VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HCMC SAMPLE TEST 1 FACULTY OF ECONOMICS (2 nd year) DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES Duration: 75 minutes ______________________________________________________________________________ I. PRONUNCIATION (10 marks, 1 mark for each correct answer) A. Which underlined part is pronounced differently from the others? 1. a. founder b. accounting c. pound d. encourage 2. a. profit b. deposit c. possible d. corporate 3. a. launches b. changes c. competes d. produces 4. a. contacts b. books c. consumes d. helps 5. a. admit b. avoid c. bad-mannered d. appropriate B. Which word has a different stress pattern from the others? 6. a. etiquette b. improvement c. strategy d. company 7. a. democratic b. available c. particular d. reliable 8. a. itinerary b. opportunity c. manufacturer d. multinational 9. a. formal b. patient c. honest d. polite 10. a. practical b. important c. respectful d. efficient II. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR (20 marks, 1 marks for each correct answer) A. VOCABULARY. Choose the word (a, b, c or d) that best completes each sentence: 11. If customers ask for your help, always respond positively. Don’t ________ emails or phone calls just because you are busy. a. ignore b. avoid c. admit d. reply 12. We work on new products and ________ old ones. We have to keep up to date what is going on in the outside world and have close contact with Marketing and Production. a. refresh b. improve c. make d. innovate 13. In business situations we often have to meet new people, and first impressions are important to help relationships with new ______ get off to a good start. a. relations b. partnership c. friendship d. contacts 14. What passes as a good _________ can also vary from country to country. The best advice for business persons when planning a business visit is that it is a good idea to do research into the social customs of the country that they are visiting. a. style b. manners c. way of living d. appearance 15. Modern technology means that there are now a number of areas where the rules of behavior are evolving all the time, such as the ______ of using mobile phones, business letters versus emails, etc. Good manners are often simply a way of showing respect. a. rituals b. communication c. etiquette d. skills 16. Neither has any _________ at Semco. A person’s appearance is not a factor in hiring or promotion. Everyone knows what he or she likes or needs to wear. Feel at ease – wear just your common sense. a. importance b. efficiency c. necessity d. role 17. Many positions at Semco carry with them _________ authority. But efforts to pressure subordinates or cause them to work out of fear or insecurity, or behavior that shows any sign of disrespect, are considered an unacceptable use of authority and will not be tolerated. a. level b. hierarchical c. crucial d. powerful 18. We want all our people to feel free to change and adapt their working area as they please. Painting walls or machines, adding plants, or decorating the space around you is up to you. The company has no _____ about this, and doesn’t want to have any. a. rules b. laws c. customs d. obligation 1 19. However, even with the development of computers and robotics, there are and always will be plenty of boring, mindless, repetitive and mechanical jobs in all three sectors of the economy, and lots of unskilled people who have to do them. So how do managers __________ people in such jobs? One solution is to give them some responsibilities, not as individuals but as part of a team. a. stimulate b. boost c. motivate d. abuse 20. It is logical to suppose that things like good labor relations, good working conditions, good wages and benefits, and job __________ motivate workers. a. safeguard b. security c. belief d. protection B. GRAMMAR. Choose the best answer for the following questions or sentences: 21. James: ___________________to come with us to a restaurant for dinner this evening? Joe: That would be nice. Thank you. a. Would you like c. Could you like b. Do you like d. Will you like 22. Daisy: ________ I have another cup of coffee, please? Mary: Sure. a. Would b. Can c. Will d. Do 23. James: I could bring the files to your office. Joe: ___________. a. That would be nice. c. Thanks, that’s very kind of you. b. Yes d. Certainly. 24. Bob: Can you give me a lift to the station, please? Joe: ___________. a. I’m pleased to. c. Not at the moment, thanks. b. Yes, please. d. Yes, no problem. 25. I _____ be grateful if you could send me a brochure and price list for you new products. a. am b. can c. should d. would 26. Steve: Is there anything you need for your presentation? Jack: ___________. a. Fine, thanks. c. Oh yes, could I have a desk to set up my laptop? b. That’s right. d. Yes, no problem 27. Jack: Yes. 54 percent of the new recruits are women not 51 percent, OK? Jill: ___________. a. Yes, I’ve got that. c. Certainly. b. That’s correct. d. Did you catch that? 28. The process of copying and printing the documents ______ about two minutes. a. takes b. is taking c. take d. is taken 29. Lola: Am I allowed to smoke anywhere? Ben: You _____ smoke in the smokers’ lounge on the second floor. You ______ smoke anywhere else for safety reasons. a. can/mustn’t . c. will/must. b. do/mustn’t. d. have to/must 30. It’s a tiring schedule, but he enjoys _______ his colleagues in the evening and ______ about the day’s work. a. to meet/to talk b. to meet/talking c. meeting/talking d. meeting/to talk III. READING (40 marks) A. Read the passage below and fill in each blank with one word (20 marks, 2 marks for each correct answer) 1. Have you noticed that a lot of familiar ________(31) are seen in movies and TV shows lately? This is called “product placement,” and many people believe that it is the ________ (32) of advertising. This is 2 how it works. A company gets one of their products included in a movie or TV show. For example, the main character uses one of the company’s computers or eats their cereal for breakfast. You may not ________ (33) realize that it is there, but just seeing a product briefly may ________ (34) you to buy it. Of course, the filmmaker needs to make sure you see the product name clearly! Sometimes the companies completely ________ (35) special versions of products so that the product name is easier to see. 31. a. brands b. parts c. events d. products 32. a. promotion b. future c. public d. powerful 33. a. finally b. possibly c. even d. terribly 34. a. allow b. suggest c. persuade d. want 35. a. design b. think c. invent d. do 2. During a job interview, your behavior, clothes, and speech are important. It’s important that you arrive on time and be polite, sincere, and organized. Most people don’t realize that the way one dresses for an interview is also important. If your clothes are ________ (36) or mismatched, the interviewer may think that you really don’t care about your ________ (37) and even your ________ (38) of work. Your ________ (39) doesn’t cost a fortune, but it should be neat and clean to make a good impression on the interviewer. Don’t borrow your friend’s clothes if they don’t fit well. This is one of the common mistakes that job seekers make: they don’t want to spend the money and end up losing a chance to get an ________ (30). 36. a. wrinkled b. messy c. old d. dirty 37. a. good shape b. appearance c. fitness d. style 38. a. character b. nature c. quality d. content 39. a. clothes b. looks c. jacket d. outfit 40. a. offer b. opportunity c. attempt d. order B. Read the passage below and choose the best answer for each question. (20 marks, 2 marks for each correct answer) Reading passage 1 Happy Staff is not the Full Answer Business gurus have been quick to highlight studies claiming to show that customer service is related to management style. These studies claim that the way service staff deal with their customers reflects clearly how they themselves are managed. Employees express attitudes, behaviors and emotions towards customers that reflect their own feelings towards their work, and these sentiments are determined by their managers. Customers then ‘catch’ these employee attitudes. This leads to the belief that employee morale is closely, directly and positively related to customer service satisfaction. Researchers have pointed out that even employees’ own perceptions of the quality of the service they provide are related to both their personal job satisfaction and productivity. They could be wrong but the theory has three principles:  When organizations treat their employees well, the employees treat their customers accordingly  When organizations and the work group have policies and practices aimed at maintaining service quality, customers will be happier with those services.  The more a company’s employees have contact with customers, the more its morale and organizational policies affect customer satisfaction. 3 The theory holds that the customer is king and needs superb treatment by service staff. Staff at the customer interface need to be supported, trained and directed by their supervisors to ensure the high-quality service. All people in the organization should be directed to this end, so the Chief Executive’s job is to help, support and advise the board, whose job it is to help, support and advise senior managers. Thus, all employees are support staff, attempting to support those vitally important staff who come into contact with the people who pay the salaries: customers. All service organizations invest in trying hard to get excellent customer service. Airlines, hotels, restaurants and so on conduct serious selection and training to get the sort of person who thrives in customer service. Stable extroverts of sufficient – though not sparkling – intellect seem ideal. Managers reply on many courses, feedback and incentives to keep up standards. And they are aware of the role of the demonstrating good behavior. But managers in the service industry also know that other factors beyond their control affect staff morale, mood and service. Irascible, demanding, downright rude customers can sap the morale of staff, no matter how well they are treated by their managers. Customer service may be emotional labor on a par with physical labor. There is the same level of exhaustion. And as customers demand more and more for less and less, the customer-facing staff bear the brunt. 41. Below are one-sentence summaries of each of the paragraph in the article. Put the summaries in the correct order. (i) There are three key issues in employee-customer relations. (ii) Studies have shown that the way staff are managed will affect the way they are seen by customers. (iii) Some factors in customer service are beyond managers’ control. (iv) Companies have lots of way of improving service staff performance. (v) All staff are support staff, directly or indirectly. a. (ii), (i), (v), (iv), (iii) b. (i), (iv), (ii), (v), (iii) c. (i), (iv), (iii), (v), (ii). d. (v), (iv), (ii), (i), (iii) 42. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. When you say the customer is king, you mean that the customer is more important than anyone else. b. Superb treatment is not very good. c. If you come into contact with someone, you avoid meeting them. d. If you conduct serious selection of staff, you do not care who works for you. 43. The word “morale” in the final paragraph means _________. a. the different ways in which people think about something. b. how happy you feel about your job and your results. c. how much a person or a group produces in a particular time. d. the way employees in an organization feel at a particular time. 44. Which of the following from the article best fits the blank? “When something happens that you cannot stop or change, it is __________ .” a. irascible b. beyond your control c. bearing the brunt d. emotional 45. Which of the following statement is the key message of the article? Choose the best alternative. a. In the end, organizations have no control over what happens between employees and customers. b. With the right policies, managers can have 100 percent control over employee-customer interaction. c. If you thrive in a particular place you enjoy being there and perform well. 4 d. Some studies say that the better managed employees are, the better they will interact with customers; however, there will always be situations where customers can be extremely difficult. Reading passage 2 An American leader in Europe Since Nancy McKinstry moved from New York to Europe a year a go to run Wolters Kluwer, the specialist publishing group, she has had plenty of experience of national and cultural differences in business. She has rarity value as an American woman at the head of a Dutch company, an issue she feels strongly about. ‘In Holland, there weren’t a lot of women in senior management. That is a legitimate criticism of the business community.’ says Ms McKinstry. ‘It’s changing, but very slowly. Often the schools don’t have any lunchtime programme so the children are expected to go home for lunch. If you’re a working parent, whether you are male or female, that’s pretty tough to accommodate as well as work. In the US you have more day care and more opportunities for women to balance working with having a family.’ Although an outsider by nationality, she is a corporate insider, having spent 13 years with the publisher, which produces journals and electronic information services for professionals in medicine, the law, the tax, accountancy and education, and reported sales of €3.4 bn ($4.2 bn) last year. The benefits of being an outsider are that I’m able to do things in Europe from a restructuring perspective that would be much more difficult if the chairman was a European.’ This includes cutting 1,600 jobs, or 8 percent of the workforce, as part of the three-year recovery strategy she announced last October. ‘People expect that Americans come in and have more of a bottom-line approach.’ But she admits it can be heavy going, even when the boss is American. ‘In certain geographies in Europe it can take you a year or two to reduce 100 positions. That was described to me as a board member. I understand now how these things work in a very different way. One of the things I’ve learnt in my time here is that in Europe there isn’t one approach,’ she says. ‘If you have a product or customer problem in France, there might be an approach that works extremely well. But if you took that same approach and tried to solve the exact problem in Holland, you might fail.’ She points to differences in communication style. ‘The American tend to be pretty direct, but optimistic. In other geographies, the communication is more subtle. You have to really listen not only to what people are saying but what they’re not saying. In southern Europe, there’s far more nuance to what people are saying. You often find they don’t want to say ‘No’ to you, especially as the chairman, but in fact they may not be able to achieve what you’ve asked them. I try to listen really hard, and to say: ‘How are you going to meet this goal?’ 46. Read through the whole article. Which of these international issues is not mentioned? a. Women in top management b. Communication styles c. Punctuality at meetings d. The degree of difficulty involved in firing employees 47. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. It is easy for parents in Holland to deal with the lunchtime arrangements for their children. b. Work-life balance is harder to achieve for women in the US than in Holland. c. Nancy McKinstry recently joined Wolters Kluwer from another company. d. It is easier for an American manager to do certain things in Europe than it would be for a European manager. 48. The expression “a board member” in paragraph 5 means _____________. a. a difficult manager. b. a boss. c. a senior company director. d. an employee. 49. Which of the following from the article best fits the blank? “If a criticism is correct, it is __________ .” a. senior b. legitimate c. strong d. subtle 50. What is the key message of the article? Choose the best alternative. 5 a. It is surprising that lunch arrangements for Dutch children are not more suited to working women, but the government is going to change this situation so as to give Dutch families a better work-life balance. b. Southern Europeans may find it more difficult to say ‘No’ to their boss, but companies should encourage these people to say what they really think by giving them appropriate intercultural training. c. There are differences between the way that Americans and European managers work, and this allows American managers to do things that would be more difficult for their European colleagues. However, there are differences within Europe that Americans would not ignore. d. It’s pretty tough for a working parent to accommodate as well as work. IV. WRITING (30 marks) A. Write complete sentences based on the following information, add more words if necessary. (10 points, 2 for each correct answer) 51. Many people / now talk / importance / company’s shared values / or corporate culture / which all / staff can identify 52. Semco / have flexible working hours and / responsibility / setting and keeping track / them rests / each employee. 53. People / work / different speeds and / differ / their performance / depend / time / day. 54. Arrive / Manchester Airport / 2.30 p.m., Mr. Lopez / be hiring / car, but it / will take / him at least / two hours / get / the office. 55. Annual General Meeting / public company / the year’s results / be / presented / shareholders. B. Write an e-mail to inform the change of the business visit, using the following information. (20 points) Sender: Yolande < yolande@samex.fr> Receiver: Mr. Bentsen < bentsen@gmail.com> Subject: visit to Essonne production plant Introduction: regret to inform / cancel your visit / our Essonne production plant / 9.30 a.m. / Friday morning / Production manager / unwell. Main body: If you wish / we / pleased / fix / other appointments with head office staff / Friday morning. / I / be / grateful / you / contact / my secretary Sandra Toyes /soon / possible / make / necessary arrangements. Conclusion: I apologize / last minute change / your schedule. I hope / you / safe journey / we look forward / meet you / Friday. Sincerely - THE END - 6 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HCMC FACULTY OF ECONOMICS & LAW DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ANSWER SHEET Date:_________________ Class:_______________________ Student’s full name:_________________________________ Student’s registered number:__________________________ Blacken the a, b, c or d for each answer. I. PRONUNCIATION II. VOCABULARY & III. READING & STRESS (10 ms) GRAMMAR (30ms) Part A (20 ms) Part B (20 ms) a b c d a b c d a b c d a b c d a b c d 1 O O O O 11 O O O O 21 O O O O 31 O O O O 41 O O O O 2 O O O O 12 O O O O 22 O O O O 32 O O O O 42 O O O O 3 O O O O 13 O O O O 23 O O O O 33 O O O O 43 O O O O 4 O O O O 14 O O O O 24 O O O O 34 O O O O 44 O O O O 5 O O O O 15 O O O O 25 O O O O 35 O O O O 45 O O O O 6 O O O O 16 O O O O 26 O O O O 36 O O O O 46 O O O O 7 O O O O 17 O O O O 27 O O O O 37 O O O O 47 O O O O 8 O O O O 18 O O O O 28 O O O O 38 O O O O 48 O O O O 9 O O O O 19 O O O O 29 O O O O 39 O O O O 49 O O O O 10 O O O O 20 O O O O 30 O O O O 40 O O O O 50 O O O O IV. WRITING A.51._______________________________________________________________________________________ 52_______________________________________________________________________________________ 53_______________________________________________________________________________________ 54_______________________________________________________________________________________ 55._______________________________________________________________________________________ B. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 7 ANSWER KEY 3 I. PRONUNCIATION A. 1d, 2d, 3c, 4c, 5c B. 6b, 7a, 8a, 9d, 10a II. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR A. 11a, 12b, 13d, 14b, 15c, 16a, 17b, 18a, 19c, 20b B. 21a, 22b, 23c, 24d, 25d, 26c, 27a, 28a, 29a, 30c III. READING A. 31d, 32b, 33c, 34c, 35a, 36a, 37b, 38c, 39d, 40a B. 41a, 42a, 43d, 44b, 45d, 46c, 47d, 48c, 49b, 40c IV. WRITING A. 51. Many people now talk about the importance of a company’s shared values or corporate culture, with which all the staff can identify 52. Semco has flexible working hours and the responsibility for setting and keeping track of them rests with each employee. 53. People work at different speeds and differ in their performance depending on the time of day. 54. Arriving in Manchester Airport at 2.30 p.m., Mr. Lopez is hiring a car, but it will take him at least two hours to get to the office. 55. At the Annual General Meeting of a public company, the year’s results are presented to shareholders. B. Sender: Yolande < yolande@samex.fr> Receiver: Mr. Bentsen < bentsen@gmail.com> Subject: visit to Essonne production plant Dear Mr. Bentsen, I regret to inform you that I have to cancel your visit to our Essonne production plant at 9.30 a.m. on Friday morning, as our Production manager is unwell. If you wish, we will be pleased to fix other appointments with head office staff for the Friday morning. I would be grateful if you could contact my secretary Sandra Toyes as soon as possible to make the necessary arrangements. I apologize for the last minute change to your schedule. I hope you have a safe journey, and we look forward to meeting you on Friday. Yours sincerely, Yolande 8 . PRONUNCIATION A. 1d, 2d, 3c, 4c, 5c B. 6b, 7a, 8a, 9d, 10a II. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR A. 11a, 12b, 13d, 14b, 15c, 16a, 17b, 18a, 19c, 20 b B. 21 a, 22 b, 23 c, 24 d, 25 d, 26 c, 27 a, 28 a, 29 a, 30c III. READING A (30ms) Part A (20 ms) Part B (20 ms) a b c d a b c d a b c d a b c d a b c d 1 O O O O 11 O O O O 21 O O O O 31 O O O O 41 O O O O 2 O O O O 12 O O O O 22 O O O O 32 O O O O 42 O O O O 3 O O. O O O O 17 O O O O 27 O O O O 37 O O O O 47 O O O O 8 O O O O 18 O O O O 28 O O O O 38 O O O O 48 O O O O 9 O O O O 19 O O O O 29 O O O O 39 O O O O 49 O O O O 10 O O O O 20 O O O O 30 O O O