BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes

Description
Students do a guided activity matching peoples requirements to different services, focusing
on use of paraphrase. They also do a short writing activity, completing requirements for
some options. Finally they do a gapfill activity on the structure and procedure of Reading
Part 2.
Time required:

30 minutes

Materials
required:

Students Worksheet (one per student)

Aims:

to familiarise students with the format of Reading Part 2

Sample task and answer sheet (one per student) for optional
follow-up

to help students to identify the relevant parts of the questions

Procedure
1. Ask students when they last looked for information or advice in their own language,
what they wanted to find out, and how they set about it. Ask if theyve looked for
information or advice in English, and if so, ask the same questions.
2. Tell students you are going to think about getting help, advice and information. Ask
them to imagine they want to study full-time for a qualification in finance. Ask them if
each of the following would be helpful and if not, why not: a cinema; a firm of
accountants; a music college; a business college [see Key to Procedure steps].
3. Ask them to imagine they want to improve the newspaper and magazine
advertisements for their companys products, and they need to decide who can help
them. Write a list on the board: a TV company; a writer who specialises in company
brochures; an internet advertising company; an advertising agency. Ask them to
discuss in pairs how useful each person or business on the list would be. After a few
minutes, ask for comments on each of the options [see Key to Procedure steps].
4. Write B2B and B2C on the board, and ask students in pairs to discuss what they
mean and think of examples of such products or services. Elicit their answers [see
Key to Procedure steps].
5. Write on the board:
Jack Simmons runs an expanding law firm, and needs help with filling vacant posts.
Ask them these questions to check understanding:
Is Jack Simmons the boss or a secretary? Which part of the sentence gives that
information? Is the firm getting bigger or smaller? Which part of the sentence gives
that information? Does the firm have too many staff or too few? Which part of the
sentence gives that information? Does Jack need legal advice? Does he need advice
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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes

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on setting up a business? What does he want? Which part of the sentence gives that
information? What type of business could help him? [see Key to Procedure steps]
6. Write on the board:
Carol Blacks packaging company wants to be able to send customers in other
countries invoices and receipts online.
Ask these questions to check understanding:
Does Carol need information about new packaging materials? Does she need
information about sending goods to other countries? What does she want? What type
of business could help her? Which part of the sentence says what Carol is looking
for? [See Key to Procedure steps.]
7. Say that you are going to give students a worksheet with some sentences about
people whose companies need help from a consultancy group. Give each student a
copy of Students Worksheet. Ask them, working in pairs, to do Exercise 1:
underline the part of each sentence that says what the person is looking for.
8. Check the answers [see Key to Students Worksheet].
9. Ask students to look at the list of Puckeridges services (A-H in Exercise 2) and ask
students why companies might need to go to Puckeridge for each service [see Key
to Procedure steps].
10. Ask which service Jack Simmons needs [G] and ask why. Point out that theyve
chosen the right answer by understanding that filling vacant posts and recruitment
mean the same thing. Ask which one Carol Black needs [D]. Point out that theyve
understood that to invoice customers in other countries online means the same as
creating documents that can be sent electronically.
11. Explain that this matching activity is what they need to do in Reading Part 2:
matching services or other things (A-H) to peoples requirements (1-5). Ask them,
working in pairs, to complete Exercise 2: choose the right service for each of the
people 3-5, and think about why each one is right.
12. Check the answers [see Key to Students Worksheet].
13. Write the beginning of a sentence on the board:
Carla Verdi works for a vegetable producer which wants to
Ask them to look at A in Exercise 2 (hiring vehicles and drivers for all goods/routes),
then to complete the sentence above so that A is the best service. Elicit some ideas,
then write a correct ending on the board [e.g. transport its vegetables to
supermarkets]. Write get advice on growing vegetables and ask if A is still right
[no]. Then write buy new trucks, and ask if A is right [no]. Point out that A has
nothing to do with growing vegetables, but it has something to do with trucks, so it
might look right. However its wrong because A is about companies hiring trucks, not
buying them.

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes

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14. Ask students, working in pairs, to write three endings for the same sentence:
Carla Verdi works for a vegetable producer which wants to
firstly for B (legal requirements for imports/exports) and then for C (producing staff
pay records). One ending should be right, one completely wrong, and one should be
wrong but might seem right (like the examples in step 13).
15. Elicit and comment on some of the students suggestions, and then read the
suggested answers [see Key to Procedure steps].
16. Explain that Exercise 3 in the Students Worksheet gives information and advice
about Reading Part 2. Ask students to complete the exercise in pairs, then elicit the
missing words [see Key to Students Worksheet]. Note that not all the words are
used, and one word is used twice.
17. Finish by asking students if they would be interested in providing any of the services
in the Puckeridge list, and if there are any other business-to-business services that
they think a consultancy group might give [see Key to Procedure steps].

Suggested follow-up activities

1.

Give students a copy of the sample task (at the end of this activity) and a copy of
the answer sheet from the BEC Handbook (page 25, enlarged to double its size),
so students can get used to completing the task and filling in the right lozenges
(online at http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/resources/teacher/bec_hb.pdf).

2.

Encourage students to become familiar with online and printed lists such as:
the contents of business books
business courses at a college
departments of a company
services offered by business consultancies

3.

See the preparation ideas in the BEC handbook, pages 10 (Reading, general) and
11 (Part 2), and in Examination Reports on past papers.

4.

Copy Part 2 in the BEC Handbook (page 14) and the answer sheet (page 25) and
ask students to do the task, aiming at spending 5 minutes on it, and practise filling
in their answers on the answer sheet. Note that the pages from the handbook need
to be enlarged.

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes Answer Keys

Key to Procedure steps
Step 2:
cinema: no it wouldnt provide full-time training in anything (although it may employ
people who work in finance)
firm of accountants: no it wouldnt provide full-time training (although most of its staff
work in finance)
music college: no it would provide full-time training, but in music, not finance (although
some of its staff work in finance)
business college: yes

Step 3:
TV company: no it might show commercials made for TV, but wouldnt provide advice
on producing advertisements
writer who specialises in company brochures: yes he or she should know how to write
in a way that attracts the readers interest
internet advertising company: no it doesnt deal with newspaper and magazine
advertisements
advertising agency: yes

Step 4:
B2B (business-to-business): one business selling their products or services to other
businesses, e.g. a bus manufacturer, a company providing training for companies.
B2C (business-to-consumer): the products or services are bought by consumers, e.g.
clothes, training paid for by individuals.

Step 5:
Is Jack Simmons the boss or a secretary? the boss
Which part of the sentence gives that information? Jack Simmons runs an expanding
law firm
Is the firm getting bigger or smaller? bigger
Which part of the sentence gives that information? expanding
Does the firm have too many staff or too few? too few
Which part of the sentence gives that information? needs help with filling vacant posts
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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes Answer Keys

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Does Jack need legal advice? no

Does he need advice on setting up a business? no
What does he want? help with recruitment
Which part of the sentence gives that information? needs help with filling vacant posts
What type of business could help him? a recruitment agency, a head hunter, or a
business that advertises job vacancies
NB: the most important thing is that Jack wants help with recruitment the fact that he
runs a law firm may not be relevant, as the vacant posts may not be legal, but may be
secretarial, for example.

Step 6:
Does Carol need information about new packaging materials? no
Does she need information about sending goods to other countries? no
What does she want? to send invoices and receipts to customers online
What type of business could help her? a company that produces or sells software
packages
Which part of the sentence says what Carol is looking for? wants to be able to send
customers invoices and receipts online. NB in other countries isnt important, as there
is no difference between sending documents online to customers in other countries and
sending them to domestic customers.

Step 9:

to ask for advice on hiring a truck (lorry) and driver to transport the companys
goods. The consultancy advises businesses about hiring vehicles (e.g. trucks) and
drivers to transport goods, e.g. to send products to customers.

to find out about laws affecting importing or exporting goods

to ask the consultancy to design a system (probably using software) that it can use
to keep records of salaries, wages and other payments to staff

to ask for advice on creating order forms and other documents which can be sent
electronically and can be read on all computers

to ask for advice on software that the company can use to estimate future sales

to ask for advice on hiring container units for storing products, components, etc
(NB: these are kept in a specific location, unlike shipping containers, which are
used to transport goods on container vessels)

to ask for advice on advertising for new staff, e.g. in newspapers or trade journals

to ask for advice on planning training for the companys staff

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes Answer Keys

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Step 15:
B: Right: start selling vegetables abroad and needs to know about relevant laws in
other countries.
Completely wrong: find out if its customers would pay more for its products.
Wrong but might seem right: make contact with a company that imports
vegetables.

C: Right: get advice on software for keeping details of salaries and wages.
Completely wrong: recruit new staff.
Wrong but might seem right: find out how much it should pay its staff.

Step 17:
other B2B services might include advising on a merger or acquisition, on restructuring
after a merger or acquisition, on applying for finance, and on managing a project.

Key to Students Worksheet, Exercise 1

1.

Jack Simmons runs an expanding law firm, and needs help with filling vacant
posts.

2.

Carol Blacks packaging company wants to be able to send customers in other

countries invoices and receipts online.

3.

Manfred Wirsing is a divisional manager who wants to set appropriate production

targets for the coming year.

4.

Jennifer Lees manufacturing company has purchased components from overseas,

and is looking for a suitable place to keep them.

5.

Asma Samairat wants staff at her transport company to improve their keyboard
accuracy.

Key to Students Worksheet, Exercise 2

(1: G; 2: D these have been elicited orally in step 11)
3: E setting appropriate production targets depends on having a fairly accurate
prediction of likely sales
4: F keeping the components means they need to be stored until they can be used
5: H keyboard accuracy is a computer skill, and to improve accuracy they staff need
training
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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Teachers Notes Answer Keys

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Key to Students Worksheet, Exercise 3

Its useful to underline what exactly the person or business wants. The type of
business usually isnt relevant.

Its important to read the list, including the heading, and to think about what each one
means.

The words used in the sentences and the options may not be the same.

All the answers should be different.

There are always five sentences and eight options.

You should spend about five minutes on Part 2.

Key to Sample Task

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Students Worksheet

Exercise 1

Underline the part of each sentence that says what the person is looking for.

Jack Simmons runs an expanding law firm, and needs help with filling vacant posts.

Carol Blacks packaging company wants to be able to invoice customers in other

countries online.

Manfred Wirsing is a divisional manager who wants to set appropriate production

targets for the coming year.

Jennifer Lees manufacturing company has purchased components from overseas,

and is looking for a suitable place to keep them.

Asma Samairat wants staff at her transport company to improve their keyboard
accuracy.

Exercise 2

Look at the list below. It shows the business-to-business services offered by a

consultancy group.

For questions 1-5 (in Exercise 1), decide which service (A H) each person needs.

Do not use any letter more than once.

PUCKERIDGE CONSULTANCY GROUP

We offer advice in the following areas:

hiring vehicles and drivers for all goods/routes

legal requirements for imports/exports

producing staff pay records

creating documents that can be sent electronically

choosing the best software for predicting sales

storage container units for hire

effective recruitment advertising

organising workplace skills training

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Students Worksheet

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Exercise 3
Complete this information and advice on Reading Part 2 by writing one of the words from the
box in each space. You will need to use one word twice.

different

heading

list

not

relevant

same

underline

word

three

five

six

eight

PART 2

Its useful to what exactly the person or business wants. The type of
business usually isnt .

Its important to read the , including the , and to

think about what each one means.

The words used in the sentences and the options may be the same.

All the answers should be .

There are always sentences and options.

You should spend about minutes on Part 2.

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Students Worksheet

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Sample Task

Look at the notice below. It shows a list of stands at a Trade Fair.

For questions 1 5, decide which stand (A H) each person needs to visit.

Do not use any letter more than once.

TRADE FAIR STANDS

CIP Systems: Internal Telephone Systems

Bertix Plc: Top-of-the-Range Laptop Computers

Aurora Ltd: Hands-Free Mobile Phones for Vehicles

FastCo Ltd: Distribution Services

Tops Recruitment Agency: Specialists in Management

HTML Ltd: Website Marketing and Internet Advertising

Journey.com: Travel Agency for the Business Executive

FTA: Finance for Training

Veronica Gonzlez imports computer hardware and needs a company to transport it

from the port to her chain of stores.

In order to obtain an advanced business qualification, Huynh Phu Loc has to take a
year off work without pay, and is looking for funding.

John Brown is buying new vans for his service engineers and wants to be able to
contact them at any time.

When travelling on business, Natalya Obolensky needs to be able to write letters, send
emails and analyse data.

Marina Andersson wants professional help in finding good candidates for senior posts
in her computer software company.

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BEC Preliminary Reading Part 2 Sample Task

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