劍橋商務英語BEC閱讀題目及解析

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劍橋商務英語BEC閱讀題目

When two brands are better than one

Elena Alvarez takes a look at the effectiveness of marketing partnerships

In the corporate world, rivalry is more common than co-operation. But increasingly; companies have been setting aside their differences; the new idea is that two brand names are better than one. Sharing databases, strategies and communication systems can be the most effective means of attracting customers. (G )This partnership will give it access to the utility company's database of thousands of corporate clients, who will be offered special deals on all its products.

The philosophy behind such joint ventures is simple. In economically challenging times, marketing partnerships provide a cost-effective method of increasing brand awareness and sales. As one expert in the field puts it, 'Clever marketing partnerships allow brands to target the right people, cutting down the above-the-line spend.' (8) .....E....... It is better to simplify the

process and give them one focal point.

Recent research has indicated that marketing partnerships can be up to 27 per cent more productive than single company campaigns.(9) .......B..... In particular, it is ideal for bringing instant branding to companies that lack immediate consumer appeal.

One well-established UK phone manufacturer, ITB, was quick to realise this, and formed an alliance with 7a/fc a leading women's magazine. The phone company has benefited from the strong branding of the magazine, which has its customer base among professional women in their early 20s. (10) ....D........ This combined approach also offered ITB a quick route into image enhancement, and this is true of many other marketing partnership deals. To give another illustration, it is no coincidence that some well-known cartoon characters are currently enhancing the image of Nasco household cleaning products.(11), of course, this strategy should also guarantee that consumers' children insist on these products rather than rival brands.

However, while association with a powerful brand can give a significant boost to sales, being connected to a devalued brand can have a negative result. The problems of one brand inevitably impact on the other in a partnership.(12).....A.......A company may take years to recover from this sort of bad publicity. Indeed, there are numerous examples of disastrous marketing alliances. In such cases, not enough thought has been given to the partnership and the reasons behind it, and it has brought little value to either the customer or the companies involved.

A In such circumstances, the effects are frequently major and can be long-lasting.

B Some experts therefore predict that this style of marketing will take up an increasingly large proportion of many companies' total marketing budgets.

C Successful marketing partnerships can consequently bring a financial advantage even to small and struggling companies such as these.

D In return, its partner enjoys a broader distribution platform from which to promote its brand.

E With only a finite number of consumers in any target market, there is no need to overwhelm prospects with competing messages from different organisations.

F These are fairly standard items, but clearly the company hopes to transform them by broadening the associations consumers have with the brand.

G For example, Profit Plus, a large UK financial services company, has recently joined forces with a leading supplier of electricity.

　　劍橋商務英語BEC閱讀題目講解

這篇文章名爲《When two brands are better than one》，兩個品牌強於一個，講的是市場合作(marketing partnership)的好處。第一段總論這種合作的好處，可以共享數據、策略和交流系統。第二、三段接着說市場合作的優勢，好的市場合作可以使品牌對準正確的目標人羣，同時提高生產效率。第四段是列舉實例來說明這種合作是怎樣有利於雙方的，第五段講的是與一個貶值的品牌合作的後果。

第八題。第二段前面說市場合作提供了一種提高品牌知名度和銷售的有成本效益的方法。然後一個專家指出市場合作可以使品牌對準目標人羣，並削減線上支出。第八空的後面說使過程簡化會比較好。整個這一段都是在講市場合作的好處，從內容上看，E是最適合填入第八空的。但E選項的內容需要重點理解：任何一個目標市場上都只有有限的消費者，沒有必要通過從不同的機構競爭信息的方式來贏得潛在客戶。E的說法是從反面來證明市場合作的優勢和必要性。prospects在這裏是潛在客戶的意思。

這題可以輔助以排除法來做。題目給定的幾個選項，很多都有代詞、短語等等，用在這裏銜接不上。比如A的in such circumstances，B的therefore，C的such as these，D的in return，F的these。如果要選擇這些選項，上下文一定會有相應的提示。

第九題。前面介紹說市場合作比單個公司單打獨鬥的效率提高了27%。B選項無論是內容還是連詞therefore都能用在這裏：一些專家因此推測這種市場類型在很多公司總的市場預算中佔據的比重將逐漸增加。不選A，因爲前面並沒有與the effects相關的內容。C不選，上文沒有提到companies such as these，D的in return和F的these也不匹配。

第十題。這一段是以兩個公司的市場合作爲例來做進一步說明的，一個手機生產商和一個女性雜誌的合作。第十空前面說手機公司從雜誌的強烈品牌中獲益。這一空的後面有一個this combined approach，從內容上看，第十空應該說相應的雜誌是如何從手機公司身上獲益。D選項的內容完全吻合，詞組in return可以算是一個答案信號：作爲回報，它的合作者擁有了一個更寬廣的分發平臺，並從中提高了品牌的知名度。

第十一題。這一空前面是列舉的另一個例子，一些知名的卡通形象正在加強Nasco家用清潔產品的形象。也就是說家用清潔產品公司正在和卡通公司合作。這一空的後面也是講的這種策略有什麼好處。所以這一空應該填入兩個公司的合作的原因、好處等等。F的內容吻合：這些都是相當標準化的產品，但是很明顯公司是想通過加大消費者和品牌之間的聯繫來進行一些改變。These are fairly standard items，說的是這些家用清潔產品。

第十二題。最後一段講的是和一個貶值的品牌合作所帶來的影響。前面說不可避免的會影響到(inevitably impact on the other)，空格後面有一個may take many years to recover，所以應該選A，A的the effects正好對應於前面的impact：在這種情況下，這些影響通常很大並且會持續很久。

最後強調下prospect

在商務英語裏，這個詞有自己特定的含義：潛在客戶。

a person, company, etc. who is a possible customer

e.g:We follow up the most likely prospects first.

　　BEC高級高頻詞彙講解

abandon

【一般語境】

vt.

①離棄，丟棄

②遺棄，拋棄 [同義]desert, forsake, quit [反義]maintain, retain

③放棄 [同義]give up

常用短語

abandon oneself to放縱，沉迷於……

【商務語境】

vt.

①放棄，捨棄

②〖保險〗委付(指爲獲得保險賠款，將部分損失的貨物讓給保險商)

商務短語

abandon a claim 放棄索賠

abate

【商務語境】

vt.&vi.

減少，減弱，減輕

商務短語

abate an action 撤銷訴訟

abate part of a price 對商品打折扣

abate tax 減稅

abide

【一般語境】

vt.

容忍 [同義]bear, stand, tolerate

常用短語

abide by 遵守(法律、協議等)

【商務語境】

vt.

遵守，信守(協議、合同等)(與by連用)

商務短語

abide by the contract 遵守合同

abode

【商務語境】

n.住所，家，營業所

abstract

【一般語境】

adj.

①抽象的 [反義]concrete

②抽象派的

n.

①摘要，梗概

②抽象派藝術作品

vt.

①作……的摘要

②提取，抽取

商務短語

abstract book 收支摘要簿

abstract invoice 簡要發票

abstract of title 產權說明，產業契約摘要

abstract statement 摘要說明書

account

【一般語境】

n.

①記述，描述，報告 [同義]description, story, information; list, record, sum

②賬，賬戶

③解釋，說明

vi. (for)

①說明……的原因，是……的原因

②(在數量、比例方面)佔

常用短語

be much accounted of 被重視

bring (call) to account 要求解釋;責問，質問

by (from) all accounts 據大家所知

find no account in 不合算

hold … in great account 極重視

keep account with 與……繼續交易

leave out of account 不考慮

on no (any) account 絕不

on sb’s account 爲自身利益，自行負責，依靠自己

【商務語境】

n.

①賬戶，戶頭，客戶，銀行存款

②賬目，賬

③敘述，報告，說明

vi.(與for連用)

①(數量等)佔

②解釋，說明

商務短語

absorption account 成本分攤賬戶

account balance 賬戶餘額

account bill 賬單

account bought 購入賬戶

account classification 賬戶分類

account code 賬戶代號

account holder 顧客賬戶

account of advance 預付賬戶

account of … ……的賬戶

checking account 支票戶頭

current account 活期戶頭

savings account 儲蓄戶頭

accountancy

【商務語境】

n.會計工作(或職位)，會計學

accountant

【商務語境】

n.會計人員，會計師

商務短語

accountant bankruptcy 破產覈算員

accountant in charge 主管會計師

assistance accountant 會計助理員

certified public accountant審計會計師

chartered accountant 註冊會計師

general accountant 總會計師

senior accountant 主任會計師

tax accountant 稅務會計

應用：

1. The company decided to abandon the ship to the insurance company.

公司決定將船委付給保險公司。

2. The demand for refrigerator has considerably abated.

對冰箱的需求已經顯著減少。

3. A contract once signed should be strictly observed and any neglect to abide by it means a break.

合同一經簽訂就應該嚴格執行，任何忽視都意味着違約。

4. The bank provides many services other than checking accounts.

除了支票賬戶以外，這家銀行還提供許多其他的服務項目。

accounting

【商務語境】

n.會計，會計學，結算，決算

商務短語

accounting book 會計賬簿

accounting classification 會計科目分類

accounting event 會計業務

accounting evidence 會計憑證

accounting firm 會計事務所

accounting ratio 會計比率