Page 13

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

Tu

rn Over

‹

3

2

SPOR

SPOR

TMASTER

TMASTER

Pakistan-based manufacturer of sports items wishing to do

business in Europe is looking for importers

T

EL

:

92 555 4321

Spor

tmaster w

ants to

A

sell its products abroad.

B

impor

t products into P

akistan.

C

man

uf

acture in Europe

.

3

A

Y

ou can photocop

y notices at Reception f

or displa

y here

.

B

Photocopied notices can only be displa

y

ed at Reception.

C

Ta

ke

y

our notice to Reception if y

ou w

ant it displa

y

ed here

.

4

THE AIRPORT EXPRESS DEPARTS FROM PLATFORM 3 EVERY 20 MINUTES

DURING THE DAY (EVERY 30 MINUTES AT NIGHT)

A

The tr

ain ser

vice to the air

por

t r

uns 24 hours a da

y.

B

Air

por

t tr

ains lea

v

e

Platf

or

m 3 at 20 min

utes past the hour

.

C

The air

por

t e

xpress tak

es half an hour at night.

5

Goods not normally dispatched unless paid for at time of ordering –

payment on delivery by special arrangement only

Customers should nor

mally pa

y f

or goods

A

when their order is processed.

B

when the goods are deliv

ered.

C

when the

y place an order

.

NO

TICES FOR DISPLA

Y ABOVE THIS

PHO

TOCOPIER MUS

T FIR

S

T BE

H

ANDED T

O

RECEP

TION

READING

Q

UESTIONS 1 – 45

PA

R

T

ONE

Questions 1 – 5

•

Look at questions

1 – 5

.

•

In each question, which sentence is correct?

•F

or each question, mar

k one letter (

A

,

B

or

C

) on y

our Ans

w

er Sheet.

Example:

0

D

on’t f

o

rget – flight B

A

692 6.45 p

.m.

The plane arr

iv

es at

A

quar

ter to se

v

en in the mor

ning.

B

quar

ter past six in the e

v

ening.

C

quar

ter to se

v

en in the e

v

ening.

The correct ans

w

e

r is

C

, so mar

k y

our Ans

w

er Sheet lik

e this:

0

1

Office Staff Required

Experience essential

Full training given (leading to

recognised qualifications)

Applicants m

ust ha

v

e

A

rele

v

ant qualifications

.

B

pre

vious e

xper

ience

.

C

recognised tr

aining.

ABC

2

READING AND WRITING SAMPLE PAPER

1

Office Staff Required

Experience essential

Full training given (leading to

recognised qualifications)

Applicants m

ust ha

v

e

A

rele

v

ant qualifications

.

B

pre

vious e

xper

ience

.

C

recognised tr

aining.

Example

T

elephone message

Bill Ryan caught 9.30 flight – due here 11.30 now, not 12.30.

When does Bill Ryan expect to arrive?

The correct answer is B

,

so mark your

Answer Sheet like this:

A

9.30

B

1

1.30

C

12.30

Page 14

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

6

Margaret

Williams needs help in choosing the b

usiness loan with the most competitiv

e ter

ms

.

7

Ibr

ahim Shah w

ants to be sure that there will be enough demand f

or his product.

8

Mar

ia F

e

rnandez w

ould lik

e some advice about where to adv

er

tise a ne

w line of goods

.

9

Kim Seng w

ants to research ne

w la

ws on constr

ucting b

uildings

.

10

P

eder Andersen needs to kno

w whether his e

xisting funds are enough to set up his b

usiness

.

5

Tu

rn Over

‹

PA

R

T

T

W

O

Questions 6 – 10

•

Look at the adv

er

tisement belo

w

.

It sho

ws ser

vices off

ered b

y

a b

usiness consultancy

.

•F

or questions

6 – 10

, decide which ser

vice (

A – H

) w

ould be suitab

le f

or each person.

•F

or each question, mar

k one letter (

A – H

) on y

our Ans

w

er Sheet.

•

Do not use an

y letter more than once

.

THINKING OF S

T

AR

TING

A BUSINESS?

Need expert advice and/or assistance in one or

more of the following areas?

A

Market Resear

ch

B

Constructing a sc

hedule

C

Calculating costs

D

Meeting legal requirements

E

Obtaining finance

F

Renting or pur

chasing premises

G

Recruiting and tr

aining staff

H

Promoting products and services

4

Page 15

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

11

In this month, total e

xpenditure

, lik

e income

, sho

w

ed a f

all, while spending on adv

er

tising

demonstr

ated the opposite trend.

12

T

otal e

xpenditure rose slightly in this month, while adv

er

tising costs reached their peak, leading

to a higher income in the f

ollo

wing month.

13

Despite a decline in adv

er

tising costs in this month, e

xpenditure as a whole rose

.

14

This month’

s impro

v

ement in income w

as par

ticular

ly w

elcome

, as it w

as not matched b

y

an

increase in e

xpenditure

.

15

While this month sa

w a lo

w point in the restaur

ant’

s income

, e

xpenditure contin

ued to f

all.

7

Tu

rn Over

‹

6

PA

RT

THREE

Questions 11 – 15

•

Look at the char

t belo

w

.

It sho

ws a restaur

ant’

s income

, total e

xpenditure and adv

er

tising costs

dur

ing an eight-month per

iod.

•

Which month does each sentence (

11 – 15

) on the opposite page descr

ibe?

•F

or each sentence

, mar

k one letter (

A – H

) on y

our Ans

w

er Sheet.

•

Do not use an

y letter more than once

.

ABCD

E

F

G

H

Month

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

£

Advertising

Total expenditure

Income

Page 16

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

9

Tu

rn Over

‹

16

With a QVM machine

, companies can a

v

oid ha

ving a canteen altogether

.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

17

The QVM machine pro

vides enough hot dr

inks f

or up to fifteen people

.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

18

Most customers pref

er to rent the QVM machine o

v

er sixty months

.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

19

The electr

icity used daily b

y

the machine costs less than the pr

ice of a hot dr

ink.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

20

The machine compan

y empties the mone

y from the machine as par

t of its ser

vice ag

reement.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

21

Customers can refill their machines with dr

inks ing

redients

, if the

y w

ant to

.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

22

Dur

ing the tr

ial per

iod, the customer pa

ys a reduced amount to rent the machine

.

A

Right

B

Wrong

C

Doesn’t sa

y

PA

R

T

FOUR

Questions 16 – 22

•

Read the adv

er

tisement belo

w f

or a hot dr

inks machine

.

•

Are sentences

16 – 22

on the opposite page

‘Right’

or

‘Wrong’? If there is not enough

inf

or

mation to ans

w

er

‘Right’

or

‘Wrong’, choose

‘Doesn’t Sa

y’.

•F

or each sentence

16 – 22

, mar

k

one letter (

A

,

B

or

C

) on y

our Ans

w

er Sheet.

8

It can be expensive to keep the

canteen open to serve drinks to your

staf

f through the day

. Our QVM hot

drinks machine replaces this service,

so that you can close the canteen

between mealtimes.

Y

ou can install the QVM hot drinks

machine anywhere in the building.

One machine is suitable for a staf

f of

ten to fifteen people. It costs £1300 to

buy

, or £1

1.00 per week to rent over

60 months. It is not expensive to

operate: for example, the cost of

power for one day is 30p, nearly as

cheap as the price of one hot drink

from the machine.

Our company will carry out a

weekly service, at a char

ge of £10.00.

We

can also refill the machine with

drinks ingredients for an extra char

ge

of £8.00. Some customers prefer to do

this themselves, however

.

There are eight choices of hot drink

available from the QVM machine, and

our company of

fers one month’

s trial

free of char

ge, so that you can

estimate how popular the machine

will be and see what the actual savings

are.

Sa

v

e

mone

y and k

eep y

our st

af

f happ

y

AD

VER

TISING FEA

TURE

Page 17

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

23

The re

vie

w

er suggests that one adv

antage of the book is that

A

it is better v

alue than other management books

.

B

it does not need to be read r

ight through.

C

it is about w

ell-kno

wn people

.

24

The book concentr

ates on the f

act that the tw

enty e

x

ecutiv

es who are inter

vie

w

e

d

A

wo

rk

in a n

umber of diff

erent industr

ies

.

B

star

ted their companies

.

C

ha

v

e

w

o

rk

ed f

or diff

erent lengths of time

.

25

The re

vie

w

er cannot accept Stuar

t’s opinions because Stuar

t

A

mak

es unreasonab

le complaints about the inter

vie

w

ees

.

B

wr

ites too positiv

ely about the inter

vie

w

ees

.

C

has diff

erent attitudes to

w

ards diff

erent inter

vie

w

ees

.

26

Reading the book made the re

vie

w

er think that

A

there are cer

tain qualities which all Chief Ex

ecutiv

es need.

B

it is difficult to disco

v

er ho

w people really r

un a compan

y.

C

running a compan

y is easier than man

y people think.

27

Which par

ts of the book did the re

vie

w

er most enjo

y reading?

A

ho

w the inter

vie

w

ees became Chief Ex

ecutiv

es

B

what sor

t of people the inter

vie

w

ees are

C

the advice giv

en b

y

the inter

vie

w

ees

28

The re

vie

w

er recommends the book f

or people who

A

intend to set up in b

usiness

.

B

w

ant to become senior managers

.

C

are outside the field of b

usiness

.

11

Tu

rn Over

‹

PA

RT

FIVE

Questions 23 – 28

•

Read the f

ollo

wing re

vie

w of a book called

The Bosses Speak

.

•F

or each question

23 – 28

on the opposite page

, choose the correct ans

w

e

r.

•M

ar

k one letter (

A

,

B

or

C

) on y

our Ans

w

er Sheet.

10

John Stuart is an executive

recruitment specialist who has

turned to writing. The result

is

this

book, based on interviews with

twenty Chief Executives.

Each top manager – none of them

famous names, surprisingly – is

given a short

chapter

, and there is

some introductory material and a

conclusion. This means you can

jump from one person to another

,

in any order

, which is good for

people who are too busy to read

a book from cover to cover

. For

a management book it isn’

t

expensive, although whether it’

s

good value for money is doubtful.

Some of the twenty interviewees

started their own businesses,

while others joined a company

and worked their way up. Some

are fairly new in their position,

and others have had years of

experience, though, strangely

,

Stuart doesn’

t seem interested in

these differences. The interviewees

work in everything, from retailing

to airlines to software, and it is this

variety that forms the main theme

of Stuart’

s book.

I have to say that Stuart’

s approach

annoys me. He rarely stays at a

distance from his interviewees,

who are mostly presented in their

own, positive words. If this were

always the case, at least you

would know where you were. But

he seems to dislike certain

interviewees. As a result, I don’

t

know whether to accept any of his

opinions.

It also means that the book gives

no clear lessons. At the very least,

I expected to learn what makes a

successful Chief Executive. But

these people seem to share two

types of qualities. Some of them

are very common, suggesting that

anyone

can be equally successful,

which is definitely not the case.

And the other qualities are ones

which most successful bosses I’ve

seen definitely do

not

have. So in

the end I’m no wiser about what

really goes on.

Perhaps I’m being unfair

. As long

as you don’

t think about whether

you’d like them as friends, and pay

no attention to most of the advice

they give, the most readable parts

are where the bosses describe their

route to their present position.

Stuart seems to think that his book

would be useful for people aiming

for the top, and

that

it

might

even

make a few want to start their own

company; but, in fact, what they

could learn here is very limited.

Seen as light business reading for

a doctor or teacher

, though, this

book would provide some good

entertainment.

The Bosses Speak

Page 18

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

13

Tu

rn Over

‹

29

A

calling

B

calls

C

called

30

A

such

B

lik

e

C

so

31

A

at

B

fo

r

C

in

32

A

who

B

which

C

what

33

A

and

B

bu

t

C

or

34

A

ought

B

will

C

shall

35

A

because

B

although

C

since

36

A

on

B

of

C

with

37

A

a

B

these

C

this

38

A

still

B

eve

r

C

ne

v

e

r

39

A

m

ust

B

w

ould

C

might

40

A

made

B

had

C

done

PA

R

T

SIX

Questions 29 – 40

•

Read the ar

ticle belo

w about team-b

uilding.

•

Choose the correct w

ord to fill each gap

, from

A

,

B

or

C

on the opposite page

.

•F

or each question

29 – 40

, mar

k one letter (

A

,

B

or

C

) on y

our Ans

w

er Sheet.

12

TEAM-B

UILDING THR

OUGH

A

CTIVITIES

No

wada

ys,

compan

y bosses ar

e incr

easingl

y tr

ying to find un

usual team-building

ev

ents as par

t of their training pr

ogramme

.

An activity park

(29)

......

Fast-track has

just opened to off

er

(30)

......

e

vents.

It specialises

(31)

......

e

vents to attract the

corporate enter

tainment mark

et,

(32)

......

is gr

o

wing all the time

.

The park is situated just a f

e

w kilometr

es outside the city centr

e

(33)

......

it pr

o

vides

ev

ents that

(34)

......

enter

tain as w

ell as train.

Clients can tr

y outdoor attractions such as sailing or climbing,

(35)

......

availability

clearl

y depends entir

el

y

(36)

......

the w

eather

.

Activities of

(37)

......

kind ar

e perf

ect

team-building ex

er

cises.

‘I’

d

(38)

......

been to an activity park bef

or

e

,’ explained James Black,

a compan

y

manager

.

‘Bef

or

e w

e

came

,I

didn’

t think w

e

(39)

......

enjo

y ourselv

es so m

uch and I

didn’

t expect the huge diff

er

ence that Fast-track’

s pr

ogramme has

(40)

......

to m

y

team.

No

w w

e

w

ork better together than w

e

did bef

or

e

.’

Page 19

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

15

Tu

rn Over

‹

Insurance Claim

NAME OF POLICY HOLDER:

(41)

........................................................................…..

POLICY NUMBER:

LD4756030C

ITEM(S)

T

O

BE REPLA

CED:

(42)

..............................................................................

LOCA

TION OF ITEM(S):

(43)

..............................................................................

V

ALUE WHEN

PURCHASED:

(44)

..............................................................................

CA

USE OF D

AMA

GE:

(45)

..............................................................................

DA

TE OF D

AMA

GE:

Sunday 19 May

PA

RT

SEVEN

Questions 41 – 45

•

Read the memo and note belo

w

.

•

Complete the claim f

o

rm

on the opposite page

.

•W

rite a w

ord or phr

ase (in CAPIT

AL LETTERS) or a n

umber on lines

41 – 45

on y

our

Ans

w

er Sheet.

14

MEMO

TO:

Barbar

a Sinclair

FROM:

P

eter R

ogers

DATE:

25 Ma

y 2002

SUBJECT:

Insur

ance Claim

Could y

ou deal with this? It

’s

our insur

ance claim, f

or the damage at the week

end. The

insur

ance policy is in m

y

name, and we bought the carpet f

or £300, although it will cost at

least £500 to replace. Luckily our of

fice carpets seem fine.

Thanks

OWEN SMITH INSURANCE COMP

ANY

with compliments

Thank y

ou f

or y

our recent phone call regarding flood

damage in y

our photocopy room.

Could y

ou please complete the at

tached f

orm and return

it to me as soon as possible.

Martin Morris

Page 20

BEC PRELIMINAR

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PA

R

T

T

W

O

Question 47

•

Read this par

t of a letter from Mar

y Bennett applying f

or a job

.

With reference to your advertisement in The T

imes, I am writing to apply for the post of

training assistant.

I am moving to your country next month with my husband. As you will see from the enclosed

CV

, I have had a lot of experience in training and I feel that I have much to offer your company

.

If I am selected for interview

, please could you give me information about how to reach your

offices by public transport?

•W

rite a

letter

to Mrs Bennett:

•a

c

kno

wledging her letter

•

off

er

ing her a date and time f

o

r an inter

vie

w

•

requesting the names and addresses of tw

o ref

erees

•

telling her the best w

a

y to reach y

ou b

y

pub

lic tr

anspor

t.

•

Write 60 – 80 w

o

rds.

•

Write on y

our Ans

wer Sheet.

Do not inc

lude an

y postal ad

dresses.

17

WRITING

Q

UESTIONS 46 and 47

PA

R

T

ONE

Question 46

•Y

ou are going to attend an engineer

ing e

xhibition in F

rankfur

t soon.

•W

rite a

memo

to y

our assistant:

•e

xplaining wh

y y

ou will be a

w

a

y

•

letting her kno

w the dates y

ou will be a

w

a

y

•s

a

ying what w

o

rk

she should do while y

ou are a

w

a

y.

•

Write 30 – 40 w

o

rds.

•

Write on y

our Ans

wer Sheet.

16

MEMO

To

:

Sara L

y

ons

Fr

om:

Date:

14 Mar

ch 2003

Subject:

T

rip to F

rankfur

t

Page 23

WRITING PART 1

EXAMINER COMMENTS

I am going to attend an engineering exhibition in Frankfurt, and the ticket’s date is 20th March,
I will be away for one week, during this week I would like you to arrange the training meeting which we
have decided and make an appointment with selling manager. I would like to see him 27th morning 10:30.

CANDIDATE A

All points clearly achieved with only minor errors of
punctuation and the occasional missing preposition or
article.

Band 5

CANDIDATE B

Next week I go to an exhibition in Frankfurt. It’s from the 9th to the 11th. While I am in Frankfurt you should
write the business letters. If there are any problems – call me!

EXAMINER COMMENTS

All the content points have been achieved but ‘Next week I
go’ and ‘write the business letters’ are awkward.

Band 4

CANDIDATE C

I must go attend an engeneering exhibition in Frankfurt from 15 March to 18 March. Can you tell Mr Meier to
ask him confirmation for the fly on Monday and finish to made the travel documents for departure in April?

Yours sincerely

EXAMINER COMMENTS

The third content point (what work the assistant should do
while the writer is away) is not achieved as the second
sentence is confused and the role of Mr Meier is not clear.

Band 3

I will go on a trip to Frankfurt about attend an engineering exhibition tomorrow (15/March), so I want you
help me to leave a message if I have phone call. Thank you!

CANDIDATE D

EXAMINER COMMENTS

The candidate has failed to achieve both the second and
third content points (the dates when the writer will be away
and what work the assistant should do during this time),
making this an inadequate attempt at the task.

Band 2

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

Page 24

WRITING PART 2

Dear Mrs Bennett

Thank you for applying our company. We arranged an interview for you. The date is 4th April. Please arrive
at 9.15 in the morning, the interview star at 9.30. Please arrive on time.

We also need the names and address of 2 referees.

The best way to reach our office is use underground. You can find the name of the street where our office is
from the map. And use underground from trainstation to our company. You don’t need change train.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Yours sincerely

CANDIDATE E

EXAMINER COMMENTS

All the content points have been achieved and the candidate
has demonstrated confident control throughout most of the
letter, although there are a few non-impeding errors and a
slightly abrupt register.

Band 5

CANDIDATE F

Dear Miss Bennett

Thank you for your curriculum vitae and for the interest in this job.

We are pleased to have an interview with you at Monday, 23 April at 10 a.m. in our location. So we have the
possibility to introduce you to the team.

Could you please confirm me this requested date and please send me the name of two referees in advance.
We hope to see you soon. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

EXAMINER COMMENTS

The language used by this candidate is consistent with band
5, but the fact that the last content point (how to reach the
company by public transport) is not achieved holds the mark
awarded at band 4.

Band 4

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

Page 25

CANDIDATE H

To Mrs Bennett

I receive your letter including CV we were also looking for the person who is experienced in work. The date
for interview for you is 20-03-02 and we will very happy to interview you. The best way you can reach us by
public transport. If you need any further information please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Your sincerely

EXAMINER COMMENTS

Only the first two content points have been achieved, which
holds the mark awarded at band 2.

Band 2

CANDIDATE G

Dear Mrs Bennett

I have received your letter of application of post of traning substance, we have arrenged for you an interview
with Mr John on 26 April, please tell me your 2 referees names and addresses you can reach us by busses
numbered 610, 611 from city centre

Yours faithfully

EXAMINER COMMENTS

All the content points have been achieved and the candidate
has used an adequate range of structure and vocabulary.
However, there is an impeding error (traning substance) and
this, together with the lack of punctuation and that the fact
that the script is slightly short, holds the mark awarded at
band 3.

Band 3

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

Page 26

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

Part 7

14

13

15

41

0

1

41

29

31

30

32

Part 6

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

33

35

34

36

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

37

39

38

40

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

Part 3

16

A

B

C

23

A

B

C

12

11

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Part 4

Part 5

18

17

19

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

20

21

A

B

C

A

B

C

22

A

B

C

25

24

26

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

27

28

A

B

C

A

B

C

42

0

1

42

43

0

1

43

44

0

1

44

45

0

1

45

Supervisor:

PRELIMINAR

Y

BEC Preliminary Reading

Answer Sheet

0

0

0

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Candidate Name

If not already printed, write name

in CAPIT

ALS and complete the

Candidate No. grid (in pencil).

Candidate’

s Signature

Examination T

itle

Centre

If the candidate is

ABSENT

or has

WITHDRA

WN

shade here

Candidate No.

Centre No.

Examination

Details

2

1

4

3

6

5

8

7

10

9

Part 1

Instructions

Use a PENCIL

(B or HB).

Rub out any answer you wish to change with an eraser

.

For

Parts 1 to 6:

Mark one box for each answer

.

For example:

If you think C is the right answer to the question, mark your answer sheet like this:

Part 2

T

urn over for Parts 3 - 7

For

Part 7:

W

rite your answer clearly in CAPIT

AL

LETTERS.

W

rite one letter or number in each box.

If the answer has more than one word, leave one box empty between words.

For example:

A

BC

0

0

A

BEC P

- R

DP453/353

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Page 27

BEC PRELIMINAR

Y

This section for use by Examiner only

Part 2: W

rite your answer in the box below

.

Part 2

01

.1

1.2

Examiner Number

Examiner

’s

Signature

2.1

2.2

3.1

3.2

4.1

4.2

5.1

5.2

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

09

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

09

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

09

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

09

Supervisor:

This section for use by Examiner only

PRELIMINAR

Y

BEC Preliminary W

riting

Answer Sheet

0

0

0

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Candidate Name

If not already printed, write name

in CAPIT

ALS and complete the

Candidate No. grid (in pencil).

Candidate’

s Signature

Examination T

itle

Centre

If the candidate is

ABSENT

or has

WITHDRA

WN

shade here

Candidate No.

Centre No.

Examination

Details

Part 1: W

rite your answer in the box below

.

W

rite your answer to Part 2 on the other side of this sheet

Part 1

01

2

3

4

5

BEC P

- W

DP454/354