TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH QTKD CLC 1 điểm

TRUE
READING X (29/50) FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Times have been hard for the UK cycle industry. Poor weather and competition from abroad Ø
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 ’Unigroup, the hotel chain, has recently announced that it will close its headquarters in London
in Leicester. But the company says it is fighting to win back customers requirements. as part of its attempt to reduce costs ahead of its break-up.
Two years ago, Cycle World sold off its bike-making machinery in an effort to cut costs and The group, currently fighting off a takeover bid from Rockford Investments, is keen to show
save money. The company’s Leicester factory is now only an assembly plant as most of the shareholders it can save £100m as part of its defense. It is also selling hotels in London and
parts are imported. 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
The company produces half a million bikes a year across the full Cycle World range, with arguments to shareholders. It is understood that the shareholders have asked the company to
nearly all of these being sold in the UK. Production is largely done by hand. Workers use the postpone the meeting at which they will vote on Rockford the chance to reconsider the package
batch production method - everyone making up to 600 bikes of a particular model at any one it is offering, parts of which were criticized by its own shareholders. Rockford has maintained
time. that Unigroup shareholders have given it a friendly reception, but refused to comment on its
At the height of its success, Cycle World employed 7,000 people but, like many areas of bid, currently worth 648p per share. The battle increased last Friday when Unigroup
manufacturing, it has since shrunk. Its 1950 purpose-built factory now employs just 470 management complained to the Takeover Board about negative comments a Rockford
permanent workers, with numbers rising to 700 as temporary staff are taken on to meet seasonal representative had made about the company at a press conference earlier that day. Rockford
demands in sales. later apologized for what its representative had said.
Q1. The weather has encouraged more people to buy bikes.* Q1. The headquarters of Unigroup will close after the rest of the business has broken up.* (S)
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TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE
NOT GIVEN NOT GIVEN
Ø Ø
Q2. Management have recently had to make people redundant at Cycle Word.* Q2. Unigroup is cutting costs to help persuade shareholders to reject a rival takeover bid.*
1 điểm 1 điểm
TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE
NOT GIVEN NOT GIVEN
Ø Ø
Q3. Cycle World is providing a more personal service to regain market share.* (S) Q3. Unigroup’s shareholders wish to delay their decision on Rockford’s proposal.* (S)
1 điểm 1 điểm
TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE
NOT GIVEN NOT GIVEN
Ø Ø
Q4. Cycle World imports some bike-making machinery as part of a cost-cutting exercise* Q4. Rockford’s shareholders support the offer the company is making.* (S)
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TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE
NOT GIVEN NOT GIVEN
Ø Ø
Q5. Only a small number of different bike models are produced each month.* Q5. It is believed Rockford will increase its bid if the current one looks likely to fail.*
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Ø
TRUE
FALSE Q5. It is Loyalty’s policy to share its success with its customers.*
NOT GIVEN 1 điểm
Ø
TRUE
GOOD NEWS FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY FALSE
Customer loyalty is an important issue for the insurance sector since retaining a customer cost NOT GIVEN
much less than acquiring new ones. The best way to build customer loyalty is to make sure that Ø
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. ’ Records show that tools were being made in Sheffield as long ago as the 13th century. The
For the fifth year in a row, the Loyalty Insurance Company has cut the cost of its house city not only produced steel and made metal goods, but also pioneered the processes by which
insurance. More than a million people with homes insured by the company will benefit from they were made; for example, the first stainless steel was produced in 1913.
decreases of between two and four percent on the amount they will have to pay this year. This The first large-scale works in Sheffield each employed up to 500 workers. But these were
move goes against the market trend, with other insures increasing rates by an average one dwarfed by the massive steel and engineering works that grew up in the east of the city after
percent. the 1890s. During its peak, Sheffield was producing 90% of all British-made steel and 50% of
‘The level of claims has been lower than usual over this period, allowing us to make these all that made in Europe.
welcome reductions,’ says Malcolm Broad, Loyalty’s general manager. Although the cost of The metal industries were secretly hit in the late 1970s and 1980s. There was overcapacity in
insuring a car with Loyalty has increased by six percent this year, it is still the smallest rise in Europe, and the government of the 1979 was not prepared to continue subscribing the industry.
the insurance industry; most other companies’ rates are, on average, ten percent higher than After the 13-week national steel strike in 1980, the steel, engineering and metal manufacturing
they were last year. ‘The company has always believed in passing on any improvement in its industries suffered huge redundancies. In 1981, there were 27,000 jobs in steel production in
financial position to its customers,’ says Mr. Broad. “Without doubt, this has led to a continual Sheffield and 43,000 in engineering and metal manufacturing. By 1991, there were just 7,000
expansion of our business over the past few years.’ 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
Q1. This is the first year that Loyalty customers are paying less for their house insurance.* (S) growing city economy outside London.
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Q1. Sheffield was for a long time a leader in the production of steel.*
TRUE 1 điểm
FALSE
NOT GIVEN TRUE
Ø FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Q2. Insuring a house with Loyalty will be at least four percent cheaper than last year.* Ø
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Q2. The factories built in the east of Sheffield after 1890 were larger than the earlier ones.*
TRUE (S)
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q3. Loyalty is performing in a different way from other insurance companies.* (S) NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q3. At its height, Sheffield was producing almost all of the steel in Europe.*
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q4. Loyalty’s car insurance is currently the cheapest available.* (S) NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q4. After 1979, the British government agreed to put money into the steel industry.*
FALSE 1 điểm
TRUE Q4. You will get extra money if you have a professional qualification.* (S)
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q5. The steel strike in 1980 was part of a general strike all over Britain.* NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q5. A senior person will support you personally during the training program.*
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Woolworths graduate training program NOT GIVEN
Our graduate recruits are our next generation of business leaders. Ø
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., Franchising: ask the right questions and you should be on the road to success in your venture,
buying, finance, supply chain, systems, human resources or marketing). advises Michael Becket.
You’ll undertake a comprehensive program of training in general management techniques and Franchising operators seem to have a simple approach when it comes to recruiting. ‘Don’t
specialist skills relevant to your functional discipline. With input from leading business worry about what sort of work we’re doing, just roll up your sleeves and get down to it.’
academics at City University, the WGLP will expose you to the latest strategic business Potential franchisees glancing through magazine advertisements could struggle to find out what
thinking. You’ll also receive support as you pursue professional qualifications in your field. line of business they are chasing because the wording is so vague.
Your first few months will be spent working alongside a store management team. You’ll learn It all seems to be a seller’s market. Certainly, the sector’s profile – there are almost 680
the essential store management disciplines and gain insight into our customers, brands and franchise systems operating in the UK – suggests business is booming. Figures released in the
products. After that, you’ll join your functional team where you’ll take on meaningful run-up to this week’s Franchise Exhibition at the Wembley exhibition and conference center
responsibility from the word go. show the industry is producing a turnover of £91∕2 billion a year and providing more than
You’ll be mentored by senior managers who have already established themselves in the 326,000 jobs.
business, and you’ll be part of a group-wide network of WGLP participants. There will also be The initial start-up cost is now averaging £59,200 and the typical franchise is generating a
opportunities for you to move between companies as you develop your career. 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
Q1. To join the Leadership program, you need to have a university degree.* (S) suffering from a shortage of “suitable applicants”. More than 40% of franchisors say the
1 điểm biggest barrier to growth is a lack of franchisees they feel will make the grade.
TRUE Q1. It is simple to buy a franchise operation.* (S)
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q2. Enrolment on the program guarantees you a job as a senior manager.* (S) NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q2. Advertisements for franchises don’t always make it clear what kind of business involved.*
FALSE (S)
NOT GIVEN 1 điểm
Ø
TRUE
Q3. Part of the program is led by university lecturers.* (S) FALSE
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Ø
TRUE
FALSE Q3. Franchising appears to be very successful in the UK.*
NOT GIVEN 1 điểm
Ø
TRUE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN Ø
Ø
Q3. Fair trade organizations try to stop producers being exploited.* S
Q4. The exhibition at Wembley provided around 326,000 jobs.* 1 điểm
1 điểm
TRUE
TRUE FALSE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN Ø
Ø
Q4. Producers offer manufacturers a 90-day credit period in which to pay them.*
Q5. Franchises could grow faster if more money was invested in operations.* 1 điểm
1 điểm
TRUE
TRUE FALSE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN Ø
Ø
Q5. Cafidirect is popular because it is the cheapest brand of coffee in the supermarkets.*
You probably know the statistics: whatever you pay for a jar of coffee in a supermarket, half 1 điểm
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 TRUE
place. The situation is getting worse: prices for raw commodities are now worth less than half FALSE
what they were 15 years ago. NOT GIVEN
Ø
In the past ten years, the fair-trade movement has developed to provide an alternative to this ADVERTISING FEATURE
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. Advertising is a paid form of communication that is used for the non-personal presentation of
Fair trade also guarantees stability for producers and protects them against fluctuations in the information that helps the general public or target audience to know and opt for a product or
market by offering secure, long-term prices which are over and above the market rate. Many service. Features of advertising are crucial in bringing potential buyers to the brand’s goods
schemes also offer prepayment or access to credit. and services.
The fair-trade movement is not only restricted to foodstuffs. Crafts, clothing, jewelry and Save money and keep your staff happy
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 It can be expensive to keep the canteen open to serve drinks to your staff through the day. Our
there are now fair-trade organizations throughout the world. Public opinion surveys repeatedly QVM hot drinks machine replaces this service, so that you can close the canteen between
show that people are happy to spend more money for fairly traded goods; Cafidirect, the first mealtimes. You can install the QVM hot drinks machine anywhere in the building. One
product to carry the Fairtrade Mark in Britain, is now the third best-selling coffee in one machine is suitable for a staff of ten to fifteen people. It costs £1300 to buy, or £11.00 per week
supermarket chain. 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.
Q1. 15 years ago, manufacturers paid less for raw commodities than they do today.*S Our company will carry out weekly service, at a charge of £10.00. We can also refill the
1 điểm machine with drinks ingredients for an extra charge of £8.00. Some customers prefer to do this
TRUE themselves, however. There are eight choices of hot drink available from the QVM machine,
FALSE and our company offers one month’s trial free of charge, so that you can estimate how popular
NOT GIVEN the machine will be and see what the actual savings are.
Ø Q1. With a QVM machine, companies can avoid having a canteen altogether.*S
Q2. The fair-trade movement had been in existence for about a decade.* 1 điểm
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TRUE
TRUE FALSE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q2. The QTM machine provides enough hot drinks for up to fifteen people.* NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q2. Products are kept and used for longer than in the past.*S
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q3. Most customers prefer to rent the QTM machine over sixty months.* NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q3. There are as many computer manufacturers now as previously.*S
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q4. The electricity used daily by the machine cost less than the price of a hot drink.*S NOT GIVEN
1 điểm Ø
TRUE Q4. There have always been too many choices for consumers over the years.*S
FALSE 1 điểm
NOT GIVEN
Ø TRUE
FALSE
Q5. The machine company empties the money from the machine as part of its service NOT GIVEN
agreement.* Ø
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Q5. The phenomenon of migration barely changed the history.*
TRUE 1 điểm
FALSE
NOT GIVEN TRUE
Ø FALSE
NOT GIVEN
It is not just their availability that is the problem, but the speed with which new versions of Ø
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 Unemployment has costs to a society that are more than just financial. Unemployed individuals
so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The classic example is not only lose income but also face challenges to their physical and mental health. Societal costs
computers, which are almost obsolete once they are bought. At first, there were only one or of high unemployment include higher crime and a reduced rate of volunteerism.
two available from a limited number of manufacturers, but now there are many companies all More than one in six young people are out of work, raising fears of a ‘lost generation’ of
with not only their own products but different versions of the same machine. This makes potential workers, as unemployment hit a 14-year high. Even McDonald’s - a brand
selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy synonymous with today’s youth – appeared to anger its main customer base with a new
one thing; no choice, no anxiety. 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
This situation is not limited to consumer items. With the greater mobility of people around the employing workers over 60. At present, 1,000 of McDonald’s 75,000 workers in Britain are
world, people have more choices about where they want to live and work – a fairly recent over 60.
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 Young people were granted some hope yesterday as Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-largest
the face of history. So, the mobility of people is nothing new. The creation of nation states and supermarket, said that it would employ an extra 2,000 workers this year. As job losses have
borders effectively showed this process down. But what is different now is the speed at which increased significantly during the recession, supermarkets have been among the biggest
migration is happening. 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
Q1. It is a bad thing that new products are so widely available.*
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operators. Morrisons trains staff through its own food academy and is aiming to have trained third-generation (3G) wireless networks in 14 cities in the United States. Similar European
100,000 workers to NVQ Level 2 by next spring. 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
Q1. McDonald’s is busy after school hours because young people are their main customers.* 3G services in July.
1/1
One of the choices is whether to go public or stay private. Matthew Szulik, chief executive of
TRUE Red Hat, which bundles Linux software for personal computers and larger networks, has made
FALSE this decision twice. While discussing the growth of demand for his product, Mr Szulik admits
NOT GIVEN that the consequences of going public during the dotcom boom were not totally positive for the
Ø firm.
Q2. In McDonald’s, customer satisfaction is partly dependent on who the customers are served Q1. More than half the new companies stay in business for four years.*
by.* 1 điểm
1/1
TRUE
TRUE FALSE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN Ø
Ø
Q2. Fast expansion can lead to huge debts in business.*
Q3. The majority of McDonald’s employees are over 60.* 1 điểm
1/1
TRUE
TRUE FALSE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN Ø
Ø
Q3. Verizon launched its product around the world in September.*
Q4. Morrisons supermarket is financially in a good position at the moment.* 1 điểm
1/1
TRUE
TRUE FALSE
FALSE NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN Ø
Ø
Q4. Verizon’s European 3G competitors have failed to make money.*
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Q5. Two thirds of the jobs at Morrisons will be taken up by people between the ages of 25 and
75.* TRUE
1/1 FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q5. Mr Szulik believes that going public was bad for Red Hat in some ways.*
Ø 1 điểm (S)
TRUE
READING W (38/50) FALSE
More than half a million new businesses are created each year in America alone. Two-thirds of NOT GIVEN
these businesses survive at least two years; half make it to at least four. So how does a company Ø
manage to go past the four-year mark? How does it manage to grow? Many critics dislike reality TV but one show which has received very favorable reviews is
Part of the challenge lies in the fact that growth is not always good. Companies can rush Changing Places. The main idea is simple. Take the Chief Executive Officer of a company and
unprepared into new markets, expand without considering the demands made on their put him or her in the position of one of the company's low-end workers.
employees, or spend unwisely. Tom Bartlett, vice president of investor relations for Verizon Donald Eisner is the CEO of the Absalon chain of hotels in Australia. His family have been
Communications, is familiar with these problems. In September, Verizon began launching
hotel owners for three generations and are one of the wealthiest in the Australian hotel industry. Ø
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, The old definitions of manufacturing are no longer worth much. One dictionary calls it ‘the
he successfully cooks several pancakes, for example, and, as a housekeeper, he makes the beds making of an article by physical labor or machinery’. Now go and stand in a queue at a
correctly. The rest of his housekeeping, however, is not a success, as he fails to clean any rooms McDonald’s takeaway. Observe what goes on behind the counter. Gills cook raw discs of
to the company's required standards. At the end of the program, we see his supervisor taking minced beef. Some workers are tending the grills; others are loading potato chips into vats of
him from room to room, pointing out his mistakes. 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 –
Alex Jennings runs a successful chain of steak bars called Wayside Inn. He has a reputation for or the distributed manufacture of cooked-meat products? The repetition of different tasks, the
demanding quality from his staff, both in terms of food and service. When he changes places loading and unloading of the cooking machines, is very similar to a car assembly line.
with some of his staff, we see him fail a number of tasks in the restaurant. As a waiter, he Alex Trotman, the chairman of Ford, sent a taskforce to McDonald’s when he set out to
continually forgets to ask customers how they want their steaks to be done and mixes up the transform the car company years ago, to learn how McDonald’s turn out the same burgers all
orders completely when he has to serve five tables at the same time. A few minutes later, around the world. Ford wanted to do the same sort of thing. It wanted to change itself from a
disaster strikes when his tie becomes caught under the drinks on a tray! The next day, when he collection of regional company into one which designed and produced cars on a global basis,
takes the place of the cook, his supervisor makes him redo several of the steaks. with a global supply chain.
Q1. Donald Eisner comes from a rich family.* Mr Trotman has long believed that in future a car company will beat its rivals not so much by
1 điểm 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,
TRUE much of what used to be called ‘service work’ is becoming part of the same thing as what used
FALSE to be called ‘manufacturing’.
NOT GIVEN
Ø Q1. Modern descriptions of manufacturing are the same as traditional description.*
1 điểm
Q2. Donald Eisner can cook pancakes.*
1 điểm TRUE
FALSE
TRUE NOT GIVEN
FALSE Ø
NOT GIVEN
Ø Q2. At McDonald’s, workers have special training in the production of the food.*
1 điểm
Q3. In the program, Donald Eisner successfully cleans rooms up to his company’s required
standards.* (S) TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q3. Ford wanted to be less regional and more global.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q4. Alex Jennings believes quality is important in his restaurants.* TRUE
1 điểm (S) FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q4. The future of the car industry will depend on the power of the engines.*
Ø 1 điểm (S)
Q5. Alex Jennings has good skills as a waiter.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q5. Service and manufacturing industries are becoming more similar.*
1 điểm
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø Ø
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.*
1 điểm (S)
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø 1 điểm
Q2. In the past, the company rewarded the job you did, and not how well you did it.*
1 điểm
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø 1 điểm
Q3. Now staff only have to be promoted upwards to get higher wages.*
1 điểm
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø 1 điểm
Q4. Any person who works at Eddie Bauer can give another employee a star.*
1 điểm
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Q5. Pay is not the only thing that motivates employees to stay with a company.*
1 điểm
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø
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.*
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø
Q2. Over the last 100 years, life expectancy has increased by over 65%.*
TRUE
FALSE
NOT GIVEN
Ø
Q3. Looking at past risks can be done easily by using information technology.*
TRUE
FALSE Q3. Most self-employed journalists find it difficult to plan ahead.* (S)
NOT GIVEN 1 điểm
Ø
TRUE
Q4. Epidemiologists predict storms and earthquakes.* (S) FALSE
1 điểm NOT GIVEN
Ø
TRUE
FALSE Q4. Sally specializes more now than she did in her last job.*
NOT GIVEN 1 điểm
Ø
TRUE
Q5. Insurance spreads the cost of paying for problems from an individual to a group.* FALSE
1 điểm NOT GIVEN
Ø
TRUE
FALSE Q5. Self-employed has barely affected Sally’s attitudes to life.*
NOT GIVEN 1 điểm
Ø
TRUE
A self-employed person refers to any person who earns their living from any independent FALSE
pursuit of economic activity, as opposed to earning a living working for a company or another NOT GIVEN
individual (an employer). A freelancer or an independent contractor who performs all of their Ø
work for a single client may still be a self-employed person.
BREAKING INTO NEW MARKETS
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 The term electronic commerce (ecommerce) refers to a business model that allows companies
more to me than earning lots of money. Actually, leaving my job wasn’t as difficult as I’d and individuals to buy and sell goods and services over the Internet. Ecommerce operates in
expected, because I already had plenty of contacts in the publishing industry. Unlike my last four major market segments and can be conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and
job, though, I’m mostly in touch with the magazines and newspapers I write for by email, and other smart devices.
as I don’t work in an office, I may not see anyone for days. But that’s a welcome relief!’ A business model for e-commerce?
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 eBay, the world’s leading online auctioneer, has a business model that definitely suits the
for it. And that’s a question of planning: I spend an hour every week working out what I’m internet. Thanks to many clever search features, it can match up sellers and buyers of even the
doing for the next few months.’ 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
And what about the benefits? ‘Well, at the newspaper I always concentrated on economic consistently profitable e-commerce businesses. In the first quarter, its net income more than
matters, but now I can choose to work on a wider range of projects than before. And being my doubled, to $104.2m, on revenues of $476m. This was partly due to eBay’s acquisition of
own boss has made me feel more confident about the other areas of my life, too.’ PayPal, a payment business, last year.
Q1. Sally left her last job because she wanted to make decisions about her work herself.* (S)
Taking out the effects of that deal, sales were up by 56% over the previous year. One of eBay’s
1 điểm
greatest strengths, however, is also one of the biggest risks it faces. Its business, like any
TRUE marketplace, is a natural monopoly, and so once it is established, it is pretty hard for a
FALSE newcomer to challenge it. This has already aroused the interest of America’s Department of
NOT GIVEN Justice. It took no action after an investigation a couple of years ago, but some think it will be
Ø tempted to take another look as eBay expands.
Q2. Her colleagues in publishing thought that being self-employed would be difficult for her.* Q1. eBay is regarded as the top online auction company.*
1 điểm 1 điểm
TRUE TRUE
FALSE FALSE
NOT GIVEN NOT GIVEN
Ø Ø
Q2. The company buys goods and holds them before reselling them.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q2. FedEx has twice as many telephone tracking requests as online ones.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q3. The company makes a large profit on every deal.* (S) TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q3. Dell regularly evaluates and updates the way it does things.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q4. eBay has recently bought a payment business.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q4. Dell has taken on 30% more staff to deal with increased business.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q5. The US Department of Justice has tried to stop eBay trading.* (S) TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q5. Proctor and Gamble now needs fewer warehouse workers.*
Ø 1 điểm
New technology is influencing the way logistics companies are doing business – and cutting TRUE
their costs. For example, it costs FedEx $2.40 to track a package for a customer who calls by FALSE
phone, but only four cents for one who visits its website. FedEx now gets about 3m online NOT GIVEN
tracking requests a day, compared with only a few tens of thousands by phone. Ø
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 A&C Exports has seen its annual export sales rise by 40% since it improved its foreign
reluctance to get rid of tried and tested processes. The brave company fighting this syndrome language skills. When the company first targeted Italy, it used an interpreter, but this was very
is probably Dell, the computer maker. It constantly improves the way that it links customers frustrating. A middleman, however fluent, can’t hope to establish relationships in the way a
and suppliers through its website, and it regularly revisits its processes. Dell now sends committed member of the company can. A&C also takes great care to respond to the cultural
electronic orders to suppliers every few hours and can build a computer in less than 24. One of requirements of its customers, for example by choosing the right color for packaging. This
its managers in Austin, Texas, was recently heard estimating gains of 30% this year, and again approach has doubled sales to Germany.
next year. Karen Burdett, a language specialist who joined A&C eighteen months ago, is the key to the
Old-established companies can also make similar gains. Procter & Gamble, the consumer firm’s export success. When Burdett was appointed, she spoke Spanish and French fluently,
goods giant, used to think that the most efficient way to get detergent from its warehouses to but her knowledge of Italian was limited. In the four weeks before she took up her new post,
shops was to load trucks as fully as possible. Then, a few years ago, it invested in software to she determined to improve her Italian skills. She listened to Italian while she was driving,
assess the supply chain. The unexpected conclusion was that it should send trucks less full, and cooking, dusting, and sleeping. She watched Italian videos. She read newspapers, magazines,
to load some toothpaste and other stuff alongside the detergent. As a result, P&G’s inventory pizza packets, and shampoo bottles.
is down by some 30% and its warehouse workers spend less time relaxing.
Her reward came with her first phone call. ‘I explained that I was learning their language and
Q1. It is expensive for FedEx to track orders for internet users.* asked our clients to be patient with me if I made mistakes. Far from being critical, they were
1 điểm delighted, and from then on, a strong relationship was established,’ she says.
Q1. A&C managed to sell its products to Italy.* (S) year. There was great demand for its shares, and their price more than doubled within a few
1 điểm 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
TRUE opened.
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q1. The McDonald brothers retired from business when they left the company.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q2. A&C wasn’t happy with using an interpreter.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q2. The first time that the public could buy shares in McDonald’s was in 1965.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q3. A&C thinks that cultural differences are unimportant.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q3. After a few weeks, McDonald’s share price was lower than it started.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q4. Karen knows how to maximize her language learning.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q4. The clown character Ronald McDonald was Ray Kroc’s idea.*
Ø 1 điểm
Q5. Karen’s work has affected staff at all levels in the company.* TRUE
1 điểm FALSE
NOT GIVEN
TRUE Ø
FALSE
NOT GIVEN Q5. Until 1967 all the company’s restaurants were in the USA.* (S)
Ø 1 điểm
How do you create a restaurant business and become an overnight success at the age of 52? As TRUE
Ray Kroc said, “I was an overnight success alright, but 30 years is a long, long night.” FALSE
In 1954, Ray Kroc visited a restaurant in San Bernardino, California that had purchased several NOT GIVEN
Multimixers. There he found a small but successful restaurant run by brothers Dick and Mac Ø
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
Reading Y (34/50) are using the internet a lot.
You may not have noticed, but you are also now working for your phone company and your Q5. According to the passage, mass production changed ________.*
bank. Why? Because of the growth of the self-service economy in which companies do the 1 điểm
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 the airline industry
future. the retail industry.
Self-service has been around for decades, ever since Clarence Saunders, an American the service industry.
entrepreneur, opened the first Piggly Wiggly supermarket in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee. the manufacturing industries.
Shoppers entered the store, helped themselves to whatever they need and then carried their 33% of the shares in the British sandwich chain Contrast were recently sold to King Coffee,
purchases to the check-out counter for payment. Previously, store clerks were responsible for the international coffee shop chain. According to Caroline Bell, Contrast’s Chairman, ‘This
getting items off the shelves; but with the arrival of the supermarket, the shoppers took on that way, we’ll benefit from King Coffee’s experience to expand overseas, while keeping the two
job themselves. Then came laundromats, cafeterias, and self-service car washes, all of which companies’ brands and branches quite separate.’ Caroline Bell and Johnny Nash set up a
were variations on the same theme. With the rise of the web, companies are taking self-service clothes shop ten years ago. Later, they began selling sandwiches there, and when they found
to new levels. Millions of people now manage their finances, track packages, and buy cinema sandwiches more profitable, they gave up selling clothes. During this time, Bell has been
and theater tickets while sitting in front of their computers. They plan their own travel involved in every aspect of the business including sandwich making, while Johnny Nash is the
itineraries and make their own hotel and airline bookings: later, at the airport, they may even Chief Executive. With Nash responsible for day-to-day management, Bell can find time to
check themselves in. And they do all of this with mouse in hand and no human employees in concentrate on experimenting with different ingredients to add to the menu. ‘We believe in
sight. Self-service systems can save companies money and make customers happy. This doing what we do best,’ she says, ‘so we don’t move into other fields. And our customers like
suggests that they could transform the service economy in much the same way that mass our friendly service, so we’ll make sure that doesn’t change.’ One reason for the friendly
production transformed manufacturing, by allowing services to be delivered at low cost in large service is that five times a year, the managers spend a day at another branch serving customers,
volumes. Though it may take five years before most transactions are conducted via self-service, so that they don’t forget what it’s like for the sales staff. The company see their staff as key,
we are definitely moving in that direction. and Bell is proud that most managerial appointments come from within the chain. ‘In fact we’ve
Q1. The writer thinks that self-service is a good idea for ________.* done so well that there’s a risk we’ll stop trying, which would ruin Contrast.’
1 điểm Q1. Why has Contrast sold shares to King Coffee?* (S)
the phone company and the bank 1 điểm
young customers only To find new company’s brand to attract customers.
both customers and companies To fund expansion abroad.
American entrepreneurs To learn how to move into foreign markets.
Q2. The first supermarket was set up ________.* To use the King Coffee name in other countries.
1 điểm Q2. How did Caroline Bell begin working for Contrast?* (S)
in 1900s. 1 điểm
before 1920. She was one of the employees of the company.
in the 1950s. She was one of the people who founded the company.
after 1975. She joined the company as a sandwich maker.
Q3. The store clerk’s main job was to ________.* (S) She was appointed at senior managerial level.
1 điểm Q3. Bell’s plan for the company is to ________.* (S)
carry customers’ purchases 1 điểm
check items on the shelves improve the company’s day-to-day management
give customers the goods they wanted expand the range of sandwiches on offer
open the supermarket introduce new types of production methods
Q4. Modern self-service is increasing because people ________.* improve the quality of the ingredients they use
1 điểm Q4. What happens on five days a year?*
do not want to do physical activities. 1 điểm
don’t want to work with employees. They change the menu and cooking styles.
are using cafeterias and laundromats. Customers have the chance to talk to managers.
Managers go to a different shop to work. Q4. According to the text, Mr. Immelt prefers to employ ________.*
All employees work in another shop. 1 điểm
Q5. What does Bell consider to be the biggest danger to the company?* (S) talented people in the Asian region.
1 điểm American professionals.
skilled people from outside the USA.
She lost the respect of colleagues. the best people, wherever they are from.
Most of the managers were promoted internally.
Sandwich shops are going out of fashion. Q5. Which statement can best describe the meaning of the final sentence?*
The management might relax their efforts. 1 điểm
General Electric’s (GE) former leader, Jack Welch, was more typical of the imperial CEOs General Electric has always been the biggest company in the world.
who wanted to control everything and made everyone totally obedient to him. Admired by General Electric has grown faster than most other companies in the USA.
analysts and feared by subordinates, Mr Welch ran GE with an aggression that helped to drive General Electric no longer manufactures complex equipment in the USA.
the company’s earnings to the maximum. But Mr. Immelt created a quiet revolution in the General Electric could use professionals from other countries for sales growth.
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 You don’t need complex and costly software to make a success of your business. Steven
priority. When Mr. Immelt took over, GE needed to find a new way to cope with growing Asian Allcock, the managing director of Blue 10, has used Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office
competition and increasingly global markets. He changed GE by giving priority to organic to build his own systems, which are better than any more glamorous packages. Allcock believes
growth and marketing superiority. Making the company more global has been a key part of Mr. in simplicity. ‘I’ve tried to make all our procedures as simple and easy to use as possible,’ he
Immelt’s strategy. During his leadership, GE has become a multinational that earns half of its says. ‘I must have been approached by a dozen companies selling specialist recruitment
$150bn revenues from outside the country in 2010. But Mr. Immelt maintains that the US, software, but the Excel and Word setup has been better and cheaper.’
where GE still employs 160,000 of its 316,000 employees, remains the ideal place to Allcock also rejected accounting software packages, preferring to build Blue 10’s financial
manufacture complex equipment. America, he believes, still produces top professionals. ledgers himself using Excel. He has a ledger for expenses, assets and overheads, one for cash
But the bottom line is clear: without the benefit of buying and selling products around the world and sales, plus ledgers for VAT and PAYE. ‘I’ve made it so simple that it takes away all the
and employing skilled people from other countries, the 128-year-old company would be labor-intensive work: Everything is in full view and I can see everything move.’
smaller than it is today. Mr. Immelt set ambitious goals – a 10-per-cent annual growth in profits This enables Allcock to fulfill his roles as managing director: keeping the company stable and
and an 8-per-cent increase in sales growth. Few companies in this country have grown so fast profitable, and identifying opportunities for growth. The simple spreadsheet reports four
year after year, and none as big as GE. 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.
Q1. The approach of the former CEO of GE to leadership is ________.* (S) With plenty of experience in both running a business and using Excel, Allcock was able to set
1 điểm 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
to make people afraid and follow his orders accurately, and if he does make a mistake this can be found and corrected in a few minutes.
to make people relaxed and encourage creativity Using the system takes just half an hour a day, so Allcock does not need a separate accounts
to support employees’ freedom to share their thoughts person. He takes daily back-up copies of all data on a CD, and once a week takes this home in
to cooperate well with all members in the company case of unexpected problems. ‘If our office burned down, I could walk into a shop, buy a new
Q2. Jack Welch’s main policy was ________.* PC, and have the company fully operational within hours,’ he says.
1 điểm Q1. Why does Steven Allcock use Excel and Word for his financial systems?*
to change the company’s production methods 1 điểm
to make the company more global. He does not have enough money to use complicated programs
to compete with companies in Asia. He doesn’t know how to use purpose-built financial programs.
to reduce expenses and make more profit. He thinks they are more glamorous than other accounting programs.
Q3. GE’s total income from the outside area of America in 2010 was ________.* (S) They are more cost-effective than specially designed programs.
1 điểm Q2. According to the text, who designed the accounting systems at Blue 10?*
$150 billion. 1 điểm
$300 billion. Microsoft’s engineers
$75 billion. The company’s accountant
$50 billion. Steven Allcock
Steven’s tax advisor
Q3. What is the most important financial information Steven needs to have?* (S)
1 điểm
The level of stability and profitability in the company.
Money coming in and out for the last and next month.
The amount of credit the company expects in the next 30 days.
The total amount of companies’ assets and overheads.
Q4. Why doesn’t Steven need an accounts person?*
1 điểm
It takes very little time to use the Excel system.
He dislikes putting everything on paper.
The company cannot afford an accounts person.
An accounts person can steal his ideas.
Q5. Steven Allcock takes his back-up CD home each week ________.*
1 điểm
because he wants to double-check the figures.
to show the figures to his accountant and tax advisor.
because he does not want to lose the information from the office.
because he does believe in his employees
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?*
1 điểm
They have the perfect combination.
They risk losing interest in their leisure activity.
They know very little about raising finance.
They cannot become a professional leader.
Q2. According to the example of Sue Cole, why do people who open their own restaurant
fail?* (S)
1 điểm
They don’t learn enough about the competition.
They don’t research how to attract customers.
They don’t know what turnover levels they need.
They don’t know how to change the recipe all the time.
Q3. How did Richard Campbell change Sunway Travel in 1993?*
1 điểm
He relocated the company offices.
He targeted a new group of customers.
He expanded the destinations the company dealt with.
He organized more events locally and internationally.
Q4. What does Richard Campbell say about the day-to-day running of his business?*
1 điểm
It is unnecessary for him to take an active role in everything.
It has become more stressful with profits and income.
It is difficult to set realistic targets for sales growth.
It is challenging to solve all customers’ complaints.
Q5. What does Richard Campbell feel about his career?*
1 điểm
He wishes he had chosen another career path or business.
He likes his career though he’s always short of money.
He hopes to earn a high salary like his friends.
He’s happy and thinks he has enough to live on.
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?*
1 điểm
He is ready to work at any time.
He has strong desire for work.
He does not want to miss a crucial meeting.
He spends a lot of time with his employees.
Q2. According to the article, which statement is CORRECT?* (S)
1 điểm
It is easy to set work-life balance for your daily activities.
You can’t be successful in business with a good work-life balance
A work-life balance isn’t worth having in this competitive world.
It’s more important to set work–life priorities when you are young.
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.’

Q3. What does real-life success in work depend on? * Q1. According to the text, what is important for the success in both social and business
1 điểm environments?*
1 điểm
A balance between work and life
The comprehensive skills of managers Having many qualifications
The required qualities of a leader Being passionate about work and life
The fact that someone has achieved the targets. Being good at conversation
Knowing how to make people happy
Q4. According to the passage, those who spend more time with their family and friends will
________. Q2. According to paragraph (A), all of the following are true of a good
* (S) conversation EXCEPT ________.*
1 điểm 1 điểm
acquire more success and become richer. The person you’re speaking to has got your message.
have more chances to win lottery. You have to listen to the other person.
earn less money than those who work longer hours. You have to respond to others’ statements.
become more relaxed to be successful at work You need to realise their business conditions.

Q5. Which one could be the best title of the passage?* (S) Q3. What did managers use to think of their staff chatting?*
1 điểm 1 điểm

Work-life balance - Impossible mission! It’s a sign of wasting time or not having enough to do.
Work more to have terrible life! It’s a way to build relationship between employees.
Be a Leader in Business – with a Life! It’s a way to build relationship between staff and their managers.
No work, No life, No balance! Conversation enables colleagues to work better as a team.

A Being good at conversation is a key skill – both socially and in business. However, this is Q4. According to paragraph (D), what is NOT TRUE about good conversations in the
something British businesses are only starting to realise. These companies are gradually workplace?* (S)
recognising that good conversation is more than just making sure the person you’re speaking 1 điểm
to has got your message. It’s about listening to the other person and responding. This two-way They help people solve everyday work difficulties.
interaction generates idea after idea. They help people to reduce stress in the workplace.
B Mark Satchell of TDR International says, ‘Managers used to see their staff chatting as a They help people discuss issues for solutions.
sign of them wasting their time or not having enough to do. What managers failed to see was They create certain human distance and privacy.
Q5 . According to Malcolm Rogers, what should people NOT do every day?* (S)
1 điểm
Say hello to everyone in the morning.
Have a coffee together for small talk.
Enjoy an extended lunch
Ignore old-fashioned conversations.
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 _______.*
1/1
manufacturers were more powerful than customers
manufacturers were less powerful than customers
retailers were less powerful than customers
customers were always the most powerful factors
Q2 . The writer says some people use the internet to _______.*
1/1
get information about the companies.
compare comments and reviews.
compare prices before making a purchase.
demand the best prices from retailers
Q3. The writer implies that the younger generation are important because _______.*
1/1
they are responsible for their lives
they can start their own companies
they are familiar with technology
they have more money
Q4. The writer thinks that in the future shops might be used _______.*
1/1
to give product information to suppliers
to show customers the range of products
to sell more products directly to the customer
to attract young customers for sales
Q5. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?*
0/1
In the near future, traditional advertising will no longer be used.
Consumers will have many choices to make a decision.
Media can become of secondary importance.
Advertising will be more demanding and might not be necessary.
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 _______.*
1 điểm
not famous.
owed by media stars.
very famous.
becoming less productive.
Q2. The IT industry in India is growing _______.* developing new products
1 điểm manufacturing individual part
researching potential markets
very quickly. studying about customers’ needs
very slowly.
at a steady rate. Q2. Demand for Halma’s products is growing worldwide because _______.*
more slowly than ever 1 điểm
Q3. How much of India’s BPO industry’s revenue comes from call centers?* technology is developing so quickly
1 điểm the company is marketing them strongly overseas
health and safety laws are becoming stricter
Exactly half customers require better products and services
More than half
About a quater Q3. Financial difficulties in many engineering companies are caused by _______.*
Just one fifth 1 điểm
Q4. Which statement is TRUE about India’s BPO industry?* the high cost of machinery
1 điểm competition from overseas
poor communication with customers
Dealing with insurance claims is a low-value data work. increasing demand of the society
This industry is becoming bigger and faster.
In the future India will face more competition from other countries. Q4. What does Mr O’Shea believe will happen to Halma’s sales figures in the future?*
This sector could benefit much from China and Russia. 1 điểm
Q5. Which types of infrastructure is NOT listed to be improved in the final paragraph?* They will continue to rise.
1 điểm They will peak in the next few years.
They will level off.
Power They will stay the same.
Education
Healthcare Q5. . Mr O’Shea believes that markets are _______.*
Roads and airports 1 điểm
Since 1993, turnover at Halma has increased from £135 to over £290m and in the financial year slow to change.
2003/04, the group reported a pre-tax net profit of £36.7m. Part of Halma’s success can be difficult to predict.
explained by tighter legislation over health and safety, which is being introduced all over the easy to describe.
world. However, it is also due to its focus on development of ideas. Since the mid 1990s, hard to explain.
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 Reading Z
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 When new employees start at Goldman Sachs, one of the first things they are told is that they
makes a strong effort to maintain close contact with them worldwide. In 2003/04, £216.8m of should not put anything in an e-mail that they wouldn’t want to read in the newspaper. Don’t
the group’s earnings came from customers abroad. So, what does the future hold for Halma? complain about colleagues. Don’t discuss sensitive deals. Don’t say bad things about the
Mr O’Shea believes that the company could expand further. Two-thirds of Halma’s sales and competition. If you want to do those things, use the phone or talk to someone in person.
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 The same warning has been repeated across the corporate world for years, but the message
O’Shea is confident that they will be in markets with the possibility of long-term growth. ‘I get never seems to get through. Sensitive e-mails and instant messages continue to turn up in
annoyed when people describe a market as a neat pie chart with lines drawn on it,’ he says. public.
‘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.’ It seems that no matter how often they are told, employees continue to see workplace e-mails
Q1. Staff at Halma spend most time _______.* as casual, private exchanges that no one else will read. The ePolicy Institute, which conducts
1 điểm 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. How can the appearance of a product be more important than its function? This question rose
Instead, they rely on written policies that are often not read. 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
Simply telling workers to be more careful is not enough. Some companies are now using emphasis on style and fashion. In his resignation letter, Mr Dyson accused the museum of not
advanced software that can block potentially embarrassing messages from leaving a corporate keeping true to itself. He may be right, but the Design Museum is just doing what every other
system. museum in the world is doing to increase visitor numbers.
Proofpoint, an electronic security company, offers software that monitors message as they On the one hand, some manufacturers can be too old-fashioned and too concerned with the
arrive and depart to detect potentially dangerous words or phrases. Keith Crosley, Director of functions of manufactured objects. On the other hand, there are those who believe that how a
Market Development for Proofpoint, says heavily regulated industries, such as financial product looks is more important. Design is indeed a broad term, involving both function and
services and health care, are among his company’s best customers. Kawasaki Motors uses the form. Look at clothing: originally its function was to provide warmth, but having long since
software to make sure no one leaks its motorcycle designs. The software ensures that personal achieved that objective, its form is now dictated almost entirely by fashion.
data such as credit-card numbers and medical histories are encrypted and monitors the Today, when two products have the same price and similar standard, manufacturers can
disclosure of confidential corporate information. 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
Q1. There are several kinds of sensitive information that shouldn’t be included in e-mails. or its packaging. Or, it might happen through the imagery created by advertising or branding.
Which one DOESN’T appear in the article?* So, what of the Dyson vacuum cleaners? Mr. Dyson may believe that people buy these
1 điểm machines because of the graphs on the company website illustrating their superior suction, but
Comments on competition I doubt very much whether they do. Most vacuum cleaners do a good job; the main reason
Complaints about people you work with people pay extra for a Dyson is because it is a designer vacuum cleaner with a trendy brand.
Trade secrets With its internal workings exposed, it is a bit like a Richard Rogers building with all its pipes
Bank-account details 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.
Q2. If they want to discuss sensitive deals, Goldman Sachs employees are told not to _______.*
1 điểm Q1. Dyson left the Design Museum because he _______.* S
1 điểm
use the phone.
use e-mail. found it took up too much of his free time.
talk to a person inside the company. no longer agreed with its ideas.
keep secret. wanted to concentrate on his own design work.
would like to enjoy the life
Q3. According to an ePolicy survey, most companies _______.*
1 điểm Q2. What does the article say about museums?*
1 điểm
use a team leader to monitor the issue
use special software to block sensitive messages. They do not need to promote cultural aspects.
organize training programs to instruct employees how to use e-mail. They no longer have to compete with each other.
send only written instructions about using e-mail. They still need to attract more visitors.
They should try to offer more specialized events.
Q4. According to the passage, proofpoint is _______.*
1 điểm Q3. Which statement is CORRECT according to the text?*
1 điểm
a kind of software that monitors e-mails
a company that specializes in electronic security. use a team leader to monitor the issue
an institute that advises companies on security. use special software to block sensitive messages.
a new car design of the company. organize training programs to instruct employees how to use e-mail.
send only written instructions about using e-mail.
Q5. Which word is used in the article to mean the same as ‘sensitive’?* (S)
1 điểm Q4. The writer believes that people buy the Dyson vacuum cleaner because _______.*
1 điểm
casual
instant it has an excellent after-sales service.
embarrassing it has a fashionable range.
private it has a life-time guarantee
it is more reliable. One
Two
Q5. Which one is the main idea of the text?* Three
1 điểm Four
Function and design both influence buyers. Q5. The workers at GM's UK plant ________.*
Few companies dominate the fashion industry. 1 điểm
Design is more important than function.
Design influences customers’ decision to buy vacuum cleaners. will soon be voting on a new labor contract.
rejected a proposed labor contract.
General Motors Co. will build the next generation of its Astra car model in Britain after workers agreed to a new labor contract.
at its factory in Ellesmere Port, northwest England, agreed to a new labor deal, leaving its plant decided to work for other companies
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 Automakers will race to appeal to budget-conscious Chinese car buyers as the industry expands
in 2015. Britain's United union said 94 percent of those balloted voted in favor of changes to beyond the wealthy coastal cities in the east, Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Asia chief said on Tuesday.
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 As they expand more heavily into central and western China, automakers can appeal to price-
the plant in Bochum," a source close to the negotiations said. GM, which sells under the sensitive consumers by offering multiple vehicles within the same size segment at varying
Vauxhall brand in Britain, is expected to halt production of the Astra, its most important model, prices, Joe Hinrichs said.
at its main plant in Russelsheim, Germany, making the car only at Ellesmere Port and at "The growth expected the rest of this decade in China is largely to come from the central and
Poland's Gliwice plant from 2015. The source added that some production of GM's Chevrolet western parts of the country which is more value-oriented," he told reporters at Ford's
marque could be shifted from Asia to Europe, with Russelsheim the likely beneficiary. This headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
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 "You'll need to serve those customers differently," he added.
consolidate in response to more than four years of falling demand and profits. Many factories Ford's plan to introduce 15 new vehicles in China by 2015 began with last month's launch of
are running at partial capacity - analysts estimate automakers have cut some 3 million cars, or the new Focus. Hinrichs said last month in Beijing that Ford plans to sell cars priced below the
20 percent, from their production lines - and still producers struggle to sell their wares. Fiesta, currently their cheapest model in Asia with a price ranging from $12,300 to $17,500.
Q1. According to the article, which GM plant will likely be closed?* Ford sales in China rose 24 percent in April to 54,881 vehicles, spurred by strong demand for
1 điểm the Focus.
The plant in Vauxhall, Britain Ford makes the Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and other vehicles in China in a three-way tie-up with
The plant in Russelsheim, Germany Chongqing Automobile Co., Ltd. 000625.SZ and Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T).
The plant in Ellesmere Port, England
The plant in Bochum, Germany AFP 04/25/2012
Q2. The article states that from 2015, the Astra will no longer be produced in ________.* Q1. According to the article, where in China are people more budget-minded?
1 điểm
*
Gliwice, Poland
1 điểm
Russelsheim, Germany
Ellesmere Port, England In the central and western part of the country
Bochum, Germany
In Shanghai
Q3. Which statement is CORRECT according to the text?*
1 điểm In the coastal cities

GM owns the Vauxhall brand. In the whole country

GM closed the plant in Bochum, Germany. Q2. Which Ford car is NOT mentioned in the article?
Most people protested the decision.
About 700 job losses would be created. *

Q4. According to the article, how many years of falling demand and profits has GM seen?* 1 điểm
1 điểm Mondeo
Mustang 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
Fiesta USA lose around $30 billion a year in sales because shop shelves run out of products and stand
Focus 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
Q3. How many other companies does Ford partner with to make cars in China? 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
1 điểm 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
One of goods to the right place at the right time, they can also afford to reduce the inventories.
Two 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
Three
option to kill tags at the checkout. However, if using this command, the customers would miss
Four after-sales benefits such as better warranty and returned goods services.
Q4. According to the article, China's wealthiest cities are _________. Intelligent Business Pre-Intermediate Coursebook
* Q1. According to the article, which one is going to happen? S
1 điểm *
in the central part of the country 1 điểm
in the eastern part of the country Smart tags will increase sales of consumer goods.
in the western part of the country The cost of smart tags will run into tens of billions of dollars.
in the southern part of the country Supermarket staff will be alerted when goods are stolen.
Q5. How many new cars does Ford plan to introduce in China by 2015? People do not need to go to the supermarket anymore.
* Q2. According to the text, Traditional Radio Frequency Identification was _______.
1 điểm *
5 1 điểm S
10 less efficient than the new smart tags
15 harder to produce than the new smart tags
20 more expensive than the new smart tags
Smart labels may be about to change the way that companies distribute and sell almost put on all of the chips
everything they make.
Q3. Gillette’s experiment will ________.
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 1 điểm
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 cost $30 billion
announced that the company had created a new type of smart tags and had put in an order for tag shelves as well as goods
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 use barcodes to track goods
the packaging of almost everything. be the cheapest on the market
Q4. Using smart tags to monitor products will ________. Q1. What happened to Starbucks' shares after their quarterly profits failed to meet analysts'
estimates?
*
*
1 điểm
1 điểm
reduce the number of mistakes usually made
They dropped by 5%.
increase the quantities of goods shipped
They plunged by 5%.
increase the number of inventories
They rose by 10%.
increase the inventories
They decreased by 10%.
Q5. By using the ‘kill command’, people worry that consumers might _________.
Q2. How many months do "Quarterly profits" refer to?
*
*
1 điểm S
1 điểm
want to have more tags at the checkout
Three
lose their privacy after the purchase
Four
receive after-sales benefits
Five
lose after-sales services
Six
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 Q3. According to the article, in which European countries did Starbucks' NOT see a slight
coming from academia, and they all loved coffee and tea. They invested and borrowed some increase in sales?
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 1 điểm
established coffee shops fell short of analysts' estimates due to weakness in Europe, sending its The United Kingdom
shares down five percent in after-hours trade on Thursday.
Ireland
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 France
expected a 2.2 percent rise in EMEA same-store sales. Holland
Executives attributed the drop to weakness in Europe, which suffered its first decline in same- Q4. According to the article, _________ is to blame for Starbucks' difficulties in Europe.
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 1 điểm
Alstead said.
an increase in car sales
Europe has been a weak spot for the world's biggest coffee chain. The region is struggling with
European interest for American coffee
debts and, earlier this week, Britain said its economy had fallen into its second recession since
the financial crisis. the availability of many other good cafes
"The situation is very, very tough," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said of Europe's economy. Europe's financial trouble
"We will turn the Europe business around in the same way we turned the U.S. business around," Q5. What can be inferred about Starbucks?
Schultz told analysts on a conference call.
*
1 điểm
It was the first time Starbucks experienced this situation. average
The CEO of Starbucks was pessimistic about the issue. poor
Starbucks has always struggled in Europe. impressive
The situation could be handled in a short time. Q3. According to the article, does the increase in consumer credit mean that the economy is
improving?
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.
1 điểm
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 Not necessarily.
outstanding credit in February. Yes, most of the time.
Analysts expressed some reservations whether the date reliably signaled a real pickup in No, just the opposite
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. Absolutely.

"The optimistic read is that consumers' improved outlook on the economy and employment Q4. How long had it been since the consumer credit numbers increased so much in one month?
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. 1 điểm
The March rise in consumer credit was the strongest for any month since November 2001 when Half of a year
it soared by $28 billion. That was shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks when big
A year
automakers were offering zero-percent financing and other incentives to lure consumers back
to their showrooms. Over 10 years
New-car sales and production were a key influence on the 2.2 percent annual rate of economic About three years
growth posted during the first three months this year. The government estimated that about half
of that growth came from increased new car production. Q5. According to the article, what played an important part in the economic growth at the
beginning of the year (2012)?
AFP 05/14/2012.
*
Q1. According to the article, the growth in consumer credit in March was _______ economists
had predicted 1 điểm

* A record-breaking drop in unemployment

1 điểm A decrease in tax rates

about the same as New car production and sales

slightly lower than Zero-percent financing

twice as much as 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
much higher than 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.’
Q2. By using the word "anemic", the article wants to say that the current job growth numbers
are ________. 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
1 điểm that a lot needs to be done.’
excellent
He learned his management techniques the hard way. ‘At 23 I went into business and lost Q4. Which of these departments has a director who reports to Peter Maurice?
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 1 điểm
hard work, but worth it.’
Finance
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 Marketing
director are responsible to me directly, but in my first week here, the head of Marketing Human Resources
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 Logistics
well together and can report to you as a team,’ he explains.
Q5. Maurice’s long-term ambition for the center is to ________.
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.’ 1 điểm
create an unusual company structure
Q1. In Peter Maurice’s opinion, what prevents many customers from making purchases? retrain all the staff at the center
* modernize the center
1 điểm bring entertainment to the center
The shop is so big and huge. 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-
The shop hasn’t got what they want.
based, and focus attention on interpersonal skills, but a fierce debate still rages as to who make
Nobody is available to serve them. the best managers – men or women.
There is too much to choose from. 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
Q2 . Maurice’s staff say that he ________. 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,
1 điểm but their possession alone does not make a good leader.
should change a lot. In his book, Understanding Organizations, Professor Charles Handy claims there is not right
sometimes annoys them. 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
is trying to do too much too quickly. 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
needs to be more self-aware. people below them in the company hierarchy.
Q3. What does Maurice say he learned from his experience in Hong Kong? 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
1 điểm further vital statistics which he calls the four Ps: Projects, Professionalism, Passion, and Pride.
How he lost money for his management techniques Q1. In the first paragraph the writer implies that managers ________.
How to run a successful import-export business *
The importance of good character and ambition 1 điểm
That he needed to go back to business school need to have countless characteristics.
should only be men to manage the company well. 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
need a balance of skills or characteristics tasks. The idea is simple. The skills that make a good businessperson who can launch a new
are successful if they have strong, dominant personalities 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.
Q2. What some qualities does the writer believe to make a successful national leader?
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
1 điểm entrepreneurs. They want to do more in business, but don’t want to go through the start-up
process themselves again.
People who are taller than other people.
‘After preliminary discussions with the client company’s HR Manager, we introduce five or
People who are intelligent and determined 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
People who earn a lot of money
that we have already provided venture capital for. The service is free to these existing clients.
People who come from good family background. 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
Q3. According to the passage, Handy thinks ________. 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
1 điểm 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
some people are born to be a manager. existing management avoid bankruptcy. Only then is it possible to turn to more long-term
the tendency to be subordinate is vital for a manager. issues.

managers should dominate the people below them. Q1. What service does the IES provide?

there is no single form of good managership. *

Q4. The modern definition of a manager is ________. 1 điểm

* It hires out short-term directors to companies.

1 điểm It advises companies on the recruitment of new directors.

a person who is answerable to shareholders It gives guidance on setting up new companies.

a person who is ambitious to achieve higher positions It helps companies to attract more customers.

a person who takes charge of both subordinates and superiors. Q2. What is the idea on which the IES is based?

a person who effectively does everything on his own. *

Q5. Which statement is CORRECT according to the final paragraph? 1 điểm

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

1 điểm Different market sectors require different kinds of business skills.

It is difficult to define the qualities of a good manager. Even skilled businesspeople need help in situations new to them.

Handy disagreed wth the modern definition. Specialized leadership skills are needed to achieve fast growth.

No one can have enough qualities to be a good manager. Q3. Why do many IES executives like working for companies for limited periods?

He provided further aspects to the modern definition. *

1 điểm
They like to challenge themselves on new things.
They are intending to start up other companies in the future.
They are running their own companies at the same time.
They like the variety of working in many different companies.
Q4. The IES offers its services without charge to ________.
*
1 điểm
companies it has already invested in.
companies it has previously provided directors for.
companies it believes have a good chance of recovery.
companies that could go bankrupt.
Q5. IES executives often work with directors who are ________.
*
1 điểm
unable to make long-term strategies for the companies.
unsure of their exact roles within their companies.
unclear about the causes of their companies’ difficulties.
unaware that their companies are close to bankruptcy.