English for Business

Transcription

1 BGF NYTK English for Business Sample C1 Reading Comprehension 60 minutes 20 marks WRITE ALL THE ANSWERS ON THE ANSWER SHEET. Read the following texts and answer the questions. Text 1 The self-service economy Self-service technologies, such as websites and kiosks, bring both risks and rewards So you want to withdraw cash from your bank account? Do it yourself. Want to install a broadband internet connection? Do it yourself. Need a boarding card issued for your flight? Do it yourself. Thanks to the proliferation of websites, kiosks and automated phone systems, you can also track packages, manage your finances, switch phone tariffs, organise your own holiday (juggling offers from different websites), and select your own theatre seats while buying tickets. These are all tasks that used to involve human interaction. But now they have been subsumed into the self-service economy Many people complain about companies outsourcing work to low-wage economies: but how many notice that firms are increasingly outsourcing work to their own customers? In theory, companies can save money by replacing human workers with automated self-service systems, while customers gain more choice and control and get quicker service. There is even talk of self-service doing for the service sector what mass production did for manufacturing, by enabling the delivery of services cheaply and on a massive scale. Surely the expansion of selfservice into more and more areas is to be welcomed? Not necessarily. When it is done well, self-service can benefit both companies and customers alike. But when done badly who has not found themselves trapped in a series of endless touch-tone menus? it can infuriate and alienate customers. In their desire to cut costs, many companies deliberately make it difficult to get through to a human operator; yet their phone or web-based self-service systems do not always allow for every eventuality. In areas where self-service is only just starting to take hold, this is less of a problem: fuming customers can, after all, always take their business elsewhere. But if every bank were to adopt impenetrable self-service systems, disgruntled customers would no longer be able to express their discontent by voting with their feet. Such a scenario ought to provide an opportunity for some firms to differentiate themselves: some banks, for example, already promise that their telephone-banking services always offer the option of talking to a human operator. But in return for guaranteed access to humans, many firms will simply charge more. As a result, people who prefer not to use self-service systems (such as the elderly) will be forced to pay higher prices. This is already happening: many travel firms offer discounts to customers who book online. Buy your tickets the old-fashioned way and you must pay more. Firms are, in effect, introducing penalty charges to persuade customers to use self-service systems. Some customers might resent this.

2 Another objection to self-service is that while it saves companies money, it does not always save their customers time. In the best cases, it does, of course: checking yourself in at the airport or tracking your own packages on a shipping firm's website can be quicker than queuing or making a phone call. But as more and more tasks are unloaded on to customers, they may start to yearn for the (largely mythical) days of old-fashioned service. Again, this ought to provide an opportunity for specialists (such as travel agents) who can offer a convenient, one-stop-shop service. All of this suggests that there are limits to how far self-service can be taken. Companies that go too far down the self-service route or do it ineptly are likely to find themselves being punished. Instead, a balance between self-service and conventional forms of service is required. Companies ought to offer customers a choice, and should encourage the use of self-service, for those customers that want it, through service quality, not coercion. Self-service works best when customers decide to use a well designed system of their own volition; it infuriates most when they are forced to use a bad system. Above all, self-service is no substitute for good service. The Economist I. Find words or expressions in the text which have the same meaning as the following. II. 1. make someone feel that they do not belong in a place or group (par 3) 2. with a definite intention, not by chance or by accident (par 3) 3. impossible to get into or get through (par 4) 4. voice dissatisfaction (par 4) 5. a situation that could possibly happen ( par 5) 6. find something by looking for evidence that shows where they have gone (par 6) 7. the use of force or threats to make someone do something (par 7) Choose the appropriate options according to the text. 8. Self service systems A) may make clients angry B) provide all the services C) are less problematic D) make it possible to vote with one s feet 9. Penalty charges are introduced A) to avoid higher prices B) to win over the elderly C) to encourage self service D) to express resentment

3 A B C Text 2 Give us your tired computers A new plan to recycle old PCs may forestall regulation The computer industry is built on the assumption that PCs and electrical devices are replaced every few years. It is a strategy that leaves tons of electronic junk in its wake. Over 130,000 PCs are replaced every day in America alone, and only a tenth or so are recycled. Ingredients such as cadmium, mercury and lead can do terrible things to people and places. In Europe, such e-waste is the fastest growing type of refuse, accounting for 8% of all municipal rubbish. Regulators have taken note. In California, legislation to levy a surcharge on computer sales to defray recycling costs took effect this month. (A European Union directive in 2003 requires equipment-makers to recycle, but it has not yet been implemented in national laws.) Manufacturers such as IBM, Dell and HP have been trying to deflect further legislation by introducing their own recycling programmes. But they have had limited success partly because they tend to charge for recycling unwanted machines. Apple's price for taking back one of its computers in America is $30. Now ebay, the world's leading online auction business, has come up with an innovative way to encourage people to sell, donate or recycle their old machines over the internet. A webbased program reads the redundant computer's components and gives its specifications (like its memory and processor speed). Owners can then ascertain the value of their old PC, put it up for sale and get a special mailing kit to simplify shipping. The site also makes it easy to donate a PC to charity or get it to a nearby recycler. D The scheme is no altruistic act of corporate social responsibility. It began as an attempt by Patrick Jabal, manager of the site's computer and networking category (which does $2.5 billion-worth of transactions a year), to drum up more business. E F Watching people's buying and selling patterns on ebay's site, Mr Jabal, an entrepreneur with an MBA from Harvard Business School, noticed an unmet demand for cheap, old PCs. Though they were plentiful in the closets of ebay users, listing and selling them was problematic. So, in order to increase their supply on the site, he set out to overcome the difficulties that users had often no more than an inability to remember the vital statistics of the machine they had been using. Then he stumbled on the issue of waste and realised that the company could do even more. It was a way to meet a business objective, help the environment, and help confused consumers, he says. It may also turn out to be a clever market-based way to avoid more regulation. The Economist

4 III. Decide which paragraphs (A F) are summarised below. 10. Efforts to recycle and trade-in 11. Mankind endangered by thrown-away computers 12. How to get rid of old computers through the web 13. Facilitating the sales of old computers IV. Answer the following questions. Choose not more than five words from the text. 14. How have computer companies recently solved the problem of recycling in California? 15. Why is the 2003 EU directive not widespread yet? 16. How do large manufacturers try to avoid regulations? 17. How does ebay help people to sell/donate/recycle their computers? 18. What was the intention of Patrick Jabal s attempt? V. Choose the appropriate options according to the text. 19. The recycling programmes of IBM Dell and HP were not fully successful because A) they limited the number of recyclable computers B) the price of Apple was lower C) they usually require a recycling fee D) the machines were not always wanted 20. After customers have decided to get rid of their computers over the Internet they have to A) look for a shipping firm B) ask somebody to transport it C) get help from ebay D) have to evaluate their old PC

5 FIGYELEM! KEY Kérjük, ide ragasszon egy ÍRÁSBELI azonosító kódot! Hiánya esetén dolgozata érvénytelen. BGF NYTK English for Business Sample C1 Reading Comprehension 60 minutes First Marker: Second Marker: Score: 20 marks Text 1 1. trapped 2. deliberately 3. impenetrable 4. fuming 5. As a result 6. tracking 7. coercion 8. A 9. C Text B 11. A 12. C 13. E 14. By levying surcharge 15. Not yet implemented in national laws 16. Introducing their own recycling programme 17. With a web-based reading program 18. To drum up business 19. C 20. C