (26) ........... w hich allows them to (27)........... to any sudden changes.

M o st firm s, however, need to plan m ore than one year ahead in order to (28).........
their lon g-term goals. T h is m ay reflect the tim e it takes to com m ission and build
a new production plant, or, in m arketing (29) .......... , it m ay be a question o f how
long it takes to research and launch a range o f new products, and reach a certain
(30) ......... in the m arket. If, for exam ple, it is going to take five years for a p articu ­
lar airline to becom e the (31) ......... choice am ongst business travellers on certain
routes, the airline m ust plan for the various (32) ........... involved.

Every one-year plan, therefore, m ust b e (33) in relation to longer-term plans,

and it should contain the stages that are necessary to achieve the final goals.

24
 А make up В carry out С bring about D put down

20 А basis В grounds С foundation D structure

21 А distributions В guides С designs D patterns

22 А approval в permission с consent D decision

23 А value в inspect с review D survey

24 А command в prom pt с influence D persuade

25 А guess в speculate с reckon D predict

26 А operations в techniques с measures D exercises

27 А answer в respond с counter D reply

28 А move в lead с develop D benefit

29 А expressions в descriptions с words D terms

30 А reputation в position с situation D influence

31 А desired в selected с preferred D supposed

32 А acts в steps с means D points

33 А handed over в drawn up с made out D w ritten off

25
Test 1

PART FIVE

Questions 34-45

• Read the job advertisement below.

• In most of the lines (34-45) there is one extra word. It is either gram m atically incorrect
or does not fit in w ith the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.
• If a line is correct, w rite CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.
• If there is an extra w ord in the line, w rite the extra w o rd in CAPITAL LETTERS on
your Answer Sheet.
• The exercise begins w ith tw o examples, (0) and (00).

И 0 ы0 0 0 0 0 □
00 и 0 0 0 □ 0 0 0
Customer Services Director
0 Our client is w ell known as a producer of branded products in the home

00 im provem ent sector. The business is experiencing a period of such significant

34 volum e and profit growth and as a result is now looking to appoint itself a

35 Customer Services Director. This position involves in reporting directly to the

36 Managing Director and key responsibilities include the control and developm ent

37 of the process fo r ordering goods. W hile through the management and

38 m otivation of tw enty staff, you w ill be seen the focal point of managing

39 custom ers' expectations, from keeping them up to date at all tim es w ith the

40 progress of their orders. This role is a challenging one and calls fo r an individual

41 w ith those top-level interpersonal and com m unication skills and a good

42 understanding o f process management. In return fo r the company offers the

43 right candidate w ith a highly com petitive salary and benefits package. Assistance

44 w ith relocation expenses, if appropriate, that is also available. If you feel you have

45 the qualifications fo r this exciting role and are looking fo r a challenge, please w rite

in confidence to:

26
 Writing

WRITING 45 m inutes

PART ONE

• You are a manager in a large company. You have been inform ed that a member
of your staff often arrives late fo r work.
• W rite him a memo about the problem:
• saying how often the member of staff arrives late
• describing the effect on other staff
• suggesting what the member of staff should do about the situation.
• W rite 40-50 words.

M EM O

To: P. Jones

From:

Date: 21 November 2002

Subject: Lateness

27
PART TWO

You work in the Customer Services Department of a m ail-order company. You

have been asked to prepare a short report for your line manager about
complaints.
Look at the inform ation below, on which you have already made some
handwritten notes.
Then, using all your handwritten notes, w rite your report.
W rite 120-140 words.

Custom er com plaints (2002)

600 ^
500
400 y
300 x
200

im p r o v 6 il \
o r d e r s y s + e rrv
in + r o d u c i ie d

Reasons for complaints (Jan - March)

\
❖ Incorrect order delivered - 16%
❖ Time taken to deliver - 56%
❖ Product quality unsatisfactory - 28'

S a .y w h a .+ \
[<, b e i n g done
a _in a .b o u c+ + lo tS
 Listening

USTENING 40 m inutes (including

10 m inutes' transfer tim e)

■ART ONE

Questions 1-12

• Ifou w ill hear three telephone conversations or messages.

• V. 'ite one or tw o w ords or a num ber in the numbered spaces on the notes or
*orms below.
• Aner you have listened once, replay each recording.

Conversation One

Questions 1-4)

• _ook at the form below.

• You w ill hear a man asking a colleague fo r inform ation about a form er employee.

Personnel Record

NAME: S+ephe.r> (D ................................................

ADDRESS: 183 S d h o o l R o o d ,
B c u rrv fis .Id , 8TP

DEPARTMENT: (2) ...............................................................................................

POST HELD: о) ....................................................... ^+е.гу'»рог,о.г'У)

MONTHLY SALARY: (4) - t .........................................................................................

29
Conversation Two

(Questions 5-8)

• Look at the note below.

• You w ill hear a man describing a problem w ith an order.

WHILE YOU WERE OUT

Message for: Stever Kirby
From: И а _гК J o re s

Company: (5 )...........................................................................

Message

Re: S to _ tio r e r y o rd e r

P ro b le m w i t h th e <6).................................................. o rd e re d .

The (7 ) ..... ............................r e ed 5 0 0 a_rd he re e d s ~750.

A ls o (8 )..... .................................r e e d s to be r ^ p o s itio r e d .

 Listening

Ic^versation Three
Q uestions 9-12)
• _ook at the notes below.
• •'ou w ill hear a wom an making the arrangements fo r a delegation who are going
:o visit her company.

Delegation visit - things to do

P r - e .p a .r 'S O.Q (9)

Book Ip m lucQ C-h СL+ (10) ..................................

A o . \ w h sm a . r 'y ^ i v e .
a_+ t h e (i d

■fi Y ~ S f .

31
Test 1

PART TWO

Questions 13-22

Section One

(Questions 13-17)

• You w ill hear five short recordings.

• For each recording, decide which type of document the speaker is talking about.
• Write one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• After you have listened once, replay the recordings.

13
A an invoice
14 В a price-list
С a bank statement
15 D a receipt
E a company cheque
16 F a balance sheet
G a contract
17 H an expenses claim form

Section Two

(Questions 18-22)

• You w ill hear another five recordings.

• For each recording, decide w hat the speaker's purpose is.
• Write one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recordings.

18
A to make a com plaint
19 В to deny something
С to offer assistance
20 D to ask fo r advice
E to express doubt
21 F to ask fo r permission
G to explain an action
22 H to recommend a new policy

32
 Listening

PART THREE

Questions 23-30

• You w ill hear the chairman of a business institute making a speech about new
business awards that his institute has sponsored.
• For each question (23-30), mark one letter (A, В or C) fo r the correct answer.
• After you have listened once, replay the recording.

23 The aim of the 'Business Today' com petition was to reward

A good product design.

В skilful project management.
С rapid financial success.

24 How many companies were chosen to compete in the final of the competition?

A four
В fourteen
С forty

25 The types of products which the finalists were developing

A caused considerable problems fo r the judges.

В were all connected w ith the food industry.
С involved a com m on set of developm ent aspects.

26 According to the speaker, what are small firm s good at?

A fitting new products in w ith current production

В recording methods used in developing new products
С developing new management structures for new products

27 The speaker believes big companies document innovation well because of

A the num ber of staff available.

В the involvem ent of senior management.
С the insistence on regular procedures.

28 The panel was impressed by Natura because they had

A invested considerable tim e inventing a new product.

В researched new ways of manufacturing their product.
С investigated new overseas markets fo r their product.

33
Test 1

29 The judges praised the links between developm ent teams in sm aller companies SPE
and

A senior management.
В suppliers.
С the market. PART

30 The companies sometimes had problem s because the suppliers The in

A could not understand the specifications. In this

В could not meet the deadlines. have t
С could not rely on their subcontractors.
PART

'M in i |

In this
have t
minuti

34
Ф
 Speaking

SPEAKING 14 m inutes

SAMPLE SPEAKING TASKS

PART ONE

The in terview - about 3 m inutes

In this part the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You
have to give inform ation about yourself and express personal opinions.

PART TWO

'M in i presentation' - about 6 m inutes

In this part of the test you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You
have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk fo r about one
minute. You have one m inute to prepare your ideas.

A WHAT IS IM PORTAN T W HEN ... ?

Entertaining clients
• Types of activities
• Cost

В WHAT IS IM PORTANT WHEN ... ?

Choosing retail premises to rent
• Location
• Length of contract

С WHAT IS IM PORTANT WHEN ... ?

Deciding on packaging for products
• Image
• Production process

35
Test 1

PART THREE

Discussion - about 5 m inutes

In this part of the test you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look
at the prom pt card, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to
discuss the topic w ith your partner. A fter that the exam iner w ill ask you more
questions related to the topic.

For tw o candidates

Work Experience Programme

The manufacturing company you work for has decided to offer a two-
week work experience programme for a small group of students from a
local business college.
You have been asked to help with the preparations for this programme.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what kinds of work experience the company might offer
• how the participants should be selected.

For three candidates

Work Experience Programme

The manufacturing company you work for has decided to offer a two-
week work experience programme for a small group of students from a
local business college.
You have been asked to help with the preparations for this programme.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what kinds of work experience the company might offer
• how the participants should be selected
• what feedback and evaluation should take place after the programme
has finished.

36
 Speaking

*
ft» low-on questions

• What other preparations w ould the company need to make before receiving work
experience students? (Why?)

• What are the advantages to a company of offering a work experience programm e

to business students? (Why?)

• What do you think is the most useful kind of work experience for business
students? (Why?)

• What help w ould you give a student on their first day of work experience? (Why?)

• Which areas of business w ould you like to have more experience of? (Why?)

• In what ways can businesses develop close links w ith the com m unity?

37
Test 2
READING 1 hour

PART ONE

Questions 1-7

• Look at the statements below and the text on the opposite page about the
importance of listening to people.
• Which section (А, В, С or D) does each statement (1-7) refer to?
• For each statement (1-7), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• You w ill need to use some of these letters more than once.

1 Sometimes it is necessary to insist on further explanation.

2 You shouldn't focus on your response w hile others are still speaking.

3 People are reluctant to adm it that they don't listen well.

4 There are benefits in seeing things from the speaker's perspective.

5 Keen observation of the speaker can support our listening skills.

6 It is risky to think about a different issue while someone is speaking.

7 People do not mind hearing their own views summarised.

38
 Reading
4

G o o d lis te n e r, b e tte r m a n a g e r

Too often we accuse others of not listening, pretending that we ourselves are faultless,
yet in our hearts we know that many of the mistakes we make come about because we
haven't listened carefully enough. We get things wrong because we haven't quite
understood what someone meant when they were talking to us. Anyone who has ever
taken the minutes of a long meeting w ill know how hard it is to remember - despite the
benefit of notes - exactly what everyone said. But success depends on getting things
right - and that means listening.

Listening is not the same thing as hearing; it is not an effortless activity. It demands
attention and concentration. It may mean quizzing the speaker for additional
inform ation or fo r clarification - it is always better to ask than to continue regardless
and get things wrong. However, if you allow your mind to wander onto som ething else,
even for a few minutes, you'll miss what the speaker is saying - probably at the very
m om ent when he or she is saying something critical. And not having heard, you w on't
know you've missed anything until it's too late.

The most com m on bad habit we have is to start thinking of what we are going to say
about the subject long before the other speaker has finished. We then stop listening.
Even worse, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have decided what
to say there is a fair chance you w ill interrupt to say it. Good listeners don't interrupt. In
fact it is often worth explaining the main idea of what you have just been told before
going on to make your own points. Nobody is offended by this and it shows that you
have listened well.

Above all be patient and accept that many people are not very good communicators.
It's helpful to remember that the ways people move and position themselves w hile they
are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying. Equally im portantly
you should put yourself in the other person's place, both intellectually and em otionally;
it w ill help you to understand w hat they are getting at and form a response. But don't
be too clever. Faced w ith a know-all, many people keep quiet because they see no point
in continuing.

39
Test 2
PART TWO
Questions 8-12
• Read the article below about recruiting staff.
• Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
• For each gap (8-12), mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).
F in d in g th e r ig h t p eop le
W hen a sm all com pany grows, m an ag e rs
m u s t tak e on m an y new roles. B esides th e
day -to-day ru n n in g of th e b u sin e ss, they
find th em selves re sp o n sib le for, am ong
o th e r th in g s, re la tio n s w ith ou tsid e
in v estors, in cre ased levels of cashflow an d ,
h a rd e s t of all, re cru itm en t.
F or m o st m a n a g e rs of sm all a n d
m ed ium -sized en terp rises, th e job of
sea rch in g for, interview ing a n d selecting
sta ff is difficult a n d tim e-consum ing.
(0) ... 9r... . Interview ing, for exam ple, is a
highly skilled activity in itself.
‘We have found th e whole p ro cess very
h a r d ,’ say s D an Baker, founding p a rtn e r of
a PR com pany. ‘In seven y e a rs we have
grow n from five to eighteen staff, b u t we
have n o t found it easy to locate a n d re c ru it
th e rig h t people.’ ( 8 ) ................ As D an B aker
ex plains, ‘We w en t to one for o u r first
re c ru itm e n t drive, b u t they took a lot of
m oney in advance a n d d id n ’t p u t forw ard
anybody su itab le. In th e end we h a d to do
it o u rselv es.’
M ost re c ru itm e n t decisions a re b a se d on
a pile of CVs, a couple of sh o rt interview s
a n d two c a u tio u s references. David Rowe, a
b u s in e s s psychologist, stu d ie d how
a p p o in tm e n ts w ere m ade in five sm all
co m panies. He claim s th a t selection w as
rarely b a se d on clear criteria. (9 )..............
T his kin d of a p p ro a c h to re c ru itm e n t often
h a s u n h a p p y co n seq u en ces for b o th
em ployers a n d new re cru its.
40
S m all co m panies often know w h a t kind
of p erso n th e y are looking for. (1 0 )...............
A ccording to David Rowe, th is m ean s th a t
sm all com pany m a n a g e rs them selves have
to devote m ore tim e a n d energy to
re cru itm en t. It sh o u ld n 't be so m eth in g th a t
is left to th e evenings or w eekends.
M any com panies s ta r t th e re c ru itm e n t
p ro c ess w ith over-optim istic id eas a b o u t
th e type of p erso n th a t will fit into th e ir
team . ‘It’s very easy to say you m u s t have
th e b e s t people in th e top p o sitio n s,’ say s
Alex Jo n e s, m an ag in g p a rtn e r of a n
executive re c ru itm e n t com pany. ‘B ut
som eone w ho is excellent in one com pany
m ay n o t do so well in a n o th e r environm ent.
(11) You c a n never g u a ra n te e a
su cc essfu l tra n s fe r of sk ills.’
W hatever th e c a n d id a te ’s qualifications,
th e ir p erso n al qu alities a re j u s t a s
im p o rta n t since th ey will have to in teg rate
w ith existing m em bers of staff. T his is
w here, th e re c ru itm e n t in d u stry arg u es,
th ey c a n really help.
A ccording to Alex Jo n e s , ‘A good
re c ru itm e n t agency will visit y o u r com pany
a n d a s k a lot of q u estio n s. ( 12) .......................
T hey c a n a s k a p p lic a n ts all so rts of
q u estio n s you d o n ’t like to a s k a n d p re se n t
you w ith a s h o rtlist of people w ho n o t
only have th e skills, b u t w ho a re likely to fit
in w ith y o u r com pany’s w ay of doing
th in g s.’
 Reading

Example:

A A finance director in a big company, fo r example, w ill often make a terrible small
company finance director because he or she is used to having a team doing the
day-to-day jobs.

В More often than not, the people making the choice prioritised different qualities
in candidates or relied on guesswork.

С Recruitment w ould seem an obvious task to outsource, but the company's

experience of recruitm ent agencies was not encouraging.

D They need paying for that, of course, but you w ill have them w orking fo r you
and not fo r the candidate.

E They are usually in very specific markets and the problem they face is that
recruitm ent agencies may not really understand the sector.

F This means that companies cannot spend more than the standard ten minutes
interview ing each applicant.

G Yet few are trained and com petent for all aspects of the task.

41
Test 2
PART THREE
Questions 13-18
• Read the article below about Smithson's, a British departm ent store, and the
questions on the opposite page.
• For each question (13-18), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answ er Sheet.
D epartm en t
For most o f the 2 0 th century Smithson's w a s one o f
B ritain's most successful de p a rtm e n t stores, but by
the m id -1 9 9 0 s, it had becom e dull. Still p ro fita b le ,
thanks la rg e ly to a series o f successful a d vertising
ca m p a ig n s, but d e c id e d ly b o rin g . The famous
w e re care fu l not to be seen there, and its sales staff
d id n 't seem to have cha ng ed since the store
op en ed in 1 9 0 8 . W o rst o f all, its customers w e re
buying fe w e r a n d fe w e r o f its o w n-b ra nd products,
the m a jo r p a rt o f its business, and sho w in g a
preference fo r m ore fa sh io n a b le brands.
But no w all this has ch a n g e d , thanks to Rowena
Baker, w h o becam e Sm ithson's first w o m a n C h ie f
Executive three years a g o . Since then, w h ile most
m a jo r retailers in B ritain have been losing money,
Smithson's profits have been rising steadily. W h e n
Baker started, a lo t o f im provem ents had just been
m ade to the b u ild in g , w ith o u t ha vin g a n y effect on
sales, a n d she too k the bo ld decision to invite one
o f Europe's most e xcitin g in te rio r designers to
d e ve lo p the fashion are a, the heart o f the store.
This ve ry q u ickly led to rising sales, even before
the go od s on d is p la y w e re ch a n g e d . A n d as sales
grew , so d id profits.
Baker had am b itio us plans fo r the store from the
start. 'W e 're p la y in g a b ig ga m e, to prove w e 're
up there w ith the leaders in ou r sector, and w e
have to make sure p e op le get that message.
Smithson's had fallen be hind the com p etitio n. It
p ro v id e d a tra d itio n a l service targe ted a t m iddle-
a g e d , m iddle-incom e customers, w h o 'd been
sho pp ing there fo r years, an d the custom er base
w as g ra d u a lly co n tra ctin g . O u r idea is to sell such
an e xcitin g va rie ty o f go od s that eve ryon e w ill
w a n t to com e in, w h ethe r they plan to spend a little
42
Store M a g i с
o r a lo t.' Baker's vision fo r the store is clear, but
a ch ie vin g it is fa r from sim ple. A t first, m any
em ployees resisted her im provem ents because
they just w o u ld n 't be persuaded th a t there w as
an ythin g w ro n g w ith the w a y th e y'd a lw a ys d o ne
things, even if they acce pted that the store had to
overtake its com petitors. It took m any long
m eetings, in volving the entire w o rkfo rce , to w in
their support. It helped w hen they realised that
Baker w a s a v e ry d iffe re n t kind o f m an ag er from
the ones they had know n.
Baker's staff po licies co n ta in e d m ore surprises.
The uniform that had h a rd ly ch a ng ed since d a y
one has no w d isa p p e a re d . M ore ove r, teenagers
no w g e t you ng shop assistants, an d staff in the
sports departm ents are themselves sports fans in
trainers. As Baker e xp la ins, 'H o w can you sell
jeans if y o u 're w e a rin g a bla ck suit? Smithson's
has a ne w identity, and this needs to be m ade
cle ar to the custom ers.' She's also given every
sales assistant re sp o n sib ility fo r ensuring customer
satisfaction, even if it means occa sio n a lly
b re a kin g co m p a n y rules in the hope that this w ill
help co m p a n y profits.
Rowena Baker is p ro vin g successful, but the C ity's
big investors ha ven 't been persuaded. A c c o rd in g
to retail analyst, John M a tthe w s, 'M o n e y had
a lre a d y been invested in refurbishm ent o f the store
a n d in fa ct that led to the boost in sales. She took
the cred it, but h a d n 't d o ne an ythin g to achieve it.
A n d in m y v ie w the com p an y's shareholders are
not con vin ced. The fact is that unless she opens
several m ore stores pretty soon, Smithson's profits
w ill start to fall because turnover a t the existing
store w ill in e vita b ly start to d e c lin e .'
t
 Reading

13 According to the writer, in the mid-1990s Smithson's departm ent store

A was making a loss.

В had a problem keeping staff.
С was unhappy w ith its advertising agency.
D m ostly sold goods under the Smithson's name.

14 According to the writer, Smithson's profits started rising three years ago
because of

A an im provem ent in the retailing sector.

В the previous w ork done on the store.
С Rowena Baker's choice of designer.
D a change in the products on sale.

15 According to Rowena Baker, one problem which Smithson's faced when she
joined was that

A the num ber of people using the store was falling slowly.
В its com petitors offered a more specialised range of products.
С the store's prices were set at the wrong level.
D customers were unhappy w ith the service provided.

16 According to the writer, many staff opposed Baker's plans because

A they were unw illing to change their way of working.

В they disagreed w ith her goals fo r the store.
С they felt they were not consulted enough about the changes.
D they were unhappy w ith her style of management.

17 Baker has changed staff policies because she believes that

A the corporate image can be improved through staff uniform s.

В the previous rules were not fair to customers.
С customers should be able to identify w ith the staff serving them.
D employees should share in company profits.

18 W hat problem does John Matthews think Smithson's is facing?

A More money needs to be invested in the present store.

В The company's profits w ill only continue to rise if it expands.
С The refurbishm ent of the store is proving unpopular w ith customers.
D Smithson's shareholders expect a quick return on their investments.

43
Test 2

PART FOUR

Questions 19-33

• Read the introduction below to a book about relationships at work.

• Choose the best word to fill each gap from А, В, С or D on the opposite page.
• For each question (19-33), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).

M ANAGING UPWARDS

Managing a career on the way up is quite different from managing one at the (0) . . . . . . . of an
organisation. Individuals on the way up have to build relationships with the people they (19) to.
They usually have to (20) ........... with subordinates in addition to people at the same level as
themselves. The most senior staff only have those under them to relate to. This book (21) the
idea that all working relationships, including the relationship with one’s boss, can and should be
managed.

You do not have to be (22) ........... than your manager in order to manage the relationship. N or do
you have to be better than your manager in any (23) ............. Your manager may well be your career
(24) ........... and guide: he or she may have taught you almost everything you know about your
(25) ........... of business - and may continue to teach you more. You may be planning to remain under
his or her guidance in the future. None of these (26) ........... should alter your relationship with your
manager or (27) .......... you off ‘managing upwards’. I use this phrase to (28) .......... to the
management of one’s boss because, for many people on the way up, it is the first relationship they have
to get right.

You can, of course, get on at work just by (29)........... positivelyto your manager, but that is not likely
to be the most successful way to (30) your working life. An active policy of managing upwards
will make you more successful and, at the same time, make the business of going to work more
enjoyable. It can also be a way to show (31) to your manager for the efforts he or she has made
on your (32) ............ Finally, managing upwards will make it easier for your manager to manage you,
leaving him or her more time for other (33) ......... and tasks.

44
 Reading

Example:

A height В peak С point D top

o А В С D
[=1 1=1 mm

19 A notify В inform С account D report

20 A unite В contact С handle D deal

21 A promotes В presses С advertises D convinces

22 A clearer в deeper с smarter D fuller

23 A respect в fashion с part D means

24 A leader в supporter с adviser D helper

25 A course в line с path D route

26 A factors в aspects с causes D topics

27 A put в see с keep D take

28 A specify в identify с indicate D refer

29 A giving в operating с reacting D co-operating

30 A run в forward с move D make

31 A appraisal в value с appreciation D regard

32 A advantage в benefit с side D behalf

33 A posts в roles с positions D acts

45
Test 2

PART FIVE

Questions 34-45

• Read the article below about the w inner of a business award.

• In most of the lines (34-45) there is one extra word. It is either gram m atically incorrect
or does not fit in w ith the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.
• If a line is correct, w rite CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.
• If there is an extra word in the line, w rite the extra w o rd in CAPITAL LETTERS on your
Answer Sheet.
• The exercise begins w ith tw o examples, (0) and (00).

Examples:
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
p

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Personal Assistant o f the Year

0 Anne-Marie Garrard was shocked when it was announced that she had won the

00 Personal Assistant of the Year award. The other candidates seemed me

34 to be very strong, and I have to say I found that the selection procedure really

35 hard,' she says. 'I didn't think I had any chance of w inning. When I heard my

36 name, my legs were so weak I could only hardly stand up,' she laughs. So

37 how is 'the best' personal assistant chosen from a group of so extrem ely good

38 and very different individuals? The final decision was reached after a

39 day-long session of the tests, interviews and exercises. Garrard believes

40 the skills she uses in her job helped her how to perform well. For instance, although

41 most of her w ork is for her company's Managing Director, she works fo r six bosses

42 in ail, so she always tries out to be prepared fo r anything that m ight happen.

43 As for the future, her firm has closed fo r its sum m er break now; as soon as

44 they w ill open again, there is a pay rise w aiting fo r her. But Garrard is not

45 going to be relax. She says, 'There's always room for personal development.

You must keep trying to im prove.'

46
 Writing

WRITING 45 minutes

PART ONE

• You are the Managing Director of a company whose profits have recently
increased and you w ould like to reward staff fo r this.
• Write a memo to all staff:
• thanking them fo r their contribution
• explaining w hy profits increased
• telling them w hat their reward w ill be.
• Write 40-50 words.

M EMO

To: All Staff

From:

Date: 7 December 2002

Subject: Staff Reward

47
Test 2

PART TWO

• Your company requires a taxi firm that it could use on a regular basis fo r staff
and clients. Your secretary has selected tw o advertisements from the local
newspaper.
• Look at the advertisements below, on which you have already made some
handwritten notes.
• Then, using all your notes, w rite a proposal fo r your line manager, saying which
firm you think your company should use.
• W rite 120-140 words on a separate sheet.

48
 Listening

LISTENING 40 minutes (including

10 m inutes' transfer time)

PART ONE

Questions 1-12

• You w ill hear three telephone conversations or messages.

• W rite one or tw o w ords or a num ber in the numbered spaces on the notes or
form s below.
• A fter you have listened once, replay each recording.

Conversation One

(Questions 1-4)

• Look at the form below.

• You w ill hear a wom an calling about training courses.

Oakleaf Business Training

CHANGES IN BOOKINGS

Caller’s name: £ r » id S + S .v Q .r» S

Course to be changed: (1 )......................................................

Date change:

old date: 8

new date: (2)

Any further action:

ОГ~ j O .fS lA .G J r'j* S C .O \A .> rS Q or»

(4)

49
Test 2

Conversation Two

(Questions 5-8)

• Look at the note below.

• You w ill hear a wom an ringing about problem s w ith a new telephone system.

WHILE YOU WERE OUT

Message for: T o rv ^

From: S h e ila . Pa_lla.S o-f (5 )...............................

Taken by: J S. r'Q , iгулу

Message

Re: +he, phor^S. W S S^+ ucp -fo r + Ц6.ГУЛ

ys.s+ £ rd a ,y

• SyS+Srr» d o ^ S r ^ iyvslucde. (6)

• +he.yVs. ucуч о -Ы е . +o( 7 ) ...................................................... irk+e.r'rkCL.l ly

• inv/oicie. d o ^ S r ^ irKC.Iucde. diScouLr>+ or» (8 ).......................

PI^clss. rir^ he.r b o .ck ASAP.

50

e
........................
 Listening

Conversation Three

(Questions 9-12)

• Look at the note below.

• You w ill hear a wom an calling about the arrangements fo r a meeting.

TELEPHONE MESSAGE
For: J o b r* S itz ^ e r a - ld

Name of caller: S I iZa.be. t b Ра.Г'Г‘6.11

Date: 7 /U/2002

Time: 10, 05

Message: S liZ a .b e .tb w i l l be. ir» th e . USA ucrvHl

r>e.x.t T w .e.sda .y, -Coir a.(9).......................................

C oucld youc:

• th e . t o <10) ............................................. o r*
W e. d r»e. s d a.y

• О-dd 0.1r\ ite.rr> t o t b s . a.^er>da.: tb e . ( ii) ...................... ?

PIe.a.SS p b o r*e . S liZ a .b e .tb t o d a . y a . t (12) ..............................

51
Test 2

PART TWO

Questions 13-22

Section One

(Questions 13-17)

• You w ill hear five short recordings.

• For each recording, decide which book the speaker is talking about.
• Write one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• After you have listened once, replay the recordings.

13 ...............................
A Effective Time Management
14 ............................... В Training that Works
С An Introduction to Advertising
15 ............................... D How to Advertise Successfully
E Organising a Successful Conference
16 ............................... F The Perfect Personal Assistant
G How to W rite Effective Letters
17 ............................... H Passing your Interview

Section Two

(Questions 18-22)

• You w ill hear another five recordings.

• For each recording, decide what reason each person gives.
• W rite one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recordings.

18
A The media advertising appealed to us.
19 ............................... В The company provided a free sample.
С A business contact recommended the
20 ............................... company.
D The com pany had a good reputation.
21 ............................... E The company had a special offer.
F The company was conveniently located.
22 ............................... G The company guaranteed prom pt service.
H The company's prices were competitive.

52 Ф
PART THREE

Questions 23-30
• You w ill hear a radio report about the London stock market.
• For each question (23-30), mark one letter (A, В or C) for the correct answer.
• After you have listened once, replay the recording.

23 How did the stock market perform today?

A It continued the week's steady movement.

В It reached its highest level of the week.
С It finished below an earlier peak.

24 Brownlow, the clothing retailer, has

A sold a subsidiary.
В bought a foreign company.
С been taken over.

25 W hat has happened at Westwales Electricity?

A Training has been offered to the whole workforce.

В The management team has been replaced.
С Many of its engineers have been made redundant.

26 Financial experts advise investors w ith shares in electricity and gas to

A sell them immediately.

В persuade others to sell them.
С delay any decision about selling.

27 W hat is said about the pharmaceuticals sector?

A It is the strongest perform ing sector.

В It is behaving sim ilarly to other sectors.
С It w ill soon be overtaken by other sectors.

28 Which type of business is continuing to experience difficulties?

A supermarket retailers
В leisure companies
С construction firm s

29 W hat is said about Freewaves, the internet cafe chain?

A It has increased its research spending.

В It has just announced a loss.
С It has paid shareholders large dividends.
Test 2

30 W hat is Simpson's planning to do?

A expand by taking over other companies

В reorganise the companies in the group
С increase its market share

You now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.

54
 Speaking

SPEAKING 14 minutes

SAMPLE SPEAKING TASKS

PART ONE

The interview - about 3 m inutes

In this part the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You
have to give inform ation about yourself and express personal opinions.

PART TWO

'M in i presentation' - about 6 m inutes

In this part of the test you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You
have to choose one o f the topics from the three below and then talk fo r about one
minute. You have one minute to prepare your ideas.

A W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Selecting staff for promotion

• Attitude to work
• Current performance

В W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Considering a career change

• Further study or training
• Opportunities for future promotion

С W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Planning an advertising campaign

• Market research
• Selecting appropriate media

55
Test 2

PART THREE

Discussion - about 5 m inutes

In this part of the test you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look
at the prom pt card, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to
discuss the topic w ith your partner. After that the examiner w ill ask you more
questions related to the topic.

For tw o candidates

English Language Training

Your company is planning to offer 30 hours of English language
training to employees.
You have been asked to help with the planning and organisation of the
training.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• how to encourage employees to take part in the training
• what kind of schedule would be suitable for the training.

For three candidates

English Language Training

Your company is planning to offer 30 hours o f English language
training to employees.
You have been asked to help with the planning and organisation of the
training.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• which staff would benefit most from English language training
• how to encourage employees to take part in the training
• what kind of schedule would be suitable for the training.

56
Follow-on questions

• What practical preparations w ould be necessary before running a foreign language

course fo r employees? (Why?)

• What are the advantages of learning a foreign language w ith w ork colleagues?

• Are there any other foreign languages you w ould like to learn? (Why/Why not?)

• W hat ways of learning English are most helpful fo r people w orking in business?
(Why?)

• What kind of help w ith language w ould you give to a foreign colleague who has
just arrived to start a job in your company? (Why?)

• Do you think foreign language skills w ill continue to be useful fo r business in the
future? (Why/Why not?)
Test 3
READING 1 hour

PART ONE

Questions 1-7

• Look at the statements below and the advice about how to deal w ith your boss
on the opposite page.
• Which section (А, В, С or D) does each statement (1-7) refer to?
• For each statement (1-7), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• You w ill need to use some of these letters more than once.

Example:

0 Take notice of your boss's life away from work.

0 А В С D
i--- 1 i--- 1 с—i

1 Listen to what your boss tells you about how w ell you are working.

2 Realise that your boss w ill occasionally need to be left alone.

3 Comment on your boss's work in a positive spirit.

4 Try to impress your boss w ith your thoroughness.

5 Do not hesitate to involve your boss if you have difficulties w ith your work.

6 Show your boss that you are capable of working at a higher level.

7 Speak to your boss, even about matters not directly related to your work.

58
 Reading

M AN AGE YO U R B O S S
Advice from four top business people on how you should treat your boss

The Consultant
No boss likes nasty surprises. Thinking you can solve a serious problem before he or she finds out
is a doomed strategy. Much better to inform your boss about the situation early on, together with
your suggested solution. Also, remember that bosses like praise as much as any employee. Do this
without making it obvious, if only to earn the right to criticise (constructively, of course).
'Consideration' is the key word. Treat bosses as you hope to be treated - it should help you to move
up to the next level.

The Director
Of course there are all the formal things in managing your boss - ensuring that you come to
meetings well prepared, that you have a good eye for detail, and so on. But you also need to
distinguish effectively between things that are important and things that are merely small details.
Bosses like it if you can see 'the big picture' because they want to be able to delegate. So it's all about
psychology, as well as performance.

The Chairman
Bosses want people to understand their objectives, their way of working and the pressures they are
under. If you can understand what sort of individual your boss is, it is easier to appreciate why certain
reactions might arise, and thus avoid problems. Also, keep the lines of communication with your
boss open. You need to receive ongoing feedback on whether your work is effective, asking about
what you do not understand, and, if necessary, discussing personal issues from outside the
workplace. When the gap between you is reduced, so are the difficulties.

The Chief Executive

Understand that a boss w ill want to take the glory when things go well. After all, they take ultimate
responsibility, so they deserve some of the credit. Also, find out about your boss's outside interests,
as this can help to improve the relationship. You may find you have an interest in common. Similarly,
recognise that everyone is human, and there are times when a request from you may be unwelcome.
Get to know your boss's Personal Assistant, who can advise you when it is a good time to talk to
him or her.
Test 3
PART TWO
Questions 8-12
• Read the article below about the advertising industry.
• Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
• For each gap (8-12), mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).
SELL, SELL, S E L L
Last year over £ 13bn was spent on advertising
in the UK and research indicates that most
people will have seen 2m sales messages by the
time they are 30. Advertising is big business and
often acts as the interface between commerce
and culture. W hile there are many adverts that
just irritate, there are some that are miniature
works of art. (0)... Pr... . The advertisers them­
selves believe they are delivering an important
message because р Ш Ш Ж А p ro ­
moting a client’s brand and extending greater
choice to the consumer. (8 )............... Instead of
being free, many TV channels would only be
available on subscription packages of about
£500 per month and newspapers might cost six
times more than their present cover price.
There are many different models of advertising
practice, but no one is precisely sure what
makes a good advert. (9 ) W hile some
try to get you to buy a product, others, such as
anti-smoking campaigns, aim to get you not to
do something. Some adverts are not aimed at
consumers at all, but at retailers, shareholders
o r employees. For example, manufacturers
often advertise their products in trade maga­
zines to reassure retailers that a new brand will
be widely promoted. Petrol companies often
60
choose to emphasise how environmentally
friendly they are; this is to offset any negative
public perceptions of the industry rather than
to persuade consumers to buy an individual
brand of petrol. (1 0 ).............. This is because
petrol is regarded, in advertising terms, as a dis­
tress purchase. W e get it because we can’t do
w ithout it, not because we really want it. In
general, however, the main aim of advertising is
to a.ttcvb'ixa wyov\otoi\ ^vaN'Ydes to a product in
order to create an individual brand that the
consumer can associate with.
W orking out whether an advert has been suc­
cessful is extremely difficult. (11)................ For
example, what persuaded them to buy a car?
You cannot be sure whether it was the adver­
tising, the price, the opposition’s distribution,
changes in the law o r changes in consumer atti­
tudes that was the determining factor. W hat
advertising can’t do is make consumers buy
something they don’t want. It can perhaps per­
suade you to try something once, but if you
don’t like what you get, you won’t try it again.
(12)............... In other words, where there is no
emotional engagement, such as a consumer’s
feelings about a bag of peas, beliefs are much
harder to shift.
 Reading

Example: О А В С D E F G

A Moreover, it is almost im possible to get people to change the way they view
things they are indifferent to.

В Over the last ten years, other form s of advertising, such as direct marketing,
have become increasingly popular as well as scientific.

С They don't, as the industry w ell knows, care enough to be brand loyal to such a
product.

D W hether you accept this argum ent or not, you have to recognise that w ithout
advertising our w orld w ould be very different.

E The problem lies in isolating precisely what motivates people to behave in a

particular way.

F This is partly because not all advertisements are designed to do the same thing.

G The production costs involved in these can reach higher figures than those for
the average movie.

61
Test 3
PART THREE
Questions 13-18
• Read the article below about team w ork and the questions on the opposite page.
• For each question (13-18), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answ er Sheet.
Trouble with Teamwork
Mary Owen examines the role and efficiency of teams
R ecruiters say th at candidates who can give
examples of work they have done as m em bers
of a successful team are in as strong a position
as those who can point to significant individ­
ual achievem ent. Indeed, too m uch of the
latter m ay suggest that the person concerned
is not a ‘team player’ - one of the m ore serious
failings in the book of m anagem ent.
The im portance of being a team player is a
side effect of the increasing interaction across
departm ents and functional divides. Instead
of pushing reports, paperwork and decisions
around the organisation, ‘team s provide a
dynam ic m eeting place where ideas can be
shared and expertise m ore carefully targeted
at im portant business issues,’ says Steve
Gardner, in his book Key M anagem ent
Concepts. He adds, ‘Globalisation has added a
fu rth e r dim ension to teamwork. M ulti­
national team s now study policy decisions in
the light of th eir im pact on the local m arket.’
But is team w orking being overdone? ‘Some
m anagers are on as m any as seven or eight dif­
ferent team s’, says Dr Cathy Bandy, a psychol­
ogist who recently ra n a conference on the
subject. ‘They take up so m uch tim e that m an­
agers can’t get on w ith core tasks.’ Form ing
team s and having m eetings has, she says,
become an end in itself, alm ost regardless of
purpose. There is also the danger of an
unhealthy desire to keep the team going after
the work has been done. ‘People feel the need
to belong, and team m em bership can provide a
kind of psychological support.’
62
The idea behind team w orking is that, when
the rig h t group of people is brought together,
a ‘force’ develops which is greater than the
sum of th eir individual talents. This is often
tru e in sport, w here good players can reach
unexpected heights as m em bers of an in ter­
national team. However, few business situa­
tions have as clear a set of objectives, or as
clear c riteria of success or failure, as w inning
a match.
‘In business, everyone needs to be clear about
w hat the challenge is and w hether a team is
the rig h t way of approaching it’, says Steve
Gardner. ‘Unfortunately, people focus instead
on who the m em bers of the team should be
and w hat roles they are to play’ Dr Bandy
agrees. ‘There is always a danger th at team s
can tu rn into com m ittees,’ she says. ‘In a lot of
situations, one or two individuals would be
m uch m ore effective.’
So what m akes a successful team ? There are
some general qualities th at have been identi­
fied. Steve G ardner recom m ends th at in every
team there should be someone who is good at
researching ideas and another who is good at
shooting down im practical ones. T here should
be those who can resolve the tensions th at n at­
urally occur in a team and others who are
focused on getting the job done. Also, provid­
ing a clear and achievable target at the outset
is the best way of ensuring th at the team will
move on to greater things.
t
 Reading

13 W hat point does the w rite r make about team w orking at the beginning of the
article?

A It is the most successful form of management.

В It has changed the recruitm ent procedure in companies.
С Well-run teams still allow individuals to demonstrate their talents.
D Being a team player is now considered an essential management skill.

14 According to the article, team w ork developed w ith in companies as a response

to

A modern office design.

В changing w ork practices.
С a reduction in adm inistrative tasks.
D the expansion of international business.

15 In the third paragraph, Dr Bandy suggests that

A many employees do not enjoy working in teams.

В some managers are not very effective team leaders.
С some teams are created unnecessarily.
D few teams are well organised.

16 According to the writer, team w ork is more effective in the field of sport because
the players

A know what they want to achieve.

В are more com petitive by nature.
С have more individual talent.
D can be driven by national pride.

17 Steve Gardner and Dr Bandy agree that when a business team is created people
do not pay enough attention to

A the structure of the team.

В alternatives to the team.
С selecting the team members.
D directing the team's activities.

18 What is Steve Gardner's advice on operating a successful team?

A Maintain a flexible approach to membership.

В A llow personalities to develop w ithin the team.
С Select people who fit naturally into certain roles.
D Make every effort to avoid conflict between members.

63
Test 3

PART FOUR

Questions 19-33

• Read the extract below about a bank's human resources policy.

• Choose the best w ord or phrase to fill each gap from А, В, С or D on the opposite
page.
• For each question (19-33), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).

H u m a n R e s o u r c e s P o lic y
CBA B a n k w a s th e la rg e s t fin a n c ia l in s titu tio n to sig n th e e m p lo y e rs’ ‘P eople C om e
F ir s t’ co d e o f p ra c tic e in th e ea rly 1 9 9 0 s . In d o in g so, it c o m m itte d its e lf to th e h ig h e s t
(0)...B.. in h u m a n r e s o u rc e s p ra c tic e s s u c h a s th e c o m m u n ic a tio n of c o m p a n y
(19).......... to em p lo y ees, th e s e ttin g o f in d iv id u a l tra in in g a n d p e r s o n a l (20).........
p la n s , a n d th e h o ld in g o f re g u la r p e rfo rm a n c e (21 ) ........... for all staff.

Like o th e r o rg a n is a tio n s , CBA is re p la c in g th e tra d itio n a l h ie ra rc h y w ith a fla tte r

o rg a n is a tio n a l s tr u c t u r e w h ic h gives em p lo y ee s m o re b ro a d ly d efin e d ( 2 2 ) ................
w ith in th e c o m p a n y . T h e c h a n g e is offering em p lo y ee s g re a te r o p p o rtu n itie s for w o rk
in c ro s s-d is c ip lin a ry p ro je c t te a m s . As a re s u lt, in te rp e rs o n a l (23) .......... a re
e x tre m ely im p o rta n t.

T h e policy s e e m s to b e w o rk in g . T h e re is a g re a t d e a l o f goodw ill a m o n g em p lo y ees,

w h o (24) th e fa c t t h a t c u s to m e r s a tis fa c tio n is th e o rg a n is a tio n ’s c h ie f aim . CBA
c la im s to p u r s u e th is aim for its ow n (25)............... r a th e r th a n a s a m e a n s of e a rn in g
p ro fits for s h a re h o ld e rs .

A n ab ility to re la te to all k in d s o f p eo p le is th e m o s t im p o rta n t a ttr ib u te CBA lo o k s

for in (26).......... r e c ru its . G r a d u a te s a re (27) fo r a tw o -y e a r p e rio d a n d e x p o se d
to all (28).......... o f re ta il fin a n c ia l serv ic es. By th e e n d of t h is tra in in g p erio d , th e y
will h a v e ta k e n t h e ir I n s titu te of B a n k in g e x a m in a tio n a n d , if th e y h a v e (29).........
th e ir p e rfo rm a n c e ta rg e ts , th e y will h a v e (30).......... a jo b a t th e b a n k .

’O n th e w hole, w e a r e n o t lo o k in g for p eo p le s tr a ig h t o u t o f college,’ s a y s h u m a n

r e s o u rc e s m a n a g e r M ary K em p. ‘We w o u ld p re fe r t h a t th e y h a d (31) so m e e x p e ­
rie n c e of life a n d h a d ta k e n a y e a r o u t b e tw e e n sc h o o l a n d college to tra v e l o r d o so m e
k in d o f w o rk .’

T h e c o m p a n y h a s re c e n tly in tro d u c e d a n e w policy o n pay , a n d it is n o w (32).........

to p e rfo rm a n c e th ro u g h b o n u s s c h e m e s , w ith th e objective b e in g to (33) .........
em p lo y ee s for th e ir a c h ie v e m e n ts a n d effort.

64
 Reading

Example:

A levels В standards С guides D measures

0 А В С D
1 1 M i i— 1 i— 1

19 A designs В purposes С ends D objectives

20 A continuation В extension С developm ent D advancement

21 A reviews В trials С revisions D judgem ents

22 A capacities в parts с roles D elements

23 A abilities в talents с assets D skills

24 A recommend в honour с respect D obey

25 A sake в reason с behalf D cause

26 A expected в intended с potential D eventual

27 A taken on в w ritten in с put on D drawn in

28 A fields в areas с regions D parts

29 A arrived в done с passed D met

30 A secured в reached с confirmed D fixed

31 A gained в won с earned D realised

32 A attached в linked с combined D joined

33 A return в reward с recompense D refund

65
Test 3

PART FIVE

Questions 34-45

• Read the text below about meetings.

• In most of the lines (34-45) there is one extra word. It is either gram m atically incorrect
or does not fit in w ith the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.
• If a line is correct, w rite CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.
• If there is an extra word in the line, w rite the extra w o rd in CAPITAL LETTERS on your
Answer Sheet.
• The exercise begins w ith tw o examples, (0) and (00).

Examples: 0
hi 0 □ 0 0 0 0 0
00
hi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Meetings That W o rk
0 A vital skill for anyone running a business it is the ability to communicate

00 effectively. This is particularly im portant in a meeting where com plex arguments

34 need to be put forward and where it is too vital to get the best out of the situation

35 and those present in as little tim e as possible. Before calling a meeting, ask

36 yourself if you actually need one, since so many are unproductive results and do

37 not really need to take place. Sending an email or by using another means of

38 com m unication, such as a sim ple phone call, m ight achieve the desired results in

39 half the time. Having established the need fo r a meeting, so inform those you

40 wish to attend and ask people to be punctual. Concerning the key to a good

41 meeting is an agenda, which needs to be sent out in advance and should state the

42 date, tim e and location. It should also contain the names of those ones who w ill

43 be present and set that out, starting w ith the most im portant, the points for

44 discussion. Ask in advance fo r suggestions fo r items to be discussed about but

45 set a deadline fo r submissions in order to reduce the amount of tim e that has to be

spent under 'A ny Other Business'.

66
 'Writing

WRITING 45 minutes

WRITING

PART ONE

• You are the Managing Director of a manufacturing company. Your factory w ill
soon have a visit from health and safety inspectors.
• Write an email to your departm ent heads:
• saying how long the inspection w ill take
• explaining w hy the inspection is necessary
• telling them how they should prepare fo r the inspection.
• W rite 40-50 words.

Message j Options )
v
T{v fl Departm ent Heads
! & 11
Subject: j Health and Safety Inspection
PART TWO

• You w ork fo r Norlec, an electrical goods manufacturer, and your company

director wants to find out which methods of advertising are the most effective.
Recently the marketing departm ent has asked customers how they first learnt
about Norlec.
• Look at the inform ation below, on which you have already made some
handwritten notes.
• Then, using all your handwritten notes, w rite your report.
• W rite 120-140 words.

How customers learnt about Norlec

Annual advertising costs

Advertising Method Annual Cost

Radio £120,000
Magazines £45,000
Billboards £105,000
Website £25,000
Direct Mail £40,000
 Listening
/

LISTENING 40 minutes (including

10 minutes' transfer time)

PART ONE

Questions 1-12

• You w ill hear three telephone conversations or messages.

• W rite one or tw o words or a num ber in the numbered spaces on the notes or
form s below.
• A fter you have listened once, replay each recording.

Conversation One

(Questions 1-4)

• Look at the form below.

• You w ill hear a conversation between tw o salespeople at BAS, a software company.

RECO RD OF S A L E S C A LL

Salesperson: A lc u i^ В о .Г Л й .Г ^

Client: Electrolin

Products client is interested in: (1 ) ........................................

Name of contact: S tS - V S . И с С о г т а .с :к

Contact’s position: (2 ).......................................................

New contact / i Existing contact [

Action required: А г г а .л ^ а . (3 )................................................

Location: A t BAS (-fa.c.tor"y)

Level of priority: (4 )......................................................

Name of salesperson to follow up enquiry: J c u b v S .t H u c ^ h S -S

69
Conversation Two

(Questions 5-8)

• Look at the notes below.

• You w ill hear a sales representative phoning a colleague at Head Office.

TELEPHONE NOTES

Re: S a .le s L i+S.r'a.+ucr'S. f or~ P a .r'iS S h o w

30 rr»oy~S. d o p iS -S o f +hs. (5 )............................................................

c . cl+ c l I o ^ uc 6 .

C o r r e c t + hs. w h s e l ( 6 )....................................................................................

- fo r' d h ild r e r ^ S d y d le s or» pa.^e. 3 o f le .a _ fle + ,

6 iu c e . r " y m i S S i r » ^ (7 )................................................................................

fo r' l i 0 h f w S . i^ h + f o u c r 'i r ^ c.ydlS .S .

S er»d o ^ d s .ir ^ o y ~ ry ^ S -fo r* (8)................................................

 Listening
✓
Conversation Three

(Questions 9-12)

• Look at the form below.

• You w ill hear a custom er telephoning a company about a delivery.

DELIVERY NOTE

Customer: P la . r > e + Dq.S S h o p s

Order No: 3 0 0 5 7 1

Address for delivery: (9 ).......................................................................

Instructions fo r driver:

P a . r 'k ir * ^ a .v a .ila .b le ir» n o ) .............................................

( r iv e (1 1 ) ...................................................................................... t o c u c S + o n ^ e ir .

C o lle c t o lJ (12 ) ..................................................... -T ro rv > c u c s + o rr> e v ~ .

71
Test 3

PART TWO

Questions 13-22

Section One

(Questions 13-17)

• You w ill hear five short recordings.

• For each recording, decide what action the speaker is proposing.
• W rite one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recordings.

13 ...............................
A attracting investm ent
14 ............................... В revising salaries
С w ithdraw ing a product
15 ............................... D reviewing prices
E increasing production efficiency
16 ............................... F reducing rental costs
G replacing equipm ent
17 ............................... H introducing incentives

Section Two

(Questions 18-22)

• You w ill hear another five recordings.

• For each recording, decide what the speaker's reason was fo r accepting their
present job.
• W rite one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recordings.

18
A modern offices
19 В salary offered
С location of company
20 D opportunity to travel
E reputation of company
21 F training opportunities
G w orking hours
22 H benefits package

72
PART THREE

Questions 23-30

• You w ill hear the Purchasing Manager of a m anufacturing company giving a

presentation to senior management about four possible new suppliers.
• For each question (23-30), mark one letter (A, В or C) fo r the correct answer.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recording.

23 The advantage of the first company is

A the size of the factory.

В the competence o f the MD.
С the production capacity.

24 The speaker is concerned that the first com pany lacks

A sufficient firm orders.

В fu lly trained staff.
С reliable distributors.

25 The speaker was initially impressed by the second company because of

A its relationship w ith employees at the mines.

В its access to the raw materials needed.
С the methods it designed fo r checking safety in the mines.

26 The second company has problems because

A air transport has lim ited capacity.

В the road networks are underdeveloped.
С the seaport is too far away.

27 The third factory visited by the speaker

A is owned by a workers' co-operative.

В was established by a haulage company.
С has financial support from the government.

28 The components manufactured by the third factory

A do not reach the required standard.

В are not accompanied by a guarantee.
С do not match product specifications.
Test 3

29 The final company visited by the speaker

A has rapidly gained a w orld-w ide reputation.

В has recently increased its production area.
С has received a loan to im prove technology.

30 The speaker recommends the final company because

A it has agreed to reduce its prices fo r large orders.

В it can produce goods w ith in the required timescale.
С its products passed the inspection test she carried out.

You now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.

74
 Speaking

SPEAKING 14 minutes

SAMPLE SPEAKING TASKS

PART ONE

The in terview - about 3 m inutes

In this part the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You
have to give inform ation about yourself and express personal opinions.

PART TWO

'M in i presentation' - about 6 m inutes

In this part of the test you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You
have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk fo r about one
minute. You have one m inute to prepare your ideas.

A W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Choosing transport for a business trip

• Convenience
• Cost-effectiveness
•

В W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N

Aiming for promotion

• Quality of performance
• Company loyalty
•

С W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Exporting goods or services for the first time

• Personal contacts
• Professional advice

75
Test 3

PART THREE

Discussion - about 5 m inutes

In this part of the test you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look
at the prom pt card, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to
discuss the topic w ith your partner. A fter that the exam iner w ill ask you more
questions related to the topic.

For tw o candidates

Teamwork
Your company is sending a small group of employees away together for
three days to encourage them to work as a team.
You have been asked to help plan the programme.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what practical arrangements the company needs to make before the
trip

• which work and leisure activities would be suitable for the group.

For three candidates

Teamwork
Your company is sending a small group of employees away together for
three days to encourage them to work as a team.
You have been asked to help plan the programme.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what practical arrangements the company needs to make before the
trip
• which work and leisure activities would be suitable for the group
• how to evaluate the success of the trip.

76
 Listening

Follow-on questions

• W hat preparations m ight the participants need to make before going away? (Why?)

• What m ight be the disadvantages o f working as part of a team? (Why?)

• W ould you like to take part in a program m e fo r developing teamwork?

(W hy/Why not?)

• W hat kinds of activities w ould you like to participate in w ith colleagues outside
work? (Why?)

• How m ight a com pany measure the success of a training programme?

• Do you think staff training is always of benefit to a company? (W hy/Why not?)

77
Test 4
READING 1 hour

PART ONE

Questions 1-7

• Look at the statements below and the inform ation about retail developments on
the opposite page.
• Which developm ent (А, В, С or D) does each statement (1-7) refer to?
• For each statement (1-7), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• You w ill need to use some of these letters more than once.

Example:

0 This centre w ill be accessible by road and rail.

CO

о
о
>

0
ЯШ i-------1 i-------1 i------- 1

1 This developm ent is in an area where the potential fo r consumer spending is the
highest in the country.

2 The partners constructing this centre have been responsible fo r numerous other
developments.

3 The centre may become a model fo r future urban developm ent plans.

4 This centre is being marketed by the developers as the best place in the area to shop.

5 Other shopping destinations are located close to the agreed site fo r this centre.

6 Plans fo r this developm ent have been presented to people who live in the area
fo r com m ent and approval.

7 This developm ent is being built in an area which has experienced sustained
growth over time.
 t

Reading

The Birmingham Alliance w ill provide Birmingham w ith one of Europe's largest regional
shopping centres, right in the heart of the city. The Alliance, an initiative between three
of the largest developers in the country, all w ith extensive experience of urban
regeneration schemes, w ill facilitate an £800m investm ent in Birm ingham . This w ill
regenerate 40 acres of the city centre w ith in the next decade. Planning permission is in
place for the new scheme, which w ill be a short distance from existing prime retail
areas. The developm ent w ill be well serviced by all form s of public transport, as well as
providing parking space for 3,200 cars.

The private-public partnership between Legal & General and Bracknell Town Council
w ill manage the £500m regeneration of the tow n's centre. The proposals, which are
awaiting the outcome of consultation w ith local residents, provide fo r approxim ately
102,000m2of retail and leisure facilities, 200 residential units and office accommodation.
This developm ent is expected to set the standard for tow n centre regeneration schemes
to come because of the way it integrates the business and com m unity sectors. It w ill
also facilitate great im provem ents in the region's transport infrastructure.

Bluewater is a sym bol of retail excellence, achieved through a unique com bination of
design, retail mix, leisure, catering and hospitality. The centre, surrounded by parkland,
is situated in the country's most affluent region. Eleven m illion people, w ith a combined
spending power predicted to exceed a record £5.5bn, live w ithin 60 minutes of the
centre. The developers set a precedent in the industry by getting the country's three
best-known departm ent stores to open very large branches w ith in the centre, as well as
over 300 leading fashion and lifestyle stores.

Following its recent stock market success, Lend Lease is now developing Overgate
shopping centre in Dundee. Construction is well under way, and w ith several of the
country's best-known retailers already secured, Lend Lease is prom oting the centre as
the unrivalled shopping destination of the region. The economic base of the area has
improved continuously over the past decade, due to the fast expansion of the
biomedical and service sectors. With an estimated potential market of 500,000 people,
Overgate is proving attractive to leading UK retailers.

79
Test 4

PART TWO

Q uestions 8-12

• Read the article below giving advice to managers about performance reviews.
• Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
• For each gap (8-12), mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).

STAFF APPRAISALS
A d ire c to r o f the a d v e rtis in g a g e n c y o w n e d by a n y pre vio us reports. (9 ) ...................A s a result, a
tyco o n B ob J a c o b y on ce g ru m b le d th a t he w a s n 't lo t o f tim e w o u ld have been w a ste d , d e b a tin g
e n jo y in g his w o rk . J a c o b y 's re p ly w a s , 'I d o n 't e x a c tly w h a t h a d h a p p e n e d a n d w h e n .
p a y yo u g o o d m on ey to e n jo y yo u rse lf. If you
Being p re p a re d a n d a p p re c ia tin g w h a t it is like
e n jo y w o rk in g here, yo u should be p a y in g me
to be on the re ce ivin g end a re , in d e e d , the keys
m o n e y .'J a c o b y 's sentim ents used to be com m o n.
to successful a p p ra is in g . It is im p o rta n t to b e g in
(0 ) P r.. . H a p p ily , th in g s have c h a n g e d . M o s t
an a p p ra is a l by g iv in g m em bers o f staff a
o rg a n is a tio n s now u n d e rta ke re g u la r staff
c h a n ce to express th e ir o w n v ie w s a b o u t th e ir
a p p ra is a ls , a t w h ic h e m p lo yees ha ve the o p p o r­
p e rfo rm a n c e . ( 10 ) Any in fo rm a tio n
tu n ity to discuss one-to-one w ith th e ir line
g a in e d from co lle a g u e s is n o rm a lly g ive n in a
m anager th e ir a m b itio n s and hopes, th e ir
p o sitive sp irit, since n o w a d a y s e v e ry o n e un d e r­
strengths a n d w eaknesses, th e ir ach ie vem en ts
stands a p p ra is a ls a n d a p p re c ia te s th a t the y a re
a n d th e ir disasters. But it is w o rth re m e m b e rin g
c a rrie d out w ith g o o d intentions.
h o w n e w all this is, a n d w h y.
The a tm o sp h e re in the a p p ra is a l should be one
For a start, a p p ra is in g isn 't som ething m a n y m an­
o f p o sitive a n d o p e n discussion a b o u t h o w the
ag ers d o na turally, o f th e ir o w n a c c o rd . They
e m p lo ye e is p e rfo rm in g in the co m p a n y.
often fin d a p p ra is a ls d iffic u lt to h a n d le a n d have
( 11 ) Som e in d iv id u a ls w ill feel unjustly
to be m a d e to c a rry them out. A p p ra is a l systems
critic is e d w h e n th e ir boss makes com m ents on
have be co m e w id e s p re a d p a rtly as a result o f
th e ir p e rfo rm a n c e . O th e rs w ill resp on d fie rc e ly to
em p lo ym e n t le g is la tio n , but m ore p a rtic u la rly
a c ritic a l assessment - a lth o u g h if th e y d e fe n d
because co m p a n ie s have le a rn e d tha t such
them selves p a ssio nate ly, th a t is no b a d th in g !
assessments ca n w o rk to th e ir a d v a n ta g e .
( 8 ) ....................The c o m p a n y can im p ro v e its c o l­ F inally, it is im p o rta n t to re g a rd a p p ra is a ls as
lective p e rfo rm a n c e b y h e lp in g em p lo yees to p a rt o f a c o n tin u in g process. ( 12 ) .....................
im p ro v e th e ir in d iv id u a l p e rfo rm a n ce . Instead, the y should be fo llo w e d up w ith frie n d ly
questions from tim e to tim e, m a kin g it c le a r to
M a n a g e rs w h o use a p p ra is a ls need to a p p ro a c h
e m p lo yees th a t n e w g o a ls a n d strategies sug­
them v e ry ca re fu lly. They should b e a r in m ind
gested in them a re to be taken seriou sly a n d are
th e ir o w n e xp e rie n ce s o f b e in g a p p ra is e d w h e n
to be a cte d upon.
in ju n io r po sitio ns, re c a llin g w h ic h a p p ra is a ls
w e re he lp fu l, w h ic h w e re not, a n d w h y. In most If these pieces o f a d v ic e a re fo llo w e d , it is ho pe d
cases, th e ir o w n bosses d id th e ir h o m e w o rk, tha t both the em p lo yees a n d the c o m p a n y as a
ch e ckin g out the jo b s p e c ific a tio n , the C.V. an d w h o le w ill b e n e fit from the e xp e rie n ce .

80
(
 Reading

А В С D E F G
Example:

A However, managers must take great care in this respect.

В Only after that should managers put forw ard their own points, which are likely
to include comments collected from others in the organisation.

С They should not be forgotten as soon as they are over.

D Like many other aspects of free enterprise, appraisals are an excellent example
of underlying self-interest.

E Som etim es the appraiser goes too far the other way and fails to communicate
problem areas and scope fo r im provem ent.

F If they relied on memory, they probably got things wrong.

G Employees were paid, and they obeyed; if they didn't like it, they could leave.

81
Test 4
PART THREE
Questions 13-18
• Read the article below about bringing new products onto the market and the
questions on the opposite page.
• For each question (13-18), mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
Market Entry
M a r c Crystal discusses the 'be first to market' principle
The timing of market entry is critical to the
success of a new product. A company has two
alternatives: it can compete to enter a new
product market first - otherwise known as ‘pio­
neering’ - or it can wait for a competitor to take
the lead, and then follow once the market has
been established. Despite the limitations of exist­
ing research, nobody denies that there are advan­
tages to being a pioneering company. Over the
years, there has been a good deal of evidence to
show a performance advantage for pioneers.
For many new products, customers are ini­
tially unsure about the contribution of product
characteristics and features to the product’s
value. Preferences for different characteristics
and their desired levels are learned over time.
This enables the pioneering company to shape
customer preferences in its favour. It sets the
standard to which customers refer in evaluating
followers’ products. The pioneering product can
become the classic or ‘original’ product for the
whole category, opening up a flood of similar
products onto the market, as exemplified by
Walkman and Polaroid.
The pioneering product is a bigger novelty
when it appears on the market, and is therefore
more likely than those that follow to capture cus­
tomer and distributor attention. In addition, a
pioneer’s advertising is not mixed up with com­
petitors’ campaigns. Even in the long term, fol­
lowers must continue to spend more on
advertising to achieve the same effect as pio­
neers. The pioneers can set standards for distri­
bution, occupy the best locations or select the
best distributors, which can give them easier
access to customers. For example, in many US
cities the coffee chain Starbucks , as the first to
market, was able to open coffee bars in better
known locations than its competitors. In many
82
- The Pioneer
industrial markets, distributors are not keen to
take on second and third products, particularly
when the product is technically complex or
requires large inventories of spare parts.
‘Switching co sts’ arise when investments are
required in order to switch to another product.
For example, many people have developed
skills in using the traditional ‘qwerty’ keyboard.
Changing to the presumably more efficient
‘dvorak’ keyboard would require relearning how
to type, an investment that in many cases would
exceed the expected benefits in efficiency.
Switching costs also arise when the quality of a
product is difficult to assess. People who live
abroad often experience a similar ‘co st’ when
simple purchase decisions such as buying deter­
gent, toothpaste or coffee suddenly become
harder because the trusted brand from home is
no longer available. Pioneering products have
the first chance to become this trusted brand.
Consequently, the companies that follow must
work hard to convince customers to bear the
costs and risks of switching to an untried brand
of unknown quality.
Unlike other consumer sectors, the value to
customers of many high technology products
relies not only on their features but also on the
total number of users. For example, the value of a
videophone depends on the number of people
using the same or a compatible system. A pioneer
obviously has the opportunity to build a large
user base before competitors enter the market.
This reduces followers’ ability to introduce dif­
ferentiated products. There are other advantages
of a large user base, such as the ability to share
computer files with other users. Thus, software
companies are often willing to give away prod­
ucts to build the market quickly and set a stan­
dard.
 4
Reading

13 In the first paragraph, the w rite r points out that

A there is general agreement on the benefits o f pioneering products.

В companies are still uncertain about how to market new products.
С most companies prefer to market new products independently.
D there are now guidelines to help those who wish to pioneer.

14 According to the inform ation in the second paragraph, how do customers

approach new products?

A They take some tim e to develop a liking fo r them.

В They make comparisons w ith other new products.
С They need some persuasion to purchase them.
D They consider cost an im portant feature.

15 The w rite r refers to W alkm an and P o la ro id because they were

A better than any of their followers.

В copied many tim es by the ir followers.
С quickly accepted by consumers.
D designed fo r a particular market.

16 When pioneering products are prom oted, the w rite r notes that

A a heavy financial investm ent is required.

В a wide variety of advertising methods must be used.
С a clear message is likely to be communicated.
D a long campaign is usually necessary.

17 In the keyboard example, the 'costs' the w rite r is referring to are concerned w ith

A the price of the products.

В the quality of the products.
С the need fo r user training.
D the lack of useful inform ation.

18 According to the final paragraph, the high technology market differs from other
consumer markets in that

A it is still a relatively new area of consumerism.

В it is not dependent on product characteristics alone.
С there are so many different types of product on the market.
D there is such a great demand for high technology products.

83
Test 4

PART FOUR

Questions 19-33

• Read the advice below about organising meetings.

• Choose the best w ord or phrase to fill each gap from А, В, С or D on the opposite page.
• For each question 19-33, mark one letter (А, В, С or D) on your Answer Sheet.
• There is an example at the beginning, (0).

It is important that ideas and suggestions tabled at formal meetings are

Business
voiced at the (0 ) ... P... time. This is achieved by keeping to the
Meetings (19)......... shown on the agenda. For example, there is no (20).........

in discussing ideas to do with item six on the agenda when item two

has not yet been (21)............Such deviations from the agenda may

(22)......... in confusion among the people at the meeting; they may

also (23).......... concentration if they see something as irrelevant.

To make certain that the meeting proceeds in an orderly fashion, it is

therefore useful to (24)......... some ground rules. First, everyone will

need to understand that they must (25) their comments to the

topic under discussion. The Chair can then encourage one person to

speak at a (26)......... , so that any ideas offered can be discussed and

(27) ............. Once that person has finished, someone else can put

(28) ......... their ideas and so on. If this procedure is adopted, the

participants will be able to follow the various issues in a consistent

manner, which will help with the decision-making (29)......... later on. It

will also (30)......... that the quiet people at meetings get a chance to

(31)......... their say, rather than just their more outspoken colleagues.

In (32)......... , it is often the quiet people at meetings who generate

the best ideas, because they are in the (33)......... of thinking before

they speak.

84
 Reading
If

Example:

A polite о В decent С true D appropriate

<

О
00

0
i i — ' i— i

19 A structure В direction С order D arrangement

20 A point В w orth С need D reason

21 A brought in В dealt w ith С catered for D taken off

22 A appear в produce с arise D result

23 A lose в fail с miss D drop

24 A form в establish с design D settle

25 A contain в reserve с check D restrict

26 A turn в tim e с mom ent D sequence

27 A noted в w ritten с regarded D remarked

28 A down в through с away D forward

29 A path в course с process D method

30 A ensure в secure с allow D perm it

31 A give в make с have D put

32 A part в reality с contrast D case

33 A custom в routine с practice D habit

85
Test 4

PART FIVE

Questions 34-45

• Read the text below about recruitment.

• In most of the lines (34-45) there is one extra word. It is either gram m atically incorrect
or does not fit in w ith the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.
• If a line is correct, w rite CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.
• If there is an extra word in the line, w rite the extra w o rd in CAPITAL LETTERS on your
Answer Sheet.
• The exercise begins w ith tw o examples, (0) and (00).

Examples:
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
| о |

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

W hen to Recruit?

0 In a small business, deciding when to take on new staff is a delicate calculation. On

00 the one hand, if you are increase your workforce, you m ight find it d ifficult to cover

34 for the increased costs straight away. On the other hand, extra staff could

35 enable you to spend more tim e on activities such as marketing, which in the

36 end should mean the increased profits. A useful way of deciding when to increase

37 your workforce is to ask yourself if you can make enough of extra sales to meet

38 the cost of taking on w ith an extra employee. But even if you are not able to

39 increase your sales imm ediately, you may still be able to em ploy someone.

40 In this such case, however, you must keep your business going until you have built

41 your sales up to the new level you need. If in the end you are clever enough to

42 get your tim in g so right, you w ill not want to th ro w away your advantage by

43 em ploying the wrong type person. The whole process of advertising and

44 interview ing can take around many months, so finding you made a mistake and

45 need to recruit again it can have a very serious impact on the future of your business.

86
 Writing

WRITING 45 minutes

PART ONE

• You are a manager in an international printing company. You have just been
inform ed that a recent order sent to an im portant client has failed to arrive.
• Write an email to the co-ordinator of your despatch department:
• saying w ho the client is
• giving details of the printing order
• suggesting what should be done.
• W rite 40-50 words.

87
Test 4

PART TWO

• You are in charge of technical resources in your company. You have just received
a letter from the Customer Services Manager at JLM Communications, w ho are
installing a new telephone switchboard at your offices.
• Look at part of the letter below, on which you have already made some
handwritten notes.
• Then, using all your handwritten notes, w rite a letter to JLM's Customer Services
Manager.
• Write 120-140 words.

Please note that extension numbers beginning with 8 will now start with 5 and that all others
w ill s t a r t w ith 3.

If you have any technical queries, please contact our technical representative at our main
office.

A copy of our invoice is attached.

88
 Listening

LISTENING 40 minutes (including

10 minutes' transfer time)

PART ONE

Questions 1-12

• You w ill hear three telephone conversations or messages.

• Write one or tw o words or a num ber in the numbered spaces on the notes or
form s below.
• After you have listened once, replay each recording.

Conversation One

(Questions 1-4)

• Look at the form below.

• You w ill hear a wom an leaving an answerphone message fo r a company.

Telephone Message ■Sor И о л Jo .c.o b s

Message from A l i S o r » G r o /h S S o-C H S r 'Io .r v d M S a - l f h c - o r ^ :

W o w .Id lilc S ucS +o d s . v S . lo p a _ (i) .....................................................

- f o r 1 + h s ГУЛ,

R .S c .o rr\rr\S r» d s d b y a. (2) .................................................

A liS o » ^ G ’a . ' h S S ^ Srv>a_il o -d d t n S S S : a .^ o _ + S S (5

( 3 ) ....................................................................................................... ,< 0 О г у л

P l S a . S 2 - а .Г 'Г 'О .г^ S +o m SSt h S r " a_r»d + h s

(4) ............................................................... a .+ M S r ' l a . r y d )S *

89
Test 4

Conversation Two

(Questions 5-8)

• Look at the notes below.

• You w ill hear a marketing manager reporting on sales of a product.

M usicM ate C assette Player

SueC.C.Q.SS o-T +he. pr~oduc<s+ iS ducS +o lo w co S +

Ф (5 )........................................

5 a .le .S a . r S cucr'T'S.rv+ly hi^be,.S+ ir»

( 6 ) .....................................................................................................................................

W s. (7 ).......................................................................... , b u t+ + oo

S 'tr'a / K i^ y : iт с г й а .5 6 .
( 8 ) .........................................................................................................................

90
 Listening

Conversation Three

(Questions 9-12)

• Look at the notes below.

• You w ill hear a wom an phoning for inform ation about a meeting.

NOTES

Shccr'S-holder'S* M e e t ir ^

Loccotior»: (9)..............................................

Re*^ucir'err*e.rvtS
• Se.cL+ir>3 -for: (io)....................
• E^tucipm £bt: -Tiv/S. (11)..........................
tw o О И PS
• P h o to c o p ie d m ^ o.ter'io.ls: a.^er»do.
( 12 ) .......................................

91
Test 4

PART TWO

Questions 13-22

Section One

(Questions 13-17)

• You w ill hear five short recordings.

• For each recording, decide which opinion the participant gives about a seminar.
• W rite one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recordings.

13 ...............................
A The topic was already familiar.
14 ............................... В The venue was disappointing.
С It increased my confidence.
15 ............................... D It was too short.
E The presentation was boring.
16 ............................... F It was good value fo r money.
G 1made some im portant contacts.
17 ............................... H Some participants were unfriendly.

Section Two

(Questions 18-22)

• You w ill hear another five recordings.

• For each recording, decide which aspect of business the speaker is talking about.
• W rite one letter (A-H) next to the num ber of the recording.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recordings.

18
A staff turnover
19 ............................... В cost control
С market trends
20 ............................... D cash flo w
E exchange rates
21 ............................ F labour supply
G custom er service
22 ............................... H product distribution

92
 Listening

PART THREE

Questions 23-30
• You w ill hear a discussion between tw o consultants, Christina Shaw and David
Yates, about a management training program m e fo r a company called
Sandfords.
• For each question (23-30), mark one letter (A, В or C) fo r the correct answer.
• A fter you have listened once, replay the recording.

23 The senior management team at Sandfords believe staff training is im portant

because

A the company is perform ing badly.

В it w ill enhance the company's reputation.
С investing in training promotes staff loyalty.

24 What did the senior managers say about previous training programmes?

A They became too d ifficult to organise.

В The trainers lacked sufficient expertise.
С There was negative feedback on the content.

25 Christina Shaw believes the attitude of m iddle managers is that training

A is of lim ited value to them.

В is only necessary for new staff.
С is less necessary fo r ju n ior staff than for them.

26 One manager interviewed by Christina said that many of his management

colleagues are

A critical of the new programm e.

В delighted by the new programme.
С doubtful about the new programme.

27 The training program m e w ill include sessions on

A presentation techniques.
В custom er care.
С negotiating skills.

28 David and Christina agree that the training program m e should consist of

A early m orning sessions.

В one-day events.
С residential weekends.

93
Test 4

29 According to Sandfords, the best tim e to start the training program m e is

A March.
В April.
С May.

30 W hat do Christina and David need to do first?

A prepare a draft training schedule

В subm it an estimate fo r their charges
С design a questionnaire fo r participants

You now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.

94
 Speaking

SPEAKING 14 minutes

SAMPLE SPEAKING TASKS

PART ONE

The in terview - about 3 m inutes

In this part the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You
have to give inform ation about yourself and express personal opinions.

PART TWO

'M ini presentation' - about 6 m inutes

In this part of the test you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You
have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk fo r about one
minute. You have one m inute to prepare your ideas.

A W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Dealing with complaints from clients

• Offering an apology
• Suggesting a solution to the problem

В W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N ... ?

Setting prices for new products

• Production costs
• Competitors’ prices

W H A T IS IM P O R T A N T W H E N

Aiming to reduce staff turnover

• Financial incentives
• Career structure
•
Test 4

PART THREE

Discussion - about 5 m inutes

In this part of the test you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look
at the prom pt card, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to
discuss the topic w ith your partner. A fter that the exam iner w ill ask you more
questions related to the topic.

For tw o candidates

Entertaining Foreign Clients

Your company is entertaining a group of foreign clients for three days,
including one non-working day.
You have been asked to plan a programme for the visit.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what kinds of activities would be suitable for the visit
• what information it would be useful to know about the clients before
finalising the programme.

For three candidates

Entertaining Foreign Clients

Your company is entertaining a group of foreign clients for three days,
including one non-working day.
You have been asked to plan a programme for the visit.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what kinds of activities would be suitable for the visit
• which members of staff should accompany the visitors
• what information it would be useful to know about the clients before
finalising the programme.

96
 Speaking

Follow-on questions

• W hat kinds of arrangements need to be made before foreign visitors arrive?

(Why?)

• Are there any disadvantages fo r a company in having a visit from foreign clients?
(W hy/Why not?)

• Where w ould you take foreign visitors in your home town? (Why?)

• W ould you enjoy looking after business visitors fo r a few days? (W hy/Why not?)

• W hat problems m ight there be when socialising w ith foreign business people?
(Why?)

• W hat are the long-term benefits of establishing personal contacts w ith foreign
clients? (Why?)

97