Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

Progress test 2 (Units 4–6)

LISTENING
Listen to radio host Sandra Hebbert interviewing designer Philippe Boisseau. Choose the best
answer – a, b or c – to the questions.
Track 4

1 What sort of product does Philippe design?

a) stands for trade shows
b) cars
c) furniture
2 What does Sandra ask about?
a) Philippe’s ideas
b) The materials Philippe uses
c) Stress in Philippe’s job
3 What does Philippe say about some furniture designers?
a) They paint their furniture.
b) They are like artists.
c) They are not good businesspeople.
4 How does Philippe see himself?
a) As a salesperson
b) As an artist
c) As a businessperson
5 What sort of product does Philippe create?
a) Comfortable but very expensive
b) Mainly beautiful, like a painting or sculpture
c) Useful and not too expensive
6 How does Philippe get ideas for his product designs?
a) He does market research.
b) He has ideas and then tries to sell them.
c) He hires a team of top designers.
7 What does Philippe discover when he talks to people?
a) His competitors’ secrets
b) Gaps in the market
c) People’s favourite furniture stores

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 1

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

8 What did Philippe do two years ago?

a) He extended his product range.
b) He raised his status.
c) He entered the furniture market for the first time.
9 What need did Philippe discover?
a) People wanted more storage space.
b) People wanted more comfortable furniture.
c) People wanted desks for the living room.
10 Whose products did Philippe and his team look at closely?
a) their competitors’
b) their own
c) their clients’
11 What does Philippe say about his sofa with drawers?
a) It wasn’t popular.
b) It was wasteful.
c) It was a breakthrough.
12 What does Philippe say about the European Furniture Design Award?
a) He hopes to win one.
b) He won one.
c) He didn’t win one.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 2

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

VOCABULARY
A Complete the text with words from the box.
balance deadline environment life lifestyle need opportunity
workaholic
I’m a freelance accountant and bookkeeper for small businesses so obviously I meet a (13) need that
every business has. When I tell people what I do, they often say, ‘Oh, I guess you love the freelance
(14) lifestyle ! You can work whenever you choose!’ I usually just smile and agree but, actually, for a
freelancer, finding the right work–life (15) balance is difficult. When a job comes along, I have to
take advantage of the (16) opportunity and accept the work, even if I’m already busy. If I have an
important (17) deadline to meet, I often start work at 8:00 in the morning and finish at 8:00 at night.
This usually happens near the end of the tax year. Fortunately, I don’t work twelve hours every day all
year long – I’m not a (18) workaholic . I have a family and a lot of interests outside of work. Overall,
my quality of (19) life is really good. I have a small, comfortable office in my home and I really like
being in control of my working (20) environment.

B Choose the best word to complete the sentences.

21 I had a very heavy (work / workload) last month but this month it isn’t too bad.

22 I don’t print most e-mails because my company is trying to (reduce / raise) waste in the
office.

23 Manufacturing companies now do more to (extend / protect) the environment than they did in
the past.

24 For business dinners with only five or six people, I like the (cosy / medium) atmosphere of
our local Japanese restaurant.

25 Lunch meetings need to be very quick so I always choose a restaurant that I know will have
(efficient / local) service.

26 I never drink wine or beer at a business dinner. In fact, I always just order (alcohol-free / tap)
water.

27 Can you recommend a hotel that has meeting rooms for hire at (reasonable / draught) prices?

28 We don’t want to spend too much time getting to the conference venue so let’s choose
somewhere with a (vintage / convenient) location.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 3

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

SKILLS
A Match the sentences (29–35) with the responses (a–g).
29 How’s business? b
30 Would you like to have dinner with us next Friday evening? f
31 Do you mind if I take a brochure? a
32 Liz, have you met Dmitri? e
33 Beatta, this is Layla. b
34 How do you feel about Duncan’s suggestion? g
35 What do you mean by a slight pay increase? c

a) Help yourself.
b) Pleased to meet you.
c) I mean three to five per cent.
d) We’re having a great year.
e) Yes, I have. Good to see you again!
f) Thank you very much for asking but I’m afraid I can’t make it then.
g) I totally agree.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 4

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

B Use the sentences (a–h) to complete the extract from a meeting.

a) I suppose we could do that. - 39
b) I think we should definitely have print ads. -41
c) Can we start, please? -36
d) I’m afraid that’s out of the question. -43
e) Andres, what do you think? - 38
f) The main purpose of this meeting is to finalise our marketing strategy. -37
g) It might be a good idea to do both. - 42
h) Mmm, I don’t know. - 40

Anya OK, it’s ten o’clock and everyone’s here. (36) Can we start, please? Welcome, marketing
team, and thank you for the hard work you’ve put in recently. (37) The main purpose of
this meeting is to finalise our marketing We usually do print ads in the national
newspapers but Mona has suggested a viral video on the Internet instead. (38) Andres,
what do you think?

Andres (39) Mmm, I don’t know. Viral videos can be very effective.

Anya Lydia, what do you think?

Lydia (40) I think we should definitely have print ads. We don’t know whether or not a viral
video will reach our market but we know that print ads do and they give us instant
national publicity. (41)_ I think we should definitely have print ads.
Mona But a viral video lasts longer. And we definitely want to reach the younger end of the
market.

Andres Why do we have to choose one or the other? (42) It might be a good idea to do both.

Anya (43) I suppose we could do that.

Mona Why?

Anya Because of the budget cuts.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 5

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

LANGUAGE
A Complete the text with the correct form (past simple, past continuous or present perfect)
of the verbs in brackets.
I (44) have learn (be) a manager for the past ten years but I (45) didn’t study (not study) management
at university. My degree is in history. While I (46) was working (work) on my degree, I (47) because
(become) interested in computer software, specifically in interactive software for teaching. So when I
(48) finished (finish) university, I (49) took (take) a job in IT. At that time, the company (50)
developed (develop) interactive software for teaching history to primary school students. It (51) was
(be) the perfect job for me. I (52) have worked (work) for the same company for my entire career and
I couldn’t be happier with my job.

B Complete the sentences with words from the box.

after down forward out part up
53 Did you take Mr Wei out for a meal?

54 The entire team took post in a training day last week.

55 We’re looking forward to doing business with you.

56 I’ve asked Janos to look after the Japanese team during their stay in Singapore.

57 About 200 people turned up at my presentation. I was surprised!

58 Carlos turned down the promotion offer because he didn’t want to move to Shanghai.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 6

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

READING
A Read the article and decide if these statements are true or false.
59 According to the article, business socialising is almost always a fun, exciting part of
business travel. false

60 According to William Hanson, business entertaining is part of the job. true

61 Hanson says that your actions affect people’s opinion of your company. true

62 Hanson says that having a good understanding of business is far more important than
being able to socialise. false

63 Hanson says that having good manners is boring. false

64 According to the article, a business dinner may feel relaxed but you should remember
that you are with colleagues, not friends. true

65 According to the article, if your colleagues are staying up late, you should stay up late
so you don’t miss anything. false

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 7

Name ______________________________________ Class______________________________

B Read the article again. Choose the best option to complete the sentences.
66 If you want to leave a social occasion early, you should _______ .

a) be pleasant about it

b) get someone to leave with you

c) try to leave without being noticed

67 If you _______ go to bed early, you probably won’t feel a part of the team.

a) never b) always c) occasionally

68 When you’re out with important clients, you should _______ .

a) pay for everything

b) avoid talking about work

c) try to do what they want to do

69 When you’re joining in with clients, you _______ break the law.

a) shouldn’t b) have to c) may

70 A handwritten thank-you note for a business meal is _______ .

a) too old-fashioned b) a good idea c) usually necessary

WRITING
You work for a small organic cosmetics company. Your products are distributed through health
spas and hair salons. You are planning a launch party to celebrate your newly extended range
of products. Write a letter (80–100 words) to spa and salon owners inviting them to attend the
opening. You can refer to an enclosed brochure giving details about the new range.
• Event: Launch party
• Date: 24 April
• Time: 7:30–10:30
•  Place: Sidbury Hotel, London
• Activities: Informal meal followed by product presentation; lots of free samples
• Each person who is invited may bring one guest
• Ask them to let you know if they can make it.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2012 Pearson Education Ltd 8