EXERCISE 1

1. Working across cultures can help us understand how our own cultural
_______ are different from other people's.

a. departments

b. values

c. Methods

d. senses

2. Many companies are working really hard to increase the high satisfaction
_______ of their customers so that they can increase the sales.

a. processes

b. deliveries
c. emotions
d. levels

3. After one or two years working abroad, 90% of our clients could find a
_______ job which allows them to work for the company all their life if they want.

a. productive

b. diplomatic

c. permanent

d. friendly

4. In order to increase sales, businesses need to understand how customers’

_______ affect their decisions to buy products or use services.

a. processes

b. deliveries
c. emotions

d. services

5. I am motivated and hard-working, so I am confident that I can make a

valuable _______ if I can work for your organization.
 a. shareholder

b. provider
c. contribution

d. allowance

6. I have two assistants in my department, and we work together closely as a

_______ to achieve our business goals.

a. fan

b. band

c. society

d. team

7. Our company offers free accommodation, good benefits, and a monthly

_______ of $500 for new employees.

a. allowance
b. shareholder

c. contributor

d. provider

8. It is said that working in a multicultural environment can help us to _______

the ability to live and work in a different culture.

a. relax

b. analyse

c. force
d. demonstrate

9. In a hierarchical organization, it's important to _______ your boss by your job

attitudes and work performance if you want to be promoted.

a. impress
b. guarantee

c. encourage
d. hurt

10. Internships in a small company can offer many chances to be creative, to

make greater contributions, and to _______ practical experience
a. obtain

b. locate
c. operate

d. appreciate

11. The new leader is very good at _______ our large team to achieve the
business objectives, and we really admire him.

a. graduating

b. managing

c. launching

d. receiving

12. In some Asian companies, the _______ of handling customers’ problems is

very long and ineffective.

a. emotion
b. service

c. process

d. delivery

13. In reality, internships can be done part-way through a course of study in

order to _______ a university degree.

a. locate

b. operate

c. obtain
d. appreciate

14. In our company, the managers often _______ us to do things in teams such as
having lunch together or going out together after work.

a. respect
b. impress

c. encourage
d. guarantee

15. According to the Confederation of British Industry, 80% of employers first

look at the experience and skills that a person _______ on an internship.
a. acquires

b. faces
c. owns

d. produces

16. One important skill in the 21st century is the ability to _______ relationships
between people from different cultures.

a. build

b. produce

c. face

d. own

17. In fact, many companies are spending more money on customer _______
training to keep their customers happy.

a. process
b. delivery

c. emotion

d. service

18. When working in a hierarchical organization, employees are required to

_______ the boss and follow the orders of their leaders.

a. impress

b. guarantee

c. encourage
d. respect

19. When we intern for a small company, we will probably be able to develop
stronger _______ with the people we are working with.

a. appreciations
b. relationships

c. applications
d. operations

20. Customers who have strong _______ toward a brand are likely to pay more
than customers who are only satisfied with the products.
a. deliveries

b. payments
c. emotions

d. processes

21. Working across cultures requires intercultural _______, which means the
ability to see things in different ways.

a. dependence

b. sensitivity

c. demonstration

d. confidence

22. It is common for interns to work for free, but the experience they gain during
the process_______ for not receiving a salary.

a. demonstrates

b. acquires
c. analyses

d. compensates

23. Asian businesspeople generally prefer to take more time rather than make
wrong decisions, so multicultural teams need to be _______ to wait for their
reply.

a. independent

b. patient
c. permanent

d. hierarchical

24. In many universities, an internship is an essential part of the education

because students can get some real _______ during their internship.

a. bargain
b. payment

c. comment
d. experience
 25. After a year working abroad, he became more _______ and better at looking
after himself.

a. permanent

b. uncertain
c. hierarchical

d. independent

26. In the UK, most big companies accept internship _______ in the autumn, and
it is essential to know the business cultures of these companies.

a. appreciations

b. applications

c. relationships
d. operations

27. The word “internship” is used for white collar (professional) careers while
the word “_______" is used for blue collar (manual / technical) careers.

a. operation

b. appreciation
c. completion

d. apprenticeship

28. At first, I didn't like the new workplace, but I quickly _______ to the way
things were done there and was soon very happy.

a. completed
b. located

c. appreciated
d. adapted

29. Larger companies have greater resources than smaller firms, which means
we can _______ more information and learn new knowledge during our
internships.

a. obtain
b. complete

c. appreciate
d. operate

30. Most companies understand that purchasing decisions are based more on
customers’ personal _______, and this can affect the profits of these businesses.

a. emotions
b. deliveries

c. payments
d. processes

31. Working for this large electronics manufacturer, you will have a lot of
opportunities to _______ projects and work with a team of foreign colleagues.

a. graduate

b. supply
c. organize

d. launch

32. I would like to gain some business experience on a one-year internship with a
_______ cosmetics manufacturer like Rose Inc.

a. regular
b. high

c. bottom
d. leading

33. When he was young, all the salary he could _______ at the factory was £1 a
week.

a. graduate

b. launch
c. manage

d. earn

34. Nowadays, many Vietnamese companies seek for _______ (who have just
finished their university education) with some experience in working with
foreign customers.

a. launchers

b. organizers
c. graduates

d. managers

35. In business, if your customer _______ is poor, people will complain about it,
and you’ll lose your customers as well as a lot of money.

a. delivery

b. process
c. service

d. level

36. Almost every student expects that their college training will help them find
internships and professional _______ after graduation.

a. locations
b. completions

c. applications
d. positions

37. In the UK, the practical experience gained through internships

was _______ by full-time students.

a. completed

b. appreciated
c. operated

d. located

38. Working across _______ can help us to be more independent, more confident,
and better at working with foreign people who are different from us.

a. offices
b. universities

c. cultures
d. departments

39. The customer _______ department of that company has always provided
effective solutions when customers complain about their products.

a. level
b. emotion

c. process
d. service

40. The new employee is very _______ in dealing with difficult clients and can
always solve the problems successfully.

a. productive
b. diplomatic

c. uncertain

d. permanent

41. The experience gained on an internship is helpful for getting a job or

for _______ one's studies.

a. appreciating

b. completing
c. locating

d. operating

42. As a warehouse supervisor, you have to _______ ideal stock levels and on-
time deliveries to our customers.

a. encourage
b. impress

c. respect

d. guarantee

43. In business, it is important to keep a high _______ of satisfaction when

customers buy things from you.

a. delivery

b. level
c. emotion

d. process

44. Successful interns in a multicultural environment need to _______ their

communication to the local style, and to think carefully before they speak.
a. force

b. analyse
c. adjust

d. demonstrate

45. Many Asian organizations are _______ because the employees have to strictly
follow the orders of the boss.

a. permanent

b. patient

c. hierarchical

d. independent

46. One of Brazil's largest _______ of logistics service has an excellent

opportunity for a manager in its Recife warehouse.

a. contributors
b. allowers

c. providers

d. shareholders

47. As competition for places in Europe and the US is _______, more and more
students are doing their internships in Asian countries.

a. fierce

b. relaxing

c. essential
d. nice

48. Our company is going to _______ a new type of cosmetic products by the end
of this month, so we are really busy now.

a. manage
b. organize

c. launch
d. graduate

49. Our customers are not satisfied because the company does not provide free
_______ to those who live in the suburb of the city.
a. emotions

b. processes
c. deliveries

d. payments

50. After the internship, he felt _______ with his personal abilities and believe d
that he could be successful in the future.

a. confident

b. diplomatic

c. permanent

d. productive

EXERCISE 2
1. I really like their delivery service because they always ________ the products on time
and in perfect conditions.

a. ship

b. rely

c. set

d. fit
2. As a customer service officer, you need to make a _______ of the important points you
want to discuss with the customers.

a. checklist

b. complaint

c. reservation

d. sense

3. Investing in customer service is necessary because customers nowdays frequently

share their opinions of businesses through social media, which can increase the sales or
_______ the business quickly.

a. install

b. order

c. purchase
d. damage

4. If you think the delay will be longer than a couple of minutes, ask for a number and a
time when you can _______.

a. put on hold

b. hang up

c. get through
d. call back

5. The manager will plan and organize work ________ and manage a team of colleagues
in this customer service department.

a. source

b. status

c. schedule

d. estate

6. If there are delivery problems, the company must apologise to the customers politely
and ________ the products immediately.

a. rely

b. exchange

c. fit

d. ship

7. According to some statistics, about 80% of the callers will _______ the phone if they
are not satisfied with the customer service.

a. hang up

b. get through

c. dial

d. leave

8. If the customer is out of the office, always _______ a message by saying your name
clearly and giving the reason why you are calling.

a. leave

b. hang up

c. dial

d. get through
 9. You should outline what steps you have taken so far to ________ the matter and to
make the customers happy.

a. attach

b. resolve

c. accept

d. confirm
10. The 'right' ________ in business means that the products are without damage, and
ready to use when the customers want.

a. storage

b. manufacturer

c. quantity

d. condition

11. His answer was so confusing that the customer could not make any ________of it at
all, so the customer became very angry.

a. checklist

b. reservation

c. complaint

d. sense

12. The demand for the new products is so high that the suppliers have to ________ a
number of orders because they don’t have enough materials.

a. cancel

b. report

c. share

d. conduct

13. The 'right' product in business refers to the exact product that the customer needs
and can't buy from another ________.

a. frustration

b. manufacturer

c. storage

d. condition
 14. It did not make any ________ to me although the customer tried to explain all things
about his problem to me three times.

a. complaint

b. reservation

c. checklist

d. sense
15. When we speak to customers on the phone, remember to make a good ________ such
as greeting the customers and being friendly.

a. complaint

b. impression

c. checklist

d. reservation

16. The 'right' time in business means making product ________ based on customer
demand and seasonal trends.

a. storage

b. documentation

c. condition

d. availability

17. If a customer calls to make a _______ about something, we should apologise first and
then provide some suggestions to solve the problem.

a. checklist

b. sense

c. complaint

d. reservation

18. As we are having some technical problems with our new customer database, we are
working to ________ this problem as soon as possible.

a. resolve

b. attach

c. confirm

d. accept
 19. The customer said that he had made a ________ for ten people in our restaurant last
week, but we could not find any information about that.

a. complaint

b. sense

c. reservation

d. checklist
20. The 'right' strategy means that the business plan of the company to reach its
________ is suitable with the organizational resources as well as the benefits of its
shareholders, customers, suppliers, and society.

a. documents

b. margins

c. habits

d. goals

21. The 'right' place in business means that the company provides convenient and
accessible ________ for customers to buy and obtain the products.

a. conditions

b. documents

c. quantities

d. locations

22. That company has always taken the right _______ when the customers say there is a
problem with their products.

a. responsibilities

b. supports

c. installations

d. actions

23. If you are not satisfied with the product, you can ________ the order and get a
refund.

a. cancel

b. conduct

c. report

d. share
 24. When you call the customers, if they put you _______, remember to keep smiling
while you wait and be ready for their responses.

a. in order

b. in connection

c. on hold

d. through number
25. The 'right' ________ in business means that there is enough information about
products’ instructions, official safety certificates, guarantees, tax and customs
information.

a. frustration

b. storage

c. condition

d. documentation

26. Satisfied customers will come back for more products or services, and they can even
_______ the company to their colleagues or friends.

a. recommend

b. support

c. purchase

d. order

27. If you don't have the information your customer needs, promise to _______ to them,
and give a specific time.

a. get back

b. hang up

c. get through

d. dial

28. The 'right' price in business means a price which is attractive to customers and also
provides a sufficient ________ for manufacturers and/or distributors.

a. storage

b. documentation

c. availability

d. margin
 29. As a customer service officer, you need to think carefully about what you want to say
before you _______ a number to your customers.

a. hang up

b. get back

c. get through

d. dial
30. In reality, a good customer service continues long after a customer places a(n)
_______ so that the business can keep their existing customer.

a. purchase

b. order

c. responsibility

d. action

31. Customer _______ involves dealing with existing customers, answering detailed
questions about the product or service in use, and dealing with complaints.

a. responsibility

b. installation

c. support

d. action

32. The 'right' market in business means that the consumers' needs and purchasing
________ are suitable with the company’s products, resources, and strategies.

a. quantities

b. margins

c. locations

d. habits

33. In logistics, it is important to agree on a delivery date that ________ the customer's
schedule.

a. relies

b. sets

c. fits

d. senses
 34. It is the policy of our company that customer service officers have to _______ missed
calls at the very earliest opportunity.

a. hang up

b. dial

c. get through

d. return
35. If we don't reach the customers, we can leave a message and say we will call back
later, or we can invite them to _______ our call.

a. hang up

b. return

c. get through

d. dial

36. We are a small manufacturing company and we find the website “Workshop Weekly”
a valuable ________ of news, information, and ideas.

a. status

b. source

c. estate

d. colleague

37. In business, contact with a customer before and during a transaction is the _______
of sales staff.

a. responsibility

b. installation

c. action

d. purchase

38. The ‘right’ quantity in business means that the number of products is not too many
as it could result in extra cost for ________ and unsold products.

a. manufacturer

b. frustration

c. condition

d. storage
 39. Before we finish the conversation and _______ the phone, make sure to review the
main points and say what the next step is so that the customers can know what they
should do.

a. hang up

b. dial

c. get back

d. get through

40. Our customer service department aims to build long-term partnership with
customers, rather than just satisfy their ________ needs or solve their problems.

a. negative

b. ineffective

c. faulty

d. immediate

41. Every contact must contribute to making the customers happy if a company wants to
build a long-term relationship to make a _______.

a. purchase

b. profit

c. responsibility

d. support

42. The ‘right’ ________ in business means that the number of products is not too few as
it could cause frustration when customers cannot buy the product they want.

a. quantity

b. manufacturer

c. storage

d. condition

43. My new job in the customer service department ________ me perfectly well because
I love dealing directly with customers.

a. combines

b. drops

c. leads

d. suits
 44. Our shop is having a promotion program for ________ customers who usually visit
our shop.

a. convenient

b. regular

c. necessary

d. popular
45. Last week, I bought a jacket from a website, but it is too small and has a horrible
color. Can I return that ________ product and get the money back?

a. positive

b. negative

c. faulty

d. effective

46. Customer _______ refers to the care a customer is given before, during, and after
they have made an order.

a. action

b. responsibility

c. installation

d. support

47. Generally, a _______ company needs to contact a thousand leads to find just ten new
customers, and this takes a lot of time and money.

a. simple

b. typical

c. frequent

d. first-class

48. It was very impolite and unacceptable when the customer service officer did not
explain the reason why he put the caller _______ for nearly 10 minutes.

a. through number

b. in order

c. on hold

d. in connection
 49. Most companies now have a helpline to provide technical _______ if customers have
any problems with their technological products or services.

a. support

b. action

c. responsibility

d. installation
50. According to our company’s policy, if the goods are faulty from the manufacturer,
the customer will be supported to ________ for a new one.

a. fit

b. exchange

c. ship

d. rely

EXERCISE 3
1. Sales do all the hard work such as answering the prospect's _______, mailing
information, calling the prospect back, and arranging sales visits.

a. anticipations
b. enquiries
c. quotations
d. revenues

2. It's important to get the employer's _______ by preparing an attractive resume or

dressing smartly in the interview.

a. path

b. attention

c. resume

d. connection

3. It is reported that _______ from online ads are much higher than from print
advertising this year.

a. revenues

b. quotations

c. enquiries
d. anticipations

4. The shop _______ said he would check to see if he had any more copies of the book in
stock.

a. assistant

b. controller

c. director
d. helper

5. I hear that Frank is going to _______ next week at the age of 60, so who are you
planning to choose to take his place?

a. hire

b. request

c. retire

d. promote

6. Yesterday, I had a virtual interview where I can meet the _______ of that company
online, and everything went really well.

a. attendants

b. insurers

c. recruiters

d. applications

7. Before starting your business, you have to raise enough _______, and this can be done
by borrowing money from the bank or looking for some investors.

a. currency

b. capital

c. investment

d. savings

8. I worked abroad for a year to earn money and improve my _______ before working
in this Marketing Department.

a. resume

b. path

c. attention

d. connection
 9. Companies that introduce “smarketing” are seeing increased _______ and new
business opportunities in this competitive market.

a. anticipations

b. quotations

c. revenues

d. enquiries
10. One duty of the sales department is to conduct market studies to identify business
_______ and monitor the competition.

a. revenues

b. quotations

c. enquiries

d. trends

11. This is one of the best resorts in the area, and we are _______ that you will be
completely satisfied with our service!

a. innovative

b. nervous

c. confident

d. rewarding

12. Please take a look. There are pictures of all the new models in our sales _______!

a. album

b. diary

c. expectation

d. catalogue

13. New graduates should visit job fairs to see what sort of jobs employers are offering
and what kind of people they are looking to _______.

a. hire

b. promote

c. request

d. retire

14. At the annual meeting, the sales and marketing departments can exchange _______
and develop a common vocabulary for better business strategies.
a. feedback

b. features

c. anticipation

d. capital

15. When you ________ an interview, remember to wear formally and bring some
samples of your work.

a. attend

b. insure

c. apply

d. recruit

16. Once we were equipped with the latest technology, _______ rose rapidly and we were
able to increase the sales significantly.

a. bonus

b. brand

c. attraction

d. productivity

17. At the beginning of your career _______, the most important thing is to find a job
that you can learn a lot to develop your skills.

a. connection

b. attention

c. resume

d. path

18. The new CEO _______ his employees to work overtime to finish their project
without paying any extra money.

a. retired

b. hired

c. requested

d. promoted

19. For some people, family _______ can help them get their dream job, like Stella
McCartney or Ivanka Trump.

a. attentions

b. connections
c. resumes

d. paths

20. The customers required us to send them the latest _______ so that they could know
about the prices of our services before they make a purchase.

a. enquiries

b. quotations
c. anticipations

d. revenues

21. A prospective customer can browse through the FAQs (frequently asked questions)
or can read product users' entries in an online _______ to know more about the
company.

a. attraction

b. forum

c. brand

d. poster

22. Not many entry-level jobs are really interesting, but they all allow you to take the
first step on your career _______ to management positions.

a. resume

b. attention

c. connection
d. path

23. Sales staff are often _______ that “The customer is always right”, and they must
always be polite.

a. organised

b. reminded

c. expected

d. controlled

24. Many companies are spending quite a lot of money developing their websites to
_______ more customers.

a. follow

b. lead

c. attract
d. care

25. The company is having difficulty in _______ enough qualified staff that are able to
handle high-tech machines.

a. hiring

b. requesting

c. promoting
d. retiring

26. We aim to be the _______ marketing company of computing technologies through

excellent services.

a. leading

b. following

c. further

d. attractive

27. Because of increased trading, the company’s _______ increased by nearly half a
million dollars this quarter.

a. enquiries

b. quotations

c. revenues

d. anticipations

28. As a leader in our industry, the company offers professional training with
experienced professionals, an excellent salary, and a _______ career in management
positions.

a. confident

b. innovative

c. nervous

d. rewarding

29. If I get enough experience in the sales team, I’ll be able to become a sales _______.

a. manager

b. controller

c. head

d. organizer
 30. Hundreds of people have _______ for the job of marketing manager because this is
one of the leading marketing companies in the area.

a. attended

b. recruited

c. insured

d. applied
31. According to the company’s policy, you are possibly _______ to a higher position
after two-year continuously hard and efficiently working.

a. promoted

b. retired

c. hired

d. requested

32. _______ for the car sales were down this month, so the boss required his sales staff to
work overtime.

a. Revenues

b. Enquiries

c. Anticipations

d. Quotations

33. She felt terribly _______ before the job interview, but once she was in the manager’s
office she calmed down.

a. innovative

b. confident

c. rewarding

d. nervous

34. The shop opposite my house sells a variety of _______ and we really like to go there
to buy things.

a. productivity

b. merchandise

c. bonus

d. brand
 35. This year, our company is planning to ________ more employees in the production
department because of the increasing workload.

a. insure

b. recruit

c. apply

d. attend

36. _______ for the position of office manager must be prepared with the task of
supervising twenty assistants.

a. Applicants

b. Paths

c. Attentions

d. Resumes

37. You need to quickly qualify yourself as a potential _______ because the employer
doesn't have time to do it for you.

a. request

b. retirement

c. promotion

d. candidate

38. One of the main roles of the Public Relations Department is to enhance the
company’s _______ through marketing, advertising, and promotion.

a. care

b. poster

c. attraction

d. brand

39. You need to be _______ if you want to work in the field of marketing because this
industry always calls for new ideas.

a. confident

b. nervous

c. rewarding

d. innovative
 40. When sales take part in marketing strategy meetings, they learn how to sell benefits
instead of the only _______ of their products or services.

a. revenues

b. features

c. quotations

d. trends

READING
Reading (1)
When new employees start at Goldman Sachs, one of the first things they are told is that they
should not put anything in an e-mail that they wouldn’t want to read in the newspaper. Don’t
complain about colleagues. Don’t discuss sensitive deals. Don’t say bad things about the
competition. If you want to do those things, use the phone or talk to someone in person.

The same warning has been repeated across the corporate world for years, but the message
never seems to get through. Sensitive e-mails and instant messages continue to turn up in
public.

It seems that no matter how often they are told, employees continue to see workplace e-mails
as casual, private exchanges that no one else will read. The ePolicy Institute, which conducts
research and advises companies, recently carried out a survey of 416 companies. The survey
showed that only 42% of companies conduct any formal training regarding e-mail usage.
Instead, they rely on written policies that are often not read.

Simply telling workers to be more careful is not enough. Some companies are now using
advanced software that can block potentially embarrassing messages from leaving a corporate
system.

Proofpoint, an electronic security company, offers software that monitors message as they
arrive and depart to detect potentially dangerous words or phrases. Keith Crosley, Director of
Market Development for Proofpoint, says heavily regulated industries, such as financial
services and health care, are among his company’s best customers. Kawasaki Motors uses the
software to make sure no one leaks its motorcycle designs. The software ensures that personal
data such as credit-card numbers and medical histories are encrypted and monitors the
disclosure of confidential corporate information.

Q1. There are several kinds of sensitive information that shouldn’t be included in e-
mails. Which one DOESN’T appear in the article?

a. Comments on competition

b. Complaints about people you work with

c. Trade secrets
d. Bank-account details
Q2. If they want to discuss sensitive deals, Goldman Sachs employees are told not to
_______.
a. use the phone.
b. use e-mail.
c. talk to a person inside the company.
d. keep secret.
Q3. According to an ePolicy survey, most companies _______.

a. use a team leader to monitor the issue

b. use special software to block sensitive messages.
c. organize training programs to instruct employees how to use e-mail.
d. send only written instructions about using e-mail.
Q4. According to the passage, proofpoint is _______.

a. a kind of software that monitors e-mails

b. a company that specializes in electronic security.
c. an institute that advises companies on security.
d. a new car design of the company.
Q5. Which word is used in the article to mean the same as ‘sensitive’?

a. casual
b. instant
c. embarrassing
d. Private

Reading(2)
How can the appearance of a product be more important than its function? This question rose
again last week when James Dyson, British inventor of the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner,
resigned as chairman of London’s Design Museum. Dyson felt that the museum put too much
emphasis on style and fashion. In his resignation letter, Mr Dyson accused the museum of not
keeping true to itself. He may be right, but the Design Museum is just doing what every other
museum in the world is doing to increase visitor numbers.
On the one hand, some manufacturers can be too old-fashioned and too concerned with the
functions of manufactured objects. On the other hand, there are those who believe that how a
product looks is more important. Design is indeed a broad term, involving both function and
form. Look at clothing: originally its function was to provide warmth, but having long since
achieved that objective, its form is now dictated almost entirely by fashion.
Today, when two products have the same price and similar standard, manufacturers can
differentiate their products from those of their competitors by establishing some sorts of
emotional connection with the consumer. This could be through the visual appeal of the
product or its packaging. Or, it might happen through the imagery created by advertising or
branding.
So, what of the Dyson vacuum cleaners? Mr. Dyson may believe that people buy these
machines because of the graphs on the company website illustrating their superior suction, but
I doubt very much whether they do. Most vacuum cleaners do a good job; the main reason
people pay extra for a Dyson is because it is a designer vacuum cleaner with a trendy brand.
With its internal workings exposed, it is a bit like a Richard Rogers building with all its pipes
and ducts displayed in bright colors on the outside instead of being hidden inside. Functional
it may be, but it is a bit of a gimmick, too.
Q1. Dyson left the Design Museum because he _______.

a. found it took up too much of his free time.

b. no longer agreed with its ideas.
c. wanted to concentrate on his own design work.
d. would like to enjoy the life
Q2. What does the article say about museums?

a. They do not need to promote cultural aspects.

b. They no longer have to compete with each other.

c. They still need to attract more visitors.
d. They should try to offer more specialized events.
Q3. Which statement is CORRECT according to the text?

a. use a team leader to monitor the issue

b. use special software to block sensitive messages.
c. organize training programs to instruct employees how to use e-mail.
d. send only written instructions about using e-mail.
Q4. The writer believes that people buy the Dyson vacuum cleaner because _______.

a. it has an excellent after-sales service.

b. it has a fashionable range.
c. it has a life-time guarantee
d. it is more reliable.
Q5. Which one is the main idea of the text?

a. Function and design both influence buyers.

b. Few companies dominate the fashion industry.
c. Design is more important than function.
d. Design influences customers’ decision to buy vacuum cleaners.

Reading (3)
General Motors Co. will build the next generation of its Astra car model in Britain after
workers at its factory in Ellesmere Port, northwest England, agreed to a new labor deal,
leaving its plant in Bochum, Germany in danger of closure.
The U.S. carmaker said on Thursday it would invest 125 million pounds in the Ellesmere Port
plant, where assembly of the new vehicle will start in 2015.
Britain's United union said 94 percent of those balloted voted in favor of changes to working
conditions and that some 700 jobs would be created at the plant, securing its future until 2020.
"It's almost certain that one of GM's German plants will now be closed, probably the plant in
Bochum," a source close to the negotiations said.
GM, which sells under the Vauxhall brand in Britain, is expected to halt production of the
Astra, its most important model, at its main plant in Russelsheim, Germany, making the car
only at Ellesmere Port and at Poland's Gliwice plant from 2015.
The source added that some production of GM's Chevrolet marque could be shifted from Asia
to Europe, with Russelsheim the likely beneficiary. This would leave the Opel factory at
Bochum as the most likely site to be closed.
The decision is one of the most dramatic so far as Europe's carmakers look to restructure or
consolidate in response to more than four years of falling demand and profits.
Many factories are running at partial capacity - analysts estimate automakers have cut some 3
million cars, or 20 percent, from their production lines - and still producers struggle to sell
their wares.

Q1. According to the article, which GM plant will likely be closed?

a. The plant in Vauxhall, Britain

b. The plant in Russelsheim, Germany

c. The plant in Ellesmere Port, England
d. The plant in Bochum, Germany
Q2. The article states that from 2015, the Astra will no longer be produced in ________.

a. Gliwice, Poland
b. Russelsheim, Germany
c. Ellesmere Port, England
d. Bochum, Germany
Q3. Which statement is CORRECT according to the text?

a. GM owns the Vauxhall brand.

b. GM closed the plant in Bochum, Germany.
c. Most people protested the decision.
d. About 700 job losses would be created.
Q4. According to the article, how many years of falling demand and profits has GM
seen?

a. One
b. Two
c. Three
d. Four
Q5. The workers at GM's UK plant ________.

a. will soon be voting on a new labor contract.

b. rejected a proposed labor contract.
c. agreed to a new labor contract.
d. decided to work for other companies.

Reading (4)
Automakers will race to appeal to budget-conscious Chinese car buyers as the
industry expands beyond the wealthy coastal cities in the east, Ford Motor Co's (F.N)
Asia chief said on Tuesday.
As they expand more heavily into central and western China, automakers can appeal to price-
sensitive consumers by offering multiple vehicles within the same size segment at varying
prices, Joe Hinrichs said.
"The growth expected the rest of this decade in China is largely to come from the central and
western parts of the country which is more value-oriented," he told reporters at Ford's
headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
"You'll need to serve those customers differently," he added.
Ford's plan to introduce 15 new vehicles in China by 2015 began with last month's launch of
the new Focus. Hinrichs said last month in Beijing that Ford plans to sell cars priced below
the Fiesta, currently their cheapest model in Asia with a price ranging from $12,300 to
$17,500.
Ford sales in China rose 24 percent in April to 54,881 vehicles, spurred by strong demand for
the Focus.
Ford makes the Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and other vehicles in China in a three-way tie-up with
Chongqing Automobile Co., Ltd. 000625.SZ and Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T).
AFP 04/25/2012

Q1. According to the article, where in China are people more budget-minded?

a. In the central and western part of the country

b. In Shanghai
c. In the coastal cities
d. In the whole country
Q2. Which Ford car is NOT mentioned in the article?

a. Mondeo
b. Mustang
c. Fiesta
d. Focus
Q3. How many other companies does Ford partner with to make cars in China?

a. One
b. Two
c. Three
d. Four
Q4. According to the article, China's wealthiest cities are _________.

a. in the central part of the country

b. in the eastern part of the country
c. in the western part of the country
d. in the southern part of the country
Q5. How many new cars does Ford plan to introduce in China by 2015?

a. 5
b. 10
c. 15
d. 20

Reading (5)
Smart labels may be about to change the way that companies distribute and sell
almost everything they make.
The reason for this situation is a new, better version of an old tracking technology
called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). RFID systems are made up of readers
and "smart tags" - microchips attached to antennas. When the tag nears a reader, it
broadcasts the information contained in its chip. In the past four years, the cost of the
cheapest tags has plunged from $2 to 20 cents. In the next two to three years, prices
are likely to fall to five cents or less. Gillette announced that the company had created
a new type of smart tags and had put in an order for half a billion smart tags, signaling
the start of their adoption by the consumer goods industry. If they catch on, smart tags
will soon be made in their trillions and will replace the barcode on the packaging of
almost everything.
Gillette is piloting two uses for its tags. The first combines smart tags with "smart
shelves", which are fitted with tag readers. Gillette says that retailers and consumer
goods firms in the USA lose around $30 billion a year in sales because shop shelves
run out of products and stand empty. On Gillette's smart shelves, the tagged razors let
the shelf know when they are coming and going, and the shelf keeps count. If it gets
too empty, the shelf sends a message to store staff to say it needs to be filled.
Gillette is also piloting the use of smart tags to track products as they move from
factory to supermarket. Smart tags can be scanned automatically. As a result,
shipment errors and theft will be reduced. Because manufacturers can be certain that
they are shipping the right quantity of goods to the right place at the right time, they
can also afford to reduce the inventories.
The biggest worry is that consumers might reject smart tags because they seem too
invasive of their privacy. Its chip specifications include a "kill command" that gives
the customers the option to kill tags at the checkout. However, if using this command,
the customers would miss after-sales benefits such as better warranty and returned
goods services.
Intelligent Business Pre-Intermediate Coursebook

Q1. According to the article, which one is going to happen?

a. Smart tags will increase sales of consumer goods.

b. The cost of smart tags will run into tens of billions of dollars.
c. Supermarket staff will be alerted when goods are stolen.
d. People do not need to go to the supermarket anymore.
Q2. According to the text, Traditional Radio Frequency Identification was
_______.

a. less efficient than the new smart tags

b. harder to produce than the new smart tags
c. more expensive than the new smart tags
d. put on all of the chips
Q3. Gillette’s experiment will ________.

a. cost $30 billion

b. tag shelves as well as goods
c. use barcodes to track goods
d. be the cheapest on the market
Q4. Using smart tags to monitor products will ________.

a. reduce the number of mistakes usually made

b. increase the quantities of goods shipped
c. increase the number of inventories
d. increase the inventories
Q5. By using the ‘kill command’, people worry that consumers might _________.

a. want to have more tags at the checkout

b. lose their privacy after the purchase
c. receive after-sales benefits
d. lose after-sales services

Reading (6)
Starbucks was founded by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl, opening its first
store in 1971 in Seattle. The three Starbucks founders had two things in common; they were
all coming from academia, and they all loved coffee and tea. They invested and borrowed
some money to open the first store in Seattle and named it “Starbucks” after the first mate in
Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick.
Last year, Starbucks Corp. reported better-than-expected quarterly profit but global sales at
established coffee shops fell short of analysts' estimates due to weakness in Europe, sending
its shares down five percent in after-hours trade on Thursday.
Sales from cafes open at least 13 months fell 1 percent in the Europe, the Middle East and
Africa (EMEA) region during the latest quarter. Analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had
expected a 2.2 percent rise in EMEA same-store sales.
Executives attributed the drop to weakness in Europe, which suffered its first decline in same-
store sales since 2009.
Sales fell in Ireland and Germany during the fiscal second quarter and were up just slightly in
France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Troy
Alstead said.
Europe has been a weak spot for the world's biggest coffee chain. The region is struggling
with debts and, earlier this week, Britain said its economy had fallen into its second recession
since the financial crisis.
"The situation is very, very tough," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said of Europe's
economy.
"We will turn the Europe business around in the same way we turned the U.S. business
around," Schultz told analysts on a conference call.

Q1. What happened to Starbucks' shares after their quarterly profits failed to meet
analysts' estimates?

a. They dropped by 5%.

b. They plunged by 5%.
c. They rose by 10%.
d. They decreased by 10%.
Q2. How many months do "Quarterly profits" refer to?

a. Three
b. Four
c. Five
d. Six
Q3. According to the article, in which European countries did Starbucks' NOT see a
slight increase in sales?

a. The United Kingdom

b. Ireland
c. France
d. Holland
Q4. According to the article, _________ is to blame for Starbucks' difficulties in Europe.

a. an increase in car sales

b. European interest for American coffee
c. the availability of many other good cafes
d. Europe's financial trouble
Q5. What can be inferred about Starbucks?

a. It was the first time Starbucks experienced this situation.

b. The CEO of Starbucks was pessimistic about the issue.
c. Starbucks has always struggled in Europe.
d. The situation could be handled in a short time.
Reading (7)
Consumers went back to using their credit cards in March, 2012 to keep spending while
student and new-car loans shot up as the value of outstanding consumer credit jumped at the
fastest rate since late 2001, data from the Federal Reserve showed on Monday.
Total consumer credit grew by $21.36 billion - about twice the $9.8 billion rise that Wall
Street economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast. That followed a revised $9.27 billion
increase in outstanding credit in February.
Analysts expressed some reservations whether the date reliably signaled a real pickup in
demand, something that would normally fuel stronger growth, or just a need to rely more on
credit in a shrinking economy generating “anemic” job growth.
"The optimistic read is that consumers' improved outlook on the economy and employment
prospects led them to feel comfortable spending on credit, while a more downbeat
interpretation is that credit is needed for consumers to keep up," Nomura Global Economics
said in a note afterward.
The March rise in consumer credit was the strongest for any month since November 2001
when it soared by $28 billion. That was shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks when big
automakers were offering zero-percent financing and other incentives to lure consumers back
to their showrooms.
New-car sales and production were a key influence on the 2.2 percent annual rate of
economic growth posted during the first three months this year. The government estimated
that about half of that growth came from increased new car production.
AFP 05/14/2012.

Q1. According to the article, the growth in consumer credit in March was _______
economists had predicted

a. about the same as

b. slightly lower than
c. twice as much as
d. much higher than
Q2. By using the word "anemic", the article wants to say that the current job growth
numbers are ________.

a. excellent
b. average
c. poor
d. impressive
Q3. According to the article, does the increase in consumer credit mean that the
economy is improving?

a. Not necessarily.
b. Yes, most of the time.
c. No, just the opposite
d. Absolutely.
Q4. How long had it been since the consumer credit numbers increased so much in one
month?

a. Half of a year
b. A year
c. Over 10 years
d. About three years
Q5. According to the article, what played an important part in the economic growth at
the beginning of the year (2012)?

a. A record-breaking drop in unemployment

b. A decrease in tax rates
c. New car production and sales
d. Zero-percent financing

Reading (8)
Chief Executive of the Star City shopping center, Peter Maurice wants to change the whole
feeling of the business. ‘Visitors should feel we are looking after them. Very often the public
go into a shop and find so much there that they can’t decide what to buy. Keep it simple,
that’s the key to retailing.’
At Star City, staff are encouraged to tell managers what they think of them. ‘The things they
say about me are what I expect, because I’m fairly self-aware – I know what I’m like and that
I can make people a little angry. But I’m very much in favor of change, and everyone knows
that a lot needs to be done.’
He learned his management techniques the hard way. ‘At 23 I went into business and lost
money. I had to learn fast. Then, at 23, I won an export contract to Hong Kong. I admire the
strength of character and the ambition of the people there, and brought back two very
significant words: “No problem”. Then I took a course at Harvard Business School. It was
very hard work, but worth it.’
As well as running Star City, Peter Maurice controls Big Events, which organizes exhibitions.
Maurice has created an unusual company structure. ‘The financial director and commercial
director are responsible to me directly, but in my first week here, the head of Marketing
resigned. Then the same happened with Human Resources. I said to both teams: “Do you
want to self-manage?” That’s what they decided to do – it can work if you have people who
work well together and can report to you as a team,’ he explains.
For the immediate future, Maurice plans to look at ways of expanding Star City beyond the
present conferences and exhibitions, to include major shows and concerts. ‘I want a lively
center full of exciting events, where my well-trained staff are ambassadors for the company.’

Q1. In Peter Maurice’s opinion, what prevents many customers from making
purchases?

a. The shop is so big and huge.

b. The shop hasn’t got what they want.
c. Nobody is available to serve them.
d. There is too much to choose from.
Q2 . Maurice’s staff say that he ________.

a. should change a lot.

b. sometimes annoys them.
c. is trying to do too much too quickly.
d. needs to be more self-aware.
Q3. What does Maurice say he learned from his experience in Hong Kong?
a. How he lost money for his management techniques
b. How to run a successful import-export business
c. The importance of good character and ambition
d. That he needed to go back to business school
Q4. Which of these departments has a director who reports to Peter Maurice?

a. Finance
b. Marketing
c. Human Resources
d. Logistics
Q5. Maurice’s long-term ambition for the center is to ________.

a. create an unusual company structure

b. retrain all the staff at the center
c. modernize the center
d. bring entertainment to the center
Reading (9)
The characteristics required by a good manager are clearly definable. The person has to be
responsible, communicative, supportive, and approachable. These adjectives are not gender-
based, and focus attention on interpersonal skills, but a fierce debate still rages as to who
make the best managers – men or women.
Surveys have been carried out to find out why certain individuals become national leaders. If
a person occupies the leading position in a country, there ought to be some common
identifiable qualities. For example, some leaders had to be intelligent, and had great
enthusiasm, courage, determination, energy, and faith. But possession of all these traits would
be unusual in any one person. So, these are necessary, but not sufficient conditions; good
leaders have these qualities, but their possession alone does not make a good leader.
In his book, Understanding Organizations, Professor Charles Handy claims there is not right
style of leadership. He says that leadership will be most effective when the requirements of
the leader, the subordinates and the task fit together. This would seem to rather exclude
personality from the management position. Handy adds that managers need value systems
which would acknowledge the desire for personal success, and the planning and control of the
actions of the people below them in the company hierarchy.
In his later theories, he defines managers as people who are responsible for making things
happen. Managers take responsibility for the actions of others. This is a popular modern
definition of a manager, and while Handy accepts that personal characteristics, he has added
further vital statistics which he calls the four Ps: Projects, Professionalism, Passion, and Pride.

Q1. In the first paragraph the writer implies that managers ________.

a. need to have countless characteristics.

b. should only be men to manage the company well.
c. need a balance of skills or characteristics
d. are successful if they have strong, dominant personalities
Q2. What some qualities does the writer believe to make a successful national leader?
a. People who are taller than other people.
b. People who are intelligent and determined
c. People who earn a lot of money
d. People who come from good family background.
Q3. According to the passage, Handy thinks ________.

a. some people are born to be a manager.

b. the tendency to be subordinate is vital for a manager.
c. managers should dominate the people below them.
d. there is no single form of good managership.
Q4. The modern definition of a manager is ________.

a. a person who is answerable to shareholders

b. a person who is ambitious to achieve higher positions
c. a person who takes charge of both subordinates and superiors.
d. a person who effectively does everything on his own.
Q5. Which statement is CORRECT according to the final paragraph?

a. It is difficult to define the qualities of a good manager.

b. Handy disagreed wth the modern definition.
c. No one can have enough qualities to be a good manager.
d. He provided further aspects to the modern definition.
Reading (10)
Michael Mann established the Independent Executive Service (IES) in the late eighties, a
service which provides companies with temporary executives to help them out with particular
tasks. The idea is simple. The skills that make a good businessperson who can launch a new
business are quite different from those needed to run a medium-sized, mature operation,
especially if the business gets into difficulties. It is in situations like this that the IES steps in.
It recruits people who have spent their careers in management, usually entrepreneurs. The
prospect of spending a limited time in a wide range of businesses is attractive to these
entrepreneurs. They want to do more in business, but don’t want to go through the start-up
process themselves again.
‘After preliminary discussions with the client company’s HR Manager, we introduce five or
six candidates to their board of directors. They then select the IES executive who best fits
their requirements’. ‘We provide independent directors to many troubled companies,
including those that we have already provided venture capital for. The service is free to these
existing clients. For a fee, we also help out other companies which we think have a good
recovery potential. Additionally, we have a great deal of repeat business from satisfied
customers who buy our services again to help with a later stage of expansion.’
According to Mann, the first step for independent executives is often to establish how a
business is meant to be run. ‘In many small businesses, it is often unclear to board members
who are responsible for what in the company. Another common starting point is helping the
existing management avoid bankruptcy. Only then is it possible to turn to more long-term
issues.

Q1. What service does the IES provide?

a. It hires out short-term directors to companies.
b. It advises companies on the recruitment of new directors.
c. It gives guidance on setting up new companies.
d. It helps companies to attract more customers.
Q2. What is the idea on which the IES is based?

a. Some companies have too bad leaders to overcome the difficulties.

b. Different market sectors require different kinds of business skills.
c. Even skilled businesspeople need help in situations new to them.
d. Specialized leadership skills are needed to achieve fast growth.
Q3. Why do many IES executives like working for companies for limited periods?

a. They like to challenge themselves on new things.

b. They are intending to start up other companies in the future.
c. They are running their own companies at the same time.
d. They like the variety of working in many different companies.
Q4. The IES offers its services without charge to ________.

a. companies it has already invested in.

b. companies it has previously provided directors for.
c. companies it believes have a good chance of recovery.
d. companies that could go bankrupt.
Q5. IES executives often work with directors who are ________.

a. unable to make long-term strategies for the companies.

b. unsure of their exact roles within their companies.
c. unclear about the causes of their companies’ difficulties.
d. unaware that their companies are close to bankruptcy.

Reading (11)
You may not have noticed, but you are also now working for your phone company and your
bank. Why? Because of the growth of the self-service economy in which companies do the
work. Self-service can have benefits both for companies and customers. It is already changing
business practices in many industries and seems likely to become even more widespread in
future.
Self-service has been around for decades, ever since Clarence Saunders, an American
entrepreneur, opened the first Piggly Wiggly supermarket in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Shoppers entered the store, helped themselves to whatever they need and then carried their
purchases to the check-out counter for payment. Previously, store clerks were responsible for
getting items off the shelves; but with the arrival of the supermarket, the shoppers took on that
job themselves.
Then came laundromats, cafeterias, and self-service car washes, all of which were variations
on the same theme. With the rise of the web, companies are taking self-service to new levels.
Millions of people now manage their finances, track packages, and buy cinema and theater
tickets while sitting in front of their computers. They plan their own travel itineraries and
make their own hotel and airline bookings: later, at the airport, they may even check
themselves in. And they do all of this with mouse in hand and no human employees in sight.
Self-service systems can save companies money and make customers happy. This suggests
that they could transform the service economy in much the same way that mass production
transformed manufacturing, by allowing services to be delivered at low cost in large volumes.
Though it may take five years before most transactions are conducted via self-service, we are
definitely moving in that direction.

Q1. The writer thinks that self-service is a good idea for ________.

A. the phone company and the bank

B. young customers only
C. both customers and companies
D. American entrepreneurs
Q2. The first supermarket was set up ________.

A. in 1900s.
B. before 1920.
C. in the 1950s.
D. after 1975.
Q3. The store clerk’s main job was to ________.

A. carry customers’ purchases

B. check items on the shelves
C. give customers the goods they wanted
D. open the supermarket
Q4. Modern self-service is increasing because people ________.

A. do not want to do physical activities.

B. don’t want to work with employees.
C. are using cafeterias and laundromats.
D. are using the internet a lot.
Q5. According to the passage, mass production changed ________.

A. the airline industry

B. the retail industry.
C. the service industry.
D. the manufacturing industries.

Reading (12)
33% of the shares in the British sandwich chain Contrast were recently sold to King Coffee,
the international coffee shop chain. According to Caroline Bell, Contrast’s Chairman, ‘This
way, we’ll benefit from King Coffee’s experience to expand overseas, while keeping the two
companies’ brands and branches quite separate.’
Caroline Bell and Johnny Nash set up a clothes shop ten years ago. Later, they began selling
sandwiches there, and when they found sandwiches more profitable, they gave up selling
clothes. During this time, Bell has been involved in every aspect of the business including
sandwich making, while Johnny Nash is the Chief Executive.
With Nash responsible for day-to-day management, Bell can find time to concentrate on
experimenting with different ingredients to add to the menu. ‘We believe in doing what we do
best,’ she says, ‘so we don’t move into other fields. And our customers like our friendly
service, so we’ll make sure that doesn’t change.’
One reason for the friendly service is that five times a year, the managers spend a day at
another branch serving customers, so that they don’t forget what it’s like for the sales staff.
The company see their staff as key, and Bell is proud that most managerial appointments
come from within the chain. ‘In fact we’ve done so well that there’s a risk we’ll stop trying,
which would ruin Contrast.’
Q1. Why has Contrast sold shares to King Coffee?

A. To find new company’s brand to attract customers.

B. To fund expansion abroad.
C. To learn how to move into foreign markets.
D. To use the King Coffee name in other countries.
Q2. How did Caroline Bell begin working for Contrast?

A. She was one of the employees of the company.

B. She was one of the people who founded the company.
C. She joined the company as a sandwich maker.
D. She was appointed at senior managerial level.
Q3. Bell’s plan for the company is to ________.

A. improve the company’s day-to-day management

B. expand the range of sandwiches on offer
C. introduce new types of production methods
D. improve the quality of the ingredients they use
Q4. What happens on five days a year?

A. They change the menu and cooking styles.

B. Customers have the chance to talk to managers.
C. Managers go to a different shop to work.
D. All employees work in another shop.
Q5. What does Bell consider to be the biggest danger to the company?

A. She lost the respect of colleagues.

B. Most of the managers were promoted internally.
C. Sandwich shops are going out of fashion.
D. The management might relax their efforts.

Reading (13)
General Electric’s (GE) former leader, Jack Welch, was more typical of the imperial CEOs
who wanted to control everything and made everyone totally obedient to him. Admired by
analysts and feared by subordinates, Mr Welch ran GE with an aggression that helped to drive
the company’s earnings to the maximum.
But Mr. Immelt created a quiet revolution in the company when he replaced Welch in 2001,
bringing in a new approach to leadership.
Under Mr. Immelt, GE was a productivity machine where cutting costs and building value
was the priority. When Mr. Immelt took over, GE needed to find a new way to cope with
growing Asian competition and increasingly global markets. He changed GE by giving
priority to organic growth and marketing superiority.
Making the company more global has been a key part of Mr. Immelt’s strategy. During his
leadership, GE has become a multinational that earns half of its $150bn revenues from outside
the country in 2010. But Mr. Immelt maintains that the US, where GE still employs 160,000
of its 316,000 employees, remains the ideal place to manufacture complex equipment.
America, he believes, still produces top professionals.
But the bottom line is clear: without the benefit of buying and selling products around the
world and employing skilled people from other countries, the 128-year-old company would
be smaller than it is today.
Mr. Immelt set ambitious goals – a 10-per-cent annual growth in profits and an 8-per-cent
increase in sales growth. Few companies in this country have grown so fast year after year,
and none as big as GE.

Q1. The approach of the former CEO of GE to leadership is ________.

A. to make people afraid and follow his orders

B. to make people relaxed and encourage creativity
C. to support employees’ freedom to share their thoughts
D. to cooperate well with all members in the company
Q2. Jack Welch’s main policy was ________.

A. to change the company’s production methods

B. to make the company more global.
C. to compete with companies in Asia.
D. to reduce expenses and make more profit.
Q3. GE’s total income from the outside area of America in 2010 was ________.

A. $150 billion.
B. $300 billion.
C. $75 billion.
D. $50 billion.
Q4. According to the text, Mr. Immelt prefers to employ ________.

A. talented people in the Asian region.

B. American professionals.
C. skilled people from outside the USA.
D. the best people, wherever they are from.
Q5. Which statement can best describe the meaning of the final sentence?

A. General Electric has always been the biggest company in the world.
B. General Electric has grown faster than most other companies in the USA.
C. General Electric no longer manufactures complex equipment in the USA.
D. General Electric could use professionals from other countries for sales growth.

Reading (14)
You don’t need complex and costly software to make a success of your business. Steven
Allcock, the managing director of Blue 10, has used Microsoft Windows and Microsoft
Office to build his own systems, which are better than any more glamorous packages. Allcock
believes in simplicity. ‘I’ve tried to make all our procedures as simple and easy to use as
possible,’ he says. ‘I must have been approached by a dozen companies selling specialist
recruitment software, but the Excel and Word setup has been better and cheaper.’
Allcock also rejected accounting software packages, preferring to build Blue 10’s financial
ledgers himself using Excel. He has a ledger for expenses, assets and overheads, one for cash
and sales, plus ledgers for VAT and PAYE. ‘I’ve made it so simple that it takes away all the
labor-intensive work: Everything is in full view and I can see everything move.’
This enables Allcock to fulfill his roles as managing director: keeping the company stable and
profitable, and identifying opportunities for growth. The simple spreadsheet reports four
figures: inputs and outputs for the last 30 days, and liabilities and expected credits for the next
30. ‘These are the key numbers that my sales director and I need,’ says Allcock.
With plenty of experience in both running a business and using Excel, Allcock was able to set
up his financial systems in a week. He took advice from business contacts, and from his
accountant and tax advisor. He also built in some double-checks to ensure figures are entered
accurately, and if he does make a mistake this can be found and corrected in a few minutes.
Using the system takes just half an hour a day, so Allcock does not need a separate accounts
person. He takes daily back-up copies of all data on a CD, and once a week takes this home in
case of unexpected problems. ‘If our office burned down, I could walk into a shop, buy a new
PC, and have the company fully operational within hours,’ he says.

Q1. Why does Steven Allcock use Excel and Word for his financial systems?

A. He does not have enough money to use complicated programs

B. He doesn’t know how to use purpose-built financial programs.
C. He thinks they are more glamorous than other accounting programs.
D. They are more cost-effective than specially designed programs.
Q2. According to the text, who designed the accounting systems at Blue 10?

A. Microsoft’s engineers
B. The company’s accountant
C. Steven Allcock
D. Steven’s tax advisor
Q3. What is the most important financial information Steven needs to have?
A. The level of stability and profitability in the company.
B. Money coming in and out for the last and next month.
C. The amount of credit the company expects in the next 30 days.
D. The total amount of companies’ assets and overheads.
Q4. Why doesn’t Steven need an accounts person?

A. It takes very little time to use the Excel system.

B. He dislikes putting everything on paper.
C. The company cannot afford an accounts person.
D. An accounts person can steal his ideas.
Q5. Steven Allcock takes his back-up CD home each week ________.

A. because he wants to double-check the figures.

B. to show the figures to his accountant and tax advisor.
C. because he does not want to lose the information from the office.
D. because he does believe in his employees

Reading (15)
According to Sue Cole, a management expert, there can be both advantages and
disadvantages for those who combine their hobby with their career. ‘There’s a real possibility
that your hobby becomes less attractive when it’s your job. But also, quite a few people who
make their hobby their career become too enthusiastic and forget about the basic principles of
business,’ she says. ‘For example, someone may think: “I love cooking. There aren’t enough
restaurants in this area. I’ll start one up.” And they go ahead without establishing how many
customers they’ll need each day or what income they’ll require to cover costs. That can be a
recipe for disaster.’
Richard Campbell, however, has made a success for it. A keen amateur singer with a passion
for travel, he first became involved in organizing musical tours as a university student. On
graduating, he joined a small student travel company, Sunway Travel, as a tour leader.
Thirteen years later, in 1993, he bought the business and re-positioned it to focus entirely on
musicians, both amateur and professional. It was a successful move and Sunway Travel now
arranges worldwide travel for 80% of Britain’s classical musicians.
Campbell explains that things haven’t always been easy. ‘Sometimes the company didn’t
perform as well as I expected. There were difficult times and I had to learn to cope with the
stress. However, we’ve now got to a level where my staff can run the business on daily basis
and all I need is to keep an eye on important things.’
Campbell recognizes that he could have earned more in another line of business. ‘Travel
generally doesn’t pay well. But I have no regrets. They envy me because I am reasonably well
paid to do something that I love doing.’

Q1. What does Sue Cole day about people whose businesses are their hobbies?

A. They have the perfect combination.

B. They risk losing interest in their leisure activity.
C. They know very little about raising finance.
D. They cannot become a professional leader.
Q2. According to the example of Sue Cole, why do people who open their own
restaurant fail?

A. They don’t learn enough about the competition.

B. They don’t research how to attract customers.
C. They don’t know what turnover levels they need.
D. They don’t know how to change the recipe all the time.
Q3. How did Richard Campbell change Sunway Travel in 1993?

A. He relocated the company offices.

B. He targeted a new group of customers.
C. He expanded the destinations the company dealt with.
D. He organized more events locally and internationally.
Q4. What does Richard Campbell say about the day-to-day running of his business?

A. It is unnecessary for him to take an active role in everything.

B. It has become more stressful with profits and income.
C. It is difficult to set realistic targets for sales growth.
D. It is challenging to solve all customers’ complaints.
Q5. What does Richard Campbell feel about his career?

A. He wishes he had chosen another career path or business.

B. He likes his career though he’s always short of money.
C. He hopes to earn a high salary like his friends.
D. He’s happy and thinks he has enough to live on.

Reading (16)
It is not possible to achieve a balance between work and life if you want to do well in
business. To reduce only your workload will fail, because in real life success in work depends
on achieving targets. In a competitive business environment, leadership takes different
qualities and skills – including commitment, passion, and of course a lot of time.
A work–life balance is not just about people wanting to leave the office at a reasonable
time – they know that they have to compete against those who are prepared to work until the
early hours. Take Pavan Vishnakarma, a freelance software developer who lives in Bhopal,
for instance. He advertises himself as being available for work at any time.
The answer is surely to look for balance across our whole lives, rather than at any
particular time. Life is about deciding what is important to you – and sometimes making hard
decisions. There are periods when we want to devote ourselves to work and others when the
family is more important.
It’s not that a work-life balance isn’t worth having. It certainly is. It’s just that it has its
price. This is that you are not going to rise as high in the organisation or be as rich as those
business leaders who have no interest in a work–life balance. You can work more
intelligently, and delegate as much as you like. However, if you are the sort of person who,
faced with a choice between a school play and a crucial meeting, chooses the play, you will
fall behind. I’m sure we all know people who wouldn’t dream of missing the meeting.
 Show me a successful Chief Executive and I will show you someone who barely sees
his/her children. There is no point in pretending we can have it all. We can’t. Those who
spend more time with their family and friends will be richer in the ways that really matter.
However, unless they win the lottery, they will have less money in the bank!

Q1. According to the article, which statement does NOT show that a person is an
effective leader?

A. He is ready to work at any time.

B. He has strong desire for work.
C. He does not want to miss a crucial meeting.
D. He spends a lot of time with his employees.
Q2. According to the article, which statement is CORRECT?

A. It is easy to set work-life balance for your daily activities.

B. You can’t be successful in business with a good work-life balance
C. A work-life balance isn’t worth having in this competitive world.
D. It’s more important to set work–life priorities when you are young.
Q3. What does real-life success in work depend on?

A. A balance between work and life

B. The comprehensive skills of managers
C. The required qualities of a leader
D. The fact that someone has achieved the targets.
Q4. According to the passage, those who spend more time with their family and friends
will ________.

A. acquire more success and become richer.

B. have more chances to win lottery.
C. earn less money than those who work longer hours.
D. become more relaxed to be successful at work
Q5. Which one could be the best title of the passage?

A. Work-life balance - Impossible mission!

B. Work more to have terrible life!
C. Be a Leader in Business – with a Life!
D. No work, No life, No balance!

Reading (17)
A Being good at conversation is a key skill – both socially and in business. However, this is
something British businesses are only starting to realise. These companies are gradually
recognising that good conversation is more than just making sure the person you’re speaking
to has got your message. It’s about listening to the other person and responding. This two-way
interaction generates idea after idea.
B Mark Satchell of TDR International says, ‘Managers used to see their staff chatting as a
sign of them wasting their time or not having enough to do. What managers failed to see was
the way conversation builds relationship – between employees and between staff and their
managers. In addition, conversation enables colleagues to work better as a team. This in turn
aids company loyalty, staff retention and, ultimately, productivity!’
C It may come as a surprise to some what people can learn from casual conversation. The
office cleaner of a large London organisation, for instance, was chatting to the MD early in
the morning and happened to mention that staff regularly left their windows open. Nothing
more than that! But, within a week staff had been reminded by the MD to close their windows
before going home, office security improved and the heating bill was reduced!
D Face-to-face conversation puts people in touch with each other, rather than distancing
them, as e-mails are often said to do. This kind of communication can reduce stress in the
workplace. This is because it enables people to discuss issues and solve everyday work
difficulties. If employees can’t sort out problems among themselves, they can grow into
something much bigger!
E So, as Malcolm Rogers of the Mallory Business School says, ‘I think it would be a good
idea to do the same things our Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese colleagues do – greet
everyone in the morning, have a coffee together, enjoy an extended lunch and, most
importantly, engage in some good old-fashioned conversations.’

Q1. According to the text, what is important for the success in both social and business
environments?

A. Having many qualifications

B. Being passionate about work and life
C. Being good at conversation
D. Knowing how to make people happy
Q2. According to paragraph (A), all of the following are true of a good
conversation EXCEPT ________.

A. The person you’re speaking to has got your message.

B. You have to listen to the other person.
C. You have to respond to others’ statements.
D. You need to realise their business conditions.
Q3. What did managers use to think of their staff chatting?

A. It’s a sign of wasting time or not having enough to do.

B. It’s a way to build relationship between employees.
C. It’s a way to build relationship between staff and their managers.
D. Conversation enables colleagues to work better as a team.
Q4. According to paragraph (D), what is NOT TRUE about good conversations in the
workplace?

A. They help people solve everyday work difficulties.

B. They help people to reduce stress in the workplace.
C. They help people discuss issues for solutions.
D. They create certain human distance and privacy.
Q5 . According to Malcolm Rogers, what should people NOT do every day?

A. Say hello to everyone in the morning.

B. Have a coffee together for small talk.
C. Enjoy an extended lunch
D. Ignore old-fashioned conversations.

Reading (18)
Fifty years ago, when products were more individual, manufacturers had the upper hand.
They could charge a lot for successful items because they were made in small quantities. As
competition increased and became more global, there were more products to choose from and
they increasingly resembled each other. This gave retailers the advantage because they could
pick and choose which products to sell, and demand the best prices from suppliers. Now the
consumer is taking command.
The arrival of the internet is one of the things responsible for the big shift in power. The web
makes it easy for people to discover who offered the best deal. This could still be a retailer,
but it could also be a manufacturer selling directly to consumers, or a trader on eBay.
The group to watch closely is the young generation. 18-to 34-year-olds see the internet as one
of their most important sources of information and entertainment. For this age group, the
internet will remain the dominant medium and part of their lives. This does not mean they
will reject the traditional retail environment entirely. Shops will be as much part of their
parents or grandparents. But some shops may be used in different ways. One indication is the
growth of brand showrooms, such as the Apple and Sony stores. Their main role is to
demonstrate a range of the company’s products, with knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff on
hand who are under no pressure to clinch a sale. Where people actually buy the product in the
end becomes of secondary importance.
As media become increasingly interactive, consumers will be able to exercise more choices.
Getting advertising is optional – so it will need to be good, useful, and relevant to their lives.
But traditional mass-media advertising will continue to have a role, at least for the foreseeable
future.

Q1. The writer suggests that in the past _______.

A. manufacturers were more powerful than customers

B. manufacturers were less powerful than customers
C. retailers were less powerful than customers
D. customers were always the most powerful factors
Q2 . The writer says some people use the internet to _______.

A. get information about the companies.

B. compare comments and reviews.
C. compare prices before making a purchase.
D. demand the best prices from retailers
Q3. The writer implies that the younger generation are important because _______.

A. they are responsible for their lives

B. they can start their own companies
C. they are familiar with technology
D. they have more money
Q4. The writer thinks that in the future shops might be used _______

A. to give product information to suppliers

B. to show customers the range of products
C. to sell more products directly to the customer
D. to attract young customers for sales
Q5. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A. In the near future, traditional advertising will no longer be used.

B. Consumers will have many choices to make a decision.
C. Media can become of secondary importance.
D. Advertising will be more demanding and might not be necessary.

Reading (19)
In India, the people who run the call centers are endlessly featured in the media but not well-
known. However, its IT industry is growing at an incredible rate. Last year the industry
achieved sales of $16 billion. The big firms are hiring about 1,000 graduates a month straight
from Indian technical colleges.
The sales of Infosys alone, one of the top providers of IT services, have grown rapidly in the
last five years. The firm claims to run the biggest corporate training facility in the world, with
4,000 students at a time and three courses a year. The company’s chairman says Infosys is
going to expand further.
India’s BPO (business-process-outsourcing) industry is younger and smaller but growing
even faster. Last year its sales were $3.6 billion; by 2018 they are expected to reach $21
billion or even $24 billion. About 70% of the BPO industry’s revenue comes from call
centers; 20% from high-volume, low-value data work, such as transcribing health-insurance
claims; and the remaining 10% from higher-value information work, such as dealing with
insurance claims.
For the moment, India accounts for about 80% of the low-cost offshore market. In the long
run, it is sure to face hotter competition, especially from China and Russia. When it does, the
quality of its infrastructure will become crucial. The most important thing to improve is
India’s airports, says Mr Murthy of Infosys. After airports, Mr Murthy lists better hotels,
roads, schools and power supply, in that order.

Q1. In India, the best call centers are _______.

A. not famous.
B. owed by media stars.
C. very famous.
D. becoming less productive.
Q2. The IT industry in India is growing _______.
A. very quickly.
B. very slowly.
C. at a steady rate.
D. more slowly than ever
Q3. How much of India’s BPO industry’s revenue comes from call centers?*

A. Exactly half
B. More than half
C. About a quater
D. Just one fifth
Q4. Which statement is TRUE about India’s BPO industry?

A. Dealing with insurance claims is a low-value data work.

B. This industry is becoming bigger and faster.
C. In the future India will face more competition from other countries.
D. This sector could benefit much from China and Russia.
Q5. Which types of infrastructure is NOT listed to be improved in the final paragraph?

A. Power
B. Education
C. Healthcare
D. Roads and airports

Reading (20)
Since 1993, turnover at Halma has increased from £135 to over £290m and in the financial
year 2003/04, the group reported a pre-tax net profit of £36.7m. Part of Halma’s success can
be explained by tighter legislation over health and safety, which is being introduced all over
the world. However, it is also due to its focus on development of ideas. Since the mid 1990s,
Halma’s pre-tax return on capital employed has been impressively high compared with many
other engineering companies. This is largely because the company does not manufacture its
own parts. Companies which do this often have problems converting money which has been
invested in machinery into profits. Another factor in Halma’s success is its good relationship
with its customers. Although they are not told much about the engineering processes, Halma
makes a strong effort to maintain close contact with them worldwide. In 2003/04, £216.8m of
the group’s earnings came from customers abroad.
So, what does the future hold for Halma? Mr O’Shea believes that the company could expand
further. Two-thirds of Halma’s sales and profits growth in the next few years could come
from existing product areas and the rest from areas that Halma has not yet discovered. It is
difficult to predict what they will be but Mr O’Shea is confident that they will be in markets
with the possibility of long-term growth. ‘I get annoyed when people describe a market as a
neat pie chart with lines drawn on it,’ he says. ‘Real markets are not like that. They are messy
and can change in a very short time. If you realize that, you have the chance to do well.’

Q1. Staff at Halma spend most time _______.

A. developing new products

B. manufacturing individual part
C. researching potential markets
D. studying about customers’ needs
Q2. Demand for Halma’s products is growing worldwide because _______.

A. technology is developing so quickly

B. the company is marketing them strongly overseas
C. health and safety laws are becoming stricter
D. customers require better products and services
Q3. Financial difficulties in many engineering companies are caused by _______.

A. the high cost of machinery

B. competition from overseas
C. poor communication with customers
D. increasing demand of the society
Q4. What does Mr O’Shea believe will happen to Halma’s sales figures in the future?

A. They will continue to rise.

B. They will peak in the next few years.
C. They will level off.
D. They will stay the same.
Q5. . Mr O’Shea believes that markets are _______.

A. slow to change.
B. difficult to predict.
C. easy to describe.
D. hard to explain.

Reading (21)
Times have been hard for the UK cycle industry. Poor weather and competition from abroad
have had a serious effect on sales. Manufacturers have had to cut back and last month more
than 40 jobs losses were announced at Cycle World, one of the country’s main bicycle
factories in Leicester. But the company says it is fighting to win back customers
requirements.
Two years ago, Cycle World sold off its bike-making machinery in an effort to cut costs and
save money. The company’s Leicester factory is now only an assembly plant as most of the
parts are imported.
The company produces half a million bikes a year across the full Cycle World range, with
nearly all of these being sold in the UK. Production is largely done by hand. Workers use the
batch production method - everyone making up to 600 bikes of a particular model at any one
time.
At the height of its success, Cycle World employed 7,000 people but, like many areas of
manufacturing, it has since shrunk. Its 1950 purpose-built factory now employs just 470
permanent workers, with numbers rising to 700 as temporary staff are taken on to meet
seasonal demands in sales.

Q1. The weather has encouraged more people to buy bikes

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. Management have recently had to make people redundant at Cycle Word.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Cycle World is providing a more personal service to regain market share.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. Cycle World imports some bike-making machinery as part of a cost-cutting exercise

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. Only a small number of different bike models are produced each month.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (22)
Unigroup, the hotel chain, has recently announced that it will close its headquarters in London
as part of its attempt to reduce costs ahead of its break-up.
The group, currently fighting off a takeover bid from Rockford Investments, is keen to show
shareholders it can save £100m as part of its defense. It is also selling hotels in London and
several more in the US. Unigroup has started a program there for making staff redundant and
is considering further job cuts across Europe.
Unigroup spent Friday putting forward its arguments to shareholders. It is understood that the
shareholders have asked the company to postpone the meeting at which they will vote on
Rockford the chance to reconsider the package it is offering, parts of which were criticized by
its own shareholders.
Rockford has maintained that Unigroup shareholders have given it a friendly reception, but
refused to comment on its bid, currently worth 648p per share.
The battle increased last Friday when Unigroup management complained to the Takeover
Board about negative comments a Rockford representative had made about the company at a
press conference earlier that day. Rockford later apologized for what its representative had
said.

Q1. The headquarters of Unigroup will close after the rest of the business has broken up.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. Unigroup is cutting costs to help persuade shareholders to reject a rival takeover bid.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Unigroup’s shareholders wish to delay their decision on Rockford’s proposal.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. Rockford’s shareholders support the offer the company is making.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. It is believed Rockford will increase its bid if the current one looks likely to fail

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (23)
GOOD NEWS FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY
Customer loyalty is an important issue for the insurance sector since retaining a customer cost
much less than acquiring new ones. The best way to build customer loyalty is to make sure
that the customers are satisfied with the services they have subscribed to, and in the insurance
industry, the quality of the services will be tested especially when a claim is filed.
For the fifth year in a row, the Loyalty Insurance Company has cut the cost of its house
insurance. More than a million people with homes insured by the company will benefit from
decreases of between two and four percent on the amount they will have to pay this year. This
move goes against the market trend, with other insures increasing rates by an average one
percent.
‘The level of claims has been lower than usual over this period, allowing us to make these
welcome reductions,’ says Malcolm Broad, Loyalty’s general manager.
Although the cost of insuring a car with Loyalty has increased by six percent this year, it is
still the smallest rise in the insurance industry; most other companies’ rates are, on average,
ten percent higher than they were last year.
‘The company has always believed in passing on any improvement in its financial position to
its customers,’ says Mr. Broad. “Without doubt, this has led to a continual expansion of our
business over the past few years.’

Q1. This is the first year that Loyalty customers are paying less for their house insurance.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. Insuring a house with Loyalty will be at least four percent cheaper than last year.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Loyalty is performing in a different way from other insurance companies.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. Loyalty’s car insurance is currently the cheapest available.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. It is Loyalty’s policy to share its success with its customers.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (24)
Records show that tools were being made in Sheffield as long ago as the 13th century. The
city not only produced steel and made metal goods, but also pioneered the processes by which
they were made; for example, the first stainless steel was produced in 1913.
The first large-scale works in Sheffield each employed up to 500 workers. But these were
dwarfed by the massive steel and engineering works that grew up in the east of the city after
the 1890s. During its peak, Sheffield was producing 90% of all British-made steel and 50% of
all that made in Europe.
The metal industries were secretly hit in the late 1970s and 1980s. There was overcapacity in
Europe, and the government of the 1979 was not prepared to continue subscribing the
industry.
After the 13-week national steel strike in 1980, the steel, engineering and metal
manufacturing industries suffered huge redundancies. In 1981, there were 27,000 jobs in steel
production in Sheffield and 43,000 in engineering and metal manufacturing. By 1991, there
were just 7,000 jobs in steel and fewer than 30,000 in engineering and metal manufacturing.
Although heavy industry now plays a much-reduced role, for the past six years Sheffield has
had the fastest growing city economy outside London.

Q1. Sheffield was for a long time a leader in the production of steel.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. The factories built in the east of Sheffield after 1890 were larger than the earlier ones.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. At its height, Sheffield was producing almost all of the steel in Europe.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. After 1979, the British government agreed to put money into the steel industry.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. The steel strike in 1980 was part of a general strike all over Britain.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Reading (25)
Woolworths graduate training program
Our graduate recruits are our next generation of business leaders.
When you join us, you’ll enroll on our Woolworths Group Leadership Program (WGLP)
which will put you on the fast track to a senior management role in one of our central
functions (e.g., buying, finance, supply chain, systems, human resources or marketing).
You’ll undertake a comprehensive program of training in general management techniques and
specialist skills relevant to your functional discipline. With input from leading business
academics at City University, the WGLP will expose you to the latest strategic business
thinking. You’ll also receive support as you pursue professional qualifications in your field.
Your first few months will be spent working alongside a store management team. You’ll learn
the essential store management disciplines and gain insight into our customers, brands and
products. After that, you’ll join your functional team where you’ll take on meaningful
responsibility from the word go.
You’ll be mentored by senior managers who have already established themselves in the
business, and you’ll be part of a group-wide network of WGLP participants. There will also
be opportunities for you to move between companies as you develop your career.

Q1. To join the Leadership program, you need to have a university degree.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. Enrolment on the program guarantees you a job as a senior manager

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Part of the program is led by university lecturers.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. You will get extra money if you have a professional qualification.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. A senior person will support you personally during the training program.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (26)
Franchising: ask the right questions and you should be on the road to success in your
venture, advises Michael Becket.
Franchising operators seem to have a simple approach when it comes to recruiting. ‘Don’t
worry about what sort of work we’re doing, just roll up your sleeves and get down to it.’
Potential franchisees glancing through magazine advertisements could struggle to find out
what line of business they are chasing because the wording is so vague.
It all seems to be a seller’s market. Certainly, the sector’s profile – there are almost 680
franchise systems operating in the UK – suggests business is booming. Figures released in the
run-up to this week’s Franchise Exhibition at the Wembley exhibition and conference center
show the industry is producing a turnover of £91⁄2 billion a year and providing more than
326,000 jobs.
The initial start-up cost is now averaging £59,200 and the typical franchise is generating a
turnover of almost £300,000 a year while 91% of franchisees say they are making money.
It is impressive, but most of the large and reputable franchise operations complain they are
suffering from a shortage of “suitable applicants”. More than 40% of franchisors say the
biggest barrier to growth is a lack of franchisees they feel will make the grade.

Q1. It is simple to buy a franchise operation

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. Advertisements for franchises don’t always make it clear what kind of business involved.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Franchising appears to be very successful in the UK.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. The exhibition at Wembley provided around 326,000 jobs.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. Franchises could grow faster if more money was invested in operations.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (27)
You probably know the statistics: whatever you pay for a jar of coffee in a supermarket, half
goes to the manufacturer, a third to the supermarket itself, ten percent to the plantation where
the coffee was grown, and about seven percent to the worker who picked the beans in the first
place. The situation is getting worse: prices for raw commodities are now worth less than half
what they were 15 years ago.
In the past ten years, the fair-trade movement has developed to provide an alternative to this
situation. Fair trade organizations do business directly with producers in the developing
world, cutting out the middlemen, and so they make sure that the maximum profit is returned
to source. Fair trade also guarantees stability for producers and protects them against
fluctuations in the market by offering secure, long-term prices which are over and above the
market rate. Many schemes also offer prepayment or access to credit.
The fair-trade movement is not only restricted to foodstuffs. Crafts, clothing, jewelry and
furniture are fairly traded in the same way – and the movement is growing. Around 1,700
world shops and fair-trade groups took part in the first European World Shop Day, in Day
1996, and there are now fair-trade organizations throughout the world. Public opinion surveys
repeatedly show that people are happy to spend more money for fairly traded goods;
Cafidirect, the first product to carry the Fairtrade Mark in Britain, is now the third best-selling
coffee in one supermarket chain.

Q1. 15 years ago, manufacturers paid less for raw commodities than they do today.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. The fair-trade movement had been in existence for about a decade.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Fair trade organizations try to stop producers being exploited.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. Producers offer manufacturers a 90-day credit period in which to pay them.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. Cafidirect is popular because it is the cheapest brand of coffee in the supermarkets

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (28)
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Advertising is a paid form of communication that is used for the non-personal presentation of
information that helps the general public or target audience to know and opt for a product or
service. Features of advertising are crucial in bringing potential buyers to the brand’s goods
and services.
Save money and keep your staff happy
It can be expensive to keep the canteen open to serve drinks to your staff through the day. Our
QVM hot drinks machine replaces this service, so that you can close the canteen between
mealtimes. You can install the QVM hot drinks machine anywhere in the building. One
machine is suitable for a staff of ten to fifteen people. It costs £1300 to buy, or £11.00 per
week to rent over 60 months. It is not expensive to operate; for example, the cost of power for
one day is 30p, nearly as cheap as the price of one hot drink from the machine.
Our company will carry out weekly service, at a charge of £10.00. We can also refill the
machine with drinks ingredients for an extra charge of £8.00. Some customers prefer to do
this themselves, however. There are eight choices of hot drink available from the QVM
machine, and our company offers one month’s trial free of charge, so that you can estimate
how popular the machine will be and see what the actual savings are.

Q1. With a QVM machine, companies can avoid having a canteen altogether.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. The QTM machine provides enough hot drinks for up to fifteen people.
a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. Most customers prefer to rent the QTM machine over sixty months.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. The electricity used daily by the machine cost less than the price of a hot drink.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. The machine company empties the money from the machine as part of its service
agreement.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (29)
It is not just their availability that is the problem, but the speed with which new versions of
products come on the market. Advances in design and production mean that new items are
almost ready by the time that goods hit the shelves. Products also need to have a short
lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The classic
example is computers, which are almost obsolete once they are bought. At first, there were
only one or two available from a limited number of manufacturers, but now there are many
companies all with not only their own products but different versions of the same machine.
This makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a
shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety.
This situation is not limited to consumer items. With the greater mobility of people around the
world, people have more choices about where they want to live and work – a fairly recent
phenomenon. In the past, nations migrated across huge swathes of the earth in search of food,
adventure, and more hospitable environments. Whole nations crossed continents and changed
the face of history. So, the mobility of people is nothing new. The creation of nation states
and borders effectively showed this process down. But what is different now is the speed at
which migration is happening.

Q1. It is a bad thing that new products are so widely available.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. Products are kept and used for longer than in the past

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. There are as many computer manufacturers now as previously.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. There have always been too many choices for consumers over the years.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q5. The phenomenon of migration barely changed the history.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (30)
Unemployment has costs to a society that are more than just financial. Unemployed
individuals not only lose income but also face challenges to their physical and mental health.
Societal costs of high unemployment include higher crime and a reduced rate of volunteerism.
More than one in six young people are out of work, raising fears of a ‘lost generation’ of
potential workers, as unemployment hit a 14-year high. Even McDonald’s - a brand
synonymous with today’s youth – appeared to anger its main customer base with a new
campaign to boost the recruitment of older staff. According to a Lancaster University study
commissioned by the company, customer satisfaction was 20 percent higher in those branches
employing workers over 60. At present, 1,000 of McDonald’s 75,000 workers in Britain are
over 60.
Young people were granted some hope yesterday as Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-largest
supermarket, said that it would employ an extra 2,000 workers this year. As job losses have
increased significantly during the recession, supermarkets have been among the biggest
recruiters. Morrisons said yesterday that a third of the new jobs would be filled by recruits
aged 18 to 24. The jobs include vacancies for butchers, bakers and fishmongers as well as
checkout operators. Morrisons trains staff through its own food academy and is aiming to
have trained 100,000 workers to NVQ Level 2 by next spring.

Q1. McDonald’s is busy after school hours because young people are their main customers.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q2. In McDonald’s, customer satisfaction is partly dependent on who the customers are
served by.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q3. The majority of McDonald’s employees are over 60.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø
Q4. Morrisons supermarket is financially in a good position at the moment.

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
Ø
Q5. Two thirds of the jobs at Morrisons will be taken up by people between the ages of 25
and 75

a. TRUE
b. FALSE
c. NOT GIVEN
d. Ø

Reading (31)
More than half a million new businesses are created each year in America alone. Two-thirds
of these businesses survive at least two years; half make it to at least four. So how does a
company manage to go past the four-year mark? How does it manage to grow?
Part of the challenge lies in the fact that growth is not always good. Companies can rush
unprepared into new markets, expand without considering the demands made on their
employees, or spend unwisely. Tom Bartlett, vice president of investor relations for Verizon
Communications, is familiar with these problems. In September, Verizon began launching
third-generation (3G) wireless networks in 14 cities in the United States. Similar European
companies have yet to see a profit from their 3G investments, and Verizon has taken an
expensive risk in a slow market, by signing a $4.5 billion contract extension with Lucent for
3G services in July.
One of the choices is whether to go public or stay private. Matthew Szulik, chief executive of
Red Hat, which bundles Linux software for personal computers and larger networks, has
made this decision twice. While discussing the growth of demand for his product, Mr Szulik
admits that the consequences of going public during the dotcom boom were not totally
positive for the firm.

Q1. More than half the new companies stay in business for four years.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. Fast expansion can lead to huge debts in business.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. Verizon launched its product around the world in September.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Verizon’s European 3G competitors have failed to make money.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Mr Szulik believes that going public was bad for Red Hat in some ways.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (32)
Many critics dislike reality TV but one show which has received very favorable reviews is
Changing Places. The main idea is simple. Take the Chief Executive Officer of a company
and put him or her in the position of one of the company's low-end workers.
Donald Eisner is the CEO of the Absalon chain of hotels in Australia. His family have been
hotel owners for three generations and are one of the wealthiest in the Australian hotel
industry. In the program, we see Donald Eisner working as a bellboy, cook and cleaner while
supervisors monitor his performance, noting any mistakes. He has some triumphs, it is true. In
the kitchen, he successfully cooks several pancakes, for example, and, as a housekeeper, he
makes the beds correctly. The rest of his housekeeping, however, is not a success, as he fails
to clean any rooms to the company's required standards. At the end of the program, we see his
supervisor taking him from room to room, pointing out his mistakes.
Alex Jennings runs a successful chain of steak bars called Wayside Inn. He has a reputation
for demanding quality from his staff, both in terms of food and service. When he changes
places with some of his staff, we see him fail a number of tasks in the restaurant. As a waiter,
he continually forgets to ask customers how they want their steaks to be done and mixes up
the orders completely when he has to serve five tables at the same time. A few minutes later,
disaster strikes when his tie becomes caught under the drinks on a tray! The next day, when
he takes the place of the cook, his supervisor makes him redo several of the steaks.

Q1. Donald Eisner comes from a rich family.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. Donald Eisner can cook pancakes.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. In the program, Donald Eisner successfully cleans rooms up to his company’s required
standards.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Alex Jennings believes quality is important in his restaurants.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Alex Jennings has good skills as a waiter.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (33)
The old definitions of manufacturing are no longer worth much. One dictionary calls it ‘the
making of an article by physical labor or machinery’. Now go and stand in a queue at a
McDonald’s takeaway. Observe what goes on behind the counter. Gills cook raw discs of
minced beef. Some workers are tending the grills; others are loading potato chips into vats of
hot fat; yet others are taking orders, packing the output of their colleagues into cardboard
cartons, adding whatever extras the customer calls for. Would you call this a service activity –
or the distributed manufacture of cooked-meat products? The repetition of different tasks, the
loading and unloading of the cooking machines, is very similar to a car assembly line.
Alex Trotman, the chairman of Ford, sent a taskforce to McDonald’s when he set out to
transform the car company years ago, to learn how McDonald’s turn out the same burgers all
around the world. Ford wanted to do the same sort of thing. It wanted to change itself from a
collection of regional company into one which designed and produced cars on a global basis,
with a global supply chain.
Mr Trotman has long believed that in future a car company will beat its rivals not so much by
the shape of the car it sells, or the power of its engine, as by what the company can do for its
customers while they own the car. In the new meaning introduced by the new technologies,
much of what used to be called ‘service work’ is becoming part of the same thing as what
used to be called ‘manufacturing’.

Q1. Modern descriptions of manufacturing are the same as traditional description.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. At McDonald’s, workers have special training in the production of the food.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. Ford wanted to be less regional and more global.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. The future of the car industry will depend on the power of the engines.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Service and manufacturing industries are becoming more similar.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (34)
Companies frequently combine several different schemes to reward different kinds of
achievement. Eddie Bauer, a clothing retailer, used to pay people mainly by the kind
of job they did, not by how they did it. "People knew they could change their pay by
rewriting their job description, not by raising their productivity", says Lori Fosnes, the
senior compensation manager. But now staff can win more pay by being promoted -
sideways as well as upwards, as long as they acquire new skills in the process - or by
improving their personal performance.
However, the company reinforces the message with something that makes it easier to
reward teamwork: with prizes for good behavior. The most basic is a star, about four
inches across, which can be stuck on a filing cabinet or a wall. It can be given by any
"associate", as Bauer people call each other, to any other at any time, in recognition
for doing something well. The Oscar of Bauer awards is the "Best of Bauer", decided
by a "legends" committee and handed out at a ceremony in March. Employees who
receive this accolade wear a special name tag all year.
Such schemes may sound like kindergarten. But Bauer's human-resources staff think
they have a powerful effect because they are so much more public than pay rises.
They also point to other aspects of a job that individuals find rewarding: does their
office have a window? Do they have a parking space? Can they work from home?
Such thing can be immensely effective in rewarding good performance, and generally
cost a lot less than a pay rise.
Pay alone rarely keeps people with an employer. In the war for talent, companies need
better weapons than cash. They need to guarantee their stars a sequence of fascinating
jobs; to give them a sense of belonging; and to tell them they are tops.

Q1. Eddie Bauer has changed the way that staff performance is rewarded.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. In the past, the company rewarded the job you did, and not how well you did it.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. Now staff only have to be promoted upwards to get higher wages

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Any person who works at Eddie Bauer can give another employee a star.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Pay is not the only thing that motivates employees to stay with a company.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (35)
The world is a risky place, especially for those concerned with business and finance.
Natural and man-made disasters, including forest fires, earthquakes, big industrial
accidents, and various transport disasters have added to the feeling of danger.
However, part of this fear is irrational. The world is not necessarily more dangerous.
For most people in rich countries, life has become much safer in a number of
important ways. Over the past century, their life expectancy has risen by around two-
thirds. Workplaces, the wider environment, and many diseases have become less
hazardous. So, it is not true to say that life has become riskier; instead, some risks
have become smaller and some new ones have arrived.
It is now easier for people to study and learn from past risks by using information
technology. For example, life-insurance companies have looked back at records of
births and deaths to estimate lifespans and set insurance premiums. Thanks to
computer models, epidemiologists are more successful at tracking diseases, and even
man-made crises such as stockmarket crashes can be catalogued and studied to
produce better forecasts. This technology is also providing better information on the
costs of the problems when they do occur.
Insurance works by shifting risks from a party that does not want to deal with them to
one that does. For example, the cost of a house burning down can be moved from a
homeowner to the insurance company and its shareholders. A stockmarket listing can
shift business risks from a single family to thousands of investors worldwide.
Q1. Globalization has made people feel less worried about danger.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. Over the last 100 years, life expectancy has increased by over 65%.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. Looking at past risks can be done easily by using information technology.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Epidemiologists predict storms and earthquakes.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Insurance spreads the cost of paying for problems from an individual to a group.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (36)
A self-employed person refers to any person who earns their living from any independent
pursuit of economic activity, as opposed to earning a living working for a company or another
individual (an employer). A freelancer or an independent contractor who performs all of their
work for a single client may still be a self-employed person.
Last year, Sally Patterson left her permanent job with a newspaper and is now a self-
employed journalist. Why did she do it? ‘I had no control over my work,’ she says, ‘and that
mattered more to me than earning lots of money. Actually, leaving my job wasn’t as difficult
as I’d expected, because I already had plenty of contacts in the publishing industry. Unlike
my last job, though, I’m mostly in touch with the magazines and newspapers I write for by
email, and as I don’t work in an office, I may not see anyone for days. But that’s a welcome
relief!’
Isn’t it hard being self-employed? ‘The biggest danger when you become self-employed is
saying “yes” to everything,’ Sally says. ‘I make sure I turn work down if I haven’t got the
time for it. And that’s a question of planning: I spend an hour every week working out what
I’m doing for the next few months.’
And what about the benefits? ‘Well, at the newspaper I always concentrated on economic
matters, but now I can choose to work on a wider range of projects than before. And being my
own boss has made me feel more confident about the other areas of my life, too.’

Q1. Sally left her last job because she wanted to make decisions about her work herself.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. Her colleagues in publishing thought that being self-employed would be difficult for her.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
Ø
Q3. Most self-employed journalists find it difficult to plan ahead.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Sally specializes more now than she did in her last job.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Self-employed has barely affected Sally’s attitudes to life.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (37)
BREAKING INTO NEW MARKETS
The term electronic commerce (ecommerce) refers to a business model that allows companies
and individuals to buy and sell goods and services over the Internet. Ecommerce operates in
four major market segments and can be conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and
other smart devices.
A business model for e-commerce?
eBay, the world’s leading online auctioneer, has a business model that definitely suits the
internet. Thanks to many clever search features, it can match up sellers and buyers of even the
most unfamiliar items. And because of its smart cost and revenue structure (it charges a
modest commission on each transaction and does not store goods), eBay has been one of the
most consistently profitable e-commerce businesses. In the first quarter, its net income more
than doubled, to $104.2m, on revenues of $476m. This was partly due to eBay’s acquisition
of PayPal, a payment business, last year.
Taking out the effects of that deal, sales were up by 56% over the previous year. One of
eBay’s greatest strengths, however, is also one of the biggest risks it faces. Its business, like
any marketplace, is a natural monopoly, and so once it is established, it is pretty hard for a
newcomer to challenge it. This has already aroused the interest of America’s Department of
Justice. It took no action after an investigation a couple of years ago, but some think it will be
tempted to take another look as eBay expands.

Q1. eBay is regarded as the top online auction company.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. The company buys goods and holds them before reselling them.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. The company makes a large profit on every deal

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. eBay has recently bought a payment business.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. The US Department of Justice has tried to stop eBay trading.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (38)
New technology is influencing the way logistics companies are doing business – and cutting
their costs. For example, it costs FedEx $2.40 to track a package for a customer who calls by
phone, but only four cents for one who visits its website. FedEx now gets about 3m online
tracking requests a day, compared with only a few tens of thousands by phone.
However, the most dramatic gains happen when companies use technology to understand
better what they do in order to change how they do it. The main issue is ‘grandma syndrome’
– a reluctance to get rid of tried and tested processes. The brave company fighting this
syndrome is probably Dell, the computer maker. It constantly improves the way that it links
customers and suppliers through its website, and it regularly revisits its processes. Dell now
sends electronic orders to suppliers every few hours and can build a computer in less than 24.
One of its managers in Austin, Texas, was recently heard estimating gains of 30% this year,
and again next year.
Old-established companies can also make similar gains. Procter & Gamble, the consumer
goods giant, used to think that the most efficient way to get detergent from its warehouses to
shops was to load trucks as fully as possible. Then, a few years ago, it invested in software to
assess the supply chain. The unexpected conclusion was that it should send trucks less full,
and to load some toothpaste and other stuff alongside the detergent. As a result, P&G’s
inventory is down by some 30% and its warehouse workers spend less time relaxing.

Q1. It is expensive for FedEx to track orders for internet users.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. FedEx has twice as many telephone tracking requests as online ones.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. Dell regularly evaluates and updates the way it does things.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Dell has taken on 30% more staff to deal with increased business.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Proctor and Gamble now needs fewer warehouse workers.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Reading (39)
A&C Exports has seen its annual export sales rise by 40% since it improved its foreign
language skills. When the company first targeted Italy, it used an interpreter, but this was very
frustrating. A middleman, however fluent, can’t hope to establish relationships in the way a
committed member of the company can. A&C also takes great care to respond to the cultural
requirements of its customers, for example by choosing the right color for packaging. This
approach has doubled sales to Germany.
Karen Burdett, a language specialist who joined A&C eighteen months ago, is the key to the
firm’s export success. When Burdett was appointed, she spoke Spanish and French fluently,
but her knowledge of Italian was limited. In the four weeks before she took up her new post,
she determined to improve her Italian skills. She listened to Italian while she was driving,
cooking, dusting, and sleeping. She watched Italian videos. She read newspapers, magazines,
pizza packets, and shampoo bottles.
Her reward came with her first phone call. ‘I explained that I was learning their language and
asked our clients to be patient with me if I made mistakes. Far from being critical, they were
delighted, and from then on, a strong relationship was established,’ she says.

Q1. A&C managed to sell its products to Italy.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. A&C wasn’t happy with using an interpreter.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. A&C thinks that cultural differences are unimportant.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. Karen knows how to maximize her language learning.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Karen’s work has affected staff at all levels in the company.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø

Reading (40)

How do you create a restaurant business and become an overnight success at the age of 52?
As Ray Kroc said, “I was an overnight success alright, but 30 years is a long, long night.”
In 1954, Ray Kroc visited a restaurant in San Bernardino, California that had purchased
several Multimixers. There he found a small but successful restaurant run by brothers Dick
and Mac McDonald and was attracted by the effectiveness of their operation. The
McDonald’s brothers produced a limited menu, concentrating on just a few items – burgers,
fries, and beverages – which allowed them to focus on quality and quick service. They were
looking for a new franchising agent and Kroc saw an opportunity.
As a result, the first McDonald’s franchise restaurant that Kroc was responsible for opened in
Illinois in 1955. Like the earlier franchises, the building was red and white, and used the
Golden Arches logo. Both Kroc and the McDonald brothers wanted to control the company,
but in 1961 the brothers sold their interest in the business to Kroc, although they felt he was
forcing them out of the company. Two years later, McDonald’s one billionth hamburger was
served on national TV, and by 1965, the number of restaurants had grown to over 700.
McDonald’s was floated as a public company in the same year. There was great demand for
its shares, and their price more than doubled within a few weeks. The clown character Ronald
McDonald first appeared in a national TV commercial in 1966. The company’s international
expansion began in 1967, when its first Canadian store opened.

Q1. The McDonald brothers retired from business when they left the company.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q2. The first time that the public could buy shares in McDonald’s was in 1965.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q3. After a few weeks, McDonald’s share price was lower than it started.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q4. The clown character Ronald McDonald was Ray Kroc’s idea.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø
Q5. Until 1967 all the company’s restaurants were in the USA.

A. TRUE
B. FALSE
C. NOT GIVEN
D. Ø