商务英语 - 高级

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听力原文：I = Interviewer M = Martha Flowers(Interviewee) I: Martha Flowers, you're the founder and managing director of Max Sandwiches. First of all, thank you for agreeing to speak to us. M: You're welcome. I: I'd like to begin by asking you to tell us some- thing about how you started what is now a very successful business. M: OK, Eh, I started it because I was hungry really. There was nowhere to buy something cheap yet healthy at lunchtime. And I spotted a gap in the market. I set up the business with a partner. I: What？ Someone who knew the business？ M: Yes, he'd had lots of hands-on experience. However the first three years were difficult. We worked all hours and hardly made any profit. We just didn't have sufficiently clear ideas of what we wanted, and frankly we were lucky to survive. These days we are very much more focused. I: Martha, would it be fair to describe max as just one more fast food company？ M: No. We're definitely not that. For us, it's all about selling naturally made products at reason- able prices, not selling cheap food fast. Having set that, the fast food chains do some things very well. And I'd tike us to imitate the good aspects of how they operate. What I mean is we should cut out waste the way they do, not waste time or materials. I: All right, so that's the aim. Now I'd like to ask you something about how you actually run your business like. Are you, like so many executives nowadays, a slave to your diary？ M: No, I am not. I don't even own one. I find this lack of structure gives me immense flexibility. I really don't see how you can get things done if you're tired down all the time. I am sorry for my secretary, who has, to cope with the way I work, but for me it's the only way. I: But how are meetings scheduled？ M: Well, this is another thing. I hate meetings. The only regular feature of my week is the senior management team meeting. And we focus there not on details but on major issues. This means I can actually spend about 95% of my time listening to customers. And this is really the key to bow I run my business life-listening to our employees, because they can often tell you how to get things right. I: Your approach certainly seems to be working. Your company is expanding all the time. How do you account for this success？ I: We're I a high volume low margin business. We only make a little profit on everything we sell, so basically we have to sell a lot. And the secret of success in a business like this is a loyal customer base. It's as simple as that. I: Well, obviously the next question is what exactly do you do to keep your customer's loyalty？ M: We have to look at three things. The price of the product, the quality of the product and the attitude of our employees. They have to under- stand one thing very well indeed, and that is, it' s the customers who pay their salary. I: Martha, if you were asked to give just one piece of advice to someone who is staring out in business today, what would you say？ M: I'd say, look at what other people in your line of business are doing. It's absolutely vital. I: But doesn't everyone monitor what their competitors are doing？ M: Perhaps they do, but the important thing is what action you then take. A lot of people seem to monitor what's going on so they know what their feelings are. Then they do nothing about it. I find it must extraordinary. I: Martha Flowers, thanks very much for talking to us. M: You're welcome. ？You will hear a radio interview with Martha Flowers, the Managing Director of the MAX chain of sandwich bars. ？Choose the correct phrase to complete each sentence or answer the question. ？Mark one letter(A, B, or C) for the phrase you choose. ？After you have listened once, replay the recording. Martha started her business because

A. someone asked her to.
B. she saw a good opportunity.
C. she had a lot of experience in fast food.

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A．thinkingB．seeingC．assumingD．fearing

A. thinking
B. seeing
C. assuming
D. fearing

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•Read the following article about recruitment in the UK and the questions on the opposite page. •For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. graduate recruitment has a growing role. But companies need to know whether their recruitment staff who interview candidates for jobs really know what they're doing. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), acknowledges that in a perfect world, the people who recruit graduates would have been in the role for some time building up workplace knowledge. He says the reality is that the high turnover of graduate recruitment managers in most blue chips means there is little continuity in how companies operate. 'There's the difficulty in maintaining important contact with university careers departments, for example,' he explains. 'You need a depth of understanding to appreciate where the company is coming from and how it's progressing.' We can identify two specialisms within the recruiter's role. Those that work on the recruitment and selection side need traditional human resources (HR) skills such as good interviewing technique, observation, common sense, objectivity, patience and listening skills. But increasingly there are those who take a strategic view and look more widely at how their company is represented in the marketplace. It's a clear advantage if you can identify with your target audience. Many young members of middle management are seconded into HR for a year because their firms feel they can identify with job-seeking graduates. Yet in an industry that has been revolutionised by the internet, privatised career services and rocketing numbers in higher education, it is questionable how relevant these managers' experiences are. Some high-fliers see a secondment to HR as a sideways move; a firm's HR function might not carry the same kudos as, say, the finance department, although obviously the recruitment and retention of staff is of crucial importance. Georgia de Saram, specialising in graduate recruitment at a law firm, is one of a new breed of young dynamic recruiters who see HR as their vocation rather than a transitory career move. 'I was attracted to the profession because I enjoy working with people and it's an obvious follow-on from my anthropology degree,' she says. 'In this capacity, you get to know people and they know you even though they might not know other people in the firm.' As a recruiter, she sees herself as the interface between graduates and the firm that's looking to attract them？ It's such a tug of war between law firms for the best trainees - often they'll turn you down in favour of an offer they've received from elsewhere. You need to be good at marketing your firm, to know what interests graduates and how you can reach potential employees, whether that's through virtual law fairs or magazines.' A recent AGR survey suggests that the sectors in which there is less turnover of graduate recruitment managers are more successful in recruiting the graduates they want. The legal sector's sophisticated understanding of the market, for example, means they manage to recruit exactly the right number of trainees despite intense competition and thousands of applications. The people recruiting seem to build up a specialism and then pass on their knowledge and expertise to those new to the graduate recruitment sector. Jackie Alexander, an HR partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, feels that HR professionals are finally reaching board level and receiving the sort of acknowledgement they deserve. 'They are judged by the value they add to the business,' she says, 'and, as a professional services firm, the right people are our biggest asset.' As Georgia de Saram points out: 'From our company's point of v. iew, if I can't establish a rapport with a candidate

A. detailed knowledge of their sector.
B. appropriate academic qualifications.
C. understanding of graduates' expectations.
D. experience of the companies they work for.

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A．laneB．streetC．avenueD．alley

A. lane
B. street
C. avenue
D. alley

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What was revealed about law firms in a survey？

A. They are competing more effectively than before against other sectors.
B. They prefer to retain trainees for extended periods wherever possible.
C. They have managed to employ particularly knowledgeable HR staff.
D. They appeal to those HR managers who are keen for promotion.

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