Flextime Your company is planning to adopt flextime. You have been asked to submit ideas o

&8226;Look at the statements below and at the 5 passages.

&8226;Which (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement 1-8 refer to?

&8226;For each statement 1-8, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet.

&8226;You will need to use some of these letters more than once.

A Sight Bill of Exchange

A sight B/E is usually defined as A bill which is expressed to be payable on demand, or at sight, or on presentation; and a bill in which no time for payment is expressed.

In other words, a sight B/E is the B/E that is payable at once the moment the B/E is presented to the drawee of it. A sight B/E is used in the case where the exporter wants to sell goods to the importer for immediate payment. When a sight B/E is presented to the drawee, the presentation will itself trigger the settlement process unless the B/E is dishonoured.

B Usance Bill of Exchange

A usance B/E is the one that is payable at a stipulated period of time after sight or after date. The date on which the drawee/acceptor sights the B/E is considered as the date on which the B/E is accepted. The acceptor adds the date to his acceptance. In this way the date of payments is fixed. The date on which payment should be effected is called maturity date of the B/E. So a B/E that is payable at 60 days is not a sight B/E but a usance B/E.

C Clean Bill of Exchange

A clean B/E is the one that is not accompanied by any commercial documents, especially not accompanied by the shipping documents. The drawer of a clean B/E may be a business, an individual, or a bank. The payee may be a business, an individual, or a bank.

In international trade, a clean B/E is usually used where the export is not of goods but of a service or used in respect of commission, the remainder of the payment and so on. A clean B/E is used where no shipment is involved or where the shipping documents have for some reason been sent separately to the buyer.

D Documentary Bill of Exchange

A documentary B/E is the one that is accompanied by commercial documents like the invoice, B/L, and insurance policy. When a documentary B/E is presented to the drawee for payment or for acceptance, the drawee will not effect the payment or acceptance unless the shipping documents are also presented to him.

A documentary B/E is welcomed by both the importer and the exporter because both can have more security.

E Commercial Bill of Exchange

The drawer of a commercial B/E may be a business or an individual and the payer may be a business, an individual or a bank. In international payments, the drawer of a commercial B/E is normally the exporter, who draws a B/E for the purpose of getting payment for the goods he sells. A commercial B/E is usually accompanied by shipping documents.

The shipping documents must be presented; otherwise the drawee will not make payment or accept the draft.

ds.

2. Question 2

?Your company or organisation is considering the best way to improve efficiency. You have been asked to write a report giving recommendations on this.

?Write the report, outlining some of the problems the company has concerning efficiency and suggesting solutions. Refer to at least two of the following areas:

?staffing levels

?administration

?communications

?management

Question 3

?The company you work for faces increasing competition and the managing director has asked you to suggest ways of meeting this challenge.

?Write a proposal for the managing director, including the following information:

?reasons for the increased competition

?ways to increase sales

?any extra resources that might be needed

?any disadvantages there might be.

Question 4

?An international fund is offering grants to small businesses to improve their facilities. Your manager has decided to apply and has asked you to write on behalf of the company.

?Write a letter, including the following information:

?a brief background to your company

?which facilities a grant would enable you to improve

?what the future benefits to your company would be.

How to approach Reading Test Part Six

&8226;This part of the Reading Test tests your ability to identify additional or unnecessary words in a text.

&8226;Most lines contain one extra word that makes the sentence incorrect.

&8226;Read the whole text quickly to find out what it is about. As you read, try to identify the words that are incorrect.

&8226;Then read the text again, and write down the extra words. Remember there will be only one extra word in a line, and some lines are correct.

? Read the advertisement below about a company which lets offices.

? In most lines there is one unnecessary word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text. Some lines are correct.

? For each numbered line 41 - 52, find the unnecessary word and then write the word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. If a line is correct write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.

Prestigious but inexpensive offices

In some towns business premises are at a premium, with scarce office space rapidly being used up. So what do you do best if you need a base for a start-up company but

41. either cannot find a suitable location or cannot afford the overheads? One solution for

42. which ever more new businesses are opting is to use the services of an office provider,

43. a company applied with business premises, generally in prestigious locations. Its

44. subscribers can both save money by working from home, while impressing their own

45. customers by using the premises such as their business address, Offices can also be

46. hired for as short a time as an hour, or for any other period, making it possible for

47. subscribers to hold meetings in rather more professional-looking surroundings than

48. their own home. In addition, office providers offer secretarial and the reception

49. facilities, thus are making these services available without the normal delays and costs

50. arising from having to recruit and employ staff. The flexibility of monitoring the

51. system means that your changing requirements can be accommodated without some

52. difficulty, allowing you to concentrate yourself on growing your business. Just choose the services you require.

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rtising and online one.

?Read the text below about communicating in groups.

?In most of the lines 41—52 there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.

?If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.

?If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet.

0 Communicating in groups ensures that each person present there is hearing the

00 same information at the same time. Group communication also allows people to

41 interact with each other about the changes and can help people develop a sense of

42 team, particularly that in a climate of adversity. Communicating in groups also has

43 some disadvantages. In many organizations where there will be people who will

44 not feel comfortable in talking in a group context. The more "personal" the

45 effects of the change, and the more likely people will withdraw from the group

46 process. A second danger of group communication is that for one or two

47 particularly vocal and negative people can set the tone for the group, and then foster

48 unproductive negative discussion out. While expressions of concerns about change

49 are healthy, the "doom-sayer" can cause this process to become destructive. So for

50 this reason, group communication needs to be managed with skill and expertise.

51 Sometimes an external facilitator person is necessary. Finally, there are some issues

52 that cannot be discussed within a group. For example, when in downsizing situations, it is inappropriate to announce to a group that John and Mary are losing their jobs. When changes are likely to create a high degree of upset to individuals, they must be dealt with in private.

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