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HP3.EOUTest Unit 4 - K44
HP3.EOUTest Unit 4 - K44
M3
School of Foreign Languages
Division of English for General Purposes
EXAM IN ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (75 minutes)
Read the instruction carefully. RECORD your answers on your answer sheets.
Section 1: Language knowledge (40 marks)
I. Choose the words that best fit the gaps in the following passage.
Ask Refa Sumerman (1) ………… his business is and he says: “We do everything.” Sumerman International is
really several companies in one. It was set (2) ………… in the early seventies by two Singaporean brothers, Ali
and Rahman Sumerman, (3) ………… in the transportation of goods overseas by air or by surface transport. In
1980, it expanded into the home market, handling house removals and (4) ………… storage facilities.
Based in Singapore, it soon (5) ………… offices in coastal cities, starting with Kyoto and Sydney in (6)
………… mid-eighties. The latest is the Indian office in Madras, opened in 1987.
When the brothers retired in 1990, Ali’s son, Refa, took (7) ………… as Chairman. Refa already had his own
plant hire business, (8) ………… he had set up in 1978. It was incorporated into Sumerman International in
1991. In 1992, with the increasing mobility of labour in the region, the company saw another chance to (9)
………… money: they set up a service to help immigrants to deal (10) ………… Singaporean’s rules
regarding work and residence permits, opening bank accounts, etc.
1. A. which B. what C. when D. where
2. A. on B. up C. into D. over
3. A. specialize B. to specialize C. specializing D. specialized
4. A. providing B. giving C. putting D. receiving
5. A. started B. began C. opened D. set
6. A. a B. an C. 0 D. the
7. A. over B. up C. into D. at
8. A. that B. where C. when D. which
9. A. do B. make C. give D. offer
10. A. with B. about C. over D. into
II. Choose the best answer.
11. California First Bank is a 77%-owned ……………………. of Bank of Tokyo.
A. headquarter B. warehouse C. subsidiary D. office
12. In …………………., people research and develop new product.
A. Human Resources B. R&D C. Logistics D. Finance
13. He has a very ……………. approach to management.
A. celebratory B. voluntary C. conservative D. free
14. When it …………… to the serious business of work, great emphasis is placed on engaging
employees.
A. goes B. gets C. appeals D. comes
15. The group's legal advisers said they were taking the ………… to tackle online privacy issues.
A. freedom B. philosophy C. initiative D. emphasis
16. She is likely to play a(n) ……………… part in the forthcoming election campaign.
A. informal B. friendly C. prominent D. intellectual
17. They invited university faculty …………… to discuss their latest research.
A. on B. in C. out D. off
18. The company uses an unusual …………….. distribution system.
A. decentralized B. caring C. democratic D. challenging
19. A company car and a mobile phone are some of the ………………. that come with the job.
A. objectives B. perks C. prizes D. goals
At AstraZeneca, the pharmaceuticals company, graduates can choose between several different specialist
schemes, such as in engineering, finance and product strategy. At any one time, 15 people are on a three-year
course working towards qualifications as chartered management accountants. The explicit intention, says David
Powell, Audit Director for Global Operations who manages the scheme within the company, is to ‘bring people
on to be future finance directors and finance vice-presidents’.
Could the company not recruit qualified management accountants on the open market? Mr. Powell says it could
and sometimes does. But he argues that the virtue of a formal graduate scheme is that trainees experience life in
different business units during the training and acquire contacts which serve them well in the future.
Paul Farrer, Chief Executive of the Graduate Recruitment Company, a division of recruitment company PFJ,
notes that graduate management trainee-schemes are heavily over-subscribed by applicants because they
understand the nature of the future marked out for them if they are successful; every position has about 30
applicants. During their time on a management scheme, graduates will be rotated through various business units,
get access to high-profile people in the organization, gain broad skills and be handed opportunities to work their
way up. ‘Organizations are hoping to get their CEO of the future from these schemes.’ he says. That is not to
say they don’t also recruit outside them, but for people who come in from outside, there is less certainty, less of
a definite future within the company.
With graduate trainees, the aim is to turn them into business unit managers in seven or eight years.
Organizations differ widely in how successful they are in this aim.
At the top of the retention league are employers in the public sector, information technology and oil. At the
bottom are construction and retail companies. Some employers manage to lose half their graduate intake in the
first year.
1. To learn that big companies are still catching graduate young, shape them over a long period and turn
them into executives is _____.
A. Sad to know B. Good to know
C. Uninteresting to know D. Overwhelming to know
Fill in each blank with ONE suitable word from the passage. Put it in its correct form or tense.
9. In-company programs for graduate development are referred to here as graduate management trainee __________
10. If too many people apply to be on a program like this, it is ______________
Recently, two of our main customers have complained …………………………………….……… . And, in fact,
……………………………………………………………
Therefore, I am forced to assume that ……………………………..…. This problem can badly ………………
……………………………………………………………
Paul Edwards
Head of Customer Care (BTS)
III. Listening:
PART 1: Listen and choose the best answer to each question.
1. What type of business does the speaker work for?
(A) A battery manufacturer (B) A courier service
(C) A power company (D) A computer repair shop