商務(wù)英語BEC高級閱讀題精講（4）

　　0 Lack of self-confidence will put you at a disadvantage in a negotiation .

　　0 A B C D E

　　1. This company has been involved in diversifying its business activities.

　　2. Although this company is doing well, it has a number of internal difficulties to deal with

　　3. This company has reduced the profits it makes on individual items

　　4. One statistic is a less accurate guide to this company’s performance than another

　　5. The conditions which have helped this company are likely to be less favourable in the future

　　6. This company’s share price has been extremely volatile over the last twelve months

　　7. This company is likely to be the subject of a takeover bid in the near future

　　8. This company’s performance exemplifies a widely held belief

　　A 　Chemical Company

　　Masterson’s interim pre-tax profits growth of 20% was somewhat inflated as a result of the income received from the disposal of several of the company’s subsidiaries. The underlying 8% rise in operating profits is a more realistic gauge of the company’s true progress. However, Masterson’s impending merger with Bentley and Knight and its appointment of a new chief executive should mean that the company will be able to sustain growth for the foreseeable fut5ure. The share price has varied little during the course of the year and now stands at ￡ 6.75

　　B 　Hotel Group

　　During the past year the Bowden Hotel Group has acquired 77 new properties, thus doubling in size . last week the group reported pre-tax profits of ￡ 88 million in the first six months of the year, ahead of expectations and helped by a strong performance from its London-based hotels and newly expanded US business. However. There is still some way to go. Integration of the new acquisitions is still not complete and, while the share price has risen recently, major problems with integration have yet to be solved.

　　C 　High-tech Company

　　This time last year a share in Usertech was worth just over ￡ 1. six months ago it was worth ￡ 40. today it is priced at under ￡ 8 . if proof were need, here is an illustration of how much of a lottery the technology market can be. But some technology companies are fighting back and Usertech is one of them . What has renewed excitement in the company is the opening of its new American offices in Dallas and its ambitious plans to expand its user base in both North and Latin America.

　　D 　Building Company

　　Renton’s share price has risen gradually over the past year from ￡2.4 to ￡ 3.8 . The company has been successful in choosing prime location for its buildings and has benefited from the buoyant demand for housing. Whilst this demand is expected to slow down somewhat during the next year, investors are encouraged by the company’s decision to move into building supermarkets. Work has already begun on two sites in London, and the company is expected to sign a contract within the next month for building four large supermarkets in Scotland.

　　E 　Pottery Manufacturer

　　Milton Dishes has been through a shake-up over the past year. The group, which has been cutting margins and improving marketing, may post a small profit this year. The many members of the Milton family, who between them own 58 per cent of the business, have been watching the share price rise steadily and several are looking to sell. Trade rival Ruskin has bought up just over 17 percent of the shares and could well be spurred into further action by the signs of a recovery at the firm.

　　參考答案: 1-5 DBEAD 6-8 CEC

　　這種類型的題不過是一個句子換一種說法，關(guān)鍵是看對每一段話的理解。我們看一下1到8在說什么，然后到A到E中尋找答案。

　　1.該公司正在對其商業(yè)活動進行多樣化。

　　2.盡管該公司業(yè)績不錯，內(nèi)部也有一些困難需要處理。

　　3.該公司單個產(chǎn)品收益減少

　　4.一項統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)對該公司的表現(xiàn)不像另外一個那樣有準(zhǔn)確的指導(dǎo)作用。

　　5.曾經(jīng)幫助過該公司的環(huán)境在將來可能就不那么好了。

　　6.該公司的股票價格在過去的一年里變化很大。

　　7.該公司未來很可能會被收購。

　　8.該公司的表現(xiàn)讓人很有信心

　　那么，再讀一下A到E表達的什么意思，很容易對號入座。