MARKET LEADER INTERMEDIATE Exit Test Units 8-14

Name: ____________________ Points: ____/86 ______%

VOCABULARY

A Complete the sentences with the correct alternatives. ____/10

1 All the staff were asked to _______________ to Spain.

a) outsource b) invest c) relocate d) reorganise

2 There’s a problem with the machinery so the quality of the goods hasn’t reached its usual __________.

a) fault b) flaw c) standard d) design

3 B-Voy Bank is looking for three new bank officers to work in its new high street _______________.

a) branch b) factory c) plant d) store

4 It’s important that we get a _______________ for our product soon so that no one can copy our ideas.

a) breakthrough b) discovery c) brainwave d) patent

5 This organisation is too _______________ There are four forms for everything!

a) bureaucratic b) hierarchical c) flexible d) progressive

6 Bed-Lux has recently _______________ its main rival Duvet-Delights.

a) merged b) taken over c) reorganised d) outsourced

7 I am writing to invite you to _______________ your research findings at the ECR conference.

a) network b) socialise c) present d) talk

8 I want my new sofa to look good but it’s more important that it’s _______________ I don’t want to have

to replace it for years!

a) time-saving b) stylish c) durable d) space-saving

9 I’m 63 now, so I’ve only got two years to go until I reach _______________ age.

a) redundancy b) appointment c) retirement d) promotion

10 Pre-tax profits have _______________ to an all time low of $1.2m.

a) plummeted b) skyrocketed c) soared d) risen

B Complete the gaps in the sentences using the words from the box. ____/5

existence / lead / goalposts / expectations / field / computer / presence / horse

1 We’re not making any progress. It’s like flogging a dead _______________

2 My boss keeps moving the _______________ . I never have any idea what I’m supposed to be doing.

3 It’s essential that we establish a _______________ in the Latvian market before our rivals do.

4 Well done! Sales this month exceeded all _______________.

5 I travel twice a month in my job so it’s really useful to have this laptop _______________ .

C Complete the gaps using the adjective form of the noun in brackets. Some may be

negative. ____/7

1 He cannot choose which supplier to use. He is so _______________ (decision).

2 She really can’t wait to skydive. She’s so _______________ (adventure).

3 My boss never stops to think before opening her mouth. She can be so _______________ (thought).

4 I can’t seem to do anything right. It’s just so _______________ (motivation).

5 You have to wear smart clothes where I work. It’s a very _______________ (formality) working

environment.

6 She is always rushing around doing things with such enthusiasm. I’ve never seen someone so

_______________ (energy).

7 If you want to succeed in business then you must be prepared to take risks and be _______________

(opportunity)

D Complete the article below with the correct alternatives. ____/10 FT MONEY – Markets Week UK:

Whitehead Mann

Whitehead Mann, the _______________ 1 agency, saw its share price drop 35 percent _______________

2

138p after the company issued a profit warning, _______________ 3 it blamed on its failure to

_______________ 4 in the US. Chief _______________

5 Stephen Lawrence denied that the warning about

the US was an excuse for problems elsewhere, but said there had been a fall in the half-yearly

_______________ 6 during the first half in the UK, continental Europe and Asia. Research shows the

company’s _______________ 7 of the market has already _______________

8 1.2 percent this year. Analysts

said the company faced a significant _______________ 9 to improve its overall _____________

10 in the

second half. From the Financial Times

1 a) recruit b) recruiting c) recruiter d) recruitment

2 a) at b) to c) in d) by

3 a) that b) whom c) who d) which

4 a) increase b) rise c) expand d) boost

5 a) Manager b) Executive c) Supervisor d) Board

6 a) turnover b) capital c) taxes d) funds

7 a) amount b) area c) share d) dividend

8 a) fallen b) lost c) soared d) acquired

9 a) challenge b) difficulty c) con d) disadvantage

10 a) reliability b) performance c) quality d) standard

LANGUAGE

A Complete the gaps in the article with the correct alternatives. ____/15

Consultants Manley and Sons ______________________1 (had published / published) a report yesterday,

which ______________________ 2 (praised / has praised) BiTe logistics for its excellent environmental

record. Since 1999 the company ______________________3 (has won/won) five major environmental

awards.

The company currently ______________________ 4 (employs / is employing) eight thousand people. A

spokesman for the company ______________________ 5 (was announcing / announced) last week that it

______________________ 6 (has planned / was planning) to take on one hundred more staff at sites around

the country. Managing Director Nadja Pal ______________________ 7 (said / says) in an interview several

months ago that there ______________________ 8 (isn’t being / hadn’t been) plans to expand any of the

sites, but during an interview yesterday she ______________________ 9mentioned / was mentioning) that

discussions recently ______________________ 10

(took place / are taking place) about possible

developments to a plant in Dudley.

The company ______________________ 11

(has come / came) a long way since its early days. Nadja said ‘at

the start we ______________________ 12

(hadn’t got / weren’t having) much money, but we

______________________ 13

(always tried / were always trying) to run our business as ethically as we

possibly ______________________ 14

(must / could).’ Their experience ______________________ 15

(is showing / shows) that ethics and success go hand in hand!

B Complete the article using the correct form of the verb in brackets. ____/11

Obituary: George Thompson

George Thompson was one of the key people who _______________1 (make) the Bridgeport milling

machine the fastest-selling machine tool in the world during the latter half of the last century. One Bridgeport

machine _______________2 (sell) at that time every three minutes of a working week. The machines

_______________ 3 (also find) in tool-making shops and maintenance departments everywhere: one

_______________4 (even discover) by an expedition exploring the Amazon.

Two Swedes, Magnus Wahlstrem and Rudolph Bannow, _______________5 (start) making the machines in

1938 at Bridgeport, Connecticut. But it was Thompson, an outstanding British engineer, who

_______________6 (be) responsible for producing them in the UK.

UK production _______________7 (begin) to take off, so much so that manufacture _______________

8

(outgrow) the capacity available at Leicester. At Bridlington, Thompson _______________ 9 (find) a site

which he _______________10

(turn) into what _______________11

(become) the largest producer of milling

machines in Europe and one of the most advanced plants of its time.

From the Financial Times

C Some of the following lines contain errors. Find and correct them. If a sentence is correct,

put a tick in the space next to that line. ____/10

1 They can’t afford lowering prices. _____________________________________________________

2 Her job involves deal with clients. _____________________________________________________

3 I refuse believe you. ________________________________________________________________

4 I heard about the changes last week. ____________________________________________________

5 We stopped the car to check the tyres. ___________________________________________________

6 If I would know the firm better, I would offer them credit terms. ______________________________

7 Since 1999 we’ve kept away from chemical products. ______________________________________

8 If you reduce the price by five percent, I might to buy at least five thousand units.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

9 The new CEO decided outsource some of the company’s functions. ___________________________

10 Would it help you if I would lend you some money? _______________________________________

D In most of the lines of the article there is an extra word. Find these words. If a line is

correct put a tick in the space next to that line. ____/8

1 Use of video or web conferencing by US companies instead of these face- to-face __________

2 meetings has more than doubled in two years. A survey by the country’s __________

3 National Business Travel Association found it that business travellers used __________

4 it an average of five times last year, compared by with twice in 2002. But travel __________

5 managers remain evenly divided on whether the technology will be retain its __________

6 popularity in the future. Meanwhile, the association does forecasts that travel __________

7 costs for US companies will rise by seven percent next year. The amount __________

8 spent out on air travel and car hire will rise by five percent and the cost of __________

eating out will go up by three percent. From the Financial Times

READING

A Read the article and decide if the statements (1–5) are true or false. ____/5

1 You can’t be successful in business and have a good work–life balance. _____

2 Commitment is the only quality needed to become an effective leader. _____

3 To be successful in business you may need to work longer hours. _____

4 It’s more important to set work–life priorities when you are young. _____

5 There’s no point aiming for a work–life balance when you have a family. _____

B Now complete the gaps (1-5) in the last two paragraphs with the sentences a-e) ____/5

a) There is no point in pretending we can have it all.

b) It’s just that it has its price.

c) I’m sure we all know people who wouldn’t dream of missing the meeting.

d) You can work more intelligently, and delegate as much as you like.

e) However, unless they win the lottery, they will have less money in the bank!

Be a leader in business – with a life! By Michael Skapinker

It is not possible to achieve a balance between work and life if you want to do well in business. To reduce

only your workload will fail because in real life success in work depends on achieving targets. In a

competitive business environment, leadership takes different qualities and skills – including commitment,

passion, and of course a lot of time.

A work–life balance is not just about people wanting to leave the office at a reasonable time – they know that

they have to compete against those who are prepared to work until the early hours, on the other side of the

world. Take Pavan Vishnakarma, a freelance software developer who lives in Bhopal, for instance. He

advertises himself as being available for work at any time.

The answer is surely to look for balance across our whole lives, rather than at any particular time. Life is

about deciding what is important to you – and sometimes making hard decisions. There are periods when we

want to devote ourselves to work and others when the family is more important.

It’s not that a work–life balance isn’t worth having. It certainly is. _______________ 1. This is that you are

not going to rise as high in the organisation or be as rich as those business leaders who have no interest in a

work–life balance. _______________ 2. However, if you are the sort of person who, faced with a choice

between a school play and a crucial meeting, chooses the play, you will fall behind. _______________ 3.

Show me a successful Chief Executive and I will show_you someone who barely_sees his/her children.

_______________ 4. We can’t. Those who spend more time with their family and friends will be richer in the

ways that really matter. _______________ 5.

From the Financial Times