2017年BEC中级阅读模拟训练试题（2）

　　Look at the statements below and the advice to businesses on the opposite page about using other companies to run their IT services.

　　1、the need to teach skills to employees working on the outsourced process

　　2、remembering the initial reason for setting up the outsourced project

　　3、the need to draw up agreements that set out how integration is to be achieved

　　4、addressing the issue of staff who work on the outsourced process being at a distant site

　　5、the importance of making someone responsible for the integration process

　　6、staff on the outsourced project familiarising themselves with various details of the business

　　7、problems being associated with an alternative to outsourcing

　　When a business decides to outsource its IT services, it needs to consider the question of integration. Four experts give their views.

　　A.Gianluca Tramcere, Silica Systems

　　An outsourced IT service is never a fully independent entity. It is tied to the home company’s previous and continuing systems of working. But despite the added responsibility of managing new ways of working, many businesses ignore the integration process. They fail to establish contracts that define the ways in which the two companies will work alongside one another, and focus solely on the technological aspects of service delivery.

　　B.Kevin Rayner, Domola

　　Businesses need to build integration competency centres dedicated to managing the integration effort. It is critical to have an individual in charge to check that the external and internal business operations work together. Although companies often think of outsourcing as a way of getting rid of people and assets, they need to remember that, at the same time, outsourcing involves gaining people. Because there is a new operation being carried out in a different way outside of the home business, this creates a training element.

　　C.Clayton Locke, Digital Solutions

　　Communication is the key to success, and outsourcing to other regions or countries can lead to a range of problems. For any such initiative, it is necessary to create a team where there is good, open communication and a clear understanding of objectives and incentives. Bringing people to the home location from the outsourced centre is necessary, since it can aid understanding of the complexities of the existing system. To integrate efficiently, outsourcing personnel have to talk to the home company’s executives and users to understand their experiences.

　　D.Kim Noon, J G Tech

　　One way to avoid the difficulties of integration is to create a joint-venture company with the outsourcer. Thus, a company can swap its assets for a share of the profits. Yet joint ventures bring potential troubles, and companies should be careful not to lose sight of the original rationale for outsourcing: to gain cost efficiencies and quality of service in an area that for some reason could not be carried out entirely in-house. The complexities and costs of a joint-venture initiative should not be underestimated.

　　这篇文章讲的是外购(outsourcing),分别有四位专家就这个问题给出了自己的看法。A段的专家强调建立合同的重要性，B段专家认为要派专人负责，C段专家讲外派人员和本公司之间要有一个互动，D段专家讲如果与外包商(outsourcer)组成联合企业的话可能带来的一系列问题。如果对文章有个大概、基本的了解，很多题目不用细看就可以得出结论。

　　第一题的答案稍微有些隐晦，在B段的最后一句。“Because there is a new operation being carried out in a different way outside of the home business, this creates a training element.”因为新的操作是在本公司以外的地方以一种新的方式被执行，所以产生了培训成分。这里的training对应第一题的“teach skills to employees”。第二题的答案在D段中间: companies should be careful not to lose sight of the original rationale for outsourcing.这里的rationale是基本原理、根本原因的意思。第三题的答案在A段，非常明显的“establish contracts”。第四段的答案是C段的最后一句话，outsourcing personnel have to talk to the home company’s executives and users to understand their experiences.这里的talk to对应address，向....谈话。第四题的意思是“说明在远址工作的外购人员的事情”，也就是C段最后一句说的外购人员向公司汇报他们的经历。第五段的答案在B段，相当明显：It is critical to have an individual in charge to check that the external and internal business operations work together。需要派专人负责integration。第六题说“外派人员要熟悉自身工作的不同细节”，对应C段的“create a team where there is a clear understanding of objectives and incentives.”打造一个对目标和动机都有清晰理解的团队。第七题稍微绕一点。题目里的“an alternative to outsourcing”指的是D段里的“create a joint-venture company with the outsourcer”，建立一个联合企业。D段里的专家一直在强调联合企业的麻烦和复杂性(joint ventures bring potential troubles)，所以是正确答案。