劍橋商務英語高級第三輯真題閱讀精講11

　　1 This businessman has successfully targeted a different group of consumers.

　　2 With careful forward planning, this businessman is helping the company survive a difficult period.

　　3 The company is now more open to change because of this businessman's way of thinking.

　　4 This businessman has made and implemented certain decisions despite opposition to them.

　　5 This businessman has achieved some success by misleading people about his intentions.

　　6 The abilities of this businessman were previously doubted by the company that employs him.

　　7 This businessman is admired for his ability to manage a number of business interests.

　　'Businessman of the Year' Award

　　A James King: Chief Executive of Fentons Finance

　　King was nominated for the quality of his leadership, with the judges claiming that the Fentons Finance boss is almost revered by his team. He is credited with reinventing Fentons Finance - revitalising its culture of inflexibility, removing outdated pre-merger barriers and playing a brilliant tactical game. He led everyone to believe he was opposed to large mergers and then jumped on the Westcombe Bank opportunity at just the right moment. History will be the judge, but for now the markets consider King to be a star.

　　B Keith Nash: Chief Executive of Hamley's Supermarkets

　　Nash took over as CEO when Hamley's systems and distribution were out of date and the brand badly needed freshening up. He began refocusing the brand at the higher quality end of the food market and launched several own-brand initiatives for the health conscious. As a result, the share price has gone up nearly 80 per cent. This should be extremely satisfying for Nash, who had left the retailer in 1986, disappointed after failing to secure the top job.

　　C Jorge Marquez: Chairman of the Kenwick Group

　　Marquez was a popular choice for his achievements at Kenwick. The judges say he has been courageous in pushing through the appointment of controversial or inexperienced chief executives to companies within the group, and then sponsoring them as they transformed their businesses. He operates as a 'virtual' chairman, without a permanent office in any one company. He phones his CEOs regularly, and several of them have acknowledged the vital contribution he makes to their effectiveness. Everyone is impressed at how he also finds the time to be chairman of two other large companies.

　　D Richard Jenkins: Finance Director of Centron Advertising

　　Labouring in the shadow of a high-profile boss can sometimes draw attention away from the finance director, and the judges considered it was high time Jenkins got that attention. The CEO may be the public face of Centron, but Jenkins is the one who makes it run smoothly. Behind the scenes, he is constantly demonstrating that budgets and forecasts are what is needed to make a company successful, particularly now that the advertising market has been hit by recession. It is largely thanks to him that Centron is in much better shape than its rivals.

　　《‘Businessman of the Year' Award》年度企業家獎。分別介紹了這個獎項的四個候選人的英雄事跡。

　　第一題，這個企業家成功的定位了不同的消費群體。答案在B段：He began refocusing the brand at the higher quality end of the food market and launched several own-brand initiatives for the health conscious。他開始將品牌定位在高質量的食品市場并且發起了幾項注重健康的自主品牌的運動。Health conscious是指注重健康的。一個是高質量的食品市場，一個是注重健康的，聯合起來，就是瞄準了不同的消費市場，即不同的消費群體。

　　第二題，通過小心的前進計劃，這個企業家幫助公司度過了一個困難時期。答案是D段的這么一句：budgets and forecasts are what is needed to make a company successful, particularly now that the advertising market has been hit by recession.。預算和預告正是使得公司可以成功的，尤其當現在整個廣告市場被衰退襲擊的時候。Budgets and forecast就是題干中說的careful forward planning，successful對應于survive，a different period對應于the market has been hit by recession。

　　第三題，因為這個企業家的思維方式，公司對待變化更加開明了。答案是A段的這么一句：He is credited with reinventing Fentons Finance - revitalising its culture of inflexibility。他以重塑了Fentons Finance而受到嘉獎——給了固定守舊的文化以新的生命。more open to change就可以對應于revitalising its culture of inflexibility。revitalising是give new life to的意思。

　　第四題，盡管有反對意見，這個企業家還是制定并執行了某些決定。答案是C段的這么一句：he has been courageous in pushing through the appointment of controversial or inexperienced chief executives to companies within the group在推動某些爭議性的或者是經驗不足的執行官的任命時他很有勇氣。從controversial和courageous可以看出來，這些任命時不完全被接受的，有反對意見(opposition)，但他還是堅持了。

　　第五題，這個企業家通過讓人們誤會自己的意圖而取得某些成功。答案是A段的這么一句：He led everyone to believe he was opposed to large mergers and then jumped on the Westcombe Bank opportunity at just the right moment他讓所有人相信他是反對大的并購的，然后在最佳時期跳上Westcombe銀行的機會(即收購了這個銀行)。let everyone believe，也就是misleading people about his intentions。

　　第六題，這個企業家的能力最初在雇傭他的公司里受到了懷疑。答案是B段最后一句，稍微隱晦點：This should be extremely satisfying for Nash, who had left the retailer in 1986, disappointed after failing to secure the top job.因為無法得到高層的職位而失望離開，結果因為他的決策，公司股價上升了，讓他很滿足。意思就是本來以這個人的能力是可以勝任高層的工作的，但是他卻沒有得到。

　　第七題，這個企業家因為處理一些商業利益的能力而受到仰慕。答案在C段。C段最后說這個人在不同的公司擔任要職(be chairman)，不同的公司會有商業利益的沖突，而他卻能好好處理(manage)，所以答案選C。