University of Economics, HCMC Paper Code: SPECIMEN TEST HP4

School of Foreign Languages for Economics

EXAM IN ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS STUDIES (75 minutes)

SECTION 1: Vocabulary and Structure (30 marks, 1 mark/answer)
Make the best choice

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1. The power of money has become __________ in A. integrate
today’s business world, which can unfortunately B. motivate
contribute to unethical decisions. C. supervise
A. pervading D. achieve
B. pervasive 11. __________ is the extra money that you pay if you
C. pervaded have borrowed money, or the extra money that you
D. pervasion receive if you have money in some types of bank
2. The __________ strategy was to target the heads of account.
the household as they had the final say on where the A. Investment
disposable income would be spent. B. Intangible
A. promotional C. Interest
B. promoting D. Income
C. promoted 12. _____________ is the difference between the funds
D. promotive a country receives and those it pays for all
3. To __________ is to make a deal between different international transactions
parties where each party reduces demands or A. Balance sheet
changes their opinions in order to agree. B. Balance of payments
A. deal with C. Balance of trade
B. confront D. Balance outstanding
C. complain 13. It is difficult to __________ the success of the
D. compromise campaign at this stage.
4. People in __________ cultures are good at changing A. measure
plans. B. allocate
A. multi-active C. include
B. reactive D. classify
C. linear-active 14. __________ is the process of dividing a broad
D. collective consumer or business market, normally consisting of
5. It’s not fair to make __________ out of loans to poor existing and potential customers, into sub-groups
students. of consumers based on some type of shared
A. changes characteristics.
B. profits A. Market expansion
C. efforts B. Market segmentation
D. messes C. Market penetration
6. The President has accused two cabinet ministers of D. Market promotion
working secretly to ________ his position. 15. All the companies or individuals (‘middlemen’)
A. undermine involved in moving goods or services from producers
B. undergo to consumers are called _______________ .
C. undertake A. vehicles
D. underlie B. distribution couriers
7. A person such as an employee, customer or citizen C. transportations
who is involved with an organization, society, etc. D. distribution channels
and therefore has responsibilities towards it and an 16. __________ is a marketing process that showcases
interest in its success is a(n) __________ . the differences between products.
A. account holder A. Product variation
B. shareholder B. Product marketing
C. stockholder C. Product differentiation
D. stakeholder D. Product segmentation
8. A __________ is an amount of a company’s profits 17. Some car manufacturers, food retailers and
that is paid to people who own shares in the department stores now offer products like personal
company. loans, credit cards and insurance. Technically these
A. loan are not banks but __________.
B. mortgage A. credit crunch
C. dividend B. non-bank financial intermediaries
D. surplus C. traditional investment funds
9. __________ is the process of designing the products D. stockbroking management services
or services to benefit a local market while at the
same time developing and distributing them on a 18. __________ are private investment funds for wealthy
global level. investors that use a variety of risky investing
A. Globalization strategies than traditional investment funds, in order
B. Localization to achieve higher returns.
C. Glocalization A. Non-bank financial intermediaries
D. Grobalization B. Hedge funds
10. He was employed to __________ C. Stockbrokers
the computerization of records.
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D. Conglomerates 19. More resources are being __________ to the project.

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A. divided B. separated

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 C. allocated A. bankruptcy
D. conformed B. dividend
20. __________ is a strategy for setting a low price to try C. equity
to sell a large volume and increase market share of a D. recession
particular product or service. 26. __________ free trade is potentially hostile to
A. Market penetration strategy environmental concerns and may put human health
B. Market development strategy and safety at risk.
C. Product development strategy A. Unfettered
D. Product expansion strategy B. Restricted
21. __________ measures the responsiveness of the C. Limited
quantity demanded or supplied of a good to a change D. Definite
in its price. 27. DVP has cut its __________ to 2 USD per share
A. Price differentiation after two years of declines in annual turnover.
B. Price response A. dividend
C. Price elasticity B. turnover
D. Price adaptivity C. sample
22. At the _________, prices may have to be reduced D. distribution
because competitors are established in the market, 28. Hoang Yen group, a restaurant & buffet chain, is
but companies try to defend their market share while suffering in the current __________ because
also maximizing profit. consumers are spending less money going out.
A. introduction stage A. recession
B. growth stage B. annual turnover
C. maturity stage C. bankruptcy
D. decline stage D. placement
23. A statement showing the value of a business’s 29. A __________ is a country or place that has a low
assets, its liabilities, and its capital or shareholders’ rate of tax so that people choose to live there or
equity is called a(n)__________ register companies there in order to avoid paying
A. income statement higher tax in their own countries.
B. cash flow statement A. money launderer
C. balance sheet B. tax harbour
D. financial record C. tax haven
24. The _________ account shows if a company is D. tax evasion
receiving more money than it’s spending. 30. __________ is comprised of all capital contributed to
A. profit and expense the company including paid-in capital and retained
B. profit and loss earnings.
C. profit and share A. Shareholders’ equity
D. profit and fund B. Shareholders’ dividend
25. LeoStone PLC has declared __________ after a C. Stocks
year of heavy pre-tax losses. D. Liability

SECTION 2: Reading Cloze (20 marks, 2 marks/answer)

Fill in each blank with one suitable word/phrase. You don’t need to use all the words provided

statistical features conditions statements balance

agency shareholders motivation individual company
communication strategy external internal

One of the most important (31) ________________ in any business is communication. Good communications are
required at all stages of the business process. Businesses employ, and are owned and run by, various groups of
people. Workers, directors and (32) ________________ are three important groups closely involved with a business.
Other influential groups include customers, suppliers and the government.
Communication takes place between these groups and the individuals who make up the groups. Within individual
companies, internal communications occur at, and between the various levels. Directors communicate with one another
concerning the company’s overall (33) ________________. They inform managers of their plans, and the managers
then communicate with the other employees. Negotiations are conducted concerning pay and working (34)
________________. Managers communicate decisions and orders and try to improve morale and (35)
________________ through good communication. Employees also communicate with each other, for example over
production and wages.
(36) ____________ communication occurs when a company’s directors or employees communicate with those
individuals and groups who deal with the company. Shareholders receive copies of the company’s financial (37)
________________ together with the reports of the Chairman and Directors. Government departments require (38)
________________ and financial information from the company. An adveritising (39) ________________ is consulted
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about the company’s advertising policies. Customers need to know if goods have not been despatched and suppliers
contacted if their goods have not been delivered. Reliable and effective (40) ________________ is one of the key
elements which leads to efficient management of a company.

SECTION 3: Reading Comprehension (30 marks, 2 marks/answer)

The Business Cycle

Expansion and contraction

All market economies have periods when consumption - spending on goods and services - rises. Consumers buy more,
companies invest more, and production, income, profits and employment increase. These periods are always followed
by periods when spending and investment fall, and unemployment rises. This is the business cycle.

A period during which economic activity increases and the economy is expanding is an upturn or upswing. If it lasts a
long time it is called a boom. The highest point of the business cycle is a peak, which is followed by a downturn, during
which the amount of economic activity decreases. If the economy keeps contracting for more than six months, the
downswing is called a recession. A serious, long-lasting recession is called a depression or a slump. The lowest point
of the business cycle is a trough, which is followed by a recovery, when economic activity increases again, and a new
cycle begins.

Fiscal policy

Governments and central banks use fiscal policy, which involves changing the levels of government expenditure and
taxation to try to limit the extent of the business cycle. If an economy is moving into a recession, the government might
have a reflationary fiscal policy. This means trying to stimulate the economy by increasing government spending, or by
cutting levels of direct or indirect tax so that individuals and companies have more money to spend.

If an economy is overheating - expanding too quickly - it means that industry is working at full capacity and producing
as much as it possibly can. Because demand is greater than supply, leading to rising prices and inflation, the
government might have deflationary fiscal policy. This means trying to cool down the economy: reducing the amount of
economic activity by raising tax rates or cutting government expenditure. This reduces the level of demand in the
economy and helps to reduce inflation.

Monetary policy

Governments or central banks can also use monetary policy - changing interest rates and the level of the money supply
- to influence the level of economic activity. They can boost or increase economic activity if the economy is in a
downturn by reducing interest rates and allowing the rate of growth of the money supply to increase. Alternatively, if the
economy is growing too fast and causing inflation, they can slow it down by increasing interest rates and reducing the
rate of growth of the money supply.

The main reason for having an independent central bank is to prevent governments from creating a political business
cycle - a cycle that will be at a high point at the time of the next election. Governments can do this by beginning their
periods of office with a couple of years of policies designed to stop the economy from growing, followed by tax cuts and
monetary expansion in the two years before the next election. This policy, sometimes called boom and bust, helps the
government get re-elected but is not good for economic stability. An independent central bank makes this less likely to
happen.

Based on the information in the article, say whether the following statements are True (T), or False (F).

41. If the government thinks the economy is contracting too much, it can cut taxes and increase its spending.

42. If an economy is overheating, it means that industry is working below its potential.

43. Monetary policy involves interest rates and the money supply.

44. If there is an independent central bank, governments can’t manipulate the business cycle.

Choose the correct answer:

45. What should the government do if the economy is growing too quickly?

A. raise tax and cut its expenditure

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B. cut tax and increase its expenditure

C. raise tax and raise its expenditure

46. A recession is a period when….

A. the economy keeps contracting for less than six months.

B. the economy keeps expanding for more than six months.

C. the economy keeps contracting for more than six months.

What does each of the underlined words refer to?

47. “… by a downturn, during which the amount of economic activity decreases …” (para 2)

48. “… causing inflation, they can slow it down by increasing interest rates and reducing …” (para 5)

Find words from the text which mean:

49. purchasing and using goods and services

50. the willingness and ability of consumers to purchase goods and services

51. government actions concerning taxation and public expenditure

52. the total amount of money available in an economy at a particular time

53. the money collected by the government from the income of individuals and businesses

Fill in each gap of these sentences with one suitable word FROM THE ARTICLE:

54. __________ policy, including setting interest rates, is designed to maintain financial stability.

55. During a(n) __________, parts of the economy expand to the point where they are working at full capacity.

SECTION 4: Listening (20 marks) - You may listen 2 times for each part.
PART 1: Listen and fill in the gaps (1 mark/answer)
Microfinance schemes started with several NGOs and social enterprises, for example Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.
They distribute very small (56) _________ to poor people, often without financial collateral. But they use some kind of
different collateral, sometimes it can be social (57) _________, so they create a group of people and within the group,
people help each other to repay the loan, but it’s usually a very small amount of money, and from the bank’s point of
view it actually provides a unique risk (58) _________ tool. Of course, (59) _________ loans to poor people sounds
very risky, but because we are talking about a large number of people, with a very small amount of money, it actually
creates a very nice porfolio in which the risk can be (60) _________.
NGOs and social enterprises proved that these kinds of schemes can be (61) _________, and the poor people are
actually repaying the loans, so now the (62) _________ banks like Citibank and Barclays are taking part in these (63)
_________, not for the purpose of doing good only, they are actually doing it as part of their business. They are
developing their microfinancing and (64) _________ products in developing countries. It seems that microfinance is
doing really well particularly in Bangladesh and part of India, and there are some (65) _________ cases in Latin
America and Africa too.
PART 2: Listen and fill in the notes (2 marks/answer)
Q: What recent changes have you noticed in the job market?
A: The most unique change in the job market recently is the intervention of (66) _________ _________ and websites.
As a global business, we can recruit roles that are based wherever. Besides, the candidate or (67) _________
_________ do have a large number of choice. For example, you can go online at home to look for roles and jobs that
are advertised worldwide. It’s an absolutely (68) __________ ___________ for both candidates and employers. In
terms of the recruitment market, there has been an increasing need for interim and temporary employees. The fact is
that many organizations will continue to experience change, and quite often, (69) _________ _________ will need to
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be brought in on project bases to handle specific projects in areas such as IT, (70) _________ _________ … and
people will keep looking for project management.

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