bec preliminary info for candidates.pdf

University of Cambrid g e ESOL Examinations

B usiness

E nglish

C ertiﬁcates

Information for Candidates

BEC PRELIMINARY

Information for

Candidates –

BEC Preliminary

Why take BEC?

More than ever, you need a good knowledge of English to succeed in international

business and commerce. If you can show you have relevant language skills, you'll have a

great advantage in the jobs market and more choice if you want to work or study abroad.

The Business English Certiﬁcates (BEC) from Cambridge ESOL are for individual learners

who want to have a business-related English language qualiﬁcation. By taking an

internationally recognised business qualiﬁcation like BEC, you can show that you have

learned English to an appropriate standard and can use it in a professional context.

BEC is available at three levels: BEC Preliminary, BEC Vantage and BEC Higher. BEC

Preliminary is set at Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for

Languages (CEFR).

Why take a Cambridge ESOL exam?

University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL) offers the world’s leading

range of qualiﬁcations for learners and teachers of English. Around 1.75 million people

in over 135 countries take Cambridge ESOL exams every year.

• Develop effective communication skills

The Cambridge ESOL examinations cover all four language skills – listening, speaking,

reading and writing. They include a range of tasks which assess your ability to use

English, so that you develop the full range of skills you need to communicate

effectively in a variety of contexts.

• Worldwide recognition

Universities and employers all over the world recognise Cambridge ESOL exams, so a

Cambridge ESOL examination is a valuable qualiﬁcation.

• Quality you can trust

We do extensive research and trialling to make sure that you get the fairest, most

accurate assessment of your ability and that our exams are most relevant to the

range of uses for which you need English.

Preparing for BEC

If you would like some practice material to help you prepare for BEC Preliminary, there

are past paper packs available to buy which include an audio CD of the Listening test.

You can ﬁnd more information, prices and details of how to order on our website at:

www.CambridgeESOL.org/support/pastpapers.htm

What does BEC Preliminary involve?

This booklet is a brief introduction to BEC Preliminary. If you would like to see a full

sample paper for BEC Preliminary, you can download one from our website at:

www.CambridgeESOL.org/support/dloads/bec_downloads.htm

The table below shows the different parts of BEC Preliminary and how long each paper

takes. In BEC Preliminary, Reading and Writing are combined on one question paper.

Name of paper

Content

Time allowed

Marks (% of total)

Reading and

Writing

Reading: 7 parts/45 items

Writing: 2 tasks

1 hour 30 minutes

Reading: 25%

Writing: 25%

Listening

4 parts/30 items

about 40 minutes including

transfer time

25%

Speaking

3 parts

12 minutes (2:2 format*)

25%

* 2 examiners, 2 candidates (2:3 format is used for the last group in a session where necessary)

bec preliminary information for candidates

Reading and Writing

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Reading

The Reading section has the following types of exercise: multiple-choice, matching,

Right/Wrong/Doesn’t Say, multiple-choice gap-ﬁlling and form-ﬁlling. Reading is worth

25% of the total marks.

Part One (5 questions)

In this part there are ﬁve short texts, each of which has a multiple-choice question

containing three options. In all cases the information will be brief and clear. To answer

the question correctly, you have to identify or interpret the meaning of the text.

A wide variety of text types typical of international business situations can appear in

this part. Each text will be complete and have a recognisable context. Below are two

examples of the type of text you will ﬁnd. You have to choose the correct answer from

the three options given (A, B or C) and mark it on your Answer Sheet. There are three

more texts and questions like this one in the exam.

Office Staff Required

Experience essential

Full training given (leading to

recognised qualifications)

Applicants must have

A relevant qualifications.

B previous experience.

C recognised training.

SPOR TMASTER

TMASTER

Pakistan-based manufacturer of sports items wishing to do

business in Europe is looking for importers

T EL : 92 555 4321

Sportmaster wants to

sell its products abroad.

import products into Pakistan.

manufacture in Europe.

bec preliminary information for candidates

SPOR

Part Two (5 questions)

This is a matching task with one text and ﬁve questions which are often descriptions of

people’s requirements. This section of the test is about vocabulary and meaning. There

are more possible answers than questions, so you won’t have to use all of them.

In the example below, you have to read an advertisement which shows services offered

by a business consultancy. You have to match each question (6, 7 and 8) to the right part

of the advertisement text (labelled A–H). In the exam, there are two more questions like

these.

THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS?

6 Margaret Williams needs help in choosing the

business loan with the most competitive terms.

Need expert advice and/or assistance in one or

more of the following areas?

7 Ibrahim Shah wants to be sure that there will

be enough demand for his product.

Market Research

Constructing a schedule

Calculating costs

8 Maria Fernandez would like some advice

about where to advertise a new line of goods.

Meeting legal requirements

Obtaining finance

Renting or purchasing premises

Recruiting and training staff

Promoting products and services

Part Three (5 questions)

This task consists of eight graphs or charts (or one or more graphics with eight distinct

elements) and ﬁve questions. In the example below, you can see the income of a

restaurant, total expenditure and advertising costs during an eight-month period. The

months are labelled A–H.

For each sentence (11–13), you have to say which month it describes. You may not use

any letter (A–H) more than once. There are two more questions like the ones below in

the exam.

8000

11 In this month, total expenditure, like income,

showed a fall, while spending on advertising

demonstrated the opposite trend.

7000

6000

5000

12 Total expenditure rose slightly in this month,

while advertising costs reached their peak,

leading to a higher income in the following

month.

4000

Income

Total expenditure

3000

Advertising

2000

13 Despite a decline in advertising costs this

month, expenditure as a whole rose.

1000

ABCDE

Month

bec preliminary information for candidates

Part Four (7 questions)

This is a text with seven multiple-choice questions. Each question presents a statement

and you have to say whether the statement is A ‘Right’ or B ‘Wrong’ according to the text

and mark it on your Answer Sheet. If the information is not given in the text, the answer

is C, ‘Doesn’t say’.

You don’t have to understand every word in the text but you should be able to pick out

the important points and work out the meaning. Read each statement and the text and

choose A, B or C for each question (16–18). The example below is an advertisement for a

hot drinks machine. In the exam, there are four more questions like the ones below.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Save money and keep your staff happy

With a QVM machine, companies can avoid having a canteen altogether.

Right

Wrong

Doesn’t say

It can be expensive to keep the

canteen open to serve drinks to your

staff through the day. Our QVM hot

drinks machine replaces this service,

so that you can close the canteen

between mealtimes.

You can install the QVM hot drinks

machine anywhere in the building.

One machine is suitable for a staff of

ten to fifteen people. It costs £1300 to

buy, or £11.00 per week to rent over

60 months. It is not expensive to

operate: for example, the cost of

power for one day is 30p, nearly as

cheap as the price of one hot drink

from the machine.

Our company will carry out a

weekly service, at a charge of £10.00.

We can also refill the machine with

drinks ingredients for an extra charge

of £8.00. Some customers prefer to do

this themselves, however.

There are eight choices of hot drink

available from the QVM machine, and

our company offers one month’s trial

free of charge, so that you can

estimate how popular the machine

will be and see what the actual savings

are.

The QVM machine provides enough hot drinks for up to fifteen people.

Right

Wrong

Doesn’t say

Most customers prefer to rent the QVM machine over sixty months.

Right

Wrong

Doesn’t say

Part Five (6 questions)

This is a single text with six multiple-choice comprehension questions. It is often from a

leaﬂet, or from a newspaper or magazine article.

The example below is part of a review of a book called The Bosses Speak . For each

question (23–25), you have to choose the correct answer (A, B or C). In the exam, there

are three more questions like these.

The Bosses Speak

John Stuart is an executive

recruitment specialist who has

turned to writing. The result is this

book, based on interviews with

twenty Chief Executives.

are fairly new in their position,

and others have had years of

experience, though, strangely,

Stuart doesn’t seem interested

in these differences. The

interviewees work in everything,

from retailing to airlines to

software, and it is this variety that

forms the main theme of Stuart’s

book.

The reviewer suggests that one advantage of the book is that

it is better value than other management books.

it does not need to be read right through.

it is about well-known people.

Each top manager – none of them

famous names, surprisingly – is

given a short chapter, and there is

some introductory material and a

conclusion. This means you can

jump from one person to another,

in any order, which is good for

people who are too busy to read a

book from cover to cover. For

a management book it isn’t

expensive, although whether it’s

good value for money is doubtful.

The book concentrates on the fact that the twenty executives who are interviewed

work in a number of different industries.

I have to say that Stuart’s

approach annoys me. He rarely

stays at a distance from his

interviewees, who are mostly

presented in their own, positive

words. If this were always the

case, at least you would know

where you were. But he seems to

dislike certain interviewees. As a

result, I don’t know whether to

accept any of his opinions.

. . .

started their companies.

have worked for different lengths of time.

The reviewer cannot accept Stuart’s opinions because Stuart

makes unreasonable complaints about the interviewees.

Some of the twenty interviewees

started their own businesses,

while others joined a company

and worked their way up. Some

writes too positively about the interviewees.

has different attitudes towards different interviewees.

bec preliminary information for candidates

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