参加2013年下半年BEC中级考试的同学们，在掌握了BEC相关词汇后，就要利用BEC中级历年真题来进行更有针对性的练习了。下面是一道阅读题，和四六级考试的传统阅读题接近，相信这类题型都是同学们拿分的题型。

Critical Path

When David Hayden realised his company was heading for trouble, he took drastic measures to get it back on track

David Hayden founded his company, Critical Path, an email provider, in 1997 to take advantage of the boom in email traffic. Critical Path became a public company two years later, and Hayden took the opportunity to step down from his executive position in order to work on personal projects. At the same time, he agreed to stay with the company as Chairman, but the business was put in the hands of new managers by its investors. With sector-leading products and an expanding market, the company seemed to be on the up and up. However, by early 2001, it was in trouble. Shares that had been worth $26 in 1999, when they were first sold, were down to a mere 24 cents.

Called in by a panicking board, Hayden found himself back in charge as Executive Chairman, trying desperately to rescue what he could. The 1,100 staff had lost confidence in the company and did not know what was going to happen to them. And, as Hayden discovered, the management team was incompetent. Those guys didn't understand the product or the sector,' says Hayden. The heads of department didn't communicate and they didn't lead.' But what was worse, Critical Path had lost the goodwill of its investors.

Hayden knew that bringing the figures under control would be a vital step in the company's turnaround. 'You've got to sort out the finances. For me, that meant getting back the goodwill of the investors. That was tough, after what had happened. But although they were angry with the company, they didn't have bad feelings about me. I told them that I knew I could get the company on its feet again.' He was authorised to make whatever changes were required, and his first act was to find people within the company he could trust and put them in charge.

The next thing Hayden had to tackle was morale. 'Everyone left the office at five on the dot - they couldn't get away quickly enough. To get the buzz back and win the staff over, I had to prove my own commitment and put in the extra hours with them.' In return, it was assumed that nobody would ask for overtime pay until the company was on its feet again. Contrary to normal practice, Hayden was reluctant to lay people off, and apart from not replacing people as they reached retirement age, he left the workforce largely unchanged, although he did identify key people throughout the company who were given more responsibility.

But, as Hayden insists, before a company reaches such a crisis, there are warning signs that any financial director or accountant should take note of. 'A business that has an unrealistic pricing policy or has to negotiate extended credit with its suppliers is in trouble,' is his message. 'Or if you often have to apply for your overdraft limit to be raised or have trouble paying tax on time, something needs to be done.'

By 2003, the company was healthy again, with reasonably stable finances and a modest but steady share price of $1.60. 'One thing that helped save us was that our technology worked,' says Hayden. 'With 20 million email accounts, we never lost a single major client because the product kept on working.' With ideas for a fresh venture demanding his attention elsewhere, Hayden has moved on. 'It was time to go,' he says. 'I'm not a turnaround specialist. I prefer start-ups.'

13 What event coincided with Critical Path becoming a public company?

A Hayden became the Executive Director of Critical Path.

B Investors hired a replacement team to run Critical Path.

C Critical Path launched a successful new product on the market.

D Critical Path was floated on the Stock Exchange at 24 cents per share.

14 Which of the following situations did Hayden face at Critical Path in 2001?

A The employees were worried about job security.

B The investors were calling for changes to the company structure.

C The management was misleading the staff about the company's position.

D The board of directors did not realise the scale of the company's problems.

15 One reason Hayden was able to turn Critical Path around was that

A he managed to find new investors.

B the financial situation was not as bad as he had thought.

C he had built up a good relationship with the management team.

D he was given the support that he needed.

16 What was Hayden's policy regarding the staff of Critical Path?

A He paid overtime to everybody who worked outside office hours.

B He reduced the workforce by operating an early retirement scheme.

C He gave key staff the opportunity to help him set goals for the company.

D He restored motivation by showing willingness to work alongside staff.

17 According to Hayden, what could indicate that a business is in trouble?

A problems keeping accounts up to date

B suppliers refusing to offer new credit terms

C a frequent need to increase the amount borrowed

D difficulties in getting payment from customers on time

18 Hayden left Critical Path after he had rescued the company because

A he wanted to develop the technology for a new internet service.

B he wanted to concentrate on founding a new enterprise.

C he had been offered a job with a major internet company.

D he decided to go into partnership with a major client.　

答案解析：

这篇文章名为《Critical Path》，字面上理解是关键路径，但在此文中是指一个公司的名字。整篇文章都是围绕这个公司遭遇的困境，以及这个公司的执行主席是如何力挽狂澜、扭转乾坤的。BEC考试阅读文章的一大特点是逻辑性强，层次分明，读完不会有找不着北的感觉。

13题，题目问当Critical Path成为上市公司时还发生了什么事。

A不对，原文说的很明白：Hayden took the opportunity to step down from his executive position。抓住机会从总裁的位置上退下来。

B项正确。原文说the business was put in the hands of new managers by its investors。业务被投资者交给了新的经理。和B选项的“投资者雇佣了一个替代团队来运营Critical Path”说的是一个意思。

C不对，原文说的是sector-leading products，行业领先的产品，的确是C选项所说的successful，但是new不对。

D不对，首先时间上不吻合，不是Critical Path成为上市公司时的事，其次这一句的描述也不对，只是说股价跌倒了24美分，不是float。

Public company：a company whose shares can be bought and sold on the stock market, etc.上市公司。

14题，题目问在2001年的Critical Path,这个Hayden面临着什么样的情况。答案在第二段找。

A段说员工们担心工作保障。原文中说“The 1,100 staff had lost confidence in the company and did not know what was going to happen to them”，1100号员工对公司失去了信心，不知道将会发生什么。和A的意思吻合。

B、C、D在原文中都没有提到。

这个题目关键是能理解job security的意思，它是商务英语里地道常见的用法(同样的还有employment security)：

job security：a situation where a job is likely to last for a long time and you will keep the job if you do what you are expected to

eg: Consumers have cut back on their spending because of worries about job security.

常见搭配(完形填空可能会遇到)

a high/low level of job security to have/improve/increase/provide job security

15题，题目问Hayden能够扭转局面的一个原因。答案在第三段找，并不很直接，需要一点概括。这一段先说了下公司的一些难处，比如投资人很生气，后果很严重。所幸的是投资人对Hayden并不反感：He was authorised to make whatever changes were required，他被授权进行一切需要的改变，也就是D选项所说的得到了需要的支持。

A不对，不需要找新的投资者，原文说的是“getting back the goodwill of the investors”，挽回投资人的好感。

B不对，财政状况的确很坏。

C在原文没有提到。原文的最后一句说在公司寻找可以信赖的人并让他们负责，不是说和管理层建立好关系。

16题，问针对Critical Path的员工采取的政策是什么。答案是第四段的第一句话：The next thing Hayden had to tackle was morale。需要解决的是士气问题。也就是D段所说的restored motivation。这一段是讲Hayden如何与员工站在一起。

A不对，原文说的很清楚：it was assumed that nobody would ask for overtime pay until the company was on its feet again。任何人不得索取加班补偿。

B不对，原文是apart from not replacing people as they reached retirement age。

C也不对，原文是who were given more responsibility，被赋予了更多的责任，不是“help him set goals”。17题，题目问什么可以表明一个公司陷入了困境。答案是第五段的这么一句：A business that has an unrealistic pricing policy or has to negotiate extended credit with its suppliers is in trouble。有一个不现实的定价政策或者需要和供货商谈判提高贷款。

Credit是很眼熟的单词，用法很多，让人晕头转向。这里的意思是：

money that financial institutions lend to businesses, governments and people

eg：It is unlikely that the bank will extend additional credit to the firm.

18题，题目问扮演了救世主角色之后的Hayden为什么选择离开。

答案是最后一段：“With ideas for a fresh venture demanding his attention elsewhere”和“I'm not a turnaround specialist. I prefer start-ups.”需要一个崭新的需要他的注意力的企业。也就是B选项所说的想要一个新的企业。