《BEC中级综合强化教程》听力专项练习听力原文(1)

Part two
Questions 13
   It's been a bad day for us today. The art market is extremely sensitive and I'm afraid I expected the picture to go for a lot more.
   Unfortunately it didn't reach its reserve price and so we are left with a very expensive picture which we have failed to sell. I'm afraid I have to take that sort of risk.
Question 14
   Well, if you want my professional opinion my advice is that in order to avoid paying more tax than you need to you should ensure that your overseas representatives act as consultants to your company. It's better for you if they are not technically your employees. This is especially important as they only work for you on a part-time basis. Now it's quite a different matter if you are planning to open regional offices…
Question 15
   Finally, thank you for coming here today at such short notice. I hope that by the end of today all staff will be aware of the implications of the takeover and I am relying on you, as my senior managers, to ensure that their concerns and queries are fully answered. It won't be possible to guarantee that their jobs are safe forever, but at least you will be able to reassure them that there will be no redundancies in the next 12 months. Now if you have any questions…
Question 16
   I've got three deliveries in the London area and all of those are top priority. However, if you're willing to take a chance, there's a good possibility that I could do a pick-up from the airport early this afternoon.
Question 17
   This report has to be on the Minister’s desk by Monday morning. I’ve had the researchers on it for a few weeks and it’s looking pretty good. I don’t think the Government is going to have too much difficulty as the statistics speak for themselves. There is a clear drop in the unemployment figures, even taking into account seasonal factors.
Section Two. Questions 18—22
Question 18
I’ve decided to circulate the report you produced on your visit to Pakistan to the senior management team. Before it goes out, can you make sure that those sales forecasts you pet in are as accurate as possible? I suggest you speak to Daniel in Marketing. He’s pretty reliable.