University of Economics, HCMC End of Unit Test.M1.

Unit 2
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.

Jim Lawrence runs a firm with a turnover (1) …………… over $3 million. Yet only fifteen years ago he
owned a farm (2 ) …………… was struggling to (3) …………… a profit. For a few years in the 80s, he
worked (4) …………… an estate agent to earn some extra money. In 1993, Jim was asked to make an iron
candlestick. He (5) …………… $50 to get started and soon had a new business. He received lots of orders and
decided to (6) …………… his farm buildings to workshops.

“I have had no formal training in iron work”, says Jim, “but I have always liked making things”. These days
he (7) …………… thirty-two people to help him and he has a very successful business. It is a mail-order
company and Jim has (9) …………… invested a lot of money in IT to maximize (9) …………… . During the
last 15 years, he has won two very important prizes for business, one in 1996 and (10) …………… in 2002.

1. A. for B. of C. at D. on
2. A. who B. whom C. whose D. which
3. A. take B. do C. make D. invest
4. A. for B. in C. as D. of
5. A. lost B. spent C. threw D. found
6. A. consist B. transfer C. convert D. invert
7. A. employ B. was employing C. employs D. employed
8. A. recently B. yet C. never D. seldom
9. A. efficient B. inefficient C. efficiently D. efficiency
10. A. another B. other C. the other D. others

II. Choose the best answer

11. The cost of a company’s shares is its …………… .
A. market share B. share price C. turnover D. overheads
12. The percentage of sales a company has in a particular market is its …………… .
A. share price B. turnover C. market share D. net profit
13. The company employs a …………… of nearly 5,000.
A. employees B. labour C. workers D. workforce
14. A company which is more than 50% owned by another company is called a …………… .
A. subsidiary B. parent company C. head office D. branch
15. We …………… independent and impartial advice on mobile phones.
A. do B. launch C. make D. offer
16. We want to be sure that we can …………… the needs of our customers.
A. respond B. accept C. meet D. make
17. After 2 years in which the price of PCs has fallen by half, the price of software …………… down too.
A. is coming B. come C. would come D. came
18. As a rule, cheap imports …………… to greater competition.
A. are leading B. lead C. leads D. is leading
19. How do you …………… with customer complaints?
A. deal B. treat C. do D. have
20. They need to improve the products’ …………… .
A. packed B. pack C. packaging D. package
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21. Afitel Company is committed …………… creating and delivering value.
A. for B. to C. at D. in
22. The product was very popular. We sold …………… on the first day and ordered more stock.
A. out B. on C. in D. for
23. If a product is …………… sale in a John Lewis store, you know you can trust it.
A. at B. to C. on D. of
24. Turnover was €57.2 million, an increase ……………15% on last year.
A. on B. of C. in D. by
25. Can we move …………… to the next item on the agenda?
A. on B. up C. away D. for
26. Now is a good time to invest …………… the property market.
A. for B. of C. with D. in
27. The pre-tax profit was USD 15 million …………… the profit after-tax was USD 8 million.
A. because B. in spite of C. while D. due
28. Our biggest customer is McDonald’s, …………… most of you will be familiar with.
A. that B. which C. Ø D. all are correct
29. Next, I’ll explain …………… we’ve been so successful in the fashion industry.
A. why B. that C. which D. if
30. I think one of the major reasons for the company’s success is the markets …………… we operate.
A. when B. on which C. which D. where
31. Currently, we …………… the next stage in our development.
A. consider B. will consider C. are considering D. have considered
32. Its products are …………… by many celebrities in the world of music and sport.
A. endorsed B. endorsing C. to endorse D. endorsement
33. …………… is involved with managing and organising the work of a company.
A. Accounts B. Personnel C. Administration D. Sales
34. Because of the high cost of dollar, exports …………… well.
A. aren’t doing B. hasn’t done C. don’t make D. aren’t making
35. Nokia …………… in manufacturing mobile phones.
A. specialises B. specialising C. specialised D. will specialise
36. Nature’s Way Foods is a food-manufacturing company …………… on the south coast of England.
A. basic B. basing C. based D. bases
37. We are a highly …………… business.
A. compete B. competitive C. competition D. competing
38. We have now got a very wide range of …………… .
A. productivity B. producers C. products D. production
39. We have …………… moved to our new head office in central London.
A. success B. successful C. successfully D. succeed
40. If customers want …………… about our service, they can call our hotline.
A. complain B. to complain C. complaining D. complained

Section 2: Language use

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Procter & Gamble’s Head & Shoulders shampoo is the biggest selling anti-dandruff shampoo in the world.
When sales began to drop, Head & Shoulders had been on the market for more than 25 years in some
countries. Procter & Gamble therefore considered the possibility that changes in consumer needs and wants
may have occurred and could explain the declining sales. Market research identified that consumers were not
comfortable with the brand’s core promise that it would get rid of dandruff. Therefore, the decision was
made by Procter & Gamble to alter Head & Shoulders’ promise to one that gives people beautiful hair and
keeps hair clean. The brand turned away from presenting dandruff as a disease that needs to be treated and

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 set out with the intention of making consumers comfortable with purchasing and being associated with Head
& Shoulders.

As part of the launch for Head & Shoulders in Australia, a “celebrity ball” was held at Sydney’s Star City
Casino in September 1999, in order to link Head & Shoulders with glamour and to steer away from the
discomforting image of an anti-dandruff shampoo. The launch also featured an advertisement with Courtney
Cox.

Within three months of Head & Shoulder being launched in Australia, it had established itself as the number
four shampoo in the Australian market. Consumers were obviously more inclined to purchase a product
whose main feature was glamour, rather than battling dandruff.

Choose the best answer:

1. Where do you think the passage above is probably from?
A. a course of banking C. a school brochure
B. a brochure of recruiting D. a newspaper
2. What is the passage about?
A. The history of Procter & Gamble
B. A kind of product from Procter & Gamble
C. Consumer file of Procter & Gamble
D. The financial statement of Procter & Gamble
3. Which of the following statement is FALSE?
A. Procter & Gamble launched Head & Shoulders 25 years ago.
B. Market research guides Procter & Gamble in making dandruff shampoo.
C. A celebrity ball took place when Procter & Gamble launched Head & Shoulders in London.
D. Procter & Gamble decided to make Head & Shoulders the flagship product.

Answer the question.

4. What is Head & Shoulders’ altered promise?
What does each of the following underlined words / phrases refer to?
5. “The brand turned away …” (Paragraph 1)
6. “… a product whose main feature …” (Paragraph 3)

Which words/ phrases in the passage mean the following?

7. placed in a position: …………………
8. careful study in order to discover new facts or information: …………………

Fill in each blank with one suitable word from the passage. Put it in its correct form or tense if
necessary.
9. There are vast ………………… of ice cream in the hot weather.
10. Which ………………… of toothpaste do you prefer?

II. Writing
Read the following job advertisement on vn.linkedin.com and the candidate’s profile.
Brand Supervisor
Circle K Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, VN
Job description
+ Manage Advertising, Public Relations, Media and all special events to support sales.
+ Conduct market intelligence in terms of marketing initiatives / trends in the market as well as
competitors’ marketing activities / initiatives and strategies.

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Requirements
 Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business or equivalent major
 Have at least 03 years of experiences in Marketing / Brand management, experiences in Retail
industry is preferable.

Candidate’s profile
+ Thanh Nguyen, 30 years old
+ B.A. in Marketing, University of Finance and Marketing
+ Marketing Manager for KFC (5 years), launching 3 marketing campaigns
+ part-time job as waiter for Kichi-Kichi and Hanuri
+ friendly, active and hard-working

Write an email of job application for the position advertised. Make up information where necessary.

Subject: Brand Supervisor, Thanh Nguyen

Dear Mr. Phan Le,

I am …………………………………………………………………………………………..

As you can see ……………………………………………………………………………….

With a B.A. degree …………………………………………………………………………..

Thank you …………………………………………………………………………………...

Yours ………………

III. Listening:
Part 1: Listen to the question and choose the best response. The recording will be played twice.
1. A B C
2. A B C
3. A B C
4. A B C
5. A B C

Part 2: Listen to the recording and fill in the blanks. The recording will be played twice.
Business (6) ……………………… and ……………………… Association Conference.
+ Workshops: last from (7) ……………………… to ………………………
held in the conference rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors.
+ A map in your (8) ……………………… ……………………… . If not picked it up yet  find it in the
main lobby on the ground floor.
+ Lunch: served in the hotel ballroom on the 2nd floor.
+ After lunch  back to the auditorium to hear a (9) ……………………… ……………………… on the
future of business management.
+ (10) ……………………… ……………………… available in the lobby.

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The End