《商务英语练习与参考答案(彩色版)》.doc

新编大学商务英语
7练习与参考答案8
单元目录

Part 1 Supplementary Reading (补充阅读)
Passage 1
Passage 2
Part 2 Transcripts and Reference Key (录音文本及练习参考答案)
1. Listening Task
2. Speaking Task
3. Reading Task
7. Follow-up Practice
Part 3 Answers to Supplementary Reading(补充阅读答案)

Unit 1 Applying for a Job
Part 1 Supplementary Reading

Passage I
1. Read the following text which explains how job advertisements differ in three European countries.

Job Ads: Reading between the lines
Checking out job advertisements is popular with executives worldwide. But though the activity is universal, is the same true of the advertisements? Are executive positions in different countries advertised in the same way? A comparison of the jobs pages of The Times of London, Le Monde of Paris and Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung suggests not.
First, what UK job seekers consider an essential piece of information — what the post pays — is absent from French and German adverts. It is often left to applicants to raise this themselves. In contrast, most British advertisements mention not only salary, but also other material incentives including a car and fringe benefits. French or German advertisements rarely refer to these. The attention given to rewards in the UK indicates the importance of the job and its responsibility. In France and Germany, that information is given by the level of experience and qualifications demanded. Salary can be assumed to correspond with this.
If French and German adverts are vague about material rewards, they are precise about qualifications. They usually demand 'a degree in..:, not simply 'a degree'. In Germany, for example, a technical director for a machine tool company will be expected to have a Dipl.-lng degree in Mechanical Engineering.
French advertisements go further. They may specify not just the type of grande école degree, but sometimes a particular set of institutions (Formation supérieure X, Centrale, Mines, HEC, ESSEC), these being the most famous grande écoles.
All this contrasts with the vague call for 'graduates' (or 'graduate preferred') which is found in the UK. British companies often give the impression that they have a particular type of applicant in mind, but are not sure about the supply and will consider others. Their wording suggests hope and uncertainty, as in this advertisement from The Times: ‘Whilst educational standards are obviously important, a large measure of personal enthusiasm is likely to secure the success of your application.’
In the UK qualifications beyond degree level make employers nervous, but in France or Germany it is difficult to be 'overqualified'. Many people on German executive boards have doctorates and the French regard five or six years of intensive post-baccalauréat study at a grand école as ideal training. British managers are not selected primarily for their intelligence, as managers are in France, or for their expert knowledge, as in Germany. Instead, the British give importance to social, political and leadership skills.
This difference also shows in the personal qualities mentioned. British advertisements stress energy, ability to communicate and motivate. German advertisements like achievement, but it tends to be less personality-driven. German companies want candidates with sound knowledge, experience and competence in their field. They rarely recruit novices as do British employers. French advertisements refer more to intellectual qualities like analytical aptitude and independence. Even the tone of the job advertisements is different in the three countries. By French and German standards, British advertisements are very racy. They attract young executives with challenges such as: ‘Are you reaching your potential?’, whereas French and German advertisements are boringly direct, aiming to give information about the job rather than to sell it.
All this points to three different conceptions of management. The French regard it as intellectually complex, the Germans as technically complex, and the British as interpersonally complex. But they agree on one thing: it’s complex.
1) Now complete the chart with the information each country provides in its advertisements.

UK
France
Germany
Salary
1. Essential piece of information
2. Not mentioned
3. Not mentioned
Material incentives
4
5
6
Degrees/qualifications
7
8
9
School attended
10
11
12
Personal qualities
13
14
15
Tone of job advertisement
16
17
18
Conceptions of management
19
20
21

2）Match the words and expressions in the box with the headings below.
job seekers doctorate initiative interviewees bonus
company car job offer applicants advertisement diploma
confidence qualifications interview pension plan shortlist
degree health insurance enthusiasm independence candidates

1 fringe benefits
_________________________ _____________________________
________________________ _____________________________
2 education
________________________ __
________________________ ______________________________
3 stages in recruiting
________________________ ______________________________
________________________ ______________________________
4 personal qualities
_________________________ ______________________________
_________________________ _____________________________
5 people looking for work
________________________ ___________________________
________________________ _____________________________

Passage 2
Making the Best of a Good Job
If your last job interview took place five or more years ago, you could be in for some big surprises when you reenter the employment market. Interviews are now much less likely to take the form of a cosy fireside chat. Neither, at the other extreme, should you expect an intimidating interrogation supposedly designed to test your ability to cope with stress. These traditional approaches have gone the way of tea trolleys and two-hour lunch-breaks.
As lean modem companies have learned the costs of making bad appointments, interviews have become part of a multilayered quasi-scientific selection process, and are increasingly likely to be conducted by managers trained in complex psychological techniques. They are also becoming high tech: before too long, candidates can expect many interview panels to include at least one member who participates by means of video conferencing technology from another site or even overseas.
One thing has not changed. It is still unusual to get a job without a face-to-face encounter with your boss-to-be. Interviews are used by 75 per cent of companies for every category of staff they employ. The same proportion of firms believe that, of all the selection tools available, interviews have the most influence on their appointment decisions.
But these days you cannot rely just on your skills as an interviewee to get the job you want. There is a good chance that you will have to start proving yourself well before you reach the interview room.
A recent analysis of recruitment methods by the Institute of Personnel and Development found that 61 per cent of firms also used aptitude tests, 43 per cent sent out personality questionnaires and 30 per cent evaluated potential staff at assessment centers. Professional and managerial staff are especially likely to be put through a wide range of selection techniques before they reach the final interview with the employer.
"By the time you've reached this stage, you are 90 per cent there in terms of an acceptance by the employer that you can do the job," says Bill Robbins, director of the senior executive center at Drake Beam Morin.
"Although you may be tested further on the skills and experience the company thinks are especially important, the interview is likely to focus more on your motivation for the job and how well you will fit into the organization and its culture."
Selection panels are now putting increasing effort into probing candidates' inner values to see whether they match those of the company. Your values could even be assessed by psychological tests conducted during the interview itself.
A test devised by occupational psychology consultancy Criterion Partnership requires candidates to select, rank and then discuss cards containing value-reflecting headings or statements such as "money and status", "opportunity to make independent decisions" and "I need approval in work".
Criterion has also developed an interview exercise that assesses candidates by asking them to discuss what they believe to have been the causes of positive or negative past work experiences.
Someone who is inclined to blame themselves for negative events may be judged not to have sufficient
emotional stamina to take on a job dealing with customer complaints, for example.
In today's job marketplace, you can expect the interview to be a "structured" event – each candidate will be asked the same predetermined questions -- rather than a process guided by whatever questions happen to float into the minds of the panel. (This standardization aims to provide a better basis for comparing candidates and reducing bias on the grounds of race or gender.) The IRS survey found that nine out of ten interviews are now structured, compared with seven out of ten two years ago.
An increasing number of interviews are also "situational". This means that candidates are asked questions such as "What would you do if... ?", an approach that lets them provide practical examples of how they would tackle particular situations, whether or not they have had any direct experience of them.
Despite their increasing rigour, interviews are generally becoming a lot less formal. Candidates and interviewers are now much more likely to sit on sofas than face each other across a large mahogany table. Fran Minogue of recruitment company Norman Broad Bent believes that selection panels "aim to relax people so they can open up and do as much talking as possible." This new informality also reflects the decreasing importance attached to hierarchy within organizations.
The biggest change in the style of interviews will be noticed by senior staff with skills currently in short supply in the labour market. "At this level, interviews are increasingly a conversation between equals," suggests Bill Robbins. "That's a big change."
Yet despite all efforts to bring the interview process up to date, employers frequently make the wrong choice. Although the interview remains the centerpiece of organizations' selection procedures, it is in fact a highly unreliable predictor of a candidate's suitability. When Oxford Psychologists Press examined all the evidence, they found that interviewing came third from bottom in a list of eight methods of selection. Only astrology and graphology scored worse.
But you would be best advised not to point this out to a potential employer- at least not until you have definitely been offered the job.

1. Questions for Comprehension
1) According to the text, what are the traditional interview approaches?
2) What has not changed in selecting people？
3) According to the text, which selection tool has the most influence on the appointment decision?
4) Can you just rely on your skills as an interviewee to get the job you want?
5) According to Bill Robbins, when you come to the final interview with the employer, what will likely be the focus of the interview?
6) Can an interviewee in today's job market expect to be asked the same predetermined questions?
7) Why are more and more interviews becoming situational?
8) Are the interviews becoming less formal？Why?
9) Can employers avoid making the wrong choice by applying new methods to interviews？Why?
10) What does the author think of interviews?

Part 2 Transcripts and Reference Key
1. Listening Task
(1)
Looking for a job can be difficult, especially if a person does not look in the right place. Getting a job can be competitive, since there are probably other people trying to get the same job. One way to find a job is to concentrate on well-known companies because well-known companies are usually large and, therefore, frequently hire new people. The most common way to find a job is to look at newspaper advertisements and apply for specific jobs that are available. After deciding where to apply for a job, there are three ways to contact the companies. The first way is to call them up on the telephone. Another way is to write a cover letter and send it to the company with a resume. The third way is to go directly to the company without first writing or calling. However, many companies do not want job applicants to come to the office without an appointment. Whichever way is used to contact the company, the goal is the same ― to get an interview.
The job interview is crucial for getting a good job. Managers are trained to interview applicants in a special way. The education and experience of the interviewee are important; yet, equally important to a company is how a person feels about the company. Therefore, in a job interview, the company is concerned with the psychology of the applicants.
The typical interview consists of three stages. The first is the beginning of the interview, during which the manager tries to make the applicant feel comfortable and tells the applicant something about the company. In the second stage, the manager asks the interviewee questions about his education, his background, and his interest in the job. Finally, the manager will discuss salary and allow the applicant to ask questions about the company. Each stage is equally important. If an applicant does well in all three, the manager might show him around the office, introduce him to some supervisory personnel, or invite him to return for a second interview. This second interview would probably be with the person responsible for making the final decision about hiring the applicant.
When having a job interview, remember to relax, to be honest, and to be yourself. If you relax and act naturally, the interviewer will feel comfortable and will know that he can trust you. This will increase your chances of getting the job.

Questions and Answers
1. Why is it suggested that one should concentrate on well-known companies to find a job?