bec中级真题集
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately
bec真题可以让我们提前了解bec往年的考试范围，题型和内容，对我们有很大的参考价值，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家带来bec中级真题集。
bec中级真题集1
Lebrun Steel Facing up to Tough Times
0 After 98 years of trading, the steel manufacturer Lebrun knows from experience as how
00 difficult fluctuations in the economic cycle can be for suppliers such as themselves.
34 Since many of the nation's largest production companies which are its customers,
35 Lebrun is adversely affected by any change for the worse in the economy. Yet Lebrun
36 has managed to keep on sales steady (in the region of approximately $2.5 billion)
37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
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.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
bec中级真题集相关文章：
3.BEC商务英语究竟是什么?BEC商务英语成绩说明及相关常识解答
5.BEC中级通过率
7.如何自学bec
10.关于bec中级高频词汇
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
bec中级真题集相关文章：
3.BEC商务英语究竟是什么?BEC商务英语成绩说明及相关常识解答
5.BEC中级通过率
7.如何自学bec
10.关于bec中级高频词汇
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
bec中级真题集相关文章：
3.BEC商务英语究竟是什么?BEC商务英语成绩说明及相关常识解答
5.BEC中级通过率
7.如何自学bec
10.关于bec中级高频词汇
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
bec中级真题集相关文章：
3.BEC商务英语究竟是什么?BEC商务英语成绩说明及相关常识解答
5.BEC中级通过率
7.如何自学bec
10.关于bec中级高频词汇
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
bec中级真题集相关文章：
3.BEC商务英语究竟是什么?BEC商务英语成绩说明及相关常识解答
5.BEC中级通过率
7.如何自学bec
10.关于bec中级高频词汇
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
bec中级真题集相关文章：
3.BEC商务英语究竟是什么?BEC商务英语成绩说明及相关常识解答
5.BEC中级通过率
7.如何自学bec
10.关于bec中级高频词汇
.5 billion)37 and has recorded only one annual loss during the difficulties of the past five
38 years, but despite the effects of the ongoing industrial slowdown. James Griffith,
39 president of Lebrun, now has the task of turning up survival into growth, and
40 his strategy is already becoming clear to those industry observers. In February of
41 this year, the company acquired Bronson pic, additionally a one-time competitor.
42 This merger will greatly expand the size of both Lebrun's labour force, and
43 Griffith estimates it will boost its revenue by nearly 50%, while too increasing
44 the number of plants and R&D centres in much a similar way. Griffith is
45 optimistic that while the steel industry is about to pull out of recession, and he wants Lebrun to be ready for this.
这篇文章是介绍一个生产商面临的困境及所采取的措施。
34题，这个句子并不是定语从句，主谓宾都很齐全，主语companies，谓语are，宾语its customers.所以which是多余的
35题，正确的
36题，keep on doing继续做什么，接名词的话直接用keep，keep sales steady保持销售平稳，on多余。
37题，正确的
38题，but和despite不能同时使用，必须去掉一个。but后面要接完整的句子，这个后面不是句子，是名词性成分，所以保留despite，去掉but。
39题，turn… into 变为，成为。固定词组。turning survival into growth变生存为增长。Up多余。
40题，句子前后并没有指代的含义，代词those多余。
41题，a one-time competitor是修饰前面的Bronson pic ，additionally是另外的，附加的意思，用在这里意思和用法都不通，所以去掉。
42题，both表并列，而这个句子前后是没有并列的含义的，只说了扩展规模。所以both多余。
43题，too是副词，在这里用法不对
44题，in a similar way固定用法，much多余
45题，while用来引导时间状语从句，而很明显这个句子并不是，只是由that引导的从句，句子成分很齐全。去掉while。
bec中级真题集2
1 the failure of a company to set its prices appropriately
2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices
3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing
4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered
5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction
6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend
7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine prices
Getting the price right
A、
Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that offers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.
B、
The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.
C、
Many of today's managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as little as 2% of their time on pricing.
D、
One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
这篇文章主要是关于定价(pricing)的。题目算是阅读第一部分里比较隐晦的了。四个部分分别介绍了影响定价的一些因素。
第一题，公司没有合理定价。答案是B段引用的一个例子：He gives the example of a consumer goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly.因为没有对数码相机合理定价，所以一个消费品公司破产了。和第一题吻合。
Consumer goods: goods such as food, clothing, etc. bought and used by individual customers消费品。
第二题，大环境使得涨价很困难。答案是A段，有点不太明显，甚至可能需要点经济学基础：He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies。很多工业国家的低通货膨胀率使得涨价变得困难。通货膨胀率是衡量一国宏观经济的重要指标，也就是这题所说的context。低通货膨胀率，说明经济不太景气，涨价会很困难。
deter: to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth阻碍
eg: The price did not deter most customers
第三题，公司隐瞒定价策略的后果。答案是D段的最后一句：The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.最坏的方法是试图让定价结构对消费者保密。今天，它更有可能导致失去合同而不是大的利润。
第四题，一个公司确保定价准确的方式。答案是B段的这么一句：a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representative's laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes。一个瑞士的医药公司为每一位销售代表的手提电脑引进了软件，确保他们提供持续准确的定价。这里的accurate对应于precision，引进的软件就是方式(means)。
第五题，公司了解降价的后果。答案在C段，但是不那么明显：Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers' 'elasticity' - how their buying habits change in response to a price rise or a discount.大的超市可以轻易追踪客户的弹性—他们的购买习惯是如何对涨价或打折做出反应的。这个题需要理解一个常见的经济学术语：弹性。
elasticity ：the extent to which people want to buy more or less of a product or service when its price changes。
这个术语的概念基本吻合第五题所说的。能够了解客户的需求弹性，也就了解了涨价或者降价的效果。
第六题，对产品定价首要的是根据客户所愿意支付的。答案是A的最后一句：based on their willingness to pay.。集于他们的支付意愿。这里的based on对应于the first sector。
第七题，粗糙的定价准则的广泛应用。答案在C段，有点隐晦：But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices.虽然公司可以用一种更复杂的方式来衡量，遵守基本的规则仍然是定价的最普遍的方式。BUT是个信号。rough可以从反面对应于sophisticated,,the most common way对应于widespread use。
bec中级真题集3
Issues in the recruitment world
In the competitive world of investment banking, good senior executives are not easy to find. So what should the industry's hard-pressed directors do when they need to find senior staff? Increasingly, they decide to call in the headhunters. These are busy and profitable times for the recruitment agencies that dominate the world of executive search and selection.
(0) .....They needed new people to revitalise their operations, and the result has been a boom in the recruitment market. Pinnacle, a leading recruitment agency, has helped various UK investment banks to rebuild their entire senior management teams. It is hard to overstate the significance of this. (8)............
But now everything has changed, and Pinnacle is not the only major player in the field. Some analysts believe that rival recruitment specialists ALT Associates has a larger share of the market. However, there is little doubt that over its 13-year history, Pinnacle and its chairman, Matthew Edwards, have built up an impressive reputation.
Edwards estimates that his company controls between 10 and 15 per cent of the headhunting market for senior investment banking jobs in the UK. (9)............Rather, it is the high-calibre jobs and people that Pinnacle deals with that define the company's success. For example, the company was recently commissioned to find a new chairman for NBS Bank, a vacancy that was one of the most talked about in the banking world.
Most HR directors recognise that headhunters such as Pinnacle play a valuable role in the recruitment process.(10)............Some are concerned that a few companies, including Pinnacle, have too much power over high-level recruitment.(11)............As Tim Davidson, HR Director at Cawfield Bank, explains, They can be kingmakers. These are the people who decide who gets a future and who doesn't. If Edwards forms a view about an individual, it can affect their ability to get a particular job. That view could just have been formed on a bad day.' (12)............ Final decisions in the selection process are always taken by his clients, he says, whoever they are.
The role of headhunters should not be exaggerated. Many companies never use them. But as top executives are hard to find, there will always be a role for people like Matthew Edwards.
A Although others may put it lower, it is important to remember that the company's reputation is not based on market share alone.
B Their chief worry is that the headhunters can now make or break managerial careers.
C According to Edwards, this is a further indication that the way Pinnacle searches for a candidate tends to favour a certain type of manager.
D But this acceptance does not mean they are universally happy, either with the state of the market or with Pinnacle's role within it.
E Until a few years ago, even the biggest companies were unlikely to use headhunters to fill more than one or two jobs a year.
F Edwards objects to this suggestion, claiming that all he does is find candidates and encourage them to apply for a particular post.
G A number of big investment banks recently decided to make changes to their management boards after disappointing end-of-year results.
《Issues in the recruitment world》，招聘世界里的话题。围绕猎头公司(headhunter)展开，说明了猎头公司的发展和重要性，以及用人单位对猎头公司的一些疑问。第一段引出话题，说现在正是猎头公司占领市场的时候。接下来几段顺序介绍了猎头市场的发展阶段，从起步阶段(第二段的内容)，到逐步发家(第三段)，当中列举了一个猎头公司的情况加以说明(第四段)，然后第五段介绍了用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑。最后一段是总的概括。做这种题一定要理清文章的逻辑顺序，从整体上把握文章脉络。
第八题，第二段的最后一句。第二段是简单引出猎头公司的起步，起步阶段并没有多少公司认识到猎头公司的重要性，就如第八题前面的一句话所说：It is hard to overstate the significance of this。很难高估这个的重要性，也就是说猎头公司的作用并没有被完全的认识到。后面的空格应该相应的填入猎头公司不太被重视的句子。E选项正好满足这个特点：直到几年前，甚至最大的公司都不可能一年利用猎头公司来填补一两个职位。
第九题，主要是介绍Pinnacle这个猎头公司的情况。前面说这个公司的市场份额在10%到15%，空格后面一个rather(相反)，说定义公司成功的应该是公司所处理的高质量的工作和客户。中间应填入一个表转折意思的句子，并且可能和公司的市场份额有关。A句满足这个要求：虽然其他人可能把它(指市场份额)估计得更低，但一个公司的名声不仅仅是建立在市场份额基础上的。
第五段，集中填入三个句子，所以一定要从意思上进行把握。这一段是用人单位对猎头公司的一些质疑，然后猎头公司Pinnacle的主席Edwards进行了一些反驳。
这一段第一句话说人力资源部经理认为Pinnacle发挥了很重要的作用，接着空格后面说的是Some are concerned that…也就是一些人提出了担心，所以中间的第十题应该填入表示转折意思的句子，而且可能是对猎头公司发挥的作用的消极看法。D满足这一要求：但是这种认可不代表他们完全的高兴。BUT是个关键的信号，acceptance是指代前面人力资源经理们对猎头公司发挥作用的认可。
第十一题，前面的句子是对猎头公司发挥作用的担心，认为它们权力过大了。这一题后面的句子是引用一个人力资源经理的解释，进一步说明猎头公司的影响力太大。所以十一题也应该与此相关。B符合：他们首要担心的是猎头公司会创造或者破坏管理职业生涯。Worry是关键词，同前面的concern相对应，make or break managerial careers也就是上下文所说的权利过大，简直拥有生杀大权。
第十二题，理解了前面的，不难做出选择。这里很明显就是猎头公司为自己辩护。前面指责猎头公司的评价会影响个人的选择。而空格后面是Edwards的解释，说最终的决定权是掌握在客户自己手中。所以这一题很明显应该填入对前面表示反驳的句子，也就是F，object to，非常明显的信号：Edwards反对这种说法，声称他所做的无非就是寻找候选人然后鼓励他们去申请某个特定的职位。
bec中级真题集4
Fighting Fit
Fine Fitness, the health and fitness club operator, announced an impressive set of results yesterday: (19) a 38-per-cent jump in annual pre-tax profits, the company claimed that it had (20) none of the problems (21) last week by its rival, Top Fit .According to Samantha Collier,the chief executive, Fine Fitness (22) strong and is on (23) to reach its target of 100 clubs within three years, its strategy unaffected by the apparent (24) down of the economy.
The company opened 12 new clubs in the past year; (25) its total to 51. They have (26) to be highly successful, with people joining in large numbers, especially in the 25-to-40 age range. Even the more (27) clubs are still seeing sales growth, along with rising retention (28) of more than 70 per cent. This can be seen as clear (29) of the appeal of Fine Fitness.
Ms Collier admitted that as there were (30) too many companies competing with one another; there would almost certainly be (31) in the health-and-fitness-club sector of the market She predicted that, within a relatively short time, there might be only about three major companies still in (32).However, she declined to say which these were likely to be.
Profits rose by ?6.3 million, although there was a fall in gross margins from 31 per cent to 28.6 per cent because of higher insurance premiums, extra management costs and start-up expenses for the company's new (33) in Spain.
19 A Stating B Reporting C Remarking D Informing
20 A taken B felt C experienced D caught
21 A released B issued C opened D revealed
22 A stays B remains C maintains D keeps
23 A track B direction C way D line
24 A falling B breaking C cutting D slowing
25 A bringing B putting C getting D mounting
26 A shown B resulted C proved D demonstrated
27 A installed B formed C established D confirmed
28 A rates B standards C proportions D volumes
29 A witness B sign C display D evidence
30 A purely B merely C simply D barely
31 A union B consolidation C alliance D combination
32 A trade B office C commerce D business
33 A trial B venture C proposal D speculation
文章介绍了一个经营健康俱乐部的公司的情况，依旧是形势喜人。
19题，一句话包含三个空，联系在一起做。昨天开会，宣布了一系列结果。报告税前收益增长了38%，公司并没有经历它的竞争对手所暴露的问题。19题选report，20题experienced，21题，revealed by its rival，被竞争对手暴露的问题。
22题，remains strong保持强劲;单看单词的意思，貌似keep也可以(不过说实话，如果不是有同学提醒，我压根想不到会填keep)联系此句上下文，提到了在对手出现问题时这个公司表现依然强劲remain在英文词典的解释是：continue to exist, especially after other similar or related people or things have ceased to exist 在相似或者相关人和事出现状况时仍然存在，所以，remain更符合这个题目的条件
23题，on track 步入正轨。公司正在实现目标的正道上。这个词在其他完型也出现过，不过不是正确答案。
24题，slow down放缓，固定用法。经济放缓。
25题，bring to，使总数达到51，这个题怕是要靠语感。put肯定不对，get to到达，mount在这里用法不对。
26题，proved to be证明是，固定用法
27题，这里填入的词要和前文对照，前面说新开了12家新的俱乐部，这里的空格前有个even和more，所以应该是填入与new相对应的词。established是已确立的(If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time. )
28题，retention rate保留率，专有名词(Retained earnings divided by total after-tax earnings, expressed as a percentage)，指公司税后收益所保留的那一部分。
29题，公司吸引力的证据。clear evidence明显的证据。不选sign，sign只是迹象。
30题，simply修饰too many从用法和意思上都对，在这里就是表强调的，意思是公司太多了。
31题，consolidation强化、合并(To consolidate a number of small groups or firms means to make them into one large organization.)，有很多的公司相互竞争，所以需要进行一个整合。这是商英里的固定说法。
32题，in business在经营。是说很快这个市场上的公司会淘汰的只剩下三个。
33题，理解了venture的意思就不难做出选择，在这里是指商业冒险，也是商英地道说法。公司要在西班牙进行一些投机活动，因此增加了额外的管理费用。
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