2006年下半年商务英语BEC中级阅读指导连载5

试题 11
PART TWO
Questions 8-12
 Read the text below about the management of documents.
 Choose the best sentence from the list on the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
 For each gap 8-12, mark one letter (A-I) on your Answer Sheet.
 Do not use any letter more than once.
How do you improve white collar productivity?

For many years, technological development was thought to be the key to improving productivity in the office. In the 1980s cheap small computers first appeared on desktops. (example)________
The power of personal computers has increased dramatically, and the uses of software have expanded too. Companies both large and small have spent large sums of money on improving office computer facilities.(8) ________.It seems that business has failed to apply the developments in technology to greater effect, to increase the amount of time which office workers have available for non-routine tasks. To do this, we need to understand how information is processed in business ventures.
Typically, information is first gathered, then processed, and finally produced in its changed form as output.(9) ________. Increasingly complex programs have been invented, to feed ever more powerful processing systems.
But what about output? A recent study by an American management institute shows that the processing of documents takes up 60% of office workers’ time, 40% of labour costs and up to 10% of business income.(10) ________. In fact, the international companies studied for the research show that this breakdown is true world-wide, wherever the company operates.
Taking these findings into account, the management of documents has become extremely important. Documents support nearly all business transactions. They are increasingly the way to communicate with customers, suppliers and employees. It is therefore upon document output and distribution that we should focus. (11) ________
Unfortunately, technological developments in equipment for document management seem more impressive than they really are.(12) ________ New technological solutions are needed to tackle the problem, to help drive businesses forward to improve their productivity and output.
Only now are we beginning to study business objectives and to structure technology to suit them. Our company is attempting to understand how people use technology and how it can be applied to business problems.

A. These new methods of handling paperwork have already greatly improved efficiency.
B. This would be a key way of improving white collar productivity.
C. It will help them to make better use of all office employees.
D. However, this enormous investment has not improved productivity as expected.
E. Laser printers have many limitations, and photocopiers have few applications.
F. Most technology has concentrated its attention on the first two of these stages.
G. These figures are hardly surprising since documents convey nine-tenths of all information.
H. Nevertheless, it is an important way to improve business processes and workflow.
I. Since then, these machines have caused a revolution in the way we work in the office.

答案：8.D 9.F 10.G 11.B 12.E

试题 9
PART TWO
Questions 8 - 12
 Read this advertisement about business book reviews.
 Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
 For each gap 8 - 12, mark one letter A - I on your Answer Sheet.
 Do not mark any letter twice.

Special Introductory Offer!
Gain a working knowledge of the top
Business books – rapidly and easily
Now you can read the best business books - in just 15 minutes each!
It’s the executive dilemma of the Nineties: information overload. ____(example).____ There should be a simpler way to keep track of the latest ideas. And there is.
A systematic solution:
Suppose you had an assistant who screened and selected only the quality books for you. ____ (8)____ . So you could obtain a working knowledge of the book’s contents in a fraction of the time. Now you can have that assistant with Executive Book Summaries. Every month, you receive quick-reading, time-saving summaries of the best new business books. ____(9)____ . This means that rather than taking five to ten hours to read, it takes just 15 minutes!
How you’ll benefit.
Executive Book Summaries, designed for the busy executive, are a solution to the growing management problem of too much to read and too little lime to do it.
 Improve your business confidence.
You gain a real understanding of the key points of the best new business books.
 Learn more, remember more.
We’ve taken account of extensive research into the memory functions of the human brain ____(10)____ .
 Get ideas you can use.
____(11)____ . In a summary, these ideas are more accessible and ‘actionable’.
 Cut hundreds of hours off your reading load.
How often have you opened a new book with great expectations - only to find it a huge disappointment? ____(12)____
The books we summarise cover just about every subject you need to know, from management techniques to guidance on your career.

A) These introductory texts are the most important books and using them can pay big dividends.
B) Discover practical tips and techniques you can apply without delay.
C) In order to avoid this problem, we select for you only the truly worthwhile titles and reject the rest.
D) According to studies published in psychology journals, you retain the content of a summary better than a book.
E) He or she would take the most important ideas from each one, and compile them into a neat executive summary.
F) With the breadth and depth of knowledge gained from books, it is less likely that you’ll be caught off guard.
G) Each contains all the key points in the original book, but instead of 200 to 500 pages there are only eight pages.
H) There’s a sample of the superb business titles that we summarise for you.
I) With all the reading you have to do in the normal course of your work, you find it impossible to keep up with all the new business books.

答案：8.E 9.G 10.D 11.B 12.C