Suipacha 238 - piso 3 Buenos Aires.

Argentina
+54 [11] 4328- 2444
www.american-forum.com

The Business Advanced Test

Name:
Date:
1. Grammar
A. Tense, voice and aspect.

Put the verb in brackets in the correct form to fill the gaps.
Corporate meetings and brainstorming sessions are extremely popular among executives and
managers, who (1) ____________________ (clearly conduct) them for a long time. What is
less clear (2) ____________________ (be) how useful they actually are. If people actually
(3) ____________________ (prepare carefully) for meetings, and if the purpose of each
meeting (4) ____________________ (think through properly), there might be some benefit
in having them. The reality, however, is very different: employees (5)
____________________ (often ask) to attend time consuming events that they (6)
____________________ (not think about) much beforehand, and which they (7)
____________________ (come away) from with little clear idea about what their purpose
(8) ____________________ (be actually). (9) ____________________ (keep) them short,
perhaps all meeting (10) ____________________ (should hold) with everyone standing!
B. Speculative future
Put the following sentences in order of likelihood, A-F, from the most likely to
happen to the least likely.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The government seems highly unlikely to win the vote.

Given an outstanding season, Contemporary Fusion looks bound to beat its profits
forecast.
They should reach the next bidding stage.
At this stage it appears unlikely that they will get the contract.
Now all that could be about to change.
The convention is definitely going to be held in Bruges Ive seen it on their website.

C. Noun Clauses
Correct the mistakes in the noun phrases in italics in the following sentences.
1.

It remains unclear what particular countries are affected.

2.

The report focuses particularly on retailers of coffee whom meet the refreshment
needs in cities worldwide of office workers.

3.

Our aim is to find a practical solution offering software piece which is inexpensive.

4.

The reason why here are gathered so many great team leaders today is to celebrate
the life and achievements of Santiago Gabrielli.

5.

Your key job responsibility involves promoting and achieving personal and social
welfare high standards.

6.

Dr Stephen James is a successful outstanding manager who educated at Harvard.

D. Prepositions
Fill in the spaces with an appropriate preposition from the box

Suipacha 238 - piso 3 Buenos Aires. Argentina

+54 [11] 4328- 2444
www.american-forum.com

Across

except
On account of

in accordance with
with regard to until

in the light of
without

1.

The next step in our restructuring process is to make changes right __________ the
board.

2.

Trading conditions had been beginning to pick, __________ recently that is.

3.

Your concerns over safety, let me reassure you, are entirely __________ foundation.

4.

You shouldnt use company premises, __________ to conduct company business.

5.

Our regional offices are to be closed __________ the increasingly dangerous civil
war there.

6.

Your role is to make sure we operate strictly __________ current regulations.

7.

I propose we now re-design our brochures __________ the recent logo and website
changes.

8.

__________ the latest sales figures, exactly how bad do you think they are?

E. Inversion and Emphasis

Rewrite each sentence beginning with the word in italics, expressing more
emphasis but keeping the same meaning.
1.

If a counter-bid is launched we are going to have to raise our offer.

Should ____________________________________________________
2.

In the next session I would like to draw up a long-term investment plan.

What ____________________________________________________________
3.

If someone had told us that ours was the only bid, we could have offered less.

Had ____________________________________________________________
4.

The sealed bids must not be opened for any reason before the closing date.

Unless ____________________________________________________________
5.

We might be able to increase our bid if we were in a stronger position financially.

Were ____________________________________________________________
2. Vocabulary
A. Choose the right phrasal verb from the box to replace the words in italics.
Claw back

come up with
Tail off

take in

get through
weigh up

go in

kick around

Suipacha 238 - piso 3 Buenos Aires. Argentina

+54 [11] 4328- 2444
www.american-forum.com

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

In the wake of a toxic combination of rising prices and deteriorating confidence,

demand for the new wonder product HairToday is expected to dwindle over the
coming months. ____________________
Provided we can survive the current downturn I have no doubt that we can
significantly grow our market share. ____________________
AN immediate raise, new responsibilities and the possibility of promotion next year
wow, thats a lot for me to absorb right now.
Ok, listen up you guys, now I want you to follow this three stage plan: enter big,
assess the opportunities and risks, and produce that killer business plan.
After six months of decline I think the very least we can do is aim to recover our
market share.
Time for a change of topic Why dont we discuss a few ideas for our new vitamin
cocktail marketing plan?

B. Complete the extracts from company press statements by filling each space with
a word from the box.
Accept

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

deny
circulate

accused
committed

determined

charged

pose

Please ignore any rumours which may __________ over the companys balance
sheet and future profitability.
Any company found breaching the stringent new animal welfare code will be
__________ with cruelty.
Our organization has been officially __________ of price fixing.
We have therefore decided to __________ full responsibility for any wrongdoing.
We categorically __________ all allegations of misuse of company funds.
The pesticide residues remain within permitted limits and __________ absolutely no
risk to public health.
We are __________ space to clamp down on cartels and anti-competitive practices.
The company remains __________ to the highest standards of animal welfare in the
industry.

3. Writing
You represent a firm of market research consultants which is proposing to carry out research
into Internet use in East Africa for the producer of a very low-cost, Internet-ready palmtop
computer (the client company). Look at the informal notes and draw up the first part of a
proposal in three paragraphs (200250 words), with subheadings as shown. You do not need
to specify details such as costs and deadlines for the work.