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Name Class

New Market Leader Skills Placement Test


Intermediate to Advanced
Complete all four sections.
SECTION 1: READING
Match headlines a-j to the extracts (1-10) from news articles. Write your answers here.
1_____ 2_____ 3_____ 4_____ 5_____ 6_____ 7_____ 8_____ 9_____ 10_____
a) Made in Europe
b) Road ragers in the sky
c) No hiding place for irresponsible business
d) The insistent ringing of competition
e) Perks that work
f) The dangers of not looking ahead
g) New working model
h) The need for wider horizons
i) Corporate responsibility without the waffle
j) US Airways vows to rise again

6 Almost every fashion label outside the


1 The food industry is blamed for obesity.
super-luxury brands is either manufacturing in
Mobile phone operators are challenged to
Asia or thinking of it[but] the Asian
protect teenagers from online pornography.
consumer really does believe that luxury
Record companies are attacked when they sue
comes from Europe and must be made there to
music-lovers for sharing illegal files.
be the best.
2 Keeping people happy is an increasingly
tough trick. With unemployment at record 7 Faced with these projections, western
lows, companies are trying just about societies can either export the jobs or import
anything to retain employeestheyre getting the workers.
more money, better benefits and help with
personal problems such as child care
3 Too often students are taught about the past 8 The companys shares went into free fall on
rather than being given the wherewithal to Wall Street, dropping 45% to 81 cents in early
think ahead. But the big fundamental tradethe company said it was entering
questions need to be put on the table and bankruptcy in order to conserve cash as it
debated more vigorously in research and in struggles with high fuel costs and competition
classrooms. from low-cost carriers.
9 A new research report from Marsh, the
4 Although Nokias share of the global market
worlds biggest insurance broker, found that
for mobile handsets is similar to Nikes in
half of European companies did not know how
athletic shoes 21 years ago, Samsung has
to manage the most significant risks to their
momentum.
business.
5 Passion, commitment, engagement, trust: it 10 Airlines and their long suffering customers

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 1


sounds like the start of a beautiful friendship. are reporting a steep climb in incidentssome
But when Chief Executives rely on these are caused by problems which are familiar to
wordsthey risk being a turn-off. many regular travellers.

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 2


SECTION 2: WRITING
Re-write these expressions from informal correspondence into formal expressions using
the words provided in bold. Change the form of the words if necessary.
For example:
Just to say I want an interview for the job in todays paper. write / apply / post
I am writing to apply for the post advertised in todays newspaper.

11 Just to say the meeting is OK on the 26th. write / confirm


______________________________________________________________________
12 Its about your letter on 3 June reference
______________________________________________________________________
13 Thanks for asking me to speak at your conference. would like / invite
______________________________________________________________________
14 Im happy to come to the conference. would / delighted / attend
______________________________________________________________________
15 See you there. look forward
_____________________________________________________________________
16 Im attaching the timetable. Please find
_____________________________________________________________________
17 Let me know if you have any more questions. hesitate / contact / further
____________________________________________________________________
18 Weve had complaints so were looking at the situation. Further / recent / review
____________________________________________________________________
19 We agreed to sack Mr Jones. It was / relieve / his duties
____________________________________________________________________
20 Can you help me? would / grateful / provide
____________________________________________________________________

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 3


SECTION 3: LISTENING
Track 2

PART ONE
(Upper Intermediate level Listening 14.2)
Listen to someone being interviewed about business technology and tick the best ending to
sentences 21-25 according to what the speaker says. Listen twice.

21 Business technology has


a) produced a lot less waste.
b) helped all business processes become more efficient.
c) helped manufacturing processes become more efficient.

22 Workers use email


a) to save time reading and writing.
b) to make social arrangements.
c) to produce less waste.

23 Printing out emails and documents


a) makes them easier to read.
b) keeps peoples desks tidy.
c) defeats the object of receiving them electronically.

24 In the 1980s, companies found ways to cut costs


a) inside the company.
b) outside of the company.
c) in other companies.

25 Happy workers are


a) more competitive.
b) a greater expense for the company.
c) more productive.

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 4


PART TWO
Track 3
(Advanced level Listening 1.1)
Listen to three speakers describing presentations. Write short answers to questions 26-30.
Listen twice.
26 When speaker 1 talks to international audiences what does he realise?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
27 What is the speaker going to do differently next time?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
28 What was the effect of Speaker 2s special efforts in Bangkok?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
29 Why does Speaker 3 think Japanese audiences close their eyes during a presentation?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
30 Why shouldnt you always expect questions at a presentation in all parts of the world?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 5


SECTION 4: WRITING
General opening questions
- Whats your job? What are you studying?
- What do you do in your job/on your course?
- What does your company do? What kind of company do you work for?
- Why do you need English? When did you start learning English? What suggestions would you
give to someone who wants to learn English?

Intermediate
- What do you do in your free time? Do you find it hard to balance work with your private life?
- Does your company have a brand? How important is it to the company? What words do you
think customers associate with your brand?
- How often do you travel for your work? What kind of differences in culture have you noticed
between your country and other countries?
- Who are your competitors? How do you compare in terms of quality? Do you ever receive
complaints from customers? What about?
- Tell me about recent trends in your company and your predictions for its future performance.
- How would you define good leadership? Tell me about your worst or best boss.

Upper Intermediate
- How important is communication in your job? What makes a good communicator? Why does
communication break down between people?
- What makes people successful at work? How would you define success at work or in life?
- What kinds of risk do you take at work? Are you naturally a risk-taker or do you like to plan
carefully? Are there any risks or plans at work that you now regret? What happened?
- What are ways of borrowing money in your country for a business? What kind of financial
risks are attached to each method?
- What kind of effect has Internet and e-commerce had on your life? Does your company have a
website? How does it make use of it? Do you think online business has improved customer
service or made it worse?

Advanced
- How often do you have to make presentations? What are they about? What are some tips you
would give to someone having to make a presentation for the first time?
- How much involvement does your organisation have in the public sector such as with
government organisations or local council? Do you think business and the public sector can
work together? Is this common in your country?
- Does your government give the private sector enough freedoms? What initiatives exist to help
and encourage new business in your country?
- What are some of the biggest changes in working practices in recent years? How much has
your business been affected by globalisation? What has the impact been on areas such as
employment?
- Have you ever considered working freelance or as a consultant? What would the benefits be?

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 6


And the disadvantages?

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 7

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