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Upper IntermediateMARKETLEADERBEC VantagePRACTICE EXERCISES AND TESTML BEC Vantage CVR.indd 110/02/2015 09:31
Pearson Education LimitedEdinburgh GateHarlowEssex CM20 2JEEnglandand Associated Companies throughout the world.www.pearsonelt.com Pearson Education Limited 2015The right of Lizzie Wright to be identified as author of this Work has beenasserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act1988.All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without theprior written permission of the Publishers.First published 2015ISBN: 978-1-4479-9951-5Set in MetaPlus 9.5/11ptPrinted in Slovakia by NeografiaAcknowledgementsWe are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyrightmaterial:TextArticle on page 10 from Who will train the new generation of 'plug andplay' workers (Andrew Hill), The Financial Times Limited. All RightsReserved; Article on page 12 from Wall Street whistleblowers (William CCohen), The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Article onpage 14 from Private Banking - Alternative investing - Next generation ofopportunities is sustainable and story-led (Yuri Bender), The FinancialTimes Limited. All Rights Reserved; Article on page 18 from BusinessLife - Andrew Hill on Management - Take note: seven lessons in strategyfrom Staple's desk (Andrew Hill), The Financial Times Limited. AllRights Reserved; Extract on page 18 from The pick of 2014's maangementbooks (Andrew Hill), The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved;Extract on page 20 from Lunch with the FT - Giny Rometty - Corporate titan,computer geek (Gillian Tett), The Financial Times Limited. All RightsReserved; Extract on page 28 from Biotech start-ups look to crowd funding(Andrew Ward), The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Extracton page 29 from Detroit dinosaurs hit the road to Silicon Valley (AndySharman), The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Extract onpage 32 from CURRENT ACCOUNTS - Time right to abandon free banking,says Virgin Money (Emma Dunkley), The Financial Times Limited. AllRights ReservedIn some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyrightmaterial, and we would appreciate any information that would enable usto do so.A00 MARK CB UINGLB 8906 IMP.indd 114/05/2015 13:26
IntroductionBEC Vantage Practice Exercises bookletThis booklet offers practice for BEC Vantageexam with a strong tie-in to Market Leader UpperIntermediate. It provides Reading and Writing tasksthat will help familiarise students with the differenttask types and give practice for the exam, as well asact as revision practice for non-exam students. Eachunit has one Reading and one Writing task, whichare closely aligned to the vocabulary, grammarand topic of the corresponding Market Leader unit.Furthermore, each task has been aligned to theGlobal Scale of English, developed by Pearson, toensure that it is at the appropriate level.Speaking and Listening tests have not beenincluded in the practice booklet, but Market LeaderUpper Intermediate Course Book provides plentyof BEC-relevant practice for these skills. Specificinformation showing how the Course Book can beused as practice for the Listening and Speakingexams is included in the Teacher’s Notes, which canbe found on the Market Leader website.How to use this practice bookletThe exam tasks can be used as both a teaching and atesting device. A tip box at the beginning of each taskgives advice on how to approach the task. Teacherscan work through the tasks with the students at first,helping them to analyse the task closely in order todevelop exam techniques of speed and accuracy.Students will benefit from the opportunity to developtechniques for approaching the tasks, which willreduce the time pressure many students feel whenfaced with the real exam.INTRODUCTIONThe Market Leader series is a fantastic resource forstudents aiming to take the BEC exams as it coversand practises the kind of language required in aninternational business environment. When workingthrough the Market Leader Upper Intermediateunits, students should be encouraged to skim read,to guess the meaning of unknown words and to findsynonyms and paraphrases for common words andexpressions as these are all skills which will helpwith the BEC Vantage exam.Reading tasksThe Reading tasks use some authentic FT articles,slightly adapted to suit the level, as well as textsspecially written to match BEC exam tasks. Thesewill naturally have some unknown vocabularyand will help students to practise finding theanswers despite not being familiar with some ofthe language. Where possible, vocabulary andgrammar from the units are tested, but all thetargeted language matches the type of languagetested in the BEC exam.Writing tasksAll the Writing tasks are linked to the topic of thecorresponding Market Leader Upper Intermediateunit and accurately reflect the exam task formatsthat students will encounter. Once again, teacherscan work through the first few Writing tasks withthe students, guiding them on how to approacheach task, especially making sure that all thecontent points required for the task are included inresponses. After that, the tasks will give studentsan opportunity to practise answering the questionswithin the time allowed as well as help them tobecome familiar with the number of words requiredfor each task.BEC Vantage practice testAt the end of the booklet there is one full Readingand Writing practice test for BEC Vantage, whichshould be carried out under exam conditions. Thisallows both teachers and students to gauge howready they are to take the exam and to give theman idea of what grade they could expect in thesetwo papers.1M01 MARK BKL UINGLB 9515 M01.indd 121/05/2015 10:21
unit1READING AND WRITINGREADINGPART ONEReading and WritingTIPS–– Read the questions carefully first.–– The words in the questions are usually not the same as the words in the text so look forparaphrases in the text. Words from the questions may well be in other texts.–– Make sure the text matches the question exactly. Look at the statements below and the comments made by business peopleabout communication. Which section (A, B, C or D) does each statement 1–7 refer to? For each statement 1–7, mark one letter (A, B, C or D). You will need to use some of these letters more than once.Example0 the way in which modern technology accommodates anold-fashioned communication methodA1 keeping people aware of the progress of what’s happening2 the benefit of good preparation3 the possibility of confusion within the communication4 speech alone fails to convey the full sense of a communication5 the value of a speedy reaction6 an understanding of the dangers of emailing7 better performance as a result of good communicationsAI still prefer to do business face-to-face rather than use emails or the phone becausebeing able to understand the words does not necessarily mean that you understand whatsomeone truly means. People’s facial expressions and body language give you a muchbetter idea of the their attitude and the meaning behind their words. Video conferencingis a brilliant way of combining technology with traditional methods because you can seehow people say things and react to your comments. Body language plays a vital part inany communication.BGood customer service is vital and communication is the key to success. Customers wanta company to care about them and be immediately responsive to any complaints. If wereceive an email, we respond straightaway, informing the customer that we are lookinginto the issue. We follow this up with a personal phone call to assure them we are takingthe complaint seriously. Our staff are trained to inform customers of every aspect of theirorder or complaint from beginning to end.2M01 MARK BKL UINGLB 9515 M01.indd 221/05/2015 10:21
UNIT 1 READING AND WRITINGCEmail has become the basis of all business communication because of its immediacy.Despite its obvious advantages, some things are best not done via email, such asnegotiation, since the written word can sometimes lead to the recipient getting the wrongend of the stick. So teaching people how to write and interpret emails should be includedin any staff induction programme to ensure they are aware of this problem You cannottake it for granted that the recipient will read the email in the same tone as it was written.READING AND WRITINGDConference calling is our preferred method of communication as our company has multiplelocations and staff worldwide. We find that it has increased productivity and improvedemployee communications because it keep everyone in the loop and staff do not waste timeand money travelling to meetings. It is very effective for all types of meetings but, in order toget the best out of them, agendas and any reports or visual aids must be sent ahead of themeeting. Forward planning definitely leads to successful meetings.WRITINGPART ONETIPS– Make sure you include all three bullet points (introducing, explaining, outlining) inyour response.– The message needs to be clear.– Write at least 40 words. You do not get extra marks for writing more than 60 words. You are the HR Manager for an international manufacturing company. As a result of severalcomplaints and customer service problems, you have appointed John Sheridan as the newCommunications Director. Write an email to all staff:– introducing Mr Sheridan– explaining why he has been appointed– outlining what the company expects him to achieve. Write 40–60 words.To:All staffFrom:HR ManagerSubject: New Communications Director3M01 MARK BKL UINGLB 9515 M01.indd 321/05/2015 10:21
unit2READING AND WRITINGREADINGPART TWOReading and WritingTIPS– Read through the whole text.– Check the topic of each paragraph.– Look very closely at the sentences immediately before and after the gap.– Make sure that the sentence fits in with the topic of both sentences.– There is always an extra sentence (A–G) which does not fit anywhere. Read the article below about IWC, a luxury Swiss watch company. Choose the best sentence (A–G) to fill each of the gaps. For each gap 1–5, choose one letter (A–G). Do not use any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning.The rule breaker at IWC on the moveto go globalby Elizabeth Paton510152025Chief Executive of IWC, GeorgesKern has shaken up the luxurywatch industry. In an industryrenowned for cautious, reservedexecutives, Georges Kern isan exception. (0) G He had adifficult task: turning a small,146-year-old watch house – theonly watch brand based in easternSwitzerland – into a competitiveglobal name, and to date his approachhas met with commercial success.So when IWC unveiled a‘midsized’ collection as part ofits Portofino range this year, the‘I don’tindustry took notice. (1)know why people are surprised.We’ve always sold to women –they now make up 25% of oursales base, so it seemed a fittingnext step,’ says Mr Kern. Theoption of reduced case-diameterswas also devised with Asiancustomers in mind.‘I like that we break rules.We must be a contemporarybrand – we are not a dusty brand.3035404550And the appetite for our designsis there, from a valuable andgrowing customer demographic.’(2)The campaign, shot byfilm-maker Peter Lindbergh,features a constellation ofHollywoodstarswearingtuxedos and lounging about in theItalian coastal town after whichthe collection was named.‘We live in a world fixatedon the transactional power ofthe image. So you need to findambassadors and environmentsthat resonate universally withconsumers,’ Mr Kern says. (3)‘One must be progressive and’relevant, he adds. In less than threeweeks the Portofino video gained4.7 million views on YouTube –notable, given the reluctance ofSwiss luxury watch houses untilrecently to harness the power ofdigital advertising platforms.But with the rise of wearabledevices, and the prospect of thelaunch next year of the Apple556065707580Watch, brands such as IWC mustshow more agility online thanever before.I am not concerned by theimpact of smartwatches onour sales – they are at a vastlydifferent price point, so we arenot competing for the sameconsumer,’ says Mr Kern.(4)‘To make sure consumersunderstandthisinvolvespositioning ourselves in all theright places,’ says Mr Kern.This means the brand is addingto the number of its boutiquesglobally, including a flagship storeon London’s New Bond Street,expected to open in December.But it is not only concentratingon Europe: luxury spendinghubs such as New York, Miami,Dubai and Tokyo have also seenIWC stores open in recent years.(5)‘We’ve worked very hardwith our retail strategy to ensurewe are not dependent on any oneregion.’4M01 MARK BKL UINGLB 9515 M01.indd 421/05/2015 10:21
UNIT 2 READING AND WRITINGA ‘A decade ago we were a very Eurocentric brand – we had zero visibility in the US or Asia, letalone emerging markets,’ he says.B That approach is also evident in the advertising campaign.C But the battle for watches looks likely to be a fight between fast fashion and timepieces thatrepresent traditional craftsmanship.D But volatile exchange rates and mounting geopolitical instability appears to be taking its tollREADING AND WRITINGon the global growth rate of the watches and jewellery sector.E The collection was IWC’s first aimed at women as well as men.FThe campaign is also running on social media.G The German took the helm of Richemont-owned IWC Schaffhausen 12 years ago at the ageof 36 – making him at that time the youngest chief executive of any brand within the luxuryconglomerate’s portfolio.WRITINGPART ONETIPS– Make sure you include all three bullet points (asking, explaining, giving discount)in your response.– The message needs to be clear.– Write at least 40 words. You do not get extra marks for writing more than 60 words. You are the Sales Director of a luxury handba
The Market Leader series is a fantastic resource for students aiming to take the BEC exams as it covers and practises the kind of language required in an international business environment. When working through the Market Leader Upper Intermediate units, students should be encouraged to skim read, to guess the meaning of unknown words and to find synonyms and paraphrases for common words and .File Size: 2MBPage Count: 35
