University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations

Business
English
Certificates
Information for Candidates

BEC PRELIMINARY
Information for What is BEC?
candidates – The Business English Certificate (BEC) from Cambridge ESOL is a qualification in English
that will last you a lifetime.

BEC Preliminary It is a qualification which is specifically in English for work, whether it is industry,
business or government. BEC is a skills-based qualification: it gives you the opportunity
to learn practical language skills and show to employers how good you are in these
skills.

BEC is designed so that in preparing for the exam you learn English which is used at
work. The English that you learn is directly relevant to the English that you will use every
day in the workplace.

To gain a BEC certificate you have to show your English skills in the four key areas:
reading, writing, listening and speaking. When you sit the BEC exam you are tested in all
four of these skill areas through a series of practical tasks and interview questions. The
tasks and questions are taken from real workplace situations.

BEC can be taken at three different levels:

Preliminary: lower-intermediate level
Vantage: upper-intermediate level
Higher: advanced level

BEC Preliminary is suitable for candidates who have a basic level of English. Have a look
at the sample questions in this booklet and decide if this is the appropriate level for you.

Why take BEC?

With a BEC certificate you can show employers your English language skills. Proving your
skills in this way can help you get a job or promotion. Companies and other
organisations all around the world recruit job applicants and promote employees who
have BEC certificates. Many provide training programmes so their employees can
improve their English and take BEC to show their achievement.

Cambridge ESOL qualifications like BEC are recognised and trusted by employers and
education institutes across the world. This is because Cambridge English qualifications
are highly respected for their quality and accuracy. Unlike many other forms of test, they
assess the four key skills of English language learning using relevant and practical tasks.
Students and employers can see the benefits of this.

At Cambridge ESOL we believe that candidates who prepare well for BEC and achieve the
BEC certificate gain more confidence in using English in everyday work and social
situations. In particular because BEC includes speaking and writing components,
candidates need to focus on their productive language skills and this is the source of
improved confidence. Of course, at the BEC Preliminary level you will still feel that your
English is basic, but as you learn and practise and move up through the levels your
confidence will grow.

What is Cambridge ESOL?

Cambridge ESOL is part of Cambridge Assessment which is a department of the
University of Cambridge in the UK. Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other
Languages) specialises in English language testing and examinations for schools,
colleges, universities, government ministries, international agencies and corporate
organisations. Cambridge ESOL tests are taken by millions of English language learners
across more than 130 countries. Cambridge ESOL is a recognised global leader in English
language assessments.

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What does BEC Preliminary involve?
This booklet is a brief introduction to BEC Preliminary. If you would like to see a full
sample paper for BEC Preliminary, you can download one from our website at:
www.CambridgeESOL.org

The table below shows the different parts of BEC Preliminary and how long each paper
takes. In BEC Preliminary, Reading and Writing are combined on one question paper.

Name of paper Content Time allowed Marks (% of total)

Reading and Reading: 7 parts/45 items 1 hour 30 minutes Reading: 25%
Writing Writing: 2 tasks Writing: 25%
Listening 4 parts/30 items about 40 minutes including 25%
transfer time
Speaking 3 parts 12 minutes (2:2 format*) 25%
* 2 examiners, 2 candidates (2:3 format is used for the last group in a session where necessary)

I Reading and Writing

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

I Reading
The Reading section has the following types of exercise: multiple-choice, matching,
Right/Wrong/Doesn’t Say, multiple-choice gap-filling and form-filling. Reading is worth
25% of the total marks.

Part One
In this part there are five short texts, each of which has a multiple-choice question
containing three options. In all cases the information will be brief and clear. To answer
the question correctly, you have to identify or interpret the meaning of the text.

A wide variety of text types typical of international business situations can appear in
this part. Each text will be complete and have a recognisable context. Below are two
examples of the type of text you will find. You have to choose the correct answer from
the three options given (A, B or C) and mark it on your Answer Sheet. There are three
more texts and questions like this one in the exam.

1 Applicants must have

Office Staff Required A relevant qualifications.
B previous experience.
Experience essential
C recognised training.
Full training given (leading to
recognised qualifications)

SPORTMASTER
2 Pakistan-based manufacturer of sports items wishing to do
business in Europe is looking for importers

T EL : 92 555 4321

Sportmaster wants to

A sell its products abroad.

B import products into Pakistan.
C manufacture in Europe.

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 Part Two
This is a matching task with one text and five questions which are often descriptions of
people’s requirements. This section of the test is about vocabulary and meaning. There
are more possible answers than questions, so you won’t have to use all of them.

In the example below, you have to read an advertisement which shows services offered
by a business consultancy. You have to match each question (6, 7 and 8) to the right part
of the advertisement text (labelled A–H). In the exam, there are two more questions like
these.

6 Margaret Williams needs help in choosing the

T H I N K I N G O F S TA R T I N G A B U S I N E S S ?
business loan with the most competitive terms.
Need expert advice and/or assistance in one or
more of the following areas?
7 Ibrahim Shah wants to be sure that there will
A Market Research be enough demand for his product.

B Constructing a schedule
8 Maria Fernandez would like some advice
C Calculating costs
about where to advertise a new line of goods.
D Meeting legal requirements

E Obtaining finance

F Renting or purchasing premises

G Recruiting and training staff

H Promoting products and services

Part Three
This task consists of eight graphs or charts (or one or more graphics with eight distinct
elements) and five questions. In the example below, you can see the income of a
restaurant, total expenditure and advertising costs during an eight-month period. The
months are labelled A–H.

For each sentence (11–13), you have to say which month it describes. You may not use
any letter (A–H) more than once. There are two more questions like the ones below in
the exam.

£
8000
11 In this month, total expenditure, like income,

7000
showed a fall, while spending on advertising
demonstrated the opposite trend.
6000

12 Total expenditure rose slightly in this month,

5000
while advertising costs reached their peak,
4000 Income leading to a higher income in the following
Total expenditure month.
3000
Advertising
13 Despite a decline in advertising costs this
2000
month, expenditure as a whole rose.
1000

0
A B C D E F G H
Month

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 Part Four
This is a text with seven multiple-choice questions. Each question presents a statement
and you have to say whether the statement is A ‘Right’ or B ‘Wrong’ according to the text
and mark it on your Answer Sheet. If the information is not given in the text, the answer
is C, ‘Doesn’t say’.

You don’t have to understand every word in the text but you should be able to pick out
the important points and work out the meaning. The questions are about factual
information in the text, but you will have to do some processing in order to answer the
questions correctly. The example below is an advertisement for a hot drinks machine. In
the exam, there are four more questions like the ones below.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

16 With a QVM machine, companies can avoid having a canteen altogether.

Save money and keep your staff happy
A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
It can be expensive to keep the Our company will carry out a
canteen open to serve drinks to your weekly service, at a charge of £10.00.
staff through the day. Our QVM hot We can also refill the machine with
17 The QVM machine provides enough hot drinks for up to fifteen people.
drinks machine replaces this service, drinks ingredients for an extra charge
so that you can close the canteen of £8.00. Some customers prefer to do
between mealtimes. this themselves, however. A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
You can install the QVM hot drinks There are eight choices of hot drink
machine anywhere in the building. available from the QVM machine, and
One machine is suitable for a staff of our company offers one month’s trial
ten to fifteen people. It costs £1300 to free of charge, so that you can 18 Most customers prefer to rent the QVM machine over sixty months.
buy, or £11.00 per week to rent over estimate how popular the machine
60 months. It is not expensive to will be and see what the actual savings
operate: for example, the cost of are. A Right B Wrong C Doesn’t say
power for one day is 30p, nearly as
cheap as the price of one hot drink
from the machine.

Part Five
This is a single text with six multiple-choice comprehension questions. It is often from a
leaflet, or from a newspaper or magazine article.

The example below is part of a review of a book called The Bosses Speak. For each
question (23–25), you have to choose the correct answer (A, B or C). In the exam, there
are three more questions like these.

The Bosses Speak

John Stuart is an executive are fairly new in their position, 23 The reviewer suggests that one advantage of the book is that
recruitment specialist who has and others have had years of
turned to writing. The result is this experience, though, strangely, A it is better value than other management books.
book, based on interviews with Stuart doesn’t seem interested B it does not need to be read right through.
twenty Chief Executives. in these differences. The
C it is about well-known people.
interviewees work in everything,
Each top manager – none of them
from retailing to airlines to
famous names, surprisingly – is
software, and it is this variety that
given a short chapter, and there is 24 The book concentrates on the fact that the twenty executives who are interviewed
forms the main theme of Stuart’s
some introductory material and a
book.
conclusion. This means you can A work in a number of different industries.
jump from one person to another, I have to say that Stuart’s B started their companies.
in any order, which is good for approach annoys me. He rarely C have worked for different lengths of time.
people who are too busy to read a stays at a distance from his
book from cover to cover. For interviewees, who are mostly
a management book it isn’t presented in their own, positive 25 The reviewer cannot accept Stuart’s opinions because Stuart
expensive, although whether it’s words. If this were always the
good value for money is doubtful. case, at least you would know
A makes unreasonable complaints about the interviewees.
where you were. But he seems to
Some of the twenty interviewees B writes too positively about the interviewees.
dislike certain interviewees. As a
started their own businesses, C has different attitudes towards different interviewees.
result, I don’t know whether to
while others joined a company
accept any of his opinions.
and worked their way up. Some
...

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 Part Six
In this part you have to select the correct word from three options to complete twelve
gaps in the text. This part is largely about grammar. It tests your understanding of the
general and detailed meaning of a text, and in particular your ability to analyse
structural patterns.

The example below is part of a text about team-building. You have to choose the correct
answer (A, B or C) for each of the questions (29–34). In the exam there are six more
questions like the ones below.

TEAM-BUILDING THROUGH ACTIVITIES

Nowadays, company bosses are increasingly trying to find unusual team-building
events as part of their training programme. An activity park (29) ...... Fast-track has
just opened to offer (30) ...... events. It specialises (31) ...... events to attract the
corporate entertainment market, (32) ...... is growing all the time.

The park is situated just a few kilometres outside the city centre (33) ...... it provides
events that (34) ...... entertain as well as train.
...

29 A calling B calls C called

30 A such B like C so

31 A at B for C in

32 A who B which C what

33 A and B but C or

34 A ought B will C shall

Part Seven
In this part you have two short texts, for example a memo and an advertisement, and
you have to complete a form based on these texts. There are five gaps and you need a
word, a number or a short phrase for each one. In this part, you have to extract relevant
information and complete a form accurately. In the exam you need to transfer your
answers (in CAPITAL LETTERS) to an Answer Sheet.

In the example below, you have to read the memo and the note. Then you should
complete the Insurance Claim form (lines 41–45) on the next page. You need to write a
word, a number or a phrase for each line.

MEMO

TO: Barbara Sinclair OWEN SMITH INSURANCE COMPANY

FROM: Peter Rogers
with compliments
DATE: 25 May 2002

SUBJECT: Insurance Claim Thank you for your recent phone call regarding flood
damage in your photocopy room.
Could you deal with this? It’s our insurance claim, for the damage at the weekend. The
Could you please complete the attached form and return
insurance policy is in my name, and we bought the carpet for £300, although it will cost at
it to me as soon as possible.
least £500 to replace. Luckily our office carpets seem fine.
Martin Morris
Thanks

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 Insurance Claim
NAME OF POLICY HOLDER: (41) ........................................................................…..

POLICY NUMBER: LD4756030C

I T E M ( S ) TO B E R E P L AC E D : (42) ..............................................................................

L O C AT I O N O F I T E M ( S ) : (43) ..............................................................................

VA L U E W H E N P U R C H A S E D : (44) ..............................................................................

C AU S E O F DA M AG E : (45) ..............................................................................

DAT E O F DA M AG E : Sunday 19 May

I Writing
For BEC Preliminary, you have to produce two pieces of writing:
• a piece of communication with a colleague or colleagues within the company on a
business-related matter; it may be a note, message, memo or e-mail
• a piece of correspondence with somebody outside the company (e.g. a customer or
supplier) on a business-related matter; it may be a letter, fax or e-mail.

The Writing section is worth 25% of the total marks.

Part One
Here you have to write a note, message, memo or e-mail. You should write 30–40 words
and we give you a written prompt which explains why you are writing and who you are
writing to. The layout of memos and e-mails (e.g. to/from/date/subject) is on the
question paper and you don’t have to copy this out as part of your answer. The bullet
points explain what content points you should include. You will have to make up your
own content to answer these points.
‹

PART ONE
Question 46

• You are going to attend an engineering exhibition in Frankfurt soon.

• Write a memo to your assistant:

• explaining why you will be away

• letting her know the dates you will be away

• saying what work she should do while you are away.

• Write 30 – 40 words.

• Write on your Answer Sheet.

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Part Two
You have to write a piece of business correspondence of between 60 and 80 words. For
this you have to read a short text, such as a letter or advertisement and respond to it.
There are some content points below the text to show you what you should include in
the answer. You will have to invent some of the information you need.

In the example below you have to read part of a letter from Mary Bennett who is
applying for a job. Read the instructions after the letter and write your reply.

WithWith
reference to your advertisement in The Times, I am writing to apply for the post
reference to your advertisement in The Times, I am writing to apply for the post of
of training
training assistant.
assistant.

I am moving
I am movingtotoyour
your country nextmonth
country next month with
with my husband.
my husband. As youAswillyou
see will
fromsee from the
the enclosed
enclosed CV,had
CV, I have I have
a lot ofhad a lot ofinexperience
experience training andin training
I feel and much
that I have I feeltothat
offerI your
havecompany.
much to
offer your company.
If I am selected for interview, please could you give me information about how to reach your
If I am selected
offices fortransport?
by public interview, please could you give me information about how to reach
your offices by public transport?

• Write a letter to Mrs Bennett:

• acknowledging her letter

• offering her a date and time for an interview

• requesting the names and addresses of two referees

• telling her the best way to reach you by public transport.

• Write 60 – 80 words.

• Write on your Answer Sheet. Do not include any postal addresses.

I Listening
Time: approx. 40 minutes including 10 minutes’ transfer time.

In the Listening section there are four tasks of the following types: multiple-choice, gap-
filling and form-filling. Texts used are monologues and dialogues, including interviews,
discussions, telephone conversations and messages. Listening is worth 25% of the total
marks.

Part One
The eight questions in this part of the paper are multiple-choice questions. For each
question, you will hear a short conversation or monologue, typically lasting around 15 to
30 seconds. The multiple-choice options may be texts or they may be in the form of
pictures, graphs or diagrams.

In the extracts in Part One you have to show that you can understand spoken English
used in a range of situations and that you can find factual information. You may need to
pick out a name or time or place. Alternatively, you may have to identify a trend in a
graph, or a place on a map, or the location of an object in a room. In every case it will be
necessary to follow the conversation closely. There are seven more questions like this
one in the exam. You will hear the eight recordings twice.

8 Which chart shows the company’s market share this year?

A B C

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Part Two
This part consists of a short conversation or monologue. It usually lasts around a minute
and a half and contains factual information. On the question paper there is a form, table,
chart or set of notes with seven gaps where information is missing. The answers may
include dates, prices, percentages or figures.

In the example below, you have to listen to the recording of a manager telephoning
Human Resources about vacancies in his department. You should then complete each of
the gaps (9–15) with a word, numbers or letters. You will hear the conversation twice.

Customer Services Vacancies

NUMBER OF VACANCIES: (9) .......................................................................................... telephone operators

SALARY: (10) Max. £ ................................................................................................................

TOTAL HOLIDAY (PER ANNUM): (11) ........................................................................................................................... days

JOB REFERENCE: (12) .........................................................................................................................................

JOB START DATE: (13) ......................................................................................................................... 2002

LINE MANAGER: (14) Ms Sue ....................................................................................................................

TEL NUMBER (FOR ENQUIRIES): (15) .........................................................................................................................................

Part Three
You will hear a monologue. On the question paper there is a set of notes or a form with
gaps. There are seven gaps to complete and the answers may be one or two words. On
occasion, the key to one of the gaps may be a date. You will hear the talk twice.

For the example below, the recording is of part of a talk by the Marketing Director of a
publishing company. You have to fill in the missing information in the notes about the
Autumn promotion plans. You have to use one or two words for each question (16–22).

Autumn promotion plans

Main titles: pocket dictionary and (16) ....................................................................................................

Advertising space booked in (17) ............................................................................... magazine

New colour for display stands: (18) ....................................................................................................

Free gifts include (19) ......................................................................... and keyrings

Alison has made a deal with (20) ....................................................................................................

For mailing to booksellers in September: (21) ....................................................................................................

Venue for dictionary launch party: (22) ....................................................................................................

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Part Four
This part, which lasts about three minutes, contains a longer listening text. It is usually
an interview or a discussion between two or possibly more speakers. There are eight
multiple-choice questions on the question paper. In this part you have to show that you
can understand the gist of a longer text and find detailed and specific information to
answer the questions. You may also be tested on the speakers’ opinions.

In the following example, Sue, a senior manager, is talking to her assistant, called David.
You have to choose the correct answer (A, B or C) for each question (23–25). There are five
more questions like the ones below in the exam. You will hear the conversation twice.

23 Sue is particularly pleased about the company

A receiving an award.
B increasing its share price.
C getting a new client.

24 What is the main cause of the company’s rising costs?

A import taxes
B publicity
C premises

25 Which expenses do they want to reduce?

A entertainment
B stationery
C telephone

At the end of the Listening test, you have ten minutes to transfer all your answers to the
Answer Sheet.

I Speaking
Time: 12 minutes

The Speaking test is conducted by two oral examiners and you will be tested in pairs of
candidates. At centres with an uneven number of candidates, the last single candidate is
examined with the last pair in a group of three. The Speaking test is worth 25% of the
total marks.

Part One
In the first part of the test, one of the examiners talks to each of you in turn and will ask
you questions about yourselves and your opinions. In this part of the test, you will have
to show that you can talk briefly about yourself, provide brief information on subjects
such as your home, hobbies and jobs, and perform simple functions such as agreeing
and disagreeing and expressing preferences.

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Part Two
The second part of the test is a ‘mini-presentation’. In this part, you have a choice of two
topics and one minute to prepare a speech lasting approximately one minute. After you
have finished speaking, the other candidate is asked which of the bullet points (see Task
below) they think is the most important.

Part Three
The third part of the test is a conversation between you and the other candidate. One of
the examiners describes a scenario and will give you prompts in the form of black and
white pictures or written text to help you. You have to speak for about two minutes. The
examiner will support the conversation as appropriate and then ask further questions
related to the main theme.

Next steps
We wish you every success in taking BEC Preliminary and we hope that you will take
other Cambridge ESOL exams in future. BEC Vantage is the next level of the BEC suite of
business-oriented exams or, if you prefer a general English qualification, you should
consider First Certificate in English (FCE) as the next step.

bec preliminary information for candidates 11

 In order for our students to pick up a successful professional career we felt that they must hone
What people have their skill in communication and the Cambridge BEC programme seemed to us to offer an
said about BEC excellent opportunity for our students.
Dr Ashoke R Thakur, Vice Chancellor, West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata

Our students are technically competent and have a strong work ethic but they miss out on
communication skills, especially spoken English. BEC is very practical and relevant and has helped
our students become more competent and confident by improving language proficiency.
Mr Jatindranath Swain, Commissioner of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu

BEC has helped develop cross-cultural communication skills and overall development of the
students. It has had an impact on confidence levels through international certification.
Laura Cirello, Head of Learning and Development, JP Morgan Treasury and Security Services

We at HCL Capital Market Services (formerly DSL Software Ltd) have institutionalised the BEC
exam in such a way that every employee has to compulsorily complete the exam within six
months of joining. The usefulness of the exam can be gauged from the fact that our clients are
now able to perceive the difference.
Vadiraja M S, Head – Talent Transformation Team, HCL Capital Market Services (Operations)

Banking and finance Network Solutions

Some companies Alliance Capital Asset Management (India) Siemens Public Communications Network
and other Bank of America Tata Infotech Ltd
HCL BPO Services Visual Business Tools
organisations HSBC Wipro Technologies
whose employees Industrial Development Bank of India World Network Services
ITC
have taken BEC JP Morgan Treasury and Securities Services Consumer
Standard Charter – Scope International Astra Zeneca
Tata Consultancy Services Fujitsu
WHO GlaxoSmithKline
World Bank Gujarat Gas Company
Indian Oil Corporation
Technology companies Johnson and Johnson
Aptech National Thermal Power Corporation
Congruent Solutions P Nestlé
HCL Technologies Oberoi Hotels
Hewlett Packard Procter and Gamble
Infosys Technologies Travelex Worldwide

www.CambridgeESOL.org/BEC
University of Cambridge
ESOL Examinations
1 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB1 2EU
United Kingdom

Tel. +44 1223 553355

Fax. +44 1223 460278
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