ANGLAIS BTS 2003

I- VOCABULARY

Complete each gap with a word or expression chosen from those in brackets
a) They are giving………………………….a prize. (she, its, him, they)
b) Last week, the bank manager gave me…………………to enable me to feed my
family while waiting for the end of the month. (a red carped treatment, an overdraft,
statement of account).
c) Markwetche always takes down the ……………………….of our monthly
meetings (rapport, draft, minutes).
d) …………….. man has got a moustache ? (which, who, who’s, why).
e) Have you...............................to London before ? (been, gone, go, went)

II- GRAMMAR

Obey the instruction given in each question

A- Put the verb in brackets in the correct tense.

a) I (go) to Japan for the 1992 trade fair.
b) John brought the book when the manager (to buy) another one.
B- Write a question tag for this statement
You like driving………………….
C- Put the following structures in the reported speech
a) “The wholesaler had bought his goods two days ago”, the shop assistant said.
b) “John is travelling tomorrow”, said Mary.

III- COMPREHENSION

Protection and free trade

International trade is of vital importance to all industrialised countries. They must

sell their products abroad in order to earn enough foreign currency to import the raw
materials, manufactured goods or services that they do not produce at home. Governments
have to keep a watchful eye on their countries’ Balance of Trade (the ratio between
imports and exports of “visible” i.e goods) and their Balance of payments (concerning not
only “visibles” but also “invisibles” – such as tourism and financial services). If a
country’s products are successful abroad, it can afford to import a wider variety of goods,
thus offering consumers more choice and improving living standards.
Because of increasingly fierce competition on the world market many countries seek
to protect domestic production by controlling imports. This may be done by applying
quotas or tariffs, by setting up customs barriers instituting stringent health and safety
regulations and various other import restrictions. To counteract protectionism and
“economic warfare”, organisations like the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade) and the WTO (World Trade Organisation) aim to remove trade barriers to eradicate
all dumping measures and to ensure that each member country can benefit from relatively
free world trade.
Whereas most world trade revolved around the Western Europe / North American
axis before the oil crisis of 1973, a major shift occurred in the 70s and 80s. Japan and
NICS (Newly-Industrialised Countries) like Taiwan or Hong-Kong penetrated the Western
markets with products that proved to be serious rivals for home-produced goods. Because
of this, and the subsequent attempts by world organisations to apply the principles of free
trade worldwide, the number of transactional or multi-nationals has increased rapidly. This
has been helped by the standardizing of manufacturing techniques and safety standards,
and by a certain degree of standardization of products as well. At the same time, socio-
cultural trends are now transactional (for example, in the fields of fast food and
computerised systems). The result is that some brand names and products are now
produced and sold all over the world. A company aiming at the world market may either
create a “global concept” and sell identical products in each country (like Coca Cola) or,
more often, it may tailor its basic concept to the local requirement of each national market.

Breaking into export market

Before a company decides to export its products it must assess its export potential, i.e analyse the
suitability of its products and whether it has the production capacity as well as the financial and human
resources necessary to break into the export market. It must identify potential partners and calculate the
risks involved in such a venture. Information about export markets can often be obtained from
government organisations like COFACE in France, which provide assistance to exporters.
Advice can also be obtained from banks who will not only have branches abroad and therefore
know the state of the market in specific countries, but who can also check the creditworthiness of
potential clients or partners. Banks are also invaluable in international trade because of the importance of
the documentary credit, a means of payment for imported goods that is a written undertaking from a bank
that will pay the beneficiary (the exporter) so long as he meets the conditions of the credit.

Questions
1. Why is international trade of vital importance to all industrialised countries ?
2. What methods can a country use to protect domestic production ?
3. What precautions must a company take before exporting its products ?
4. What role do banks play in international trade ?
5. What measures can be taken to counteract protectionism and “economic warfare” ?

IV- TRANSLATION

A- Translate into French the first two sentences of the passage, i.e “International trade is of vital
…………………… goods or services that they do not produce at home”
B- Translate the following sentences into English
1- Les ventes étaient en plein essor lorsque notre principal concurrent lança son nouveau produit.
2- Après cinq dures années, l’entreprise espère qu’elle est sur le point de récolter le fruit de nos
efforts.
3- Nos travailleurs sont satisfaits des conditions de travail dans la nouvelle usine.

V- ESSAY

« Market research surveys are essential for a company today ». Discuss.

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