劍橋商務英語高級第三輯真題閱讀精講3

　　BRITISH COMPANIES CROSS THE ATLANTIC

　　Next month a large group of British business people are going to America on a venture which may generate export earnings for their companies' shareholders in years to come. A long list of sponsors will support the initiative, which will involve a ￡3-million media campaign and a fortnight of events and exhibitions. The ultimate goal is to persuade more Americans that British companies have something to interest them.

　　While there have been plenty of trade initiatives in the past, the difference this time round is that considerable thinking and planning have gone into trying to work out just what it is that Americans look for in British products. Instead of exclusively promoting the major corporations, this time there is more emphasis on supporting the smaller, more unusual, niche businesses.

　　Fresh in the memories of all those concerned is the knowledge that America has been the end of many a large and apparently successful business. For Carringtons, a retail group much respected by European customers and investors, America turned out to be a commercial disaster and the belief that they could even show some of the great American stores a retailing trick or two was hopelessly over-optimistic.

　　Polly Brown, another very British brand that rode high for years on good profits and huge city confidence, also found that conquering America, in commercial and retailing terms, was not as easy as it had imagined. When it positioned itself in the US as a niche, luxury brand, selling shirts that were priced at $40 in the UK for $125 in the States, the strategy seemed to work. But once its management decided it should take on the middle market, this success rapidly drained away. It was a disastrous mistake and the high cost of the failed American expansion plans played a large role in its declining fortunes in the mid-nineties.

　　Sarah Scott, managing director of Smythson, the upmarket stationer, has had to think long and hard about what it takes to succeed in America and she takes it very seriously indeed. 'Many British firms are quite patronising about the US,' she says. They think that we're so much more sophisticated than the Americans. They obviously haven't noticed Ralph Lauren, an American who has been much more skilled at tapping into an idealised Englishness than any English company. Also, many companies don't bother to study the market properly and think that because something's successful in the UK, it's bound to be successful over there. You have to look at what you can bring them that they haven't already got. On the whole, American companies are brilliant at the mass, middle market and people who've tried to take them on at this level have found it very difficult.'

　　This time round it is just possible that changing tastes are running in Britain's favour. The enthusiasm for massive, centralised retail chains has decreased. People want things with some sort of individuality; they are fed up with the banal, middle-of-the-road taste that America does so well. They are now looking for the small, the precious, the 'real thing', and this is precisely what many of the companies participating in the initiative do best.

　　13 The main reason that the British business people are going to America is to

　　A encourage American consumers to buy their products.

　　B analyse how American companies attract media coverage.

　　C look for financial backing from American investors and banks.

　　D investigate how British and American companies could form partnerships.

　　14 In the writer's opinion, the proposed venture will be different to previous ones because

　　A fewer British business leaders will be making the trip.

　　B less well-known companies will be better represented.

　　C the larger companies have decided they will not be participating.

　　D it involves research into how British companies market themselves.

　　15 The writer states that Carringtons was wrong to

　　A be cautious about trading in America.

　　B borrow money from its European investors.

　　C assume it was superior to American rivals.

　　D ignore the advice of its American managers.

　　16 According to the writer, Polly Brown's mistake occurred when it

　　A continued to trade despite making a loss.

　　B attempted to attract a different type of customer.

　　C tried to break into too many markets at the same time.

　　D expected American consumers to pay British prices for goods.

　　17 Sarah Scott states that British companies hoping to succeed in America should

　　A focus on a gap in the market.

　　B be less concerned with their image.

　　C concentrate on selling products in the mid-price range.

　　D carry out research into the pricing policies of American companies.

　　18 The writer suggests that success in America depends upon

　　A adopting a more American approach to marketing.

　　B persuading the mid-range consumer to pay for quality.

　　C copying the strategies of American companies.

　　D building a reputation as a supplier of unique goods.

　　《British companies across the Atlantic》，跨洋英國公司。有一批在本土干的不錯的英國公司，雄心勃勃的要在大洋彼岸的美國去大展拳腳，結果遭遇了滑鐵盧。文章根據這些公司的經驗和教訓，說明了去海外開拓市場的注意事項。

　　13題，問英國商人去美國的主要原因是什么。答案是第一段的最后一句話：The ultimate goal is to persuade more Americans that British companies have something to interest them.終極目標是是更多的美國人信服英國公司有可以吸引他們的地方。說的這么婉轉動聽，其實意思就是：要美國人買他們英國人的產品。答案是A。ultimate goal可以對應于main reason。

　　14題，說在作者的觀點里，所推薦的企業(proposed是recommended的意思)不同于上次的一批，原因是什么。答案是第二段的最后的一句：Instead of exclusively promoting the major corporations, this time there is more emphasis on supporting the smaller, more unusual, niche businesses.這次的重點更多的在于支持規模小一些的特色企業，而不是單獨促進大公司。也就是說這次和上次的區別在于重點扶植的對象不同。選B：less well-known companies will be better represented。不那么出名的一些公司將得到更好的展現。represented在這里的意思是be present to a particular degree.看一個例句：Abstraction is well represented in this exhibition.

　　15題，問作者認為Carringtons錯誤的地方在哪。答案是第三段的最后一句：the belief that they could even show some of the great American stores a retailing trick or two was hopelessly over-optimistic.認為自己可以給一些大的美國商店玩一下連鎖的戲法，結果杯具了。也就是答案C所說的認為他們強于美國對手。Show some of the great American stores a retailing trick是關鍵點，理解了這個就好做出答案。

　　16題，問依作者之見，Polly Brown的錯誤在什么時候發生的。答案在第四段，前面說當這個公司將自己定位于一個特殊的奢侈品牌時，戰略似乎是奏效的。但是當管理層決定去攻占中級市場時，成功的果實很快被榨干了。所以答案是B：試圖去吸引一個不同類型的消費群體。a different type of customer可以對應于take on the middle market。take on在這里是occupy的意思。

　　17題，問Sarah Scott說英國公司要想在美國成功必須怎么樣，答案在第五段。這個人在第五段前面講了很多英國公司的缺點，比如自以為是。最關鍵的句子是這么一個：You have to look at what you can bring them that they haven't already got.給他們帶來他們現在還沒有得到的一些東西。也就是說要填補現有市場上的一些空白。選A。

　　18題，在美國成功取決于什么。答案在第六段。說人們需要有一點個性的東西，而這正好是從事于這個領域的很多公司可以做的。答案選D：建立一個獨特商品提供者的名聲。unique goods是關鍵詞，可以對應things with some sort of individuality。