Business

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TOWARDS BEC PRELIMINARY

Reading and Writing practice

Business English Certificate (BEC) Preliminary is an intermediate-

level qualification that gives you the practical everyday skills you
need to succeed in an English-speaking working environment and
in international business.

The Reading and Writing exam is divided into seven reading parts and
two writing parts. It carries 50% of the marks and 1 hour 30 minutes
is the time allocated.  The purpose of this part of the exam is to show
you can read and understand the main points from graphs or charts,
messages and emails, and can use vocabulary and structure correctly.
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PART ONE QUESTIONS 1-5
3
• Look at questions 1-5.
Kate,
• In each question, which phrase or sentence is correct?
Include Sally Freeman in the apologies for tomorrow’s meeting on this
• For each question mark one letter A, B or C.
month’s sales trends.
Thanks.
1 Ben
John,
Mr Patchman called at 10.30. Meeting put off till 4.15 tomorrow. Call him A Sally Freeman will report on sales trends tomorrow.
back today but not before 2 pm. B Sally Freeman reported on sales trends last month.
C Sally Freeman won’t attend tomorrow’s meeting.
John has to call Mr Patchman:
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A at 4.15 tomorrow. We are pleased to announce the promotion of our Manchester Branch
B before 2 pm today. Manager, Mrs Dalloway, to General Marketing Manager.
C after 2 pm today.
READING QUESTIONS 1-45

A The Branch Manager will become the new General Marketing

2 Manager.
If they offer him a five-figure monthly salary, Mr Chetney will accept the job B The General Marketing Manager is looking for a Branch Manager.
in the Saudi Arabia branch. C Mrs Dalloway will be appointed as Branch Manager in Manchester.

Mr Chetney will accept the new job if the salary is: 5

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For further copies of the catalogue, please send an email to info@
A £ 5,000 a month. toysandgames.com
B at least £ 10,000 a month.
C £ 1,500 a month. Write an email to this address if you want to:

A photocopy the catalogue.

B receive extra booklets.
C have more information.

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 PART TWO QUESTIONS 6-10
• Look at the diagram below. It shows the departments in a
company.
6 Mr Mendes needs to do a survey for the launch of a new product.
• For questions 6-10, decide which department (A-H) each employee
should contact.
• Do not use any letter more than once. 7 Ms Trent has to organise a delivery of goods to Canada.

8 Mr Marshall needs more information on the production process of new

items.

9 Ms Smith needs a new assistant in the Advertising Department.

Second Floor
G Human Resources
10 Ms Laker wants to check the latest salary payments.
H Finance and Accounts

First Floor
D Purchasing
E Technical Operations
F Logistics

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Ground Floor
A Marketing
B Advertising
C Sales

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PART THREE QUESTIONS 11-15
• These items are produced by a famous luxury brand. The graph
shows how well they performed in the past three terms.
• Which product does each sentence (11-15) describe?
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11 Sales of this product were higher in the third term than in the other two
terms.
____________________________________________________________
12 No other product performed better during any of the three terms.
____________________________________________________________
13 This product had the same market share in all three terms.
____________________________________________________________
14 More than half of the sales of this product were in the first term.
____________________________________________________________
15 In two terms this product sold less than any other product.
____________________________________________________________
 PART FOUR QUESTIONS 16-22
• Read the text below, which is about the organisation of a 16 The workshop will last nine hours.
workshop. A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
• Are sentences 16-22 ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’?
• If there is not enough information to answer ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’, 17 Only the introductory talk will be in the meeting room.
choose ‘Doesn’t say’. A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say

18 The Marketing Manager will launch a new product in the morning.

We have organised a workshop for the reps of the London branch. It
will be held next week in the meeting room of the main building. The
morning session will start at 8.45 with an introductory talk by the Sales
Manager. He is going to explain why the business area covered by each
rep has been expanded recently and what is going to change in the next
few months.
After a coffee break, the Marketing Manager will talk about the launch
of a new electrical appliance and will give some hints on how to create
expectations both in existing and in prospective customers.
Lunch will follow in the canteen. We must remember to reserve enough
tables for the participants.
The afternoon will be devoted to group work. We have to organise mixed
groups, as the main aim of the activity is to allow reps from different
areas to share results and problems and work out common solutions.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
19 The Sales Manager will talk at the beginning and at the end of the
workshop.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
20 Ms Bennett will have to book the tables in the canteen.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
21 The reps will work together after lunch.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
22 Each group will show its presentation before 4.30.
A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say

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The groups will work in small rooms on the ground floor of the main
building and will meet again in the meeting room at about 4.30. A
speaker from each group will report on the afternoon’s work and the
Sales Manager will draw conclusions.
Each group will be given a laptop to prepare presentations for the final
session of the workshop. Ms Bennett, will you be able to prepare all the
necessary documents by the end of this week?

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PART FIVE QUESTIONS 23-30
which allowed us to improve our MATH for All program.
• Read this extract from an annual report, written by the Chief We continued our solid performance in our Asian subsidiaries, where we
Executive Officer of an American publishing company called achieved double-digit, profitable revenue growth. Asia is a key opportunity
Publicom. for Publicom, given the strong emphasis on education and English-
language learning among its growing middle class. For more than twenty
• Answer questions 23-30.
years, we have sold educational books directly to families there. We are
also expanding our educational publishing and English-language learning
Last year we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Publicom. business in China and the region. Thanks to the well-established business
From the launch of the first textbook for elementary school pupils in relationships in the area we are confident that Publicom will maintain a
1962, Publicom has grown to become one of the largest publishers of key position for years to come.
children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s
media. During this fiscal year, we focused on three key areas:
23 Publicom: 27 The education segment:
• Firstly, we made significant progress with investments in e-books to
A only deals in school books. A performed better this year.
meet the needs of children and families in the digital age;
• Secondly, we successfully launched the next generation of MATH for B was founded in 1962. B is usually supported by a
All, a math professional development program to ensure improvement C is now only dealing in e-books. governmental program.
in the learning of math; C had better results last year.
• Thirdly, we achieved solid results in the south-east Asian market, where 24 Publicom:
the trend has been steadily on the increase for the past nine months. A hit the targets they had set. 28 Publicom:
The free, downloadable application for PCs, Macs and tablets – developed B first published math learning A has acquired a new company.
last year - provides children with a personalized e-reading experience material last year. B has been acquired by an Asian
designed to help them learn and love to read. Publicom has selected a C doesn’t sell abroad. company.
number of quality titles available for purchase within this application, and C got a Golden Award for math
customer reaction has been positive in the last two months. 25 The company is especially materials.
The children’s books business performed solidly with revenue growth,
committed to:
which is a positive indicator for the next fiscal year. Bestselling titles
A developing computer skills. 29 Publicom:
in the Readers series, such as The Mystery Tour books by Carol Frain,

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performed better this year than last, driving solid revenue and profits in B designing math materials. A has sold on the Asian market
our publishing business. At the end of April we launched a new campaign C developing reading skills and for over twenty years.
to encourage parents and educators to keep young people reading books. habits. B has just started selling in Asia.
‘Read on, Live Better’ is our slogan and we invite you to visit our website C will have the opportunity to sell
to get more information about it. 26 The Readers series: in Asia this year.
The education segment continued to perform strongly in this fiscal A were first launched in April.
year, though we did not match the record results of last year when we B sold more this year than last year. 30 The Asian middle class:
benefited from a governmental stimulus program. While continuing C are especially meant for parents A emphasizes math learning.
internal development of new reading and math programs, we also made and educators. B is keen on learning English.
a strategic acquisition of Golden Math, a company with the expertise to C has double digit incomes.
guide our development of educational materials for math instruction,
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 PART SIX QUESTIONS 31-40
• Read the text below about a company training policy. 31 A allocate B allocation C allocated
• Choose the correct word from A, B or C to fill each gap. 32 A too B also C as well
33 A couple B some C few
Company Training Policy 34 A in B into C in
35 A with B of C for
Our company training policy is a document that outlines the objectives 36 A concerning B concern C concerned
and the role of the Training Department. It provides guidance for the (31) 37 A within B by C on
__________ of department resources such as money, time and training 38 A within B by C for
personnel and gives a broad picture of training activities.
39 A yet B still C already
Our training policy will (32) ______________ be used as one of the 40 A at B with C during
tools for evaluating the success of the department’s efforts. Therefore, a
(33) __________ months after the policy goes (34) ______________
effect, the training department will be asked to evaluate the policy to see
if it really helps fulfil the objectives. If the department is not satisfied
(35) ______________ the results, the policy will be changed for the
following year.

As far as our company is (36) ______________, these are the objectives

for next year. Firstly, the department will provide product update training
to all consultants (37) ______________ the next six months. Secondly,
they will develop and implement a management training program for all
middle level managers to be completed (38) ______________ the end of

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the year.

A detailed plan of the necessary resources will be drawn up next week,

but a few elements have (39) ______________ been established. For
example, the consultants will be trained by members of our own technical
department and the training sessions will be held (40) ______________
working hours. The middle level managers will have intensive sessions at
the beginning of the training period and will then be followed by senior
mentors till the end of the year. We need to contact a specialised training
agency for the organisation of the intensive sessions.

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PART SEVEN QUESTIONS 41-45
• Read the memo and the part of a conference program below.
• Complete the registration form. Write a word or phrase or a
COLUMBUS 5-star HOTEL Oxford, UK
number on lines 41-45. 23rd-27th July
Food in the world

24th July: Coffee Companies in UK- Market research

10:00 Welcome and introduction by Owen Boyle, Chief Executive of

Starcoffee, UK

Me m o Parallel sessions
11:00 Blue Room: Brown company. Video presentation, Gail Cooper
iams 11:00 Red Room: Il Café company. PP presentation, Colin Bolt
e l is s a Will
TO: M Bolt
R O M: Colin Oxford 11:45 Coffee Break with selection of 100 different types
F th July a t ion in
1 5 en t
DATE: y pres 12:00 Blue Room: B&C company. Video Presentation, Johanna Rice
E C T : Compan ence
SUB J o u r pres 12:00 Red Room: BlackCoffee. PP Presentation, Tom Lewis
fi rm you
l i k e to con o r d . Could
ld in Oxf active Sessions will end at 1pm. A buffet will be served in the hotel lobby.
We wou n f erence d a
c o n e e n inter I’ll
Presenters should bring their own computers. Please note that the
at the ’ll ion.
w i t h this? I pr e sentat ould Blue Room has an overhead projector, the Red Room has an interactive
dea l f o r m y l s
oa r d e . A o, I w ow
whiteboard. Please confirm any equipment you will require.
whiteb with m and h
m y l aptop ’ m s p eaking ’d
take ow w hen I o r m y talk. I Information on how to access and download all conference materials
o kn lowed f .
like t ssible will be provided the week before the conference.
h a v e been al r n i n g, if po
long I the mo

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h e r s peak in
rat

Conference Registration/Confirmation
CONFERENCE LOCATION: (41) ...................................................
COMPANY NAME: (42) .................................................................
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED: (43) .....................................................
TYPE OF PRESENTATION: (44) ..................................................
PRESENTATION TIME: (45) ......................................................

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 PART ONE QUESTION 46
• You are going to attend a company meeting in Edinburgh soon.
• Write a memo to your assistant:
• explaining what you want her to prepare before the meeting
• letting her know the dates of the meeting
• asking her to book a return flight and a hotel
• Write 30 – 40 words.
Me m o
PART TWO QUESTION 47
• Read this part of a letter from Alison Watson who is applying for a
job.
Dear Mr Clark
With reference to your advertisement in The Washington Post, I am writing to
apply for the post of wedding planner.
I am working for the Olympic Games in London at the moment, but I am leaving
for Washington next week. As you will see from the attached CV,
I have had some experience organising events, meetings and weddings.
I am keen to work in your company since it is so well-known in this field.
If I am selected for an interview, please could you send me all the details by
email?
Yours Sincerely

gins
by Hig
TO: Ru
nburgh • Write a letter to Ms Watson:
FROM: nd September
2 ti n g in Edi
DATE: e
T : Comp
any me • acknowledging her letter
SU B J EC _
______ • giving information about the date and time of the interview
_ _ _ _ _ ______
_
______ ______ • asking for the name and address of a referee
_ _ _ _ _ ______ _ _ _ _ _ ______
___ _

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______ _____ • confirming that you will send the requested information
_ _ _ _ _ ______ _ _ _ _ _ ______
____ _
_ ______
______
_ ______
____ • Write 60 – 80 words.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_____ ______ _
_ _ _ ______ ______
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______
__ _
______ ______
_ _ _ _ _ ______ _ _ _ _ _ ______
___ _
______
_ _ _ _ _ ______
____

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WRITING QUESTIONS 46-47

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