问答题Practice 4　　A: What is important when...?　　Choosing a conference center　　●Facilities　　●Accommodations　　●Location　　B: What is important when...?　　Selecting an employee　　●Qualification　　●Personality　　● Creativity

According to the passage, what are characterized by their less centralized trades negotiated between dealers?

Ms Varley is applying for a job with the Daily News.

Passage 5Eliminating Sweatshops at Nike; Just Do It!　　Over the past decade, Nike has been one of the most profitable companies in the United States. However, at a time when the company’s spokesperson, Michael Jordan, was bringing in over $10 million, the young, mostly women workers in its Indonesian plants were taking home only $ 2.23 a day. (31)______, working conditions in Nike’s Serang plant, 50 miles west of Jakarta, were far from ideal. Hundreds of workers, some children, were crowded into vast sheds where they glued, stitched, pressed, and boxed 70 million pairs of (32)______a year. Collusion between local management and government made organizing workers into unions both difficult and dangerous, and the high level of unemployment left workers powerless. Taken together, these labor practices helped keep cost so low and quality so high that a pair of running shoes that (33)______ for $ 75 retail in the United States cost just $18.25 to manufacture.　　With this type of cost and price structure, it is easy to see how Nike became so profitable. However, the ability to sustain these practices became an issue in 1996 when the U.S. media exposed these sweatshop conditions. As consumers became increasingly aware of (34)______ their sneakers were actually being made, some felt guilty, and human rights groups went so far (35)______ to organize boycotts of Nike products. Given the damage to Nike’s image and future profitability, something had to be done.　　At first, Nike CEO Phillip Knight defended his operations, noting that Nike pays its workers no (36)______ than its rivals do and that these workers make more than minimum wage in the host countries. Critics countered that the level of pay was (37)______ the subsistence level and much lower than what is paid by other U.S. companies such as Coco-Cola, Gillette, and Good-year.　　To end this image problem (38)______ and for all, on May 12,1998, Knight pledged to (a) raise the minimum worker age requirement, (b) adopt U. S.-style safety and health standards, and (c) allow human rights groups to help monitor working conditions in all foreign plants. He again showed his commitment to reform six months later (39)______ raising wages 22 percent to offset the currency devaluation that rocked Indonesia in the fall of 1998. Knight used both occasions to challenge his competitors to do the same, realizing that their failure to do so would put Nike at a competitive disadvantage. Although it is currently unclear how these (40)______ will respond, it is obvious that Nike is at least trying to establish its image as a trend setter in both footwear and working conditions in international locations.

We can learn from the passage that the hamburger described as a quarter of a pound is ______ a quarter of pound after being cooked.

It didn’t take long for Henry Ford

Smart cards are like ______ cards.

Just-in-time inventory control system

Practice 2　　The interview—about 3 minutes　　In this part the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You have to give information about yourself and express personal opinions.

Practice 10　　● Read this part of a letter from the conference organizer at Greenwood Conference Centre.　　Thank you for your enquiry about conference facilities at Greenwood. I enclose a brochure containing further details of the accommodation and conference facilities which I mentioned on the phone.　　I am now able to confirm that Greenwood is available for up to 40 participants on the weekends of 20-22 April and 5-7 May 2001.　　Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.　　● Write a letter to Mr. Stanton, the conference organizer:　　● informing him which dates you would like to book　　● telling him how many participants there will be　　● giving details of the type of accommodation required　　● asking him to confirm the cost of the weekend.　　● Write 60-80 words on your Answer Sheet.　　● Do not include postal addresses.

Practice 4　　● You work for a company which produces laser printers. You are visiting another company, to buy some computer software for your department. They have expressed an interest in your company’s printers and you would like to take twenty brochures and three sample printers with you.　　● Write a short note to Mr. Jim Asana, the sales manager.　　● Asking for his permission to take these items.　　● Explaining why you want them.　　● Mentioning the time and date when you want to collect them.　　● Write 40—50 words on a separate sheet.

The best tide of this article is

Investors can reduce risk and still make good profits by ______

All people do several jobs at the same time simply because they want to challenge themselves.

To find and solve problems in time, it is important for companies to

Mortgage and other financing income decreased $8.8 million to $18.8 for the year ended December 31, 2006.The income in 2006 was reduced

A magneto is a technical term for

Follow-up questions:　　(1)Are you ready to achieve the instructed sales promotion target?　　(2) Which feature do you think is the most important for sales promotion?　　(3)As a young lady／guy, what kind of products attract you the most?　　(4) Compared with other products, which aspect of your product do you think is better?　　(5)Do you think it is wise for a company to set a low price to attract customers? Why or why not?

Practice 4　　● You have to change the date of a meeting with a client, Mr. John Williams.　　● Write an e-mail to your personal assistant:　　● Telling her that you have to change the arrangement for the meeting;　　● Giving the reason for the change;　　● Asking her to make new arrangements with the client.　　● Write about 30—40 words.

Q3: Is the attitude crucial for an employee? Why?

Passage 4　　● Look at the statements below and the five extracts from an article giving advice to self-employed consultants about negotiating fees for their services.　　● Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement l-8 refer to?　　● For each statement l-8, make one letter(A, B, C, D or E)on your Answer Sheet.　　● You will need to use some of these letters more than once.　　1. Trying to negotiate is only worthwhile if there is the prospect of success.　　2. The best result of negotiation is when both parties have a sense of satisfaction.　　3. Accepting a lower fee might have benefits in the future.　　4. It is important to know how much other people are charging for similar work.　　5. You should ask for a fee in excess of what you expect to get.　　6. Offer the other party incentives to agree to your fee.　　7. Other people’s reactions to you are influenced by your body language.　　8. It may become obvious that you have come to regret a deal you have made.　　A　　You’re in danger of selling yourself short if you don’t know where the goalposts are, especially when you’re negotiating with a new client. Research the market and find out the going rate. You can do this by networking contacts or talking to small business advisers. Alternatively, ask the competitor. Of course your rivals may not tell you, but there’s no harm in asking. Another prerequisiteis learning to recognize when there’s hope for negotiation, because without it, you can waste a great deal of time and energy.　　B　　Know the amount you would really like, slightly above what you think they will offer and above what you’d be happy to settle for. Also, know your trade-offs. Create a wish list of all the things you’d like to receive, if you lived in a perfect world. That way, if the other side wants you to move from your preferred or opening position on an issue to a position nearer the bottom line, you can move in exchange for something from your wish list.　　C　　People who are nervous about negotiating over money often let fear tell them they’re not good at these discussions and not worth the fee. You literally can’t afford the luxury of a single negotiating thought. Stand up when making negotiating phone calls：it will make you feel more powerful. If you’re face to face, make steady eye contact, keep your head up and your hands still-these all suggest assertiveness, rather than aggressivenessor passivity and you’ll be surprised at how much this affects the way that you come across in the negotiation.　　D　　You have to know the price below which it would be uneconomical for you to do a job. This could vary from job to job-you may be prepared to do some cheaper in the hope that they’ll lead to better things. But don’t be talked below your bottom line and end up working for nothing. After all, in the long term, there’s little point in agreeing to something that you’re not happy with：you’re likely to feel resentful, and this might even come across in your behaviour.　　E　　When negotiating money, there may be non-financial factors you can throw into the mix. For example, why not say, ‘If you pay me such and such, I’ll include a report on the company for you’. Plan these extras beforehand. Make sure that they won’t take forever to do, but are things of value to the other side. This way you can achieve the ideal outcome: you appear to accept compromise　when in fact you’ve got everything you wanted, and they’ll think they’ve got the better of the deal.

Some suppliers will charge people less if they pay early.

Practice 8　　● You work for a company, which produces laser printers. You are visiting another company, Softcell, to buy some computer software for your department. They have expressed an interest in your company’s printer and you would like to take twenty brochures and three sample printers with you.　　● Write a short note to Mr. Jim Asana, the sales manager.　　● Ask for his permission to take these items;　　● Explain why you want them;　　● Mention the time and date when you want to collect them.　　● Write 30—40 words on your answer sheet.

There are still residues in pre-washed, prepackaged products.

Passage 7Questions 8 - 12　　● Read this advertisement for a set of training videos and instructional material.　　● Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.　　● For each gap 8 - 12 mark one letter A -G.　　● Do not mark any letter twice.　　● One answer has been given as an example.　　54 Jermyn Street　　London SW1Y6LX　　3rd January 1993　　Mr. James Levine　　Sales Manager　　Lincoln Mondary Winery　　30 St. James’s Street　　London SWIA 1HG　　Dear Mr. Levine:　　(0)______. I believe I could do a good job for the Lincoln Mondaly Wintery because of both my related work experience with Pawn Wine Incorporation and my marketing courses at London University. The courses in marketing management and retailing listed on the enclosed resume have given me a sound background in marketing(8)______.　　Working as an assistant to the Sales Manager of Pawn Wine Incorporation, one of the two distributors for Lincoln Mondaly Wine in Southern England, gave me experience in dealing with people and increased my understanding of the business (9)______. For example, I organized Wine seminars for many of the larger wine factories in England. My responsibilities included finding accommodations for the seminars, working closely with specific wineries, contacting the prospective audience, preparing charts and speeches and giving presentations (10)______.I also arranged wine tasting for charitable and other organizations (11)______..　　During my teenage years my stepfather worked as a sales manager for a wine import company, so I have been exposed to the business end of wine from a young age (12)______.I would really like to be a part of your company since it has the reputation of producing superior wines and for having a progressive attitude toward business methods.　　Please telephone me at 213-555-6897 to arrange a mutually convenient time when I can further discuss with you my qualifications for your position of marketing assistant.　　Yours faithfully,　　James Woolsey　　Example: D　　A. This gave me additional experience in dealing with people and a chance to use some of the knowledge acquired in class and on the job.　　B. For this kind of work, I have found my teaching background to be a valuable help.　　C. Sometimes I feel that I have wine, not blood, running through my veins.　　D. Thank you for contacting me about the position of marketing assistant that you have available at this time.　　E. This specialized training, together with the knowledge obtained in working for my bachelor’s degree of Business Administration, should enable me to carry out your marketing procedures.　　F. However, I believe I am qualified for this position of Marketing Assistant.　　G. Mr. Edmund, the Sales Manager of Pawn Wine Incorporation, gave me varied assignments with appropriate responsibilities.