business partners vs. colleagues

[niue]

Hi! I read the following in “토익 정기시험 기출문제집 4 1000 RC”.

"To: Customer Service
From: Dmytro Petrov
Date: November 5
Subject: Assistance with Kishin XT20 digital recorder

To Whom It May Concern:

I purchase the Kishin XT2O digital recorder to record several days’ worth of conference presentations. Now, after my first day at the event, I am trying to transfer the audio files to my laptop, but I am not having any luck. I have followed all the instructions in the user manual as well as the tips found in the FAQ section of the product’s Web page. I have even tried alternative cords and the laptops in the hotel’s business center, so I do not believe computer hardware to be the issue.

I am supposed to cover the remaining two days of this conference for work. My business partners expect me to return with as much information as I can. The Kishin XT20 digital recorder is of no use to me if I cannot properly share the files. Can you please help?

Best regards,

Dmytro Petrov

Q. What is true about Mr. Petrove?

(A) He volunteered to try some equipment.
(B) He is currently traveling with his business partners.
(C) He will share conference material with his colleagues.
(D) He will soon receive a new laptop from his company.

Answer: C"

I don’t agree with the above TOEIC book that C is the answer.
“Business Parners” and “Colleagues” are different words:
Business partners are individuals or entities that jointly own or operate a business. They typically share ownership stakes, participate in management decisions, and share in the profits and losses of the business.
However, colleagues are individuals who work together within the same organization or profession. They may have different roles, skills, or ranks but share common professional goals and collaborate in a work environment.

What do you think? Do you agree with me?
Thanks in advance.

 

[jutfrank]

No, I disagree. The words are synonymous enough.

If you were doing this test, which answer would you put?

 

[5jj]

토익 정기시험 기출문제집 4

“TOEIC regular exam past questions book 4"

 

[emsr2d2]

I purchased

Q. What is true about Mr. Petrove Petrov?

Were the above errors in the original or did you mistype them?

I don’t agree with the above TOEIC book that C is the answer.
“Business partners” and “colleagues” are different words:

Note my corrections above.

What do you think? Do you agree with me?

If you don't think C is the answer, what do you think it is and why?

 

[SoothingDave]

Your business partners would be colleagues. Your colleagues would not necessarily be your partners.

 

[niue]

Were the above errors in the original or did you mistype them?

Note my corrections above.

If you don't think C is the answer, what do you think it is and why?

Sorry, I mistyped them. / Thanks for your corrections. / Of course I have to choose C because is is closest to the answer. What I want to maintain is ... the above question isn't well-made. C should be corrected into "He will share conference material with his business partners."

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry, I mistyped them. no slash mark here Thanks for your corrections. no slash mark here Of course I have to choose C because is it is closest to the answer. What I want to maintain is no ellipsis here that the above question isn't well-made written. C should be corrected into "He will share conference material with his business partners."

Unfortunately, tests written by non-native speakers are frequently poorly written. I suggest you find a better source than the one you used.

 

[PeterCW]

It is quite common for non specialist writers to misuse technical terms. Sometimes this can spread into more general colloquial usage.

 

[niue]

Unfortunately, tests written by non-native speakers are frequently poorly written. I suggest you find a better source than the one you used.

• I apologize once again for the misspelling.
• That being said, would you agree that the question above isn’t particularly well designed?
• The question is taken from an actual official TOEIC exam. It appears in "토익 정기시험 기출문제집 4 1000 RC, a test prep book published by YBM in Korea with the official approval of ETS—the organization responsible for developing and scoring the TOEIC, TOEFL, and SAT. All questions and answer choices in the book are identical to the original items created by ETS, which is widely recognized as the global authority in English proficiency testing.

 

[niue]

Your business partners would be colleagues. Your colleagues would not necessarily be your partners.

Thank you for your clear and concise answer! If what you said is true, I fully agree that option C could be the correct answer to the question above. I had believed that "colleague" referred exclusively to coworkers within the same company. However, based on your explanation, it seems that if, for example, Company A and Company B form a partnership and collaborate on a business venture, then employees from Company B could be considered "colleagues" of those from Company A. Is my understanding correct?

P.S. I also found the following information online that supports your explanation:

What is a colleague?

A colleague is someone you work with, but not necessarily on the same team or even in the same organization.

You could say your fellow product manager is a colleague, but a colleague could mean someone who works in the same industry you do or someone you’ve done business with.

For example, a colleague could be someone at another company with whom you worked on a partnership or collaboration. …

Examples of how to use "colleague" in conversation:

"We don’t offer consulting services here at Williams Partners, but I have a colleague at Awad & Lee who can help you with that."

((Source: www.inhersight.com))

What are colleagues?

… "Colleague" can also have a different meaning, when it refers to professionals within the same profession, with similar skills, rank and work duties, irrespective of the organization they work for. Two people on opposite sides of the world in similar professions can be colleagues.

((Source: www.indeed.com))

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve here. The test was written how it was written. You can't change that. You said you would have picked the same answer the test gave as the correct one. We've told you that, in this context, the two terms are close enough in meaning to choose that answer. Had there been another option that fitted the question perfectly, you would choose that one and could make the argument that those two terms differ enough to make that choice incorrect.

 

[jutfrank]

the above question isn't well-made. C should be corrected into "He will share conference material with his business partners."

The question is fine. Business partners are colleagues. The person who wrote the question chose to use the word 'colleagues' for a good reason. Part of the test is knowing that 'colleagues' is a hypernym of 'business partners'.

 

[jutfrank]

Unfortunately, tests written by non-native speakers are frequently poorly written. I suggest you find a better source than the one you used.

Just for your information: TOEIC tests are written by highly-trained industry professional writers. If they are non-native speakers, they'll be highly competent ones. The same goes for the other big international tests, such as IELTS and TOEFL.

I imagine, since the OP hasn't cited the source properly, that the book in question here, though published by a Korean company, uses material written by professional writers.