BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷146
概括文意配伍
. Look at the statements below and the five news items on various companies on the opposite page.
. Which report (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement refer to?
. For each statement, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet.
. You will need to use some of these letters more than once.
A
New Store
Parkin\’s search for a site for its next store has been ended by Marsden\’s misfortunes, with Parkin agreeing to buy half of the latter\’s Birmingham store for £40m. Parkin\’s main store is in London, but it opened its second, in Birmingham, three years ago, and has been seeking sites in other large cities. There was surprise that the new store, likely to open next year, is so close to the existing one, where profits have so far beaten Parkin\’s sales targets, in case it draws customers away from the existing outlet.
B
Capacity Cut
The packaging industry has typically suffered from a vicious cycle, with rising prices leading to excess capacity, which in turn leads to a collapse in prices, and Johnson Keithley is no exception. The company has been attempting to smooth the boom/bust cycle by better capacity management, but it admitted yesterday that it has been forced to make significant cuts to capacity because of a surprisingly sharp downturn in demand. The group now expects its second-half results to fall below expectations, and warned of further problems on the horizon.
C
Hit by Higher Costs
Higher raw-material costs have reduced full-year profits at Bonner\’s, the plastics manufacturer, with prices of polyethylene, the main component of its business, rising 8% since last year. Profits were also held back by the disposal of its packaging division, which accounted for over half of turnover the previous year. Additional costs were incurred by relocating the head office from Wrexham to Cardiff, and from reorganisation and redundancy in its plastics business. Bonner\’s said that trading in the current year has started slowly, particularly in its European markets.
D
Surprise Fall
Shares in regional supermarket chain Couldson fell steeply yesterday after the retailer warned of losses at its biggest outlet, in Bristol. The warning was in stark contrast to its trading statement three months ago, which reported a rise in like-for-like sales of 5% in the preceding month. However, trading across the rest of the chain, including seven outlets bought last year from Luxona, showed a healthy improvement. The company has promised to do all it can to stem the decline of the last four weeks at the Bristol outlet.
E
Modest Improvement
Dorcas Foods has posted a modest rise in interim profits. However, the company says it has had to absorb increased costs at its Quality Sugar subsidiary and the impact of a margin squeeze at its Australian baking operations. In sugar, the continued strength of sterling has capped profits, and with Dorcas\’s move out of sugar-beet refining, expenditure on redundancy is having a serious impact. At the same time, floods in Australia have led to higher wheat prices, which in turn have reduced margins in the company\’s baking operations.
1.This company reports not being able
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