Business English Intermediate Midterm
Business English Intermediate Midterm
Business English Intermediate Midterm
Date:_12-06-2022___
PART I: LISTENING
Listen to the interview with Alicia Chavez, an expert in news media and new technology. Choose the correct answer - a, b or c - to the questions below. You will hear the
interview twice.
a) They will soon be replaced by the Internet. 4 What does Ms Chavez say newspapers should do?
2 What does Ms Chavez say about the newspaper business? c) Understand the technology that people use
a) It’s becoming easier. 5 How does Ms Chavez say that online content will be paid for mostly?
c) It’s always been very difficult. b) By users paying for it directly, for example, through subscriptions
3 What does Ms Chavez say is the main source of income for newspapers? c) Through the sale of electronic reading devices
b) Marketing services a) The TV business and the newspaper business are similar.
[ _________ / 12]
By Simon Glynn
What makes consumers choose one airline over another or one mortgage provider over its rival?
rd
Test items from Market Leader Intermediate 3 Edition Progress Test 1 and Progress Test 2 (Pearson Longman)
Our research shows that your reaction to a brand depends on your experience of buying, using or owning it and not just on advertising. The most important part of that experience is
often your personal interaction with people. This is an area that most companies don’t understand or invest enough in.
Take airlines. Satisfaction with cabin crew contributes more to people choosing the same airline again than other factors.
Why do companies not spend more on their people when there are clear benefits? Here are two common reasons.
Many organizations know that people matter. But they don’t invest in this area because they think it is a luxury they cannot afford. And it’s true that some role models, such as the Four
Seasons hotel group or Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, would be too expensive for most to copy.
But there are smart, affordable solutions that create a lot of brand value out of only a little customer interaction. First Direct earns the highest level of customer recommendation of any
UK bank through just the telephone contact with its customers.
Customers at QVC, the market-leading television shopping channel, value their interaction with the station’s people – in this case not the call center staff who take the shopping orders,
so much as the relationship that viewers believe they have with QVC’s onscreen presenters.
Satisfaction surveys can hide the importance of people. For example, choosing a mortgage is often very influenced by counter staff in a bank or building society. Research with
customers at the critical stage, where they have received a quote but not yet signed a document, shows that their interaction with the mortgage provider’s representative is the biggest
single influence on their choice.
It is bigger than perceptions of the products and fees, which are often the subject of the brand’s advertising and communications. Yet in the same research conducted after the loan is
given, customers may have forgotten the good customer service they received and may focus more on general brand impressions. If you conduct your research at that point – and this is
often the case – the very important role that your staff have played will not be clear.
Now decide if these statements are true or false. (2pts each = 12)
7 Advertising is by far the most important way of supporting a brand’s image. _NO_________
9 Customers may become loyal to an airline if they like the cabin crew. ___Yes_______
10 Spending money on employee training generally isn’t very beneficial to a company. ___No_____
11 Most companies need to understand more about how customers behave. ___Yes_______
12 Four Seasons and Virgin Atlantic have invested a lot in their people to build brand value. ____Yes______
[ _________ / 12]
15 We’re (worked / working) very hard this week to meet the deadline.
rd
Test items from Market Leader Intermediate 3 Edition Progress Test 1 and Progress Test 2 (Pearson Longman)
19 My company (producing / produces) brake parts for cars.
20 My fight (arrives / arrived) next Tuesday at noon and my first meeting is at two o’clock.
21 She (goes / has went) to New York about three times a year.
22 (We’ve invested / We investing) about two million dollars in R&D so far this year.
[ _________ / 12]
B Choose the best word or phrase to complete these sentences. (1pt each = 7)
27 In London, people talk about the ____ underground ______ rather than the subway.
28 When a famous actor says he uses a product, that’s called an ___ endorsement ______.
29 When you reduce the number of employees in an office, you call it __ downsizing ___.
30 At the end of a meal, a British person usually asks for the ___bill _____.
[ _________ / 7]
C Complete the sentences so that they have the same meaning as the sentence given. (2pts each = 10)
rd
Test items from Market Leader Intermediate 3 Edition Progress Test 1 and Progress Test 2 (Pearson Longman)
Last year, our sales rose by _______$4 million to $6 million ________.
I need to know more about ______ the meeting that we had today ______.
[ _________ / 10]
D Complete the text. Use a, an, the or zero article. (2pts each = 10)
37 38
Shares in the aerospace and defence group, EADS rose by ______the_________ 2 per cent to €29.89 on _______an________ announcement that Chile’s LAN
39 40
Airlines had confirmed ______the_________ order for 25 jets from the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, ______a_________ joint company owned by
41
EADS and BAE Systems of ______the_________ UK.
[ _________ / 10]
A Put the sentences into a logical order to make a conversation. (1.5pts each = 9)
42 ______d_________
45 ______b_________
d) I’d like to speak to Lee Simpson, please.
46 ______c_________
e) Hello, Lee. This is Dana Kirk. We’ve got an appointment next
Monday but I’m afraid something’s come up. Could we fix another time?
47 _______f________
B Complete the dialogue with the phrases (a–e). e) have his contact details
a) could help us
rd
Test items from Market Leader Intermediate 3 Edition Progress Test 1 and Progress Test 2 (Pearson Longman)
48
A We _____b__________ in finding a distributor in China. Do you know B I don’t have them with me but I can e-mail them to you.
49 51
anyone who _______c________ ? A Great. Could I call him and ______d________ ?
B No problem. I’m sure he’d remember me if you mention that I’m with
B I was out there last year at a conference and I met a guy who’s with a
ABX Electronics.
distributor in Beijing. He seemed to know a lot of people, too.
52
50 A Thanks. Let me ______a________ . My e-mail address is on there.
A Could you let me _______e_______ ? I’d like to get in touch with him.
C Put the sentences into a logical order to introduce a presentation. (1.5pts each = 7.5)
53 ____b___________
a) Secondly, I’ll discuss the details of the new structure.
54 ______e_________ b) Hi, everyone, I’m Simone Arbuckle. Good to see you all.
55 ______c_________ c) Finally, I’ll talk you through the timeline for the changes. I’d be
grateful if you could leave any questions to the end.
56 _______a________
d) Firstly, I’ll give you the background to the reorganisation.
57 ______c_________
e) This morning, I’d like to outline the reorganisation we’re planning for
later this year. I’ve divided my presentation into three parts.
[ _________ / 7.5]
You have received the following e-mail. Write a short reply (50–60 words). Include the following points.
● Explain that the employee who handled the arrangements is no longer with your company.
Offer to arrange free transfers and accommodation for two visitors next time a meeting is held in Hong Kong.
Last month my company arranged flights, ground transfers and hotel accommodation through your company, Star Travel. We were hosting a meeting for our regional managers here in
Hong Kong. We were very unhappy with the results of the booking.
Though all of the flight arrangements were acceptable, two members of our group were not met at the airport as agreed, though their flights arrived on time. After waiting to be met,
they finally took taxis. However, when they arrived at the hotel, it turned out that their booking had been changed to a different hotel. They again had to take taxis to get to the right
location.
We were treated very poorly by Star Travel and feel we are entitled to compensation. Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss how we may resolve this situation.
rd
Test items from Market Leader Intermediate 3 Edition Progress Test 1 and Progress Test 2 (Pearson Longman)
Yours sincerely,
[ _________ / 13]
Hi Eleanor,
Many thanks for your order.
Please accept my apologies for inconvenience.
I understand your issue. First of all please accept sorry from our company.
I am assure you that it will be not happen again and also that employee is no longer with us who is
Handled the arrangements and also we will assign the new employee for your account shortly.
Once again apologies for inconvenience.
Thanks
Star travel
rd
Test items from Market Leader Intermediate 3 Edition Progress Test 1 and Progress Test 2 (Pearson Longman)