TOEIC reading comprehension level700 900 test4

TOEIC Reading comprehension - Test 4
Level 700-900
Question 1
Dear Margaret,
I will be making a business trip to the US and Canada, and I was wondering if you could get in
contact with your counterpart at EMA Canada regarding a tour of their plant site. I will be
arriving in Chicago in the morning of Nov. 20 to see you and the operations of your plant site
and will then be off to Toronto on Nov. 22. If they are available on that day, I would like to get a
chance to meet with them to see their operation first hand as well. Furthermore, our president,
Barry Mandez, will be making a trip early next year and would also like to visit the plant site in
Toronto with the Singapore president.
I apologize for the sudden notice.
Best regards,
Thomas Chiu,
Director/Planning Group & Business Development
E-Solution, Hong Kong, Limited
1. What does Mr. Chiu ask Margaret to do for him?
A. Take a trip to Toronto to check out the factory operation
B. Arrange a meeting with her Canadian counterpart
C. Show his president around the plant site
D. Get in touch with the Singapore president
Question 2
2. Where does Margaret work?
A. The United States
B. Canada
C. Singapore
D. Hong Kong
Question 3
Passage 1:

Cross – Cultural Communication in Business Negotiations
Business Weekly
By Dr. Rod Steiner
November 2006
The importance of effective cross-cultural communication during business conferences or
negotiations is often unappreciated. And yet it is not just the immediate outcome of the
negotiation which is at stake but also the possibility of a positive, ongoing business relationship.
Here’s a simple example:”don’t mix business and pleasure.” We say, thinking ourselves to be
efficient and “virtuous”. But trying to negotiate with that attitude in some other cultures may well
put future relationships under a cloud. So, the first rule should be to study the culture of the
people with whom you are going to negotiate.
Dr. Rod Steiner, assistant lecturer, Department of Business Studies, South Australian Institute of
Technology.
************
Passage 2:
South Australian Institute of Technology Department of Business Studies
44 Berwick St
Adelaide, Australia 5066
November 24, 2006
Dear Dr. Steiner,
I read your article “Cross – Cultural Communication in Business Negotiations” with a great deal
of interest. I am a postgraduate language/business student at the University of Adelaide, and I have
also had some experience living and studying in Japan.
You are absolutely right when you highlight possible “cross cultural irritation”. In our culture, we
would never associate business transactions of any type with drinking alcohol and going to
nightclubs. However, that’s more or less the normal way of doing things in Japan.
I hope to specialize in this area of study – I mean, in cross-cultural communication – and that’s why
I have chosen also to study some foreign languages. If you have any suggestions for further reading,
could you please let me know?
Thanks for your attention.

Julie Luddon
3. What does the article suggest?
A. To take a course in international business relationships at the institute
B. Always to be alert of hints that can damage an ongoing business relationship
C. Not to mix business and pleasure when dealing with any culture
D. To know the culture of your business counterpart
Question 4


4. In the article, the word “consternation” in paragraph 2, line 3 is closest in meaning to
A. Alarm
B. Admiration
C. Fear
D. Assurance
Question 5
5. What does Ms. Luddon want to do?
A. Inquire about the source of information mentioned in the article
B. Contradict what Dr. Steiner had said in his article
C. Learn as many languages as possible
D. Pursue a career in cross-cultural communication
Question 6
6. What can be inferred about Julie Luddon?
A. She is writing a book about cultural negotiations
B. She has already received a bachelor’s degree
C. She is studying to become a university professor
D. She wants to work in a foreign country
Question 7
7. What do Julie and Dr. Steiner have in common?
A. Both are interested in the same subject
B. Both have lived overseas in the past

C. Both are writing books
D. Both work in the same university
The Answers:
1.B

2.A

3.D

4.A

5.D

6.B

7.A