Test for the Certificate of Advanced Career English

Module I Listening Tasks (40%)

Task 1 (10%)

Directions: In this task there are some key words taken from the sentences concerning the Steps of Conducting a Market Survey. First, you should listen to the key words marked “a” through “k” in the following box. Then you should listen to the sentences and decide which key word(s) each sentence contains. After that, you should type the letter that represents the key word(s) in the corresponding blank. Each sentence will be spoken twice. The first one is done for you as an example:

You will hear: (Generally speaking, there are 10 steps to conduct a market survey.)

From what we hear we can decide that the word “steps” is contained in the sentence. Therefore, the answer is “a”.

Example:   a 

Step 1: _____   Step 2: _____   Step 3: _____   Step 4: _____   Step 5: _____

Step 6: _____   Step 7: _____   Step 8: _____   Step 9: _____   Step 10: _____

Task 2 (10%)

Directions: In this task there are ten recorded short conversations. For each conversation there is a statement. The conversations will be spoken twice. After hearing each conversation, you should decide if the statement is true or false and click on T for True and F for False. If you want to change your answer, just click on your new choice.

□T  □F  1. The woman is applying for the position as a secretary.

□T  □F  2. They will make a survey about how their products are received at the market.

□T  □F  3. Tom has difficulties communicating with people.

□T  □F  4. John balances his work and family by having a good plan.

□T  □F  5. An instruction manual in Spanish is also available.

□T  □F  3. John is going to make a presentation at the meeting.

□  T  □F  7. Jim will be responsible for the tea break.

□T  □F  8. Anna has no work experience.

□T  □F  9. The woman thinks the new image of B&G shampoo is not fashionable.

□T  □F  10. Miss Wood didn’t receive any professional training.  

Task 3 (10%)

Directions: In this task there are two dialogues with five questions. Both the dialogues and questions will be spoken twice. When you hear a question, you should decide on the correct answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D) given on the computer screen, and then click on your choice. If you want to change your answer, just click on your new choice.

Dialogue 1

Q1. Who will be the team leader for the project?

    A) Mike.

    B) Rubin.

    C) Bob.

    D) Jim.

Q2. What is Bob good at?

    A) Working out promotion strategies.

    B) Designing promotion flyers.

    C) Writing promotion reports.

    D) Making promotion plans.

Dialogue 2

Q3: What’s Dick Robinson’s major at college?

A) Business English.         B) Marketing.

C) Computer Science.        D) International Trade.

Q4: How much will Dick be paid for the job during the internship?

A)     2,500 yuan per month.

B)     1,600 yuan per month.

C)     900 yuan per month

D)     1,500 yuan per month.

Q5: What’s TRUE about the result of the interview?

A)     The company employed Dick.

B)     The company refused Dick.

C)     The company would inform Dick soon.

D)     The company would interview him again.

Task 4 (10%)

Directions: In this task there is a short passage with five blanks. The passage will be spoken twice. During the second reading, there will be a pause after each blank. During the pause you should fill in the blank with what you hear.

A career goal helps you to     1    what you want to do for a living. It directs you and helps you to accomplish what you want. A career goal can be a specific job, for example, an engineer or a programmer, or a     2    you like to work in, such as education or transportation. Besides, a career goal may be helpful for you to     3    your talents, skills, interests that you wouldn’t have known by yourself. When you have this goal, you will be guided to do what you want to do, not just changing jobs one after another     4     . Career planning will make you become confident in your career and your life. Once you choose a career, you ought to think about the steps to     5        .

Module II Reading Tasks (35%)

Task 1 (10%)  

Directions: In this task there is a passage with five questions or unfinished statements followed by four choices marked A), B), C), and D). You should choose the correct answer and click on it. If you want to change your answer, just click on your new choice.

Product presentations are an important part of selling your product to prospective (预期的) customers. Since this will be the customer’s first introduction to your company and potentially your product, proper preparation is vital to presenting your product in the best light possible. Before you even start building your presentation, be sure you know the following information:

Objective - At the end of your product presentation you want something to happen, either you want a customer to move forward to evaluate your product, to buy your product, your sales people eager to sell your product, or an investor or your management to provide additional funding for your product.

Audience - Who are you giving the presentation to? (Prospective customers, investors, management)  What is their industry like right now? What are their needs and immediate concerns? What are their individual goals?

Orientation - How much does your audience know of your product and other similar products? What is special about the way this audience looks at your product? What are their special interests?

Target presenter - Who will be giving the presentation (you, sales person, company executive)?

It is helpful to write the above information down before building the product presentation so that you can go back and review it if you forget any given point.

1. Proper preparation for building a product presentation is vital because ________.

A) it is an important part of selling the product

B) it is now too difficult to sell any product

C) the sales people are eager to sell the product

D) the audience has special interest in the product

2. One of the purposes of making a product presentation is to _________.

A) make a first introduction to the company

B) evaluate the quality of the product

C) sell the product to prospective investors

D) invite more funding for the product

3. According to the passage, a product presentation is given only to ________.

A) the prospective customers

B) the product investors

C) the company executives

D) the people concerned

4. It is important to write down a list of items for preparation just in case ________.

A) you should forget some point

B) the boss should want to see it

C) the presenter should like to review it

D) the audience should be interested in it

5. When preparing a product presentation, the following should be taken into consideration EXCEPT ________.

   A) the audience

   B) the presenter

   C) the location

   D) the aim

Task 2 (10%) 

Directions: In this task there is a passage followed by an incomplete outline. You should read the passage carefully and fill in each blank with no more than three words.

Be Successful with Telephone Interviews

Sometimes companies will ask you for a telephone interview before a face to face one. Once you are ready to make or receive the call, make sure all TVs and radios are switched off and that you are in a quiet room with the door shut. When talking on the phone your tone of voice is all important. It might help to do a practice interview with a friend or family member.

When you answer the phone, announce your name in an enthusiastic way and, throughout the interview, sound interested and energetic. Be concise, give short answers. Speak slowly and clearly and take your time. Use the person’s title, Mr. or Mrs. and their last name, but don’t address the interviewer by his or her first name unless asked to. Smile! This will change the tone of your voice and send a positive image to the listener.

Closing the interview is an important ability in itself. You need to show your enthusiasm at some stage by asking for a date to meet for a face to face interview.  

After the interview take notes about what you were asked and how you answered. Send a thank you letter or email which reinforces your interest in the job.

Task 3 (15%)

Directions: In this task there are five items concerning workplace English. Each item is followed by four statements marked A), B), C) and D). You should choose the one that best describes it and click on your choice. If you want to change your answer, just click on your new choice.

1. Internet users in Hong Kong between 2008 and 2010   

A)     The main users of the Internet in Hongkong are adults between 31 to 50 years old.

B)     There were steady increases for older users, rising from 4% in 2008 to 10% in 2010.

C)     The number of children under 15 using the Internet dropped from 2008 to 2010.

D)     There were 44% of those between 16 and 30 years old using the Internet in 2008.

2. A survey about changes in modes of travel in England between 1990 and 2005.

A) The number of miles walked, cycled and travled by train all decreased.

B) The number of miles driven by car was 23 in 1990 and rose to 68 in 2005.

C) The number of miles traveled by bus decreased the most of all.

D) The number of miles travled by other means decreased rapidly.

3. A memo  

A) The aim of the memo is to invite suggestions from overseas trainees.

B) The HR Manager has finished all the arrangements for the scheduled program.

C) The Production Manager is supposed to give a speech to the trainees on 26 October.

D) The scheduled program will last for a week, starting on 26 October.

4. Instructions for how to use a digital camera  

A) You must turn the camera on before removing the lens cover.

B) Put the target mark in the center of the viewfinder on the subject for better focus.

C) You can take one picture after another when the green light is still flashing.

D) Use the LCD screen to compose your photograph to save your battery power.

5. A letter   

A) The goods J. Wong’s company ordered were not delivered on time.

B) J. Wong’s company suffered a lot of loss because of the wrong goods.

C) Mr. Choi wrote to apologize for the error in the shipment of the goods.

D) Mr. Choi was required to deliver the shortfall as soon as possible.

Module III Writing Tasks (25%)

Task 1 (10%)

Directions: In this task there is a description of the pie graph entitled Ideal Career. You should fill in each blank in the description with no more than three words based on the information in the pie graph.

Ideal Career

The pie graph shows the result of a questionnaire survey conducted by the Foreign Languages Department of a vocational college on students majoring in Business English about their ideal careers after graduation.

 As can be seen from the chart above, most of the students surveyed chose ____1____ as their favorite career, while only ____2____ of the students would like to devote themselves to a career as a salesperson. The second most favored job is ____3____, which also attracted many of the students. It’s interesting enough to notice that the number of those wishing to work as a customs declarant equals that of those wishing to make a career as a ____4_____. In addition to the mainstream jobs listed on the questionnaire, there are still as many as ____5_____ of the future employees made their choices in other areas that are not covered by the survey. It is strongly suggested that further investigation be made into those areas so that proper adjustments might be made in the teaching programs.

Task 2 (15%)

Directions: In this task you are required to write an application letter with the information given below. You should write about 100 words.

求 职 者：Li Qiang

申请职位：salesperson

公告地点：bulletin board

所学专业：International Trade

就读学院：Lantian Vocational College

所学课程：all the required courses

考证情况：Salesperson Certificate; Certificate of Advanced Career English

性格特点：attentive, aggressive, easy-going, experienced in communicating with people

随函附件：resume, some copies of certificates

An Application Letter

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Module IV Specialized Tasks (20%)

Directions: In this module there are four subject areas named Business Administration, IT, Science and Engineering and Humanities. You should choose ONE of them and complete the tasks in it.

Click on the one subject area you choose.

□ Business Administration    □ IT    □ Science and Engineering    □ Humanities

Business Administration

Task 1 (5%)

Directions: In this task there are ten English terms numbered 1 through 10 in Column A). You should match them with their Chinese equivalents marked A through J in Column B and type the corresponding letter in the right blank.

1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4. ____ 5. ____ 6. ____ 7. ____ 8. ____ 9. ____ 10. ____

Task 2 (15%) 

Directions: In this task there is a passage for you to translate into Chinese.

Chinese value business relationship establishment and also business networking as the most important features of companies involved in the business of global sourcing. The Chinese wholesale (批发)  market looks like a huge web with many connections and links useful for global sourcing. The Chinese pose heavy faith (十分重视) in the business and personal contacts. “Guan Xi” in Chinese relates to good relationship with persons, business owners and government officials and a wide social network with others.

IT  

Task 1 (5%)

Directions: In this task there are ten English terms numbered 1 through 10 in Column A). You should match them with their Chinese equivalents marked A through J in Column B and type the corresponding letter in the right blank.

1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4. ____ 5. ____ 6. ____ 7. ____ 8. ____ 9. ____ 10. ____

Task 2 (15%)  

Directions: In this task there is a passage for you to translate into Chinese.

When we’re ready to go and have arranged a time for the website launch, we’ll upload your files to your server, configure and double-check everything to make sure there are no errors or outstanding problems with the launch, and pull the trigger (启动) when you say go. Be aware that by this point we will have received full payment from you. We will continue to work with you for a specified period of time after launch. The hours are bundled with (捆绑) your package and are offered free of charge.

Science and Engineering

Task 1 Identify Technical Terms (5%)

Directions: In this task there are ten English terms numbered 1 through 10 in Column A). You should match them with their Chinese equivalents marked A through J in Column B and type the corresponding letter in the right blank.

1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4. ____ 5. ____ 6. ____ 7. ____ 8. ____ 9. ____ 10. ____

Task 2 (15%)  

Directions: In this task there is a passage for you to translate into Chinese.

Carbon dioxide is widely used by the food industry, the oil industry, and the chemical industry. It is used in many consumer products that require pressured gas because it is inexpensive and nonflammable (不可燃的). Life jackets often contain pressured carbon dioxide for quick inflation (充气). Aluminum cans (铝罐) of CO2 are also sold as supplies of pressured gas for airguns, inflating bicycle tires, and for making carbonated (含碳酸气的) water. Rapid vaporization (蒸发) of liquid carbon dioxide is used for blasting in coal mines. High concentrations (浓度) of carbon dioxide can also be used to kill pests.

Humanities  

Task 1 (5%)

Directions: In this task there are ten English terms numbered 1 through 10 in Column A) You should match them with their Chinese equivalents marked A through J in Column B and type the corresponding letter in the right blank.

1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4. ____ 5. ____ 6. ____ 7. ____ 8. ____ 9. ____ 10. ____

Task 2 (15%)  

Directions: In this task there is a passage for you to translate into Chinese.

Why is it so difficult to fall asleep when you are overtired? There is no one answer that applies to every individual. But many people fail to note the distinction between fatigue (疲倦) --- physical tiredness --- and sleepiness, the inability to stay awake. It's possible to feel "tired" physically and still be unable to fall asleep, because while your body may be exhausted, you don't feel sleepy. To fall asleep, you need adequate time to unwind (放松), even if you feel fatigued. It's not so easy to simply "turn off."