【听力原文】

　　Retailer: A person's life style has a significant effect on the purchasing process. So how do I determine and understand the life style of my target market?

　　Sociologist: The consumer's activities, interests, and opinions or AIO can be used to analyze life styles and their impact on purchase behavior. Activities, inter- ests, and opinions are especially useful when they can be related to demo- graphic data. Grouping people accord- ing to these three criteria will reveal substantial differences in product us- age, time spent shopping, enjoyment of shopping experience, location and hours of the store, and so on. A typi- cal consumer AIO survey would in- elude questions on membership, hob- bies, travel, shopping, work, and en- tertainment activities, involvement in the home, the family, and community interests and feelings about econom- ics, politics, and advertising. The use of the AIO measurement has also been called psychographics; it is in the ear- ly stages of development.

　　Retailer: So the AIO survey of consumers is not enough. What else should I pay attention to?

　　Sociologist: Culture, social class, reference groups and class consciousness are social dimensions of life style that have an impact on purchasing behavior. A person's culture affects the importance of family, religion, education and other concerts. North Americans act differently than South Americans or Europeans because of their cultural heritage. For example, in the United States, purchasing decisions are more decentralized; religion has a declining impact on behavior. From a retailing perspective, the norms or standards of behavior that are influenced by culture are most important. Culture has an impact on all aspects of the purchasing process.

　　Retailer: How do social classes influence a person's purchasing behavior?

　　Sociologist: Lower-class consumers have limited in- formation sources and seek local, friendly retailers. Middle class con- sumers utilize media information and extensive search. They are willing to shop out of their neighborhoods. Up- per- class consumers use media infor- mation and shop at prestige stores. For products or services that are conspicu- ous, reference groups have an impor- tant role in the purchasing process. Those reference groups that are face- to-face have the most impact on the purchasing process. The different types and uses of reference groups need to be understood, As an example, one's neighbours are a membership reference group. However, a retailer must distin- guish between the use of neighbours as a reference group by suburbanites and the use by city dwellers. The suburban- ite will follow his or her neighbours and know them much better. City dwellers are more independent and know little about their neighbours.

　　Retailer: Don't you think motives are very important in purchasing behavior?

　　Sociologist: Yes. Personality, motives, and per- formance are individual dimensions of life style that have an impact on pur- chasing behavior. A consumer's per- sonality traits affect the purchase process. For an impatient person, the process is short. For someone with lit-tle selfconfidence, the process is long. Post purchase satisfaction is very im- portant to a status seeker. Consumers have different motives (reasons) when they buy products. Motives are critical when the consumer ranks alternatives and makes a final decision. Motives do change in different situations. A person's performance in various roles determines his or her social acceptance and influences the purchasing process. Retailer: Thank you very much. I think I've learned about the importance of life style

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　　Another name for AIO measurement isA. psychographics.

　　B. demographics.

　　C. statistics.

　　参考答案:A 系统解析:由The use of the AIO measurement has also been called psychographics可知，Al0测量法也 叫做psychographics，意为“心理统计特征”。

　　72

　　According to the author, the most important social factor in purchasing process isA. reference groups.

　　B. social classes.

　　C. culture.

　　参考答案:C 系统解析:由原文“From a retailing perspective，the nOrlTlS or standards of behavior that ale influenced bv culture are most important.”可知，文化对 于购买过程的影响是最大的。

　　73

　　If you are running an upper level fur store, you'd better attract your customers byA. lowering prices.

　　B. mass advertising.

　　C. improving the product packaging.

　　参考答案:B 系统解析:由原文Upper—class consumers use media information and shop at prestige stores可知，高 档次的消费者通过媒体来了解产品并选择高档 商店。因此吸引他们的有效方式就是广告。

　　74

　　Sometimes, the reference groups have the most impact on the purchasing process, so a retailer must pay much attention to the reference groups composed byA. family members.

　　B. suburbanites.

　　C. city dwellers.

　　参考答案:A 系统解析:通过Those reference groups that are face—to- face have the most impact on the purchasing process可知，那些容易面对面交流的顾客群 体容易影响购买行为，因此只有A项中的家 庭成员是最符合这个群体的。

　　75

　　For the customer with much self-confidence, the purchasing process isA. endless.

　　B. long.

　　C. short.

　　参考答案:C 系统解析:由For someone with little self confidence， the process is lon9可知，没有购买信心的顾客 购买过程是很长的，相反可知购买过程则较短 暂。故选C。

　　76

　　When the consumer thinks of alternatives and makes a final decision.the most important individuaI factor will beA. personalities.

　　B. motives.

　　C. performance.

　　参考答案:B 系统解析:由Motives ale critical when the consumer ranks alternatives and makes a final decision可知，购买 动机是影响他们做购买决定的重要因素。

　　77

　　0ne of the individual dimensions of lifestyle mentioned by the sociologist isA. performance.

　　B. interests.

　　C. class consciousness.

　　参考答案:A 系统解析:由“A person’S performance in various roles determines his OF her social acceptance and influ— ences the purchasing process.”可知，一个人在 各种角色中的表现决定了购买过程。故选A。

　　In this part,the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You have to give information about yourself and express personal opinions.

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　　In this part，the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn.

　　You have to give information about yourself and express personal opinions.

　　Questions：

　　(1)Can I have your full name please?

　　(2)What kind of books do you like best?

　　(3)Do you think companies should provide training for their staff? 参考答案:请参考解析 系统解析:(1) Yes, It's my pleasure. I'm Li Ping.

　　(2) I like novels. Please allow me to explain. Firstly, I like to read a storyline that is full of intrigue and suspense. For example, many love stories have characters who are involved in all sorts of conflicts amongst them. The most common one known all over the world since ancient times is the so-called "love triangle".

　　(3) Definitely yes. The training can enlarge the scope of the employees' professional knowledge, which finally contributes to the work efficiency of their occupation.

　　In this part of the test,you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic.

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　　In this part of the test, you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic You have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk for about one minute.

　　You have one minute to prepare your ideas.

　　A： What is important when…?

　　Coping with a heavy workload

　　·Time management

　　·Benefits system 参考答案:请参考解析 系统解析:【分析思路点拨】

　　这道题所给出可供选择的三个话题分别是在处理繁重的工作时，什么是重要的;8是为了保持展品的受欢迎程度，什么是重要的;最后一个是在给别人分配工作时，什么是重要的。这三个话题都属于公司这一热门领域的范畴之内，这就需要仍是在校学生的部分考生在考前积极充分的储备有关公司的相关话题讨论资料，以备真正考试时的“一时”只用。

　　I choose topic A--what is important when coping with a heavy workload. Regarding for this topic, I have three points to discus as follows:

　　First, time management is an important aspect to consider. The overlong work can only result in less efficiency with a waste of labor and source. So the company should let every worker work within the proper time.

　　Also, for a heavy workload, a good benefits system can be the most aspect to success. It can arouse the workers' active emotions to do the heavy workload. They will work more efficiently and diligently. And the good performance will lead to good reward. No one can refuse this kind of benefits. Finally, feedback of the workers is another essential aspect in the long term. With the workers' feedback, we can know where we should improve and where we do the right things. So we can perfect our work system for a heavy workload.

　　In all, when aiming to cope with a heavy workload, a good benefits system, time management and feedback of the workers are important.

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　　B： What is important when…?

　　Maintaining the popularity of a product among consumers

　　·High quality

　　·Discounts

　　参考答案:请参考解析 系统解析:I choose topic B--what is important when drawing up logistics strategies. Concerning this topic, there are three items I want to mention here.

　　In the first place, high quality of products is the basis of the sales. When the consumers buy the product this time, they find it is practically useful. Next time, they will intend to buy the same product. While, if the product cannot meet their expectations, they may get disappointed, and as a result, they would try other brands of products.

　　Next, it is important to offer discounts to regular customers. By offering discounts, a company can make its existing customers happy and remain loyal to the company's products.

　　Last but not least, after service is also important item. Successful businesses try to supply service and follow-up in a timely manner to retain their customers. If a business is losing customers, it will lose profits.

　　To sum up, high quality, discount and after service are all important elements when maintaining the popularity among consumers.

　　81

　　C： What is important when…?

　　Delegating work to others

　　·Choice of person for the task

　　·Clear organization

　　· 参考答案:请参考解析 系统解析:I choose topic C--what is important when delegating work to others. I choose topic B-what is important when assigning work to others. In relation to the topic, I want to list three items as follows:

　　Firstly, selection of the person for the task is very important. That is to say, the person you find should match the task or work you assign. The person should have enough ability to shoulder the task or even do it more efficiently.

　　Secondly, the clear organization is the essential factor. Before you assign work to others, you should firstly how to divide the whole into different sections. And the order of the whole job and persons for the task are all the points a good organizer should notice. Finally, the way of talking plays an important role in assigning work to others. To different staff, as a good leader you should adopt different ways to talk with them, so that you can have a good cooperation relationship.

　　In short, the clear organization, selection of the person for the task, the way of talking is important when assigning work to others.

　　In this part of the test,you are given a discussion topic.

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　　In this part of the test you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 minutes to look at the prompt card, an example of which is below, and then about 3 minutes to discuss the topic with your partner. After that the examiner will ask you more questions related to the topic.

　　For two candidates

　　Planning a Celebration Program

　　Your company would like to plan a new Celebration Program to facilitate intemal communications.You have been asked to help draft the program.

　　Discuss the situation together，and decide：

　　·what kinds of events should be organised

　　·how to celebrate this occasion.

　　For three candidates

　　Planning a Celebration Program

　　Your company would like to plan a new Celebration Program to facilitate internal communications.You have been asked to help draft Me program.

　　Discuss the situation together，and decide：

　　·what kinds of events should be organised

　　·how to celebrate this occasion

　　·who should attend the celebrations.

　　Follow-on questions

　　·What other occasions should be celebrated in a company?(Why?)

　　·Why are corporate celebrations important?

　　·Do you think corporate rituals represent the image of the company?(Why?)

　　·Do you think corporate celebrations can also bring about negative effects?(Why?)

　　·How important is it to involve all staff in company celebrations?(Why?) 参考答案:请参考解析 系统解析:A: You see, we need to help work out a celebration program for our company.

　　B: Yes, I think it's very important to make a detailed plan about what events to be celebrated.

　　A: Successful corporate rituals and celebrations are important ways of corporate communications. They help to bond people together and connect people to shared values and vision. So a well designed corporate celebration program will benefit a company greatly.

　　B: Yes. But as there is a wide variety of situations that we can celebrate, we have to focus on the most worthy ones. In my opinion, we can keep the cyclical celebrations, as they are more fixed, I mean, they come every year, like company anniversaries, Christmas, New Year's Day, etc.. Celebrations of this kind help to relieve work pressure.

　　A-" You are right. So for these gala events, we can hold parties, costume balls, get-togethers at selected restaurants, etc. We can also invite our clients and customers over as these activities are really great occasions for socializing and networking, 1 mean good chances for building relationships.

　　B: What a jolly idea I think we can also hold ceremonies when our staff members or teams produce excellent performance. It's a way of showing our recognition and appreciation for their efforts. And in return, celebrations of this kind help to enhance job satisfaction and will further help to improve the quality and financial performance of our company.

　　A." Yes. Celebrating individual accomplishment could not only invigorate our employee morale, but also install work with meaning and joy. So on these occasions, we can choose to offer free trips, picnics or get-togethers, etc.

　　B: Right. Besides that, I think we should create celebrations that include everyone. I mean, no one should be left out. So personal transitions should also be celebrated. They often affect how well people perform in work, although personal transitions is private in nature.

　　A: Uhhuh. They also affect how smoothly organizations function in a way. So the management responds well to personal events such as marriage, the birth of a child, or employee birthday etc., and deal with these happy events effectively. They can organize parties, buffet or picnics.

　　B: Right, management should also be able to handle negative personal transitions like a distressing family illness or a death in an employee's family. In such cases, leaders have to be compassionate and supportive,

　　A: So grief counseling is important on such occasions. That would touch the hearts of our employees and help to build commitment and loyalty.

　　B: Well, you see, corporate rituals and ceremonies play a vital role in business management. So it's really important to set a corporate celebration program.

　　Follow-on questions

　　· I think companies should also celebrate an individual's achievements in work, such as a promotion or succession. That would bring great honor to the employees involved and fill them with a sense of pride. What's more, it's also a great encouragement to their co-workers.

　　· Corporate celebrations help to build healthy relationships in the workplace. They promote mutual understanding among employees and offer a refreshing approach to creating a sense of community. They can help .c~mpanies to strengthen ties with their clients.

　　· Yes. What occasions a company celebrates and what rituals they hold authentically reflect the corporate spirit, they pass a distinct message to the public about their images and the values they emphasize. For example, their celebration of employees' birthday indicates their care for people, and their focus on internal communications.

　　· Yes. Negative effects occur if you don't have cleargoals or it's not well planned or organized. Yousee, if you happen to leave someone out, it wouldcause great frustration to him. Besides, it wouldcost a lot to hold all these celebration activities.

　　· Yes. Corporate celebrations aim to enhance a strong sense of belonging and a sense of community within the company, so it's important to involve all staff in these activities. They can help to achieve mutual understanding and a higher level of co-operation among staff.

　　【参考解析】

　　这道题的主题是为公司制定庆祝活动计划。背景知识是你们所在的公司准备制定一套新的公司庆祝活动计划以增进公司的内、外部交流，请你们协助起草这一计划。题目所给出的两个提示句分别是公司应该庆祝哪些活动以及怎样庆祝这些活动。