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
1. The power of money has become __________ in receive if you have money in some types of bank
today’s business world, which can unfortunately account.
contribute to unethical decisions. A. Investment
A. pervading B. Intangible
B. pervasive C. Interest
C. pervaded D. Income
D. pervasion 12. _____________ is the difference between the funds
2. The __________ strategy was to target the heads of a country receives and those it pays for all
the household as they had the final say on where the international transactions
disposable income would be spent. A. Balance sheet
A. promotional B. Balance of payments
B. promoting C. Balance of trade
C. promoted D. Balance outstanding
D. promotive 13. It is difficult to __________ the success of the
3. To __________ is to make a deal between different campaign at this stage.
parties where each party reduces demands or A. measure
changes their opinions in order to agree. B. allocate
A. deal with C. include
B. confront D. classify
C. complain 14. __________ is the process of dividing a broad
D. compromise consumer or business market, normally consisting of
4. People in __________ cultures are good at changing existing and potential customers, into sub-groups
plans. of consumers based on some type of shared
A. multi-active characteristics.
B. reactive A. Market expansion
C. linear-active B. Market segmentation
D. collective C. Market penetration
5. It’s not fair to make __________ out of loans to poor D. Market promotion
students. 15. All the companies or individuals (‘middlemen’)
A. changes involved in moving goods or services from producers
B. profits to consumers are called _______________ .
C. efforts A. vehicles
D. messes B. distribution couriers
6. The President has accused two cabinet ministers of C. transportations
working secretly to ________ his position. D. distribution channels
A. undermine 16. __________ is a marketing process that showcases
B. undergo the differences between products.
C. undertake A. Product variation
D. underlie B. Product marketing
7. A person such as an employee, customer or citizen C. Product differentiation
who is involved with an organization, society, etc. D. Product segmentation
and therefore has responsibilities towards it and an 17. Some car manufacturers, food retailers and
interest in its success is a(n) __________ . department stores now offer products like personal
A. account holder loans, credit cards and insurance. Technically these
B. shareholder are not banks but __________.
C. stockholder A. credit crunch
D. stakeholder B. non-bank financial intermediaries
8. A __________ is an amount of a company’s profits C. traditional investment funds
that is paid to people who own shares in the D. stockbroking management services
company.
A. loan 18. __________ are private investment funds for wealthy
B. mortgage investors that use a variety of risky investing
C. dividend strategies than traditional investment funds, in order
D. surplus to achieve higher returns.
9. __________ is the process of designing the products A. Non-bank financial intermediaries
or services to benefit a local market while at the B. Hedge funds
same time developing and distributing them on a C. Stockbrokers
global level. D. Conglomerates
A. Globalization 19. More resources are being __________ to the project.
B. Localization A. divided
C. Glocalization B. separated
D. Grobalization C. allocated
10. He was employed to __________ D. conformed
the computerization of records. 20. __________ is a strategy for setting a low price to try
A. integrate to sell a large volume and increase market share of a
B. motivate particular product or service.
C. supervise A. Market penetration strategy
D. achieve B. Market development strategy
11. __________ is the extra money that you pay if you C. Product development strategy
have borrowed money, or the extra money that you
 D. Product expansion strategy 26. __________ free trade is potentially hostile to
21. __________ measures the responsiveness of the environmental concerns and may put human health
quantity demanded or supplied of a good to a change and safety at risk.
in its price. A. Unfettered
A. Price differentiation B. Restricted
B. Price response C. Limited
C. Price elasticity D. Definite
D. Price adaptivity 27. DVP has cut its __________ to 2 USD per share
22. At the _________, prices may have to be reduced after two years of declines in annual turnover.
because competitors are established in the market, A. dividend
but companies try to defend their market share while B. turnover
also maximizing profit. C. sample
A. introduction stage D. distribution
B. growth stage 28. Hoang Yen group, a restaurant & buffet chain, is
C. maturity stage suffering in the current __________ because
D. decline stage consumers are spending less money going out.
23. A statement showing the value of a business’s A. recession
assets, its liabilities, and its capital or shareholders’ B. annual turnover
equity is called a(n)__________ C. bankruptcy
A. income statement D. placement
B. cash flow statement 29. A __________ is a country or place that has a low
C. balance sheet rate of tax so that people choose to live there or
D. financial record register companies there in order to avoid paying
24. The _________ account shows if a company is higher tax in their own countries.
receiving more money than it’s spending. A. money launderer
A. profit and expense B. tax harbour
B. profit and loss C. tax haven
C. profit and share D. tax evasion
D. profit and fund 30. __________ is comprised of all capital contributed to
25. LeoStone PLC has declared __________ after a the company including paid-in capital and retained
year of heavy pre-tax losses. earnings.
A. bankruptcy A. Shareholders’ equity
B. dividend B. Shareholders’ dividend
C. equity C. Stocks
D. recession 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
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

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
be brought in on project bases to handle specific projects in areas such as IT, (70) _________ _________ … and
people will keep looking for project management.
KEY

SECTION 1

01. B pervasive 02. A. promotional 03. D compromise 04. A multi-active 05. B. profits
06. A undermine 07. D. stakeholder 08. C. dividend 09. C glocalization 10. C. supervise
11. C. interest 12. B balance of 13. A. measure 14. B. market 15. D. distribution
payments segmentation channels
16. C. product 17. B. non-bank 18. B hedge funds 19. C. allocated 20. A. market
differentiation financial penetration
intermediaries
21. C. price 22. C maturity 23. C. balance 24. B. market 25. A bankruptcy
elasticity stage sheet skimming
26. A. unfettered 27. A dividend 28. A recession 29. C tax havens 30. A. Shareholders’
equity

SECTION 2
31. features
32. shareholders
33. strategy
34. conditions
35. motivation
36. external
37. statements
38. statistical
39. agency
40. communication

SECTION 3
41. TRUE
42. FALSE
43. TRUE
44. TRUE
45. A
46. C
47. a downturn
48. governments &/central banks
49. consumption
50. demand
51. fiscal policy
52. money supply
53. (direct) tax
54. monetary
55. upturn/upswing/boom

SECTION 4
Part 1
56. loans
57. collateral
58. management
59. distributing
60. diversified
61. scalable
62. conventional
63. schemes
64. microcredit
65. positive
Part 2
66. online recruitment
67. job seekers
68. unique opportunity
69. specialist people
70. human resources

AUDIO SCRIPTS
Part 1
... Microfinance schemes started with several NGOs and social enterprises, for example Grameen Bank in
Bangladesh. They distribute very small loans to poor people, often without financial collateral. But they use some
kind of different collateral, sometimes it can be social (2) collateral, 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-management tool. Of course, distributing 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 portfolio in which the risk can be diversified. NGOs and social enterprises
proved that these kinds of schemes can be scalable, and the poor people are actually repaying the loans, so now
the conventional banks like Citibank and Barclays are taking part in these schemes , not for the purpose of doing
good only, they are actually doing it as part of their business. They are developing their microfinancing and
microcredit products in developing countries. It seems that microfinance is doing really well particularly in
Bangladesh and part of India, and there are some positive cases in Latin America and Africa too.

Part 2:
Q: What recent changes have you noticed in the job market?
A: I think probably the most unique change in the job market, in the – most recently, is the intervention of online
recruitment and webbased recruitment and websites. For us as a global business, it means that we can truly act
in that way – we can recruit roles in the UK that are based wherever, equally we can recruit roles from India that
are based wherever. It also means that the candidate or job seekers do have a huge amount of choice. You can
go onto your website at home, sitting at home, and look at roles and jobs that are advertised globally, worldwide,
so it’s an absolutely unique opportunity for both candidates and employers. Equally, um, in terms of the
recruitment market, we have seen in the last years ... few years, a development in the need for interim employees
and temporary employees. Lots of organisations now are going through periods of change, and I think it’s an
accepted fact that organisations will continue to go through change, and quite often, specialist people will need to
be brought in on project bases, to undertake specific projects in areas such as IT, human resources … project
management generally will be very sought after.