Department of English

English Proficiency

19UC1202 2
BUSINESS ENGLISH CERTIFICATE
Preliminary
Vantage
Higher
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Who conducts the exam?

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Which level are you preparing for?

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What are the skills that are tested in the BEC?
• Reading
• Writing
• Listening
• Speaking
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How many parts are there in each section?
•Reading : 7 Parts
• Writing : 2 Parts
• Listening : 4 Parts
• Speaking : 3 Parts
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Where can I get the details of BEC
Preliminary?
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/

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 Duration of each section
✓Reading and Writing: 1 hour 30 minutes (50%)
✓Listening: about 40 minutes, including transfer time(25%)

✓Speaking: 12 minutes per pair of candidates (25%)

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 How can I prepare for the test?
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-
tests/business-preliminary/preparation/

Free: Paper-based sample tests

Free: Computer-based sample tests

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 Question Types
Reading Section
Part 1 Consists of
• five short texts such as notices, advertisements,
memos, emails, etc.
• five multiple choice questions, one for each text. You
must choose the correct answer A, B or C.
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 Part 1 of the exam tests:
Your ability to understand the meaning and
purpose of short texts.

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 Details of short text
Short texts give the information in very few words and
some, such as notices and phone messages, often
leave out the non-essential words like the. This means
that you need to read the words that are there very
carefully and think about the exact meaning.

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 Suggested exam techniques
1. The texts are very short, so you need to read each one slowly and
carefully.
2. Before you look at the three alternatives, think for a moment.
What is the main information that the text gives? Or what does
the text ask the reader to do?
3. Read all three alternatives carefully before you finally decide
(even if you immediately think that A is correct).
4. Be careful! The three alternatives will not usually use the same
language as in the text. You must look for one which expresses
the same idea as in the text using different words.
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 Example question (Questions 1 – 5)

NETWORK DIRECT
Fastest-growing online business directory
ADD YOUR COMPANY NOW
Click, fill in the form, our staff will do the rest

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Network Direct will help companies to
A. Promote their business.
B. Improve their administration.
C. Expand their workforce.
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 Question Types
Reading Section
Part 2 Consists of
• one list of eight items that form part of a set, such as book titles
or job titles.
• five sentences, which may describe, for example, people in five
different situations.
You must match each one to one of the items on list.
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 Part 2 of the exam tests:
• Your knowledge of vocabulary
• Your scanning skills.

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In many parts of the reading paper, the reading text will not use
the same language as in the questions. When you read the
questions, try to think of what different words might be used to
express the ideas. For example:
• the text might use a synonym (e.g. take on instead of recruit)
• the text might express the same idea in a negative way (e.g. it
was unsuccessful instead of it failed.)
• the text might say something more precise than the question
(e.g. if the question says most or a majority, the text might give
an exact percentage).
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 Suggested exam techniques
1. Read the list of eight items quickly.
2. Read the first of the five sentences carefully. It can be useful to
underline the most important words.
3. Scan the list again to find an item which matches.
4. Again, the items in the list will not use the same words as the
sentence. Look for words which express a similar idea in a
different way.
5. Follow the same procedure for the four sentences. Be prepared
to go back and change your mind if necessary.
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 Example Question (Questions 6 – 10)
• Look at the list below. It shows study programmes
available online.
• For questions 6 – 10, decide which study programme
(A-H) is most suitable for each person.
• For each question, mark one letter (A- H) on your Answer
Sheet.
• Do not use any letter more than once.
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 Online study programmes
A Small Business Accounting – New tax laws
B Doing Business in the USA - Strategies for small businesses
C Marketing - Key legal issues
D Sales Management Training - Customer care
E Information Management – Getting started
F Human Resources Management – Employment law
G Workplace Skills – Working together
H Finance – International corporate issues
6. The head of a small law firm wants one of his employees to do a course on teambuilding.
7. A human resource director is looking for a course which will help her to set up a computer
database.
8. The director of an American firm wants to learn how the law affects the way its products
are promoted.
9. An accounting software company executive is keen to improve the way his company handle
clients buying its products.
10. A US finance company director needs someone from her organization to go on a course
about workers’ rights. 21
 Question Types
Reading Section
Part 3 Consists of
• Eight graphs or charts or a graph dealing with eight areas of
information, for example eight months of eight years.
• Five sentences describing the information.
You must match each sentence with the correct graph or part
of the graph.
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 Part 3 of the exam tests:
Your ability to understand descriptions of
graphs and statistics.

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 Link words
Link words allow you to follow the argument of text and can also
help you to check your understanding or words and phrases. For
example, if you see but, although or despite in the middle of the
sentence, you know that the idea after it will contrast with the
idea in the first part.

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 Suggested exam techniques
1. Study the graph carefully. Read the introduction, the keys and the figures on
them so you are sure that you understand the information that they give.
2. You may find it useful to make some quick sentences in your head describing
the graphs so you are quite clear about what they describe.
3. Read the first sentence and then look back at the graphs and match.
4. The sentences often have two parts which are lined with a word like while or
although. They may refer to two, or even three different figures on the graph.
Make sure that all parts of the sentence are true for the graph that you
choose. It can be useful to underline the most important words.
5. You may find it useful to identify possible graphs for the first part of the
sentence and then see which one of these matches the second half.

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Questions 11 – 15
• Look at the graph. It shows the percentage change in the values
of three different types of investment over a nine-year period.
• Which year does each sentence (11 – 15) describe?
• For each sentence, mark one letter (A –H) on your Answer Sheet.
• Do not use any letter more than once.

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