BEC高级精讲班第5讲讲义
Homework review
学习重点
1. Homework review
2. Vocabulary study
3. Exhibiting at a trade fair
4. Replying to an enquiry
5. Homework
I. Homework review
Over the 25-year period considered, the United Kingdom has always had prices higher than both France and Germany, except for the early/mid 1980’s and during the early 1990’s when French prices were higher.
Over the 25 years, the United Kingdom prices have varied dramatically, peaking at about 24% in 1976. But through several fluctuating rises and falls, they have progressively come down, closing in 1994, at around 5% and rising only slightly the next year, lower than the French.
French and German prices have always varied only slightly from each other within a maximum range of 12%, with French prices staying higher than German prices from 1972 onwards. The French prices fluctuated between 4% (1971) to 12% (1984), ending higher than the UK. In contrast, German prices are generally the lowest ones in the three countries. The prices were below 7% during the 25 years.
2. Exercise 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Self-study Unit 2b.
Exercise 2
(1) launch a takeover bid
rock verb
[transitive]
a) to make the people in a place or organization feel very shocked - used in news reports 新闻用语：让人感到震惊
ￚsynonym shake
The scandal rocked the nation. 这次丑闻震惊了这个国家。
b) to make the future of something seem less certain or steady than it was before, especially because of problems or changes 动荡
ￚsynonym shake
Another financial blow has rocked the industry. 另一次金融打击让这个行业动荡不安。
The theory rocked the foundations of social and moral life. 这个理论动摇了社会和道德生活的基础。
(2) merging with
(3) lead to long-term growth in sales
(4) a competitive advantage
secure verb [transitive]
▶GET/ACHIEVE◀
to get or achieve something that will be permanent, especially after a lot of effort 努力后获得
Boyd’s goal secured his team’s place in the Cup Final. …的入球确保他所在的球队在世界杯决赛中的地位。
secure a deal/contract 获得一笔买卖/一个合同
The company recently secured a $20 million contract with Ford. 这家公司最近与福特公司签订了一笔价值2千万美元的合同。
Negotiators are still working to secure the hostages’ release. 谈判人员还在就人质释放的事情努力着。
Redgrave won his third Olympic gold medal, and secured his place in history. ….获得了他奥运会上的第三块金牌，确保了他在历史上的地位。
▶SAFE FROM HARM◀
to make something safe from being attacked, harmed, or lost 使….安全
Troops were sent to secure the border. 军队派来保护边境的安全。
secure something against somebody/something
They built a 10ft high fence to secure the house against intruders. 他们修建了10英尺高的围墙保护这座房子不受入侵者的威胁。
an agreement to secure the future of the rainforest 一项旨在保护雨林未来的协议
▶BORROWING MONEY◀
if you secure a debt or a loan, you legally promise that if you cannot pay back the money you have borrowed, you will give the lender goods or property of the same value instead 抵押贷款
He used his house to secure the loan.他用自己的房子作了抵押贷款。
advantage noun
1 [uncountable and countable] something that helps you to be more successful than others, or the state of having this
ￚopposite disadvantage
advantage over
Her experience meant that she had a big advantage over her opponent.
His height gives him an advantage over the other players.
Companies that receive government subsidies have an unfair advantage.
Western countries enjoyed considerable advantages in terms of technology.
Younger workers tend to be at an advantage when applying for jobs.
It might be to your advantage to take a computer course of some kind.
2 [uncountable and countable] a good or useful quality or condition that something has
advantage of
One of the many advantages of living in New York is that you can eat out at almost any time of day.
The hotel is not very modern, but it does have the advantage of being close to the city centre.
advantage over
The printer has several advantages over conventional printers.
big/great/considerable advantage
The big advantage of this system is that it is fast.
(5) benefits
(6) streamline
(7) restructuring programme
(8) acquisition
3.
achieve economies of scale
integrate different cultures
add long-term value
undercut competitors’ prices
reduce operating costs
generate cost improvements
4.
(1) to (agree to)
(2) is
(3) that
(4) its
(5) whether
(6) not
(7) while
(8) such
Vocabulary study
Vocabulary study---一组易混淆词汇用法解析
I think the sector’s going to see lots of consolidation activity as the bigger players look to buy talent and market share. Lycos, for example, has just acquired Hotbot, one of its rivals.
talent noun
1 [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something well 才华
He has a lot of talent, and his work is fresh and interesting.
talent for
She showed a talent for acting at an early age.
a persuasive speaker with a natural talent for leadership
His latest book reveals hidden talents.
Sadly, she inherited none of her father’s musical talent.
Your brother is a man of many talents.
There’s a wealth of talent in English football.
talent for
She showed a talent for acting at an early age.
2 [uncountable] a person or people with a natural ability or skill 有才华的人
Britain’s footballing talent 英国的足球天才
revenue noun [uncountable] also revenues
1 money that a business or organization receives over a period of time, especially from selling goods or services
advertising revenue
Strikes have cost ￡20 million in lost revenues .
2 money that the government receives from tax
an increase in tax revenues of 8.4%
turnover noun
1 [singular, uncountable] British English the amount of business done during a particular period
turnover of
The illicit非法的 drugs industry has an annual turnover of some ￡200 bn.
turnover rose/fell
Turnover rose 9%.
2 [singular, uncountable] the rate at which people leave an organization and are replaced by others
turnover of
Low pay accounts for the high turnover.
staff/labour turnover a high degree of labour turnover among women
3 [countable] a small fruit pie
an apple turnover
cost noun
1 [countable] the amount of money that you have to pay in order to buy, do, or produce something 价格
cost of
the cost of accommodation
I offered to pay the cost of the taxi.
Insurance to cover the cost of a funeral is possible.
This doesn’t include the cost of repairing the damage.
The new building’s going up at a cost of $82 million.
low cost housing
the high cost of production
A cassette/radio is included at no extra cost.
The funds will just cover the museum’s running costs.
2 costs [plural]
a) the money that you must regularly spend in order to run a business, a home, a car etc 成本
reduce/cut costs
We have to cut costs in order to remain competitive.
At this rate we’ll barely cover our costs (=make enough money to pay for the things we have bought).
the travel costs incurred in attending the meeting (=money you have to spend)
Because of the engine’s efficiency the car has very low running costs (=the cost of owning and using a car or machine).
3 [uncountable and countable] something that you lose, give away, damage etc in order to achieve something 代价
at (a) cost to somebody
She had kept her promise to Christine, but at what cost to herself?
social/environmental etc cost
the environmental cost of such mining projects
They need to weigh up the costs and benefits (=disadvantages and advantages) of regulation.
He’s determined to win, whatever the cost (=no matter how much work, money, risk etc is needed).
We must avoid a scandal at all costs (=whatever happens).
cost verb
1 past tense and past participle cost
[linking verb] to have a particular price
A full day’s activities will cost you ￡45.
His proposals could cost the taxpayer around ￡8 billion a year.
How much would it cost us to replace?
not cost somebody a penny (=cost nothing)
It won’t cost you a penny for the first six months.
cost a (small) fortune/a pretty penny (=have a very high price)
It’s costing us a fortune in phone bills.
cost a bomb/a packet British English (=have a very high price)
What a fantastic dress. It must have cost a bomb!
Lighting can change the look of a room and needn’t cost the earth (=have a price which is too high).
Getting that insured is going to cost you an arm and a leg (=have a very high price).
2 cost somebody their job/life/marriage etc
when something makes you lose your job etc失去…..
Joe’s brave action cost him his life.
His strong stand on the issue could have cost him his job. Bad management could be costing this club a chance at the title.
3 cost somebody dear/dearly
to make someone suffer a lot or to lose something important 代价惨重
A couple of missed chances in the first half cost them dear.
The scandal has cost Nicholson dearly.
Exhibiting at a trade fair
