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Transcript of Bec Vantage 04
Page 41
A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS
Part One
This is a matching task. There are four short texts on arelated theme (e.g. descriptions of a group of products, oradvertisements for jobs) or a single text divided into foursections. Although the context of each text will be similar,there will also be information that is particular to each text.The texts are labelled A – D. Candidates are presented with aset of seven items which are statements related to the texts.They are expected to match each statement with the relevanttext.
Questions in this part tend to focus mostly on theidentification of specific information and detail, althoughsome items may focus on gist.
Preparation
In order to prepare for this part it would be useful tofamiliarise students with sets of short texts that have a similartheme. Newspapers, magazines and catalogues are usefulsources in which to find such texts. Students should beencouraged to look closely at all the information,particularly as short texts often include additional snippets ofinformation on separate lines (such as prices, dates, titles,measurements, etc.) that can easily be overlooked.
Students could be set questions which test global readingskills prior to reading the texts, so that they are trained tothink of who a text is written for and why it was written.
Part Two
This is a matching task, comprising a text that has had sixsentences removed from it and a set of seven sentenceslabelled A – G. Candidates are required to match each gapwith the sentence which they think fits in terms of meaningand structure. The first gap is always given as an example sothat candidates have five gaps left to complete. When theyhave finished this part there will be one sentence left whichthey have not used.
The texts for this part will have been chosen because theyhave a clear line of thought or argument that can still bediscerned by the reader with the sentences removed. Indoing the task, therefore, students should be trained to readthrough the gapped text and the list of sentences first, inorder to get an idea of what it is about. Having done that,they should be reassured that there is only one sentence thatfits each gap.
This part tests understanding of text structure as well asmeaning and the gaps will be reasonably far apart so thatcandidates can successfully anticipate the appropriate lexicaland grammatical features of the missing sentence.Candidates can be expected to be tested on a variety ofcohesive features with both a backward and forwardreference, sometimes going beyond the sentence level. Thus,while selecting the appropriate sentence for a gap, theyshould read before and after the text to ensure that it fitswell. At the end of this part, they should read through theentire text, inserting the gapped sentences as they go along,to ensure that the information is coherent.
Number ofPART Main Skill Focus Input Response Questions
1 Reading – scanning and gist One longer or four shorter Matching 7informational texts (approx. 250 – 350 words in total)
2 Reading – understanding text Single text: article, report, etc. with Matching 5structure sentence level gaps (text plus 7
option sentences approx. 450 – 550words in total)
3 Reading for gist and specific Single text (approx. 450 – 550 words) 4-option multiple 6information choice
4 Reading – vocabulary and structure Single informational text with lexical 4-option multiple 15 gaps (text including gapped words choice cloze approx. 200 – 300 words)
5 Reading – understanding sentence Short text (approx. 150 – 200 words) Proof reading 12structure / error identification Identification of additional
unnecessary words in text
A D E TA I L E D G U I D E TO B E C VA N TAG E
TEST OF READING
Time: 1 hour
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
Page 42
Preparation
This can be quite a difficult task, especially for candidateswho are unfamiliar with such an exercise. In preparing themfor this part, it would be a good idea to select a number ofgraded texts that have clear, familiar ideas and evidentcohesive features. Texts can be cut up as they are in the testor simply discussed in their entirety. In this way, students can work up to dealing with more complex material andidentifying the many different ways that ideas are connected.
It would also be useful when doing gapped texts to look atsentences that do not fit in gaps and discuss the reasons forthis. Sometimes it is possible to make a sentence fit a gap bysimply changing a few words. Discussion on areas such asthis would also be fruitful.
Part Three
This task consists of a text accompanied by four-optionmultiple choice items. The stem of a multiple choice itemmay take the form of a question or an incomplete sentence.There are six items, which are placed after the text. Sourcesof original texts may be the general and business press,company literature and books on topics such asmanagement. Texts may be edited, but the source isauthentic.
Preparation
• Multiple choice questions are a familiar and long-standing type of test; here they are used to testopinion and inference rather than straightforward facts.
• Correct answers are not designed to depend on simpleword-matching, and students’ ability to interpretparaphrasing should be developed.
• Students should be encouraged to pursue their owninterpretation of relevant parts of the text and thencheck their idea against the options offered, rather thanreading all the options first.
• It could be useful for students to be given perhaps oneof the wrong options only, and for them to try to writethe correct answer and another wrong option.
Part Four
This is a multiple choice cloze test with fifteen gaps, most of which test lexical items, and may focus on correct wordchoice, lexical collocations and fixed phrases. The textschosen for this part will come from varied sources but theywill all have a straightforward message or meaning, so thatcandidates are being tested on vocabulary and not on theircomprehension of the passage.
Preparation
Candidates are usually familiar with this type of task and soit is most important to try to improve their range ofvocabulary. The options provided for each item in the test
will have similar meanings but only one word will be correctwithin the context provided. Familiarity with typicalcollocations would be especially useful. The language ofbusiness is often very precise and so it is worth spendingtime looking at the vocabulary used in different types of text,getting students to keep a vocabulary list and encouragingthem to make active use of the lexical items that are new tothem.
Part Five
In this task, candidates identify words that have beenintroduced into a text in error.
This exercise can be related to the authentic task of checkinga text for errors, and suitable text types therefore includeletters, publicity materials, etc. The text contains twelvenumbered lines, which are the test items. Further lines at theend may complete the text, but these are not test items.
Preparation
• Students should be reminded that this task represents akind of editing that is common practice, even in theirfirst language.
• Any work on error analysis is likely to be helpful forthis task.
• A reverse of the exercise (giving students texts withmissing words) might prove beneficial.
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
Page 43
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
A B C D
The
mob
ile p
hone
bus
ines
s is
beh
avin
g lik
e th
e
inte
rnet
ind
ustr
y in
tak
e-up
and
the
pac
e of
inno
vatio
n,an
d it’
s im
port
ant
not
to b
e le
ft
behi
nd.
We
mus
t co
ntin
ue
to
inno
vate
in
deliv
erin
g th
e pr
oduc
t to
th
e cu
stom
er.
In
term
s of
se
rvic
e pr
ovis
ion,
you
can
draw
com
pari
sons
bet
wee
n us
and
our
clo
sest
riv
al,
but
clea
rly
all t
he m
ain
mob
ile p
hone
ret
aile
rs
have
suc
ceed
ed in
tak
ing
the
indu
stry
forw
ard.
Gro
wth
has
acc
eler
ated
rap
idly
and
the
mob
ile
tele
phon
e ha
s ch
ange
d fr
om s
impl
y be
ing
a
busi
ness
to
ol,
to
bein
g a
mea
ns
of
com
mun
icat
ion
for
ever
yone
.
Ove
r a
few
yea
rs,
pric
es h
ave
drop
ped
shar
ply
and
tech
nolo
gica
l ad
vanc
es h
ave
mea
nt
prod
ucts
hav
e ch
ange
d –
and
are
chan
ging
. Su
cces
sful
ret
aile
rs m
ust
try
to k
eep
on t
op o
f
thes
e de
velo
pmen
ts a
nd in
vest
in th
e tr
aini
ng o
f em
ploy
ees
so th
ey a
re a
ble
to o
ffer i
mpa
rtia
l
advi
ce to
cus
tom
ers.
E-c
omm
erce
is ta
king
off
but t
his
won
’t ne
cess
arily
rep
lace
trad
ition
al
reta
il ou
tlets
. In
orde
r to
stan
d ou
t, yo
u ne
ed in
nova
tive
idea
s on
cus
tom
er s
ervi
ce. W
e do
n’t
belie
ve i
n cr
itici
sing
oth
er r
etai
lers
, bu
t th
ere’
s no
thin
g pa
rtic
ular
ly e
xciti
ng o
ut t
here
at
pres
ent.
Whe
n I
firs
t st
arte
d in
the
ind
ustr
y, m
obile
phon
es w
ere
reta
iling
at a
thou
sand
pou
nds
and
wer
e as
lar
ge a
s bo
x fi
les.
Now
, pr
ices
are
cons
tant
ly b
eing
dri
ven
dow
n an
d ha
ndse
ts a
re
cons
ider
ably
mor
e co
mpa
ct.
The
re i
s in
tens
e
com
petit
ion
betw
een
the
netw
ork
prov
ider
s,
and
ever
y tim
e th
ey l
ower
the
ir t
arif
fs,
mor
e
peop
le
com
e in
to
the
mar
ket.
T
his
wil
l
cont
inue
, an
d w
hile
ret
ail
deal
ers’
prof
its w
ill
be
affe
cted
dr
amat
ical
ly,
netw
ork
prov
ider
s
will
hav
e to
gen
erat
e m
ore
reve
nue
by o
ffer
ing
inte
rnet
pr
ovis
ion
and
data
se
rvic
es
to
the
mob
ile u
ser.
Mar
ket
awar
enes
s of
the
mob
ile t
elep
hone
has
exp
lod
ed a
nd t
he r
etai
ler
who
spe
cial
ises
in m
obile
pho
nes
is s
eein
g gr
owth
lik
e ne
ver
befo
re. A
dm
itte
dly
, so
me
cust
omer
s bu
y
thei
r fi
rst
mob
ile p
hone
in
the
supe
rmar
ket,
but
for
advi
ce,
add
-ons
and
par
ticu
lar
serv
ices
they
turn
to th
e sp
ecia
list.
The
re a
re a
larg
e nu
mbe
r of
mob
ile p
hone
reta
ilers
and
I ca
n’t
help
but
fee
l th
e m
arke
t on
ly h
as r
oom
for
fou
r pl
ayer
s. U
ndou
bted
ly, c
usto
mer
serv
ice
is th
e fa
ctor
that
dif
fere
ntia
tes
oper
ator
s an
d I
thin
k th
is y
ear
we
will
pro
babl
y se
e
rati
onal
isat
ion
in th
e se
ctor
.
3
Turn
Ove
r �
2PAR
T O
NE
Qu
esti
on
s 1
– 7
•Lo
ok a
t th
e st
atem
ents
bel
ow a
nd t
he c
omm
ents
giv
en o
n th
e op
posi
te p
age
by m
obile
pho
ne
reta
ilers
.
•W
hich
sec
tion
(A,
B,
Cor
D)
doe
s ea
ch s
tate
men
t 1
– 7
refe
r to
?
•F
or e
ach
stat
emen
t 1
– 7,
mar
k on
e le
tter
(A,
B,
Cor
D)
on y
our
Ans
wer
She
et.
•Yo
u w
ill n
eed
to u
se s
ome
of t
hese
lette
rs m
ore
than
onc
e.
Exa
mp
le:
0th
e ex
tent
to
whi
ch m
obile
pho
nes
have
cha
nged
in s
ize
0
1th
e ne
ed fo
r re
tail
staf
f to
sta
y in
form
ed a
bout
the
mob
ile p
hone
s th
ey a
re s
ellin
g
2th
e be
lief
that
the
mar
ket
will
not
sus
tain
the
pre
sent
num
ber
of m
obile
pho
ne r
etai
lers
3th
e us
e of
mob
ile p
hone
s no
long
er b
eing
res
tric
ted
to a
spe
cific
gro
up o
f pe
ople
4th
e re
latio
nshi
p be
twee
n ch
arge
s an
d th
e nu
mbe
r of
mob
ile p
hone
use
rs
5a
nega
tive
view
of
com
petin
g m
obile
pho
ne r
etai
lers
6a
com
paris
on b
etw
een
chan
ge in
the
mob
ile p
hone
indu
stry
and
tha
t in
a d
iffer
ent
sect
or
7th
ose
serv
ices
ava
ilabl
e at
mob
ile p
hone
out
lets
tha
t ar
e no
t pr
ovid
ed b
y ot
her
reta
ilers
AB
CD
READING SAMPLE PAPER
Page 44
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
AT
he h
otel
sta
ff as
sum
ed t
hey
shou
ld b
e
book
ed in
to t
he s
ame
room
.
BB
ut t
here
is c
lear
evi
denc
e th
at t
hing
s ar
e
slow
ly im
prov
ing.
CT
his
wou
ld e
nabl
e w
omen
to
mak
e an
info
rmed
cho
ice
abou
t a
hote
l, an
d th
ey
wou
ld n
ot b
e pl
aced
in t
he u
ncom
fort
able
posi
tion
of h
avin
g to
com
plai
n ab
out
poor
serv
ice.
DIt
is a
dvis
able
for
them
to
do t
his
durin
g
thei
r st
ay r
athe
r th
an w
aitin
g un
til t
hey
chec
k ou
t.
EM
akin
g su
re t
hat
faci
litie
s in
gue
st
bedr
oom
s ca
ter
equa
lly fo
r th
e ne
eds
of
mal
e an
d fe
mal
e gu
ests
is o
ne s
uch
idea
.
FM
ost
of t
he w
omen
, w
hen
ques
tione
d
furt
her,
thou
ght
that
the
rea
son
for
this
was
tha
t th
ey w
ere
fem
ale
and
trav
ellin
g
alon
e.
GT
his
is e
vide
nt f
rom
the
res
ults
of
a
ques
tionn
aire
dis
trib
uted
to
hote
l gue
sts
by
the
Bus
ines
s Tr
avel
Ass
ocia
tion.
5
Turn
Ove
r �
AB
CD
EF
G
Exa
mp
le:
0
PAR
T T
WO
Qu
esti
on
s 8
– 12
•R
ead
the
artic
le b
elow
abo
ut a
sur
vey
of b
usin
essw
omen
sta
ying
in h
otel
s.
•C
hoos
e th
e be
st s
ente
nce
from
the
opp
osite
pag
e to
fill
eac
h of
the
gap
s.
•F
or e
ach
gap
8–
12,
mar
k on
e le
tter
(A–
G)
on y
our
Ans
wer
She
et.
•D
o no
t us
e an
y le
tter
mor
e th
an o
nce.
•T
here
is a
n ex
ampl
e at
the
beg
inni
ng,
(0).
4
Ho
tels
Fai
ling
Bu
sin
essw
om
enH
ote
liers
sh
ou
ld t
ake
no
te b
ecau
se t
hey
are
fac
ing
seri
ou
s cr
itic
ism
! W
om
en a
cco
un
t fo
r m
ore
th
an
hal
f o
f al
l b
usi
nes
s tr
avel
lers
, b
ut
ho
tels
are
no
t
do
ing
en
ou
gh
fo
r th
em. (0
)..
..G
....
. T
hes
e sh
ow
that
the
nu
mb
er o
f co
mp
lain
ts m
ade
abo
ut t
he
way
wo
men
gu
ests
are
tre
ated
is in
crea
sin
g.
Th
e B
arto
nsf
ield
Ho
tel i
n L
on
do
n a
lso
co
nd
uct
ed a
rece
nt
surv
ey
of
UK
b
usi
nes
swo
men
, w
hic
h
reve
als
that
70
%
feel
th
ey
rece
ive
an
infe
rio
r
serv
ice.
(8)
....
...
Th
e at
titu
de
of
ho
tel
staf
f m
ade
them
fee
l ou
t o
f p
lace
in p
ub
lic a
reas
; fo
r ex
amp
le,
62%
ch
ose
to
eat
in t
hei
r ro
om
s b
ecau
se t
hey
wer
e
mad
e to
fee
l u
nco
mfo
rtab
le b
y st
aff
wh
en d
inin
g
alo
ne.
(9)
....
...
Fou
r ye
ars
ago
, fo
r ex
amp
le,
a
sim
ilar
surv
ey
had
re
veal
ed
that
a
sig
nif
ican
t
nu
mb
er o
f w
om
en t
rave
llin
g a
lon
e an
d w
ish
ing
to
use
the
ho
tel r
esta
ura
nt w
ere
actu
ally
turn
ed a
way
.
Man
y o
f th
e su
gg
esti
on
s fo
r im
pro
ved
ser
vice
s p
ut
forw
ard
by
the
Bu
sin
ess
Trav
el A
sso
ciat
ion
are
rela
tive
ly
sim
ple
. (1
0)..
....
. P
laci
ng
ta
ble
s in
rest
aura
nts
in a
way
th
at a
llow
s th
e h
ead
wai
ter
to
intr
od
uce
g
ues
ts
to
on
e an
oth
er,
so
they
ca
n
cho
ose
to
sit
to
get
her
ove
r a
mea
l, w
as a
fu
rth
er
sug
ges
tio
n. G
ues
ts in
th
e d
inin
g r
oo
m w
ou
ld t
hen
hav
e th
e o
pp
ort
un
ity
to m
eet
up
wit
h o
ther
s w
ho
mig
ht,
fo
r ex
amp
le,
be
atte
nd
ing
th
e sa
me
con
fere
nce
, or
hav
e th
e sa
me
bu
sin
ess
inte
rest
s.
Wen
dy
Man
nin
g,
exec
uti
ve
man
ager
o
f th
e
Bar
ton
sfie
ld H
ote
l, ag
reed
wit
h th
e B
usi
nes
s Tr
avel
Ass
oci
atio
n
that
h
ote
l st
ar
rati
ng
s sh
ou
ld
be
infl
uen
ced
by
the
leve
l o
f se
rvic
e th
ey o
ffer
to
fem
ale
bu
sin
ess
gu
ests
. (1
1)..
....
. ‘O
ur
surv
ey
hig
hlig
hte
d t
he
un
will
ing
nes
s o
f m
any
wo
men
to
air
thei
r vi
ews
if t
hey
are
tre
ated
bad
ly,’
Wen
dy
Man
nin
g p
oin
ted
ou
t.
A g
rou
p o
f in
flu
enti
al b
usi
nes
swo
men
rec
entl
y m
et
to
dis
cuss
th
e re
sult
s o
f th
e B
usi
nes
s Tr
avel
Ass
oci
atio
n
qu
esti
on
nai
re.
Th
ey
sug
ges
ted
th
at
bu
sin
essw
om
en
sho
uld
n
ot
hes
itat
e to
m
ake
it
clea
r if
th
ey h
ave
a p
rob
lem
. (1
2)..
....
. O
nce
clie
nts
hav
e g
on
e, i
t is
all
too
eas
y fo
r th
e is
sue
to
be
ign
ore
d b
y h
ote
l m
anag
ers,
an
d i
t w
ill a
lso
be
forg
ott
en b
y th
e o
verw
ork
ed b
usi
nes
s ex
ecu
tive
s
them
selv
es.
Page 45
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
Turn
Ove
r � 7
13A
ccor
ding
to
the
text
, th
e en
d of
a p
rodu
ct’s
life
cyc
le is
mar
ked
by
Aa
shar
p ris
e in
pro
duct
ion
cost
s.
Bth
e pr
oduc
t be
com
ing
outd
ated
.
Can
incr
ease
in c
usto
mer
com
plai
nts.
Dle
ss s
uppo
rt f
rom
sal
es m
anag
emen
t.
14W
hat
does
the
writ
er s
ay a
bout
sal
es m
anag
emen
t in
the
firs
t pa
ragr
aph?
AC
ompa
nies
sho
uld
spen
d m
ore
time
on t
heir
sale
s pl
anni
ng.
BT
here
are
man
y m
anag
ers
who
nee
d to
impr
ove
thei
r sa
les
perf
orm
ance
.
CM
ost
sale
s m
anag
ers
fail
to r
ecog
nise
whi
ch s
tage
a p
rodu
ct h
as r
each
ed.
DT
he s
ales
app
roac
h sh
ould
cha
nge
with
eac
h ph
ase
of t
he p
rodu
ct li
fe c
ycle
.
15A
ccor
ding
to
the
text
, a
grea
ter
sale
s ef
fort
is r
equi
red
for
a pr
oduc
t w
hen
Ait
is p
artic
ular
ly in
nova
tive.
Bth
e ad
vert
isin
g bu
dget
has
bee
n cu
t.
Criv
al c
ompa
nies
sta
rt t
o pr
oduc
e so
met
hing
sim
ilar.
Dco
nsum
er in
tere
st s
witc
hes
to a
new
pro
duct
cat
egor
y.
16A
ccor
ding
to
the
text
, a
good
mar
ketin
g st
rate
gy m
ust
prim
arily
be
conc
erne
d w
ith
Asa
les
stat
istic
s.
Bpr
oduc
t de
tails
.
Cco
nsum
er d
ata.
Dpr
ofit
info
rmat
ion.
17A
ccor
ding
to
the
text
, pr
ofit
leve
ls m
ay fa
il to
cor
resp
ond
to t
he v
olum
e of
sal
es b
ecau
se
Ath
e fu
ll se
lling
cos
ts h
ave
not
been
tak
en in
to a
ccou
nt.
Bth
e pr
oduc
tion
cost
s w
ere
not
estim
ated
cor
rect
ly.
Cth
ere
are
unfo
rese
en p
robl
ems
with
dis
trib
utio
n.
Dth
ere
has
been
a la
ck o
f ec
onom
ic s
tabi
lity.
18W
hat
does
the
writ
er s
ay a
bout
the
cha
rts
that
sho
w s
ales
pro
gres
s?
AIt
is a
mat
ter
of ju
dgem
ent
whe
re o
ne s
ales
pha
se f
inis
hes
and
anot
her
begi
ns.
BM
anag
ers
shou
ld r
evie
w p
olic
y w
hen
a sh
arp
fall
in s
ales
is in
dica
ted.
CIt
is d
iffic
ult
to s
ee h
ow s
ales
cha
rts
can
prov
ide
suffi
cien
t gu
idan
ce t
o m
anag
ers.
DM
anag
ers
shou
ld g
et c
onfir
mat
ion
of t
he d
ata
they
plo
t on
the
sal
es c
hart
s.
Prod
uct
Life
Cyc
les
and
Sal
es S
trat
egy
One
of
th
e m
ost
impo
rtan
t co
ncep
ts
in
sale
sm
anag
emen
t and
mar
ketin
g is
that
of
the
prod
uct l
ife
cycl
e. T
his
is a
his
tori
cal
reco
rd o
f th
e lif
e of
apr
oduc
t, sh
owin
g th
e st
age
in it
s lif
e th
e pr
oduc
t has
reac
hed
at a
par
ticul
ar ti
me.
By
iden
tifyi
ng th
e st
age
that
a p
rodu
ct i
s in
or
may
be
head
ing
tow
ards
,co
mpa
nies
can
for
mul
ate
bette
r m
arke
ting
plan
s. A
llpr
oduc
ts h
ave
‘liv
es’i
n as
muc
h as
the
y ar
e cr
eate
d,se
ll w
ith v
aryi
ng p
rofi
tabi
lity
over
a p
erio
d of
tim
e,an
d th
en b
ecom
e ob
sole
te a
nd a
re r
epla
ced
or s
impl
yno
lon
ger
prod
uced
. A
prod
uct’s
sal
es p
ositi
on a
ndpr
ofita
bilit
y ca
n be
exp
ecte
d to
flu
ctua
te o
ver
time
and
so,
at e
ach
succ
essi
ve s
tage
in
the
prod
uct’s
cycl
e, it
is n
eces
sary
to a
dopt
dif
fere
nt ta
ctic
s.T
he tw
o m
ain
feat
ures
of
the
prod
uct l
ife
cycl
e ar
eun
it sa
les
and
unit
prof
it. T
he u
nit
sale
s fi
gure
sus
ually
jum
p on
intr
oduc
tion,
as
a re
spon
se to
hea
vyad
vert
isin
g an
d pr
omot
ion,
as
cust
omer
s bu
y th
epr
oduc
t ex
peri
men
tally
. T
his
is g
ener
ally
fol
low
edby
a le
velli
ng o
ff w
hile
it is
eva
luat
ed –
the
leng
th o
fth
is p
erio
d de
pend
ing
on th
e us
e to
whi
ch th
e pr
oduc
tis
put
. T
hen,
uni
t sa
les
rise
ste
adily
thr
ough
the
grow
th
phas
e to
th
e m
atur
ity
phas
e,
whe
n th
epr
oduc
t is
wid
ely
acce
pted
, an
d so
on
to s
atur
atio
nle
vel.
By
this
tim
e, c
ompe
titor
s w
ill h
ave
ente
red
the
mar
ket
with
the
ir o
wn
vers
ion
and,
fro
m t
his
poin
t,th
e sa
les
team
will
hav
e to
wor
k ev
en h
arde
r to
win
all
addi
tiona
l sa
les.
Eve
ntua
lly,
the
prod
uct’s
sal
esde
clin
e as
be
tter
vers
ions
en
ter
the
mar
ket
and
com
petit
ion
beco
mes
too
stro
ng.
In r
etro
spec
t, m
ost
firm
s kn
ow w
hat
happ
ened
to
thei
r pr
oduc
ts f
rom
lau
nch
to w
ithdr
awal
. T
hey
can
com
pile
thi
s in
form
atio
n fr
om t
he r
ecor
ds o
f un
itsa
les.
Unf
ortu
nate
ly, u
nit s
ales
are
not
the
com
plet
e st
ory
as it
is u
nit p
rofi
t tha
t is
the
deci
sive
fac
tor,
alth
ough
this
is n
ot a
lway
s re
cord
ed a
ccur
atel
y. I
t is
this
fig
ure
that
sal
es m
anag
emen
t ha
s to
mon
itor,
thou
gh,
toen
sure
an
ef
fect
ive
mar
keti
ng
stra
tegy
an
d to
prod
uce
effe
ctiv
e pr
ofits
.A
t la
unch
, the
pro
duct
is
cost
ed a
ccur
atel
y on
the
basi
s of
pro
duct
ion
cost
s pl
us s
ellin
g co
sts.
Ini
tially
thes
e re
mai
n fa
irly
sta
ble,
but
, w
hen
the
prod
uct
ispr
ovin
g su
cces
sful
, co
mpe
titor
s w
ill b
ring
out
the
irow
n ‘c
opy-
cat’
prod
ucts
. W
ith a
com
petit
or i
n th
efi
eld,
the
ori
gina
l fi
rm h
as t
o re
spon
d in
ord
er t
om
aint
ain
its m
arke
t po
sitio
n. I
t ca
n ru
n sp
ecia
l sa
les
prom
otio
ns, i
mpr
ove
deliv
erie
s, m
ake
mor
e fr
eque
ntsa
les
calls
and
so
on.
Oft
en t
he e
xtra
exp
endi
ture
is
not a
ccur
atel
y ch
arge
d to
the
prod
uct a
nd th
e re
sult
isth
at, l
ong
befo
re u
nit s
ales
are
not
icea
bly
falli
ng, t
heun
it pr
ofit
has
alre
ady
falle
n.T
he p
rodu
ct l
ife
cycl
e, t
hen,
pre
sent
s a
pict
ure
ofw
hat
happ
ened
in
the
prod
uct’s
‘lif
etim
e’,
so h
owca
n th
is b
e us
ed a
s an
ong
oing
aid
to
man
agem
ent
deci
sion
-mak
ing?
Eve
ry s
ales
man
ager
has
a c
hart
on
whi
ch th
e pr
ogre
ss o
f sa
les
is p
lotte
d an
d th
is c
an b
eus
ed a
s a
guid
e to
the
sta
ge o
f de
velo
pmen
t ea
chpr
oduc
t is
cur
rent
ly i
n. A
n es
sent
ial
man
agem
ent
skill
is
bein
g ab
le t
o in
terp
ret
sale
s re
sults
and
dra
win
the
sta
ges
as t
hey
occu
r. D
ecid
ing
whe
re e
ach
stag
e be
gins
and
end
s ca
n be
a r
ando
m e
xerc
ise,
thou
gh u
sual
ly th
e st
ages
are
bas
ed o
n w
here
the
rate
of s
ales
gro
wth
or
decl
ine
beco
mes
pro
noun
ced.
PAR
T T
HR
EE
Qu
esti
on
s 13
– 1
8
•R
ead
the
artic
le b
elow
abo
ut p
rodu
ct li
fe c
ycle
s an
d th
e qu
estio
ns o
n th
e op
posi
te p
age.
•F
or e
ach
ques
tion
13 –
18,
mar
k on
e le
tter
(A,
B,
Cor
D)
on y
our
Ans
wer
She
et fo
r th
e an
swer
you
choo
se.
6
Page 46
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
Exa
mp
le: A
calc
ulat
eB
depe
ndC
dete
rmin
eD
lean
19A
prod
uce
Bm
ake
Cco
nstr
uct
Dbu
ild
20A
beha
viou
rB
habi
tC
prac
tice
Dro
utin
e
21A
met
hod
Bla
wC
rule
Dco
urse
22A
focu
sB
defin
eC
targ
etD
dire
ct
23A
gain
ing
Bac
quiri
ngC
colle
ctin
gD
taki
ng
24A
requ
ests
Bca
llsC
bids
Dco
mm
ands
25A
appo
int
Bpr
ogra
mm
eC
sche
dule
Dca
talo
gue
26A
parc
els
Bpa
cket
sC
bund
les
Dpa
ckag
es
27A
form
atio
nB
desi
gnC
stru
ctur
eD
syst
em
28A
cata
logu
eB
labe
lC
mar
kD
iden
tify
29A
poin
tB
tend
Cle
adD
mov
e
30A
diso
rder
Bm
ista
keC
conf
use
Dco
mpl
icat
e
31A
appo
intm
ents
Bpr
oced
ures
Car
rang
emen
tsD
orga
nisa
tions
32A
shar
eB
role
Cfu
nctio
nD
elem
ent
33A
prec
isel
yB
suita
bly
Cpr
oper
lyD
accu
rate
ly
AB
CD
0
9
Turn
Ove
r �
8PAR
T F
OU
R
Qu
esti
on
s 19
– 3
3
•R
ead
the
advi
ce b
elow
abo
ut t
he u
se o
f te
chno
logy
in p
rese
ntat
ions
.
•C
hoos
e th
e be
st w
ord
to f
ill e
ach
gap
from
A,
B,
Cor
Don
the
opp
osite
pag
e.
•F
or e
ach
ques
tion
19 –
33,
mar
k on
e le
tter
(A,
B,
Cor
D)
on y
our
Ans
wer
She
et.
•T
here
is a
n ex
ampl
e at
the
beg
inni
ng,
(0).
Gui
delin
es fo
r gi
ving
Pre
sent
atio
nsM
ost
pres
enta
tions
tod
ay (
0)..
.B..
.on
the
use
of
som
e so
rt o
f te
chno
logy
,su
ch a
s a
lapt
opco
mpu
ter
linke
d to
a p
roje
ctor
.Whi
le t
his
tech
nolo
gy c
an h
elp
to(1
9)...
...pr
esen
tatio
ns b
ette
r,it
also
has
a(2
0)...
...of
get
ting
in t
he w
ay.A
s a
gene
ral(
21)
......
,it
is b
ette
r to
(22)
......
on t
he c
onte
ntof
a
pres
enta
tion
as
a m
eans
of
(23)
......
your
au
dien
ce’s
atte
ntio
n,ra
ther
th
an
rely
ing
onso
phis
ticat
ed e
quip
men
t.
Bear
in m
ind
that
whe
n an
org
anis
atio
n in
vite
s(2
4)...
...fo
r a
cont
ract
,the
y m
ay(2
5)...
...fo
ur o
r fiv
epr
esen
tatio
ns f
rom
diff
eren
t co
mpa
nies
on
the
sam
e da
y.Ea
ch o
f th
ese
com
pani
es w
ill p
roba
bly
beus
ing
the
sam
e co
mpu
ter
grap
hics
(26)
......
and
the
sam
e eq
uipm
ent.
The
ch
ance
s ar
e th
epr
esen
tatio
ns w
ill b
e si
mila
r to
o.
Tha
t’s w
hy t
he c
onte
nt a
nd(2
7)...
...of
wha
t yo
u sa
y ar
e im
port
ant.
Thi
nk a
bout
wha
t yo
u w
ant
tosa
y an
d ho
w t
o sa
y it
as c
lear
ly a
s po
ssib
le.
As
a fir
st s
tep,
you
need
to
(28)
......
the
mai
n po
ints
you
wan
t to
get
acr
oss.
Aud
ienc
es a
re e
asily
bor
ed a
nd(2
9)...
...to
rem
embe
r on
ly t
he m
ost
ente
rtai
ning
,ex
citin
g or
unu
sual
idea
s.
Nex
t cr
eate
you
r m
ater
ials
,cho
osin
g th
e im
ages
for
your
pre
sent
atio
n ca
refu
lly.R
emem
ber
you
dono
t w
ant
to s
top
your
aud
ienc
e fr
om li
sten
ing
to y
ou,n
or d
o yo
u w
ant
to(3
0)...
...th
em.
Fina
lly,
mak
e al
l th
e ne
cess
ary
(31)
......
for
the
equi
pmen
t yo
u ne
ed.
If te
chno
logy
is
to b
e an
impo
rtan
t(3
2)...
...of
you
r pr
esen
tatio
n,m
ake
sure
you
kno
w h
ow t
o us
e it
(33)
......
and
test
it o
utbe
fore
hand
.
Page 47
BE
C V
AN
TA
GE
PAR
T F
IVE
Qu
esti
on
s 34
– 4
5
•R
ead
the
artic
le b
elow
abo
ut a
tra
inin
g co
mpa
ny.
•In
mos
t of
the
line
s 34
– 4
5th
ere
is o
ne e
xtra
wor
d.It
is e
ither
gra
mm
atic
ally
inco
rrec
t or
does
not
fit
in w
ith t
he m
eani
ng o
f th
e te
xt. S
ome
lines
, ho
wev
er,
are
corr
ect.
•If
a lin
e is
cor
rect
, w
rite
CO
RR
EC
Ton
you
r A
nsw
er S
heet
.
•If
ther
e is
an
extr
a w
ord
in t
he li
ne,
writ
e th
e ex
tra
wo
rdin
CA
PIT
AL
LET
TE
RS
on y
our
Ans
wer
She
et.
•T
he e
xerc
ise
begi
ns w
ith t
wo
exam
ples
, (0
) an
d (0
0).
Exa
mp
les
0S
O
00C
OR
RE
CT
0T
her
e is
lit
tle
do
ub
t th
at t
rain
ing
has
bec
om
e so
an
acc
epte
d p
art
of
bu
sin
ess
bu
t it
is
00
equ
ally
tru
e th
at c
om
pan
ies
take
a m
uch
les
s sc
ien
tifi
c ap
pro
ach
th
an t
hey
sh
ou
ld.
A
34
rece
nt
stu
dy
sug
ges
ted
us
that
, w
hile
UK
org
anis
atio
ns
spen
d n
earl
y £1
0bn
a y
ear
on
35
trai
nin
g,
37%
of
them
hav
e n
ever
eva
luat
ed t
hat
exp
end
itu
re i
n s
tric
t te
rms
of
bu
sin
ess
36
imp
act.
Yet
if
trai
nin
g a
ctiv
itie
s th
at a
re r
un
alo
ng
th
e sa
me
lines
as
oth
er b
usi
nes
s
37
op
erat
ion
s, i
n w
ays
that
max
imis
e w
ith
op
po
rtu
nit
ies,
it
bec
om
es e
asie
r fo
r tr
ain
ing
38
org
anis
atio
ns
to h
elp
co
mp
anie
s m
eet
stra
teg
ic g
oal
s. O
ne
org
anis
atio
n s
ho
win
g a
n
39
awar
enes
s o
f w
hat
th
is p
rin
cip
le i
s C
T S
olu
tio
ns,
a t
rain
ing
bu
sin
ess
that
has
its
ow
n
40
pre
mis
es i
n S
ou
th L
on
do
n.
Th
e n
eed
fo
r m
ore
tra
inin
g h
as c
om
bin
ed i
t w
ith
cu
tbac
ks i
n
41
off
ice
acco
mm
od
atio
n t
o c
reat
e p
len
ty o
f b
usi
nes
s fo
r th
ose
hir
ing
ou
t sp
ace,
par
ticu
larl
y
42
up
per
-en
d h
ote
ls.
Bu
t w
hile
CT
So
luti
on
s d
etec
ted
th
at m
any
org
anis
atio
ns
wer
e n
ot
43
sati
sfie
d w
ith
ho
tels
bec
ause
th
ey d
o n
ot
alw
ays
pro
vid
e a
go
od
ser
vice
. C
T S
olu
tio
ns
is
44
tota
lly d
edic
ated
to
pro
vid
ing
of
spac
e fo
r b
usi
nes
s, m
ost
ly f
or
trai
nin
g,
bu
t al
so f
or
45
con
fere
nce
s an
d A
GM
s. C
lear
ly,
sin
ce t
he
bu
sin
ess
has
bee
n g
row
n i
n s
ize,
it
is a
n
app
roac
h t
hat
wo
rks.
10
Tra
inin
g P
rov
isio
n
READING ANSWER KEY
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five
1 C 8 F 13 B 19 B 34 US2 A 9 B 14 D 20 B 35 STRICT3 D 10 E 15 C 21 C 36 THAT4 B 11 C 16 D 22 A 37 WITH5 C 12 D 17 A 23 A 38 CORRECT6 D 18 A 24 C 39 WHAT7 A 25 C 40 IT
26 D 41 CORRECT27 C 42 WHILE28 D 43 CORRECT29 B 44 OF30 C 45 BEEN31 C32 D33 C
Page 48
BE
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Part
3
Part
5
14
13
16
15
17
35
34
01
01
37
36
01
01
38
01
34
35
36
37
38
AB
CD
AB
CD
19
21
20
23
22P
art
4
25
24
27
26
28
29
30
18
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
31
32
33
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
AB
CD
39
01
40
01
39
40
41
01
42
01
41
42
43
01
44
01
43
44
45
01
45
Superv
isor:
VA
NT
AG
E
BE
C V
an
tag
e R
ead
ing
An
sw
er S
heet
00
00 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
Ca
nd
ida
te N
am
eIf
no
t alr
ead
y p
rin
ted
, w
rit
e n
am
e
in C
AP
ITA
LS
an
d c
om
ple
te t
he
Can
did
ate
No
. g
rid
(in
pen
cil).
Ca
nd
idate
’s S
ign
atu
re
Exam
inati
on
Tit
le
Ce
ntr
e
If t
he
ca
nd
ida
te is A
BS
EN
T o
r h
as
WIT
HD
RA
WN
sh
ad
e h
ere
Can
did
ate
No
.
Ce
ntr
e N
o.
Exam
inati
on
Deta
ils
21 43
8
5
109 12
11
Part
1
Ins
tru
cti
on
s
Use a
PE
NC
IL (B
or
HB
).
Rub o
ut any a
nsw
er
you w
ish to c
hange w
ith a
n e
raser.
Fo
r P
arts
1 t
o 4
:
Mark
one b
ox for
each a
nsw
er.
Fo
r e
xa
mp
le:
If y
ou thin
k C
is the r
ight answ
er
to the q
uestion, m
ark
your
answ
er
sheet like this
:
Part
2
�
Tu
rn
over f
or P
arts
3 -
5
Fo
r P
art
5:
Write
your
answ
er
cle
arly in C
AP
ITA
L L
ET
TE
RS
.
Write
one letter
in e
ach b
ox.
Fo
r e
xa
mp
le:
AB
C0
6 7
0 A
BE
C V
- R
DP
45
8/3
58
BC
AB
C
AB
C
AB
C
AB
C
AB
CD
EF
G
AB
CD
EF
G
AB
CD
EF
G
AB
CD
EF
G
AB
CD
EF
G
AB
C
AB
C
D D D D D D D
Page 49
A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS
For BEC Vantage, candidates are required to produce twopieces of writing:
• an internal company communication; this means a piece of communication with a colleague or colleagueswithin the company on a business-related matter, and the delivery medium may be a note, message, memo or e-mail;
• and one of the following:
• a piece of business correspondence; this meanscorrespondence with somebody outside thecompany (e.g. a customer or supplier) on abusiness-related matter, and the delivery mediummay be letter, fax or e-mail
• a report; this means the presentation of informationin relation to a specific issue or events. The reportwill contain an introduction, main body of findingsand conclusion; it is possible that the deliverymedium may be a memo or an e-mail
• a proposal; this has a similar format to a report, butunlike the report, the focus of the proposal is on thefuture, with the main focus being onrecommendations for discussion; it is possible thatthe delivery medium may be a memo or an e-mail.
Part One
In this part candidates are presented with the context in thetask rubric. This explains the role the candidate must take inorder to write a note, message, memo or e-mail of around 40to 50 words using a written prompt. It also identifies who themessage is to be written to. The prompt is included in theinstructions, in the form of bullet points clearly stating thepieces of information that must be incorporated into theanswer.
Where the delivery medium specified for a Part One answeris a memo or an e-mail, candidates need not include to/from/date/subject details.
Part Two
In the second Writing task, candidates are required to write120 to 140 words in the form of business correspondence, ashort report or proposal. There is an explanation of the taskand one or more texts as input material. These texts maycontain visual or graphic material and have ‘handwritten’notes on them.
There is no significant difference between the formatrequired for proposals and reports. At this level, reports mustbe clearly organised and should not contain letter features.There is no particular requirement to provide subheadings,particularly given the length of the report.
Where the delivery medium specified for a Part Two answeris a letter, candidates need not include postal addresses intheir answer. Similarly, where the delivery medium specifiedis a fax, candidates need not include ‘fax header’ details, andwhere the delivery medium specified is a memo or an e-mail, candidates need not include to/from/date/subjectdetails.
Accuracy and Appropriacy in Faxes and e-mails
Please see page 11.
Preparing for the Writing Questions
The preparation activities outlined for BEC Preliminarycandidates would be equally valuable at this level.
BE
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TEST OF WRITING
Time: 45 minutes
PART Functions/Communicative Task Input Response Register
1 e.g. giving instructions, explaining Rubric only (plus layout of output Internal communication Neutral/a development, asking for text type) (medium may be note or informalcomments, requesting information, message or memo oragreeing to requests e-mail) (40 – 50 words)
2 Correspondence: e.g. explaining, One or more pieces of input from: Business correspondence Neutral/apologising, reassuring, complaining business correspondence (medium (medium may be letter, formal
may be letter, fax or e-mail), internal fax or e-mail) or shortReport: describing, summarising communication (medium may be note, report or proposal
memo or e-mail), notice, advert, (medium may be memo orProposal: describing, summarising, graphs, charts, etc. (plus layout if e-mail) (120 – 140 words)recommending, persuading output is fax or e-mail)
Page 50
In the second task for this level, candidates are oftenprovided with annotated information and are asked to reportor convey these comments. It is important that studentsknow how to reformulate the comments, incorporating someof their own vocabulary and structures into their work.Whilst at BEC Preliminary level the emphasis is on theaccurate reporting of facts, at this level much more isexpected in terms of register, cohesion and the range ofstructures and language used.
For the BEC Vantage Writing component, candidates writetheir answers in pen in their question paper booklet.
BE
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Page 51
BE
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PAR
T T
WO
•Yo
u w
ork
for
Bus
ines
sSpa
ce p
lc,
a co
mpa
ny w
hich
ren
ts f
ully
ser
vice
d of
fices
to
othe
r
busi
ness
es.Y
ou h
ave
just
rec
eive
d th
e fa
x be
low
.
•Lo
ok a
t th
e fa
x an
d th
e ot
her
info
rmat
ion
belo
w,
on w
hich
you
hav
e al
read
y m
ade
som
e
hand
writ
ten
note
s.
•T
hen,
usi
ng a
llyo
ur h
andw
ritte
n no
tes,
writ
e a
fax
in r
eply
to
Rei
nhar
d M
iete
r.
•W
rite
120
– 1
40 w
ord
s.
•W
rite
on t
he o
ppos
ite p
age.
FAX
TO:
Bus
ines
sSpa
ce
FR
OM
:R
einh
ard
Mie
ter
SU
BJE
CT:
Ren
tin
g O
ffic
e S
pac
e
Fur
ther
to
our
disc
ussi
on la
st w
eek
we
have
now
dec
ided
to
rent
offi
ce s
pace
fro
m y
ou
for
the
next
tw
elve
mon
ths:
Req
uir
emen
ts
•on
e of
fice
of 1
0m
2 , t
wo
of 1
5m
2 , o
ne o
f 20
m2
•m
ust
be o
n sa
me
floor
•40
par
king
spa
ces
Ple
ase
conf
irm
if t
his
offic
e sp
ace
is v
acan
t in
Cen
tral
Tow
er.
4
REN
VER
EST
AT
ES
offe
r 10
%di
scou
nt f
or 1
8-m
onth
book
ing
four
left
, di
ffer
ent
floors,
no p
arki
ng –
sug
gest
Oper
a Pl
ace
men
tion
the
sebe
nefi
ts
OP
ER
A P
LAC
E
Why
cho
ose
Ope
ra P
lace
?
•30
0 pa
rkin
g sp
aces
•go
od p
ublic
tra
nspo
rt
conn
ectio
ns
•w
onde
rful
vie
ws
CENT
RAL
TOW
ER (C
T)
Offi
ces
curr
ently
vac
ant
Siz
e m
2
CT
19
10
CT
24
20
CT
53
15
CT
54
15
OPER
A P
LACE
(OP)
Offi
ces
curr
ently
vac
ant
Siz
e m
2
OP
34
10
OP
39
20
OP
46
10
OP
47
15
OP
48
20
OP
49
15four
sam
e flo
or
PAR
T O
NE
•Yo
u ar
e a
regi
onal
sal
es m
anag
er fo
r an
inte
rnat
iona
l com
pany
.You
hav
e be
en a
sked
to
go t
o a
mee
ting
at y
our
com
pany
’s h
ead
offic
e.Yo
u ca
nnot
go,
so
som
ebod
y el
se w
ill g
o in
you
r pl
ace.
•W
rite
an e
-mai
lto
Eric
a Yo
ung,
who
is o
rgan
isin
g th
e m
eetin
g:
•ap
olog
isin
g fo
r no
t be
ing
able
to
go t
o th
e m
eetin
g
•ex
plai
ning
why
you
can
not
go
•sa
ying
who
will
go.
•W
rite
40
– 50
wo
rds.
•W
rite
on t
he o
ppos
ite p
age.
2
Eri
ca Y
oung
Meetin
g
WRITING SAMPLE PAPER
Page 52
BE
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ASSESSMENT OF WRITING
An impression mark is awarded to each piece of writing. TheGeneral Impression Mark Scheme is used in conjunctionwith a Task-specific Mark Scheme, which focuses on criteriaspecific to each particular task. This summarises the content,organisation, register, format and target reader indicated inthe task.
The band scores awarded are translated to a mark out of 10 for Part 1 and a mark out of 20 for Part 2. A total of 30 marks is available for Writing.
The General Impression Mark Scheme is interpreted atCouncil of Europe level B2.
A summary of the General Impression Mark Scheme isreproduced below. Examiners work with a more detailedversion, which is subject to regular updating.
Band 5 Full realisation of the task set.• All content points included and expanded upon where the task allows.• Controlled, natural use of language; minimal errors which are minor.• Wide range of structure and vocabulary.• Effectively organised, with appropriate use of cohesive devices.• Register and format consistently appropriate.Very positive effect on the reader.
Band 4 Good realisation of the task set.• All content points adequately dealt with.• Generally accurate, errors when complex language is attempted.• Good range of structure and vocabulary.• Generally well-organised, with attention paid to cohesion.• Register and format on the whole appropriate.Positive effect on the reader.
Band 3 Reasonable achievement of the task set.• All major content points included; some minor omissions.• A number of errors will be present, but they do not impede communication.• Adequate range of structure and vocabulary.• Organisation and cohesion is satisfactory, on the whole.• Register and format reasonable, although not entirely successful.Satisfactory effect on the reader.
Band 2 Inadequate attempt at the task set.• Some major content points omitted or inadequately dealt with; some
irrelevance is likely.• Errors sometimes obscure communication, are numerous, and distract the reader.• Limited range of structure and vocabulary.• Content is not clearly organised or linked, causing some confusion.• Inappropriate register and format.Negative effect on the reader.
Band 1 Poor attempt at the task set.• Notable content omissions and/or considerable irrelevance, possibly due to
misinterpretation of the task set.• Serious lack of control; frequent basic errors.• Little evidence of structure and vocabulary required by task.• Lack of organisation, causing a breakdown in communication.• Little attempt at appropriate register and format.Very negative effect on the reader.
Band 0 Achieves nothing. Either fewer than 25% of the required number of words or totally illegible or totally irrelevant.
Summary of General Impression Mark Scheme
Page 53
WRITING PART 1
EXAMINER COMMENTS
I’m really sorry but I’m not able to go to the meeting at our company’s head office. I can’t attend because ofprevious arrangements which I can’t change.
Mr Jan Korwalski, a very good worker, will go instead of me.
Please accept my apologies.
Marta Stefanska
CANDIDATE A
All points covered. Successful attempt at complex language,for example ‘I can’t attend because of previousarrangements’, ‘will go instead of me’. Concise, making avery positive effect on the reader.
Band 5
EXAMINER COMMENTS
Dear Mrs Young
I would like to apologise for not being able to go to meeting at our company’s head office because I will notbe in the country. I am going on the business trip to Italy.
Mr Mark Smith will go instead of me.
Many Thanks
Nadia JohnsonRegional Sales Manager
CANDIDATE B
All points adequately dealt with. Good range of structure andvocabulary. Minor non-impeding errors, for example ‘go tomeeting’, ‘on the business trip’. Positive effect on the reader.
Band 4
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Page 54
EXAMINER COMMENTS
To: Erica Young
Cc:
Subject: Meeting
Dear Mr Young:
Thanks for your last letter! I’m very glad to be inviated to attend the meeting at your company’s head office.But first of all, I’m apologising for not being able to go to the meeting. This is due to a error of my agenda, in fact. I have a international conference that day.
I feel sorry for my absence. I’d like to recommend my personal assistant to go to instead of me. His name isJim Green. I hope this will not cause you some trouble.
Best wish yours
Chan Bo Fun
CANDIDATE C
Generally well organised (although not concise), leading to a satisfactory effect on the reader. There are, however, somebasic non-impeding errors, for example ‘a error of myagenda’, ‘cause you some trouble’.
Band 3
EXAMINER COMMENTS
Hello Erica,
I’d like to apologise you, but I can’t attend to this meeting in our head office. In this time I’m going to London for sales meeting with our customers. Instead of me, for this meeting will go my sales assistance – Tom
Best regards
Natasha
CANDIDATE D
A number of errors, but they do not impede communication.Overall, an adequate attempt at the task.
Band 3
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Page 55
WRITING PART 2
EXAMINER COMMENTS
Dear Mr Mieter,
Thank you for your order by fax. I’d like to mention that I can offer you 10% discount if you are booking for18 - month period.
We have 4 offices left in Central Tower as you required but they are on different floors. Also there is noparking space available at the moment in Central Tower. I can offer you a very interesting alternative inOpera Place Building:* 4 offices as you required on same floor* 300 parking spaces and good public transport connections for your employees* wonderful views.Please think about this alternative and the discount I mentioned before. I look forward to hearing from yousoon so I can make the booking.
Yours sincerely,
CANDIDATE E
All points are covered and developed. Organisation is good,and the candidate displays a wide range of natural languageand a natural business tone. Errors are minimal.
Band 5
EXAMINER COMMENTS
BUSINESS SPACE PLC FAXFrom: Business Space To: Renver Estates Attn: Sabrina Korkhau Attn: Reinhard Mieter
Subject: Renting Office Space.
Mr Mieter, I’ve just received your fax and after searching for different posibilities, this is what I can offer you:- 10% discount on the total prize if you book our offices for 18 months, could it be interesting for you?- You asked us for 4 offices in Central Tower and we only have 4 left but placed in different floors and there are no parking spaces left. Would you mind if I search what you need in Opera Place?- Opera Place is a big Tower with 300 parking spaces, it has wonderful views to Central Park and the public transport connections are really good.- I’ve just checked if we have 4 offices left in Opera Place and for your information we have them now!!At the same floor and one is 10m2, two are 15m2 and the last one is 20m2 as you required.Please let me know if you are interested in this possibity.
RegardsMs Korkhau
CANDIDATE F
All content points are achieved, with good organisation.There is an adequate range of language, and the register andformat are reasonable. The effect on the reader is satisfactory.
Band 3
BE
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Page 56
EXAMINER COMMENTS
TO: Reinhard Mieter,
Thank you for your fax. And we are glad you have decided to rent office space from us for the next twelvemonths. I’d like to inform you that we can offer 10% disscount for 18 - month booking, please confirmwhether you’ll book longer or not.
As requested we couldn’t supply you in Central Tower, since there is no vacancy on the same floor and noparking either. But I recommend Opera Place, a suitable place as well. There are four in the same floor, andthe sizes are proper. 300 parking spaces are there, which is enough for you. Moreover, public transportconnections here are good as well as wonderful views I hope this change will be convenient for you.Meanwhile, I am sure you will be satisfied with Opera Place.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
sincerely,
CANDIDATE G
All points are covered. Format, organisation and register areadequate. There is some attempt at range, for example ’I hope this change will be convenient for you.’ The errors donot impede.
Band 3
EXAMINER COMMENTS
TO: Reinhar MieterFROM: Business Space SUBJECT: Confirmation
Thank you for have selected us for doing Business. Concerning with the requirements you have specified in your fax, I would like to inform you than even though there are four Offices vacant there are all of themin different floors, and moreover there are no parking spaces, However In opera place you could set upthe four offices in the same floor, it would be the four floor also there are still available 300 parking spacesso in this matter there is no problem. Let me tell you that in this place you can delight a wonderful view tothe sea and this place is relationated with good public transport. and because it is near the sea you can geteasily connections not only internal but abroad as well. So I suggest you to go for opera place Please ifyou have any further equiry please do not hesitate in contact me.
CANDIDATE H
Organisation and range of language are poor. There arefrequent basic errors and the first content point (the offer of adiscount) is missing.
Band 2
BE
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Page 57
A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS
Part One
In this part there are three conversations or answeringmachine messages, with a gapped text to go with each. Eachgapped text provides a very clear context and has fourspaces which have to be filled with one or two words or anumber. The gapped texts may include forms, diary excerpts,invoices, message pads, etc. Candidates hear eachconversation or message twice, and as they listen they arerequired to complete the gapped text.
This part of the Listening test concentrates on the retrieval offactual information and it is important for candidates to listencarefully using the prompts on their question paper in orderto identify the missing information. For example, they mayhave to note down a person’s name, and if names on thetape are spelt out, these must be spelt correctly. Alternatively,they may have to listen for a room or telephone number, oran instruction or deadline. Answers to this part are rarely asimple matter of dictation, and some reformulation of theprompt material will be required in order to locate thecorrect answer.
Part Two
This part is divided into two sections. Each section has thesame format: candidates hear five short monologues andhave to match each monologue to a set of items A – H. Ineach section, the eight options will form a coherent set andthe overall theme or topic will be clearly stated in the taskrubric. For example, candidates may hear five people talkingand have to decide what sort of jobs the people do. In thiscase, the set of options A – H will contain a list of jobs.Alternatively the set of options may consist of eightplaces/topics/addressees/purposes etc. The two sections willalways test different areas and so if the first section focuseson, say, topics, the second section will focus on somethingelse, such as functions.
In this part of the Listening test, candidates are being testedon their global listening skills and also on their ability toinfer, extract gist and understand main ideas. In order toanswer the questions successfully, they will need to work outthe answer by developing ideas, and refining these as thetext is heard. It will not be possible to ‘word match’ andcandidates should not expect to hear such overt clues.However, there will always be a ‘right’ answer andcandidates are not expected to opt for the ‘best’ answer.
Part Three
A longer text is heard in this part, usually lastingapproximately four minutes. The text will typically be aninterview, conversation or discussion with two or morespeakers, or possibly a presentation or report with onespeaker. There are eight, three-option multiple choicequestions that focus on details and main ideas in the text.There may be questions on opinions and feelings, but thesewill be relatively straightforward and will not requirecandidates to remember long or complex pieces ofinformation.
Preparing for the Listening Paper
All listening practice should be helpful for students, whetherauthentic or specially prepared. In particular, discussionshould focus on:
• the purpose of speeches and conversations ordiscussions
• the roles of speakers
• the opinions expressed
• the language functions employed
• relevant aspects of phonology such as stress, linkingand weak forms, etc.
In addition, students should be encouraged to appreciate thediffering demands of each task type. It will be helpful not
BE
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TEST OF LISTENING
Time: approx. 40 minutes including 10 minutes’ transfer time
Number ofPART Main Skill Focus Input Response Questions
1 Listening for writing Three telephone conversations or Gap filling 12short answers messages
2 Listening; identifying Short monologue; two sections of five Multiple matching 10topic, context, function, ‘snippets’ eachetc.
3 Listening One extended conversation or Multiple choice 8monologue; interview, discussion,presentation, etc.
Page 58
only to practise the task types in order to develop a sense offamiliarity and confidence, but also to discuss how the threetask types relate to real life skills and situations.
• The first is note-taking (and therefore productive), andstudents should reflect on the various situations inwhich they take notes from a spoken input. Theyshould also be encouraged to try to predict the kinds ofwords or numbers that might go in the gaps.
• The second is a matching (with discrimination)exercise, featuring differing styles and registers.
• The third involves the correct interpretation of spokeninput, with correct answers often being delivered bymore than one speaker.
In all three tasks, successful listening depends on correctreading, and students should be encouraged to make full useof the pauses during the test to check the written input.
BE
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Page 59
BE
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Co
nver
sati
on
Tw
o
(Qu
esti
on
s 5
– 8)
•Lo
ok a
t th
e fo
rm b
elow
.
•Yo
u w
ill h
ear
a m
an c
allin
g a
com
pute
r su
pplie
r.
3
Turn
Ove
r �
HIL
LS
PC
SU
PP
LIE
S
Cus
tom
er S
ervi
ces
Tele
pho
ne M
essa
ge
Cal
ler’
s na
me:
Jam
es Fi
rth
Clie
nt:
Allen
and
Brown
Ltd
Item
(s)
ord
ered
:(5
) ...
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
..
Ord
er n
o./d
ate:
HPC
0234
5 /
12-3
-02
No
tes:
orde
r wa
s de
liver
ed la
te b
y th
e (6
)...
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
..
and
was su
pplie
d wi
thou
t (7
)...
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
..
Act
ion:
call
to a
polog
ise a
nd d
iscus
s (8
)...
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
..
PAR
T O
NE
Qu
esti
on
s 1
– 12
•Yo
u w
ill h
ear
thre
e te
leph
one
conv
ersa
tions
or
mes
sage
s.
•W
rite
on
e o
r tw
o w
ord
s o
r a
nu
mb
erin
the
num
bere
d sp
aces
on
the
note
s or
form
s be
low
.
•Yo
u w
ill h
ear
each
rec
ordi
ng t
wic
e.
Co
nver
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LISTENING SAMPLE PAPER
Page 60
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PAR
T T
WO
Qu
esti
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s 13
– 2
2
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.Fiv
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Page 61
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28Jo
sé M
artín
ez le
ft th
e fir
st c
ompa
ny h
e w
orke
d fo
r be
caus
e it
Ase
t th
e st
aff
impo
ssib
le t
arge
ts.
Bof
fere
d in
suffi
cien
t in
cent
ives
.
Cpr
ovid
ed in
adeq
uate
sup
port
.
29Jo
sé M
artín
ez f
inds
tha
t po
pula
r sp
orts
eve
nts
Aar
e go
od p
lace
s to
adv
ertis
e hi
s se
rvic
e.
Bra
ise
bran
d aw
aren
ess
thro
ugh
team
spo
nsor
ship
.
Cin
crea
se p
ublic
dem
and
for
his
prod
ucts
.
30W
hat
does
Jos
é M
artín
ez p
lan
to d
o in
the
fut
ure?
Ade
velo
p a
chai
n of
res
taur
ants
Bse
t up
a f
ranc
hise
ope
ratio
n
Cex
pand
into
the
fro
zen
food
mar
ket
7
You
no
w h
ave
10 m
inu
tes
to t
ran
sfer
yo
ur
answ
ers
to y
ou
r A
nsw
er S
hee
t.
PAR
T T
HR
EE
Qu
esti
on
s 23
– 3
0
•Yo
u w
ill h
ear
a ra
dio
inte
rvie
w w
ith J
osé
Mar
tínez
, th
e D
irect
or o
f P
izza
Rap
ida,
a p
izza
del
iver
y
chai
n in
Spa
in.
•F
or e
ach
ques
tion
23 –
30,
mar
k on
e le
tter
(A,
Bor
C)
for
the
corr
ect
answ
er.
•Yo
u w
ill h
ear
the
reco
rdin
g tw
ice.
23Jo
sé M
artín
ez b
ecam
e su
cces
sful
by
Ata
king
ove
r a
wel
l-kno
wn
com
petit
or.
Bes
tabl
ishi
ng a
n in
nova
tive
reta
il bu
sine
ss.
Cga
inin
g a
repu
tatio
n fo
r hi
gh q
ualit
y.
24B
efor
e Jo
sé M
artín
ez s
et u
p hi
s pi
zza
deliv
ery
serv
ice,
he
Ate
sted
sam
ples
on
pote
ntia
l clie
nts.
Bha
nded
out
pro
duct
que
stio
nnai
res.
Cas
sess
ed d
eman
d in
diff
eren
t ar
eas.
25A
ccor
ding
to
José
Mar
tínez
, th
e S
pani
sh fa
st fo
od b
usin
ess
Ais
diff
eren
t fr
om t
hat
of t
he U
.S.
Bha
s sl
owed
slig
htly
in it
s ra
te o
f gr
owth
.
Cem
ploy
s an
incr
easi
ng n
umbe
r of
wom
en.
26Jo
sé M
artín
ez w
ants
his
tra
inee
man
ager
s to
Ade
velo
p a
com
petit
ive
attit
ude.
Btr
y ou
t so
me
of t
he s
hop-
floor
jobs
.
Csp
end
som
e tim
e w
orki
ng a
broa
d.
27Jo
sé M
artín
ez b
elie
ves
that
at
first
peo
ple
inve
sted
in P
izza
Rap
ida
beca
use
they
Aw
ere
attr
acte
d by
wha
t th
e co
mpa
ny o
ffere
d.
Bsa
w t
hat
the
shar
es w
ere
perf
orm
ing
wel
l.
Cth
ough
t fo
od c
ompa
nies
wer
e a
safe
inve
stm
ent.
6
Page 62
M: Well, ok. Tell him it’s James Firth, from Allen andBrown.
F: Certainly.M: I’m really not happy at all. We ordered a laser
printer from you last month and…F: Let me just find the reference on that…ah yes,
HPC02345 … on the twelfth of March…M: Yes. Now, the first problem was the delivery.
It came several days after you promised. I don’t seewhy you use a despatch company if that’s whathappens.
F: Oh dear. No. M: And then, when we took it out of the box, we found
you’d sent the thing without any cables, so wecouldn’t even connect it up. If you think we’regoing to pay this invoice in full…
F: Well, I am sorry, Mr Firth. I’ll check what wentwrong and I’ll ask David to ring you. I’m sure he’llwant to talk about a discount. Will you be in thisafternoon?
M: Yes. Well, good bye.
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12.F: Hello. Thank you for calling the Jefferson
recruitment line. Here are details of our current jobvacancies. First of all, we are looking for amanufacturing administrator to join a team led bythe plant manager. This role involves monitoring allaspects of the production process, and will includesome project work.
For this position you should have some relevantexperience and a recognised qualification inbusiness administration would be an advantage. You need to be a good organiser, with excellentadministrative skills. A high level of computer skillsis essential. You must be able to work without
BE
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LISTENING ANSWER KEY
Part One Part Two Part Three1 SUCCESSFUL SELLING 13 F 23 B2 (THE) CENTRAL HOTEL 14 H 24 A3 PROFIT MARGIN(S) 15 G 25 B4 (£)40/FORTY 16 C 26 B5 (LASER/LAZER) PRINTER 17 E 27 A6 DISPATCH/DESPATCH COMPANY 18 F 28 B7 (ANY) CABLES 19 C 29 C8 (A) DISCOUNT 20 E 30 C9 (THE) PLANT MANAGER 21 H10 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 22 B11 FLEXIBLE12 NEGOTIABLE
TAPESCRIPT
PART ONE. QUESTIONS 1 TO 12.
Conversation One. Questions 1 to 4.M: Apex Business Centre. How may I help you?F: Hello. I’m calling about the seminar next week.M: Erm, which one? We have at least three on next
week. Do you remember the name?F: No, I, er ... wait a minute, I know it’s on the twenty-
first of February.M: Oh, yes, madam, that would be Successful Selling.
It’s a very popular seminar.F: That’s the one! Now, can you tell me when and
where it is, please?M: Certainly. It’s being run from 10 till 4, and it’s being
held at the Central Hotel. It’s next to the University.F: Oh, yes, I know where that is.M: Now, could I also mention an additional session
we’re offering on the day? There’s a workshop onprofit margins starting at four-thirty after the mainseminar.
F: Oh, that might be useful ... but I have a meeting togo to ... anyway, how much is it?
M: There’s no charge for the additional session. Theday costs a hundred and twelve pounds for eachparticipant. I can reserve a place for you now, if youlike. We do need to have forty pounds as a deposit,and the balance on the day.
F: Yes, please. My name’s ...
Conversation Two. Questions 5 to 8.F: Good morning. Hills PC Supplies.M: Yes, hello. I want to speak to David HillsF: I’m afraid he’s away today. Can I take a message?
Page 63
supervision, and must be flexible when workingwith others, as the position supports othermanagers. You should be able to work to tightdeadlines.
The hours are 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. Thesalary will be negotiable. In addition we offer abenefits package including subsidised lunches, 23 days’ holiday and health insurance.
PART TWO. QUESTIONS 13 to 22.
Section One. Questions 13 to 17M: It was just so embarrassing, the whole thing. I mean,
being late’s one thing, and I had already got mysecretary to phone through and leave a message tosay I was running being schedule. But in the end Ididn’t get there at all … and all the other managerswere there to see the team show the project and itsresults. Oh well, that’s how it goes, I guess…
F: Well, I’m certainly not going to forget that in ahurry! What a terrible mistake… It made the wholemeeting pointless, really. I can’t imagine what theythought of me, sitting there with the paperwork foranother client. Very unprofessional. I mean, I couldstill tell them the relevant facts, but I couldn’t showthem the actual contract. I didn’t put it in mybriefcase last night.
M: What a lost opportunity. I should’ve made a propernote in my diary where I would have seen it insteadof just on the back of an old envelope. Anyway, it’stoo late now. I just didn’t remember and that’s that.They’ll have given the work to someone else bynow… I’d promised to ring before midday if I wasavailable. I really need to be better organised.
F: I was so busy preparing all the equipment for thepresentation that I didn’t notice the time passing. So then I asked reception to call me a taxi … I wasstill checking the papers when they rang to say ithad arrived … but I couldn’t believe it when hedidn’t know where the street was and drove all overthe place … they’d already started without me bythe time I finally got there.
M: Well, I thought it was a bit strange at the time, but I just took down what I thought I heard on themachine, and then made out the order formaccordingly. It wasn’t till they called back to querythe quantity that we realised just what I’d done.Still, we sorted it out before it was too late so itwasn’t a disaster, after all.
Section Two. Questions 18 to 22F: I guess the main weakness is with the image of
some of the products. I complained about this last
year. With our present strategy, we could findourselves having problems in the future. We need toturn the situation around, work the market to ouradvantage. What I’d suggest is a complete review ofthe way we’re approaching the market. I think weshould get everyone together and explore all thepossibilities.
M: I’m very glad that you can come. I was worried thatthe invitations were so late that many key peoplewouldn’t be able to make it. We do need your input– your information is important. I understand you’replanning to come by train. The train service can bea bit of a problem, but if you go to Medford CentralStation, it’s a direct line. That’ll take you to TowerSquare – and if you give us a call when you arrivewe’ll send someone to collect you.
F: When I first read the report, I was verydisappointed. Our results are well below target, inspite of using the consultants, and all the newstrategies we’ve been applying. I can’t understand itat all. In order to try and get clear what’s going on,I’m going to need input from various sections. What I’d like from you, as soon as you can, is pricecomparisons for the different regions. I’ll also needa report on how useful the consultants’ advice was.
M: No, I mean they’ve given me everything I asked for,so I can’t really complain about that. They eveninvited me to come over and check the figures formyself. But I’d rather try to go through them herewith you, if you could spare the time. Perhaps youcould tell me what you think would be the bestthing to do. I’d be really interested in your views.Your experience means you must have dealt withthis type of problem before.
F: I just thought I ought to let you know, that followingthe discussion we had last week about staffinglevels, I took your recommendation to the Board.You’ve probably heard already that we agreed thatwe do need to create a new Area Manager’sposition. I just wanted to let you know officially thatit had been authorised. So now we can contact therecruitment agency and ask them to start lookingaround. They might have somebody on their booksalready.
PART THREE. QUESTIONS 23 to 30.F: Good evening and welcome to Business People.
We are fortunate to have as our guest tonight JoséMartínez, the founder and Director of Pizza Rapida.José was brought up in America and started hisworking life there. Now he is one of the mostsuccessful entrepreneurs in Europe. How did heachieve this? Well, he began his rise to success inEurope when he launched his pizza delivery chain
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from a small shop in the Spanish capital, Madrid, 10 years ago. By the late-nineties he had succeededin expanding the business to over 400 outlets and indoing so, he has almost transformed the eatinghabits of the nation. As a result of this success, he has recently been able to buy out his maincompetitor and today, Pizza Rapida is well-knownfor producing top-quality food at reasonable prices.José is now one of the wealthiest men in Spain.José, welcome to our studio.
M: Thank you.F: Now, did you do lots of market research before you
set up your pizza delivery service?M: Well, not really. But I did do some basic research to
get the product itself right by giving some away toteenagers in the neighbourhood. I keptexperimenting with the key ingredients until they allthought the pizzas were great.
F: But surely Spain isn’t traditionally a fast foodmarket, so why did you think a pizza home deliveryservice would be successful?
M: Well, I just thought that the same trends which hadcaused the fast-food revolution in the US were atwork in Spain. For example, more and more womenwere joining the labour market, leaving them lesstime to shop and cook, so families were beginningto think of fast food as an attractive alternative tohome cooking. The sector grew incredibly quicklyin the first few years. It’s a little steadier now – stillvery healthy though.
F: Great! So you must need an increasing number ofstaff - but what do you look for in your managers?
M: I try to follow the American system and make suremy people get experience at all levels of thebusiness. I don’t want managers to come straightfrom university to the office without doing the basicjobs in the company first.
F: Pizza Rapida was floated on the Stock Exchange in1998. Was that a success, too?
M: Yes, it was amazing!F: Why do you think Pizza Rapida attracted so much
investment?M: I think initially it was largely because the basic
theory of home delivery pizzas was new, easy forthe general public to understand, and fun. Once wewere established, the shares started to take off. AndI’m happy to say that we’ve been the best performeron the stock market for two years and profits wereup again by 45% last year.
F: What background did you have, or training, to leadto this amazing success?
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M: Sales basically. I started my working life as asalesman for a soap company in America. After theinitial three month training period, I managed toexceed the annual target they had given me, but Iwas so disgusted by the tiny bonus I was offeredthat I resigned and joined a competitor. Ten yearslater, they sent me to Spain to run their sales andmarketing operation.
F: Does any aspect of the Spanish lifestyle help you topromote your products?
M: Well, Spaniards are very keen on football, as youknow, and I think you have to be constantly awareof all possible opportunities. So now, when topteams are playing, I hire extra staff to deliver pizzasfor the fans to eat while they watch the match ontelevision.
F: That sounds like a real winner! And what’s next?M: Well, one option I was looking at was franchising
the operation but I decided I didn’t want to losecontrol, so what I’m seriously considering now isproducing frozen pizzas and other food to sell tosupermarket and restaurant chains.
F: Well, I wish you every success with that and manythanks ....
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Part
1 -
Co
nversati
on
Tw
o
Part
1 -
Co
nversati
on
Th
ree
16
15
175
01
5
AB
CD
EF
GH
AB
CD
EF
GH
AB
CD
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Part
2 -
Secti
on
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23
AB
C
14
13
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AB
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Part
3
25
24
26
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AB
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27
28
AB
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AB
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29
AB
C
6
01
6
7
01
7
8
01
8
9
01
9
10
01
10
11
01
11
12
01
12
Part
2 -
Secti
on
Tw
o
21
20
22
AB
CD
EF
GH
AB
CD
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AB
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18
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AB
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C V
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tag
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heet
00
00 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
Ca
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rid
(in
pen
cil).
Ca
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Use a
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Rub o
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AB
C0
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Write
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ITA
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Write
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If the a
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Fo
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xa
mp
le:
Part
1 -
Co
nversati
on
On
e
1
01
1
2
01
2
3
01
3
4
01
4
0
Su
pe
rvis
or:
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46
0/3
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A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS
Part One
In the first part of the test, the interlocutor addresses eachcandidate in turn and asks first general, then more business-related questions. Candidates are not addressed in strictsequence. In this part of the test, candidates are being testedon their ability to talk briefly about themselves, to provideconcise information on their home, interests and jobs, and toperform functions such as agreeing and disagreeing, andexpressing preferences.
Part Two
The second part of the test is a ‘mini-presentation’. In thispart, each candidate is given a choice of three topics andhas one minute to prepare a piece of extended speechlasting approximately one minute. After each candidate hasspoken their partner is invited to ask a question about whathas been said.
Part Three
The third part of the test is a conversation between thecandidates. The interlocutor gives them a topic to discuss.The candidates are asked to speak together for about threeminutes. The interlocutor will support the conversation ifappropriate and then ask further questions related to themain theme.
Preparing for the Speaking Paper
Candidates should be familiar with the paired assessment asdiscussed in BEC Preliminary.
Students need to practise exchanging personal and non-personal information; at Vantage level it may be possible forstudents to practise talking about themselves in pairs with orwithout prompts (such as written questions). However,prompt materials are necessary for Parts Two and Three, andstudents could be encouraged to design these themselves ormay be provided with specially prepared sets. In smallclasses, students could discuss authentic materials as a groupprior to engaging in pairwork activities. Such activitiesfamiliarise students with the types of interactive skillsinvolved in asking and providing factual information, suchas: speaking clearly, formulating questions, listening carefullyand giving precise answers.
In the ‘mini-presentation’ candidates are being asked to showan ability to talk for an extended period (approximately oneminute). Discussion activities as well as giving short talks orpresentations should help to develop this skill.
In the final discussion in the Vantage Speaking test,candidates are also being tested on their ability to expressopinions, compare and contrast, concede points andpossibly reach a conclusion (although it is perfectlyacceptable for candidates to agree to differ). Any discussionactivities on a business theme that encourage students toemploy these skills will be beneficial. Group or classdiscussions are valuable ways of developing these skills.
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TEST OF SPEAKING
Time: 14 minutes
PART Format/Content Time Interaction Focus
1 Conversation between the About 3 minutes The interlocutor encourages the candidates tointerlocutor and each candidate. give information about themselves and to
express personal opinions.Giving personal information. Talkingabout present circumstances, pastexperiences and future plans, expressing opinions, speculating, etc.
2 A ‘mini-presentation’ by each candidate About 6 minutes The candidates are given prompts which on a business theme. generate a short talk on a business-related
topic.Organising a larger unit of discourse.Giving information and expressing and justifying opinions.
3 Two-way conversation between About 5 minutes The candidates are presented with a discussioncandidates followed by further on a business-related topic. The interlocutorprompting from the interlocutor. extends the discussion with prompts on related
topics.Expressing and justifying opinions,speculating, comparing and contrasting,agreeing and disagreeing, etc.
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PA
RT
TW
O
Task
She
et 2
A:
WH
AT
IS IM
PO
RTA
NT
WH
EN
…?
Pre
parin
g fo
r a jo
b in
terv
iew
• S
tudy
ing
the
job
adve
rtis
emen
t
• F
indi
ng o
ut a
bout
the
com
pany
• • B:
WH
AT
IS IM
PO
RTA
NT
WH
EN
…?
Dec
idin
g w
heth
er to
atte
nd a
con
fere
nce
• V
enue
• S
peak
ers
• • C:
WH
AT
IS IM
PO
RTA
NT
WH
EN
…?
Dev
elop
ing
new
pro
duct
s
• M
arke
t Res
earc
h
• C
osts
Invo
lved
• •
BE
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anta
ge –
PA
RT
TW
O
Task
She
et 1
A:
WH
AT
IS IM
PO
RTA
NT
WH
EN
…?
Sel
ectin
g ap
plic
ants
for a
job
• W
ork
Exp
erie
nce
•P
erso
nal Q
ualit
ies
• • B:
WH
AT
IS IM
PO
RTA
NT
WH
EN
…?
Cho
osin
g a
new
sup
plie
r
• P
rices
and
Dis
coun
ts
• R
eput
atio
n
• • C: W
HA
T IS
IMP
OR
TAN
T W
HE
N…
?
Aim
ing
to im
prov
e pr
oduc
tion
qual
ity
• U
p-to
-dat
e eq
uipm
ent
• S
taff
Trai
ning
• •
SPEAKING SAMPLE TASKS Ta
sk S
heet
for
Can
dida
te A
Task
She
et fo
r C
andi
date
B
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Task
She
et 1
Fo
reig
n B
usi
nes
s Tr
ip
Your
com
pany
is a
ttend
ing
a tr
ade
fair
in a
fore
ign
coun
try
for t
he fi
rst t
ime.
You
have
bee
n as
ked
to h
elp
with
the
prep
arat
ions
for t
he tr
ip.
Dis
cuss
the
situ
atio
n to
geth
er, a
nd d
ecid
e:
•
w
hat t
rave
l and
acc
omm
odat
ion
arra
ngem
ents
you
will
nee
d to
mak
e be
fore
the
trip
•
whi
ch k
inds
of b
usin
ess
cust
oms
in th
e fo
reig
n co
untr
y it
wou
ld b
e us
eful
to k
now
abo
ut,
and
how
to fi
nd o
ut a
bout
thes
e be
fore
the
trip
Can
dida
tes’
Task
She
et
BEC Vantage - PART THREE
ASSESSMENT OF SPEAKING
Candidates are assessed on their own performance and notin relation to each other, according to the followinganalytical criteria: Grammar and Vocabulary, DiscourseManagement, Pronunciation and InteractiveCommunication. These criteria are interpreted at Vantagelevel. Assessment is based on performance in the whole testand is not related to particular parts of the test.
Both examiners assess the candidates. The Assessor appliesdetailed, analytical scales, and the Interlocutor applies aGlobal Achievement Scale which is based on the analyticalscales.
Grammar and Vocabulary
This refers to range and accuracy as well as the appropriateuse of grammatical and lexical forms. At BEC Vantage level,a range of grammar and vocabulary is needed to deal withthe tasks. At this level candidates should be accurateenough, and use sufficiently appropriate vocabulary, toconvey their intended meanings.
Discourse Management
This refers to the coherence, extent and relevance of eachcandidate’s individual performance. Contributions should beadequate to deal with the BEC Vantage level tasks. At times,candidates’ utterances may be inappropriate in length.
Pronunciation
This refers to the candidate’s ability to producecomprehensible utterances. At BEC Vantage level, meaningsare conveyed through the appropriate use of stress, rhythm,intonation and clear individual sounds, although there maybe occasional difficulty for the listener.
Interactive Communication
This refers to the candidate’s ability to take an active part inthe development of the discourse. At BEC Vantage level,candidates should be sensitive to turn-taking and sustain theinteraction by initiating and responding appropriately.Hesitation may, at times, demand patience of the listener.
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Foreign Business Trip
Your company is attending a trade fair in a foreign country for the first time.
You have been asked to help with the preparations for the trip.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
• what travel and accommodation arrangements you will need to make before the trip
• which kinds of business customs in the foreign country it would be useful to know about,
and how to find out about these before the trip