TOEIC 聽力 Part 4 — 題目
段落
Good morning, everyone. This is the quarterly earnings announcement for Sterling Corp. We've just closed our books for the third quarter, and I'm pleased to share the results with you. Revenue for the quarter reached $15.2 million, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year. Net income was $1.8 million, or $0.45 per share. This growth was primarily driven by strong sales in our international division and successful cost-management initiatives. We also saw a significant improvement in operating margins. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about our fourth-quarter prospects, although we are closely monitoring global economic conditions and supply chain challenges. We are also implementing a new streamlined process for employees needing updates to their travel documents, including a simplified procedure for passport renewal. More details on that will follow. Thank you.
題目
What factor contributed to the company's growth?
選項
- A. A decline in international sales.
- B. Increased operating costs.
- C. New product failures.
- D. Strong international sales and cost management. ✓
正確答案
D. Strong international sales and cost management.
解析
📖 文章翻譯 — 各位早安，這裡是 Sterling 公司這個季度的收益報告。我們剛剛結束了第三季度的帳務，很高興能與各位分享成果。本季度的營收達到 1520 萬美元，與去年同期相比增長了 10%。淨利潤為 180 萬美元，相當於每股 0.45 美元。這項增長主要是由國際部門的強勁銷售和成功的成本管理措施所推動。我們的營運利潤率也有顯著改善。展望未來，雖然我們對第四季度的前景保持樂觀，但…
📝 答案解析 — 正確答案是 D，因為講者明確提到「這項增長主要是由國際部門的強勁銷售和成功的成本管理措施所推動」(This growth was primarily driven by strong sales in our international division and successful cost-management initiatives)。這句話直接指出了公司增長的兩個關鍵因素，與選項 D 完全吻合。
💡 應試技巧 — 在聽 Part 4 時，務必注意表示原因或結果的連接詞（如 because, due to, driven by, therefore, consequently）。這些詞語後面通常會接續聽力問題的關鍵資訊。
📊 錯誤選項分析 — A) 國際銷售下滑 — 講者提到的是「強勁的國際銷售」(strong sales in our international division)，而非下滑。
B) 營運成本增加 — 講者提到的是「成功的成本管理」(successful cost-management initiatives)，暗示成本得到了有效控制，而非增加。
C) 新產品失敗 — 文章中未提及任何關於新產品的資訊，更沒有提到失敗的情況。