Listening In
Task 1: Tell me about the stock exchange.
Script
George: I’m supposed to give a presentation on the stock exchange, but I don’t yet know a thing about it. Could you give me some tips?
Diana: The problem with you is that you’ve skipped too many classes. Now, let me give you a few tips. First of all, you need to define the stock exchange. It’s an organization of brokers and investment bankers. In Europe it is often called a bourse.
George: Could you tell me more about it? Like, how does it work?
Diana: It provides facilities for the trading of company stocks, mainly the location and the record-keeping devices.
George: Can I go and trade there?
Diana: It depends. You have to be a member of the exchange before you can buy and sell shares there. They call it having “a seat” on the exchange.
George: Something they use the term “stock market”.
Diana: Well, the trading of stock on stock exchanges is called the stock market.
George: How can a company be listed on the stock exchange?
Diana: It has to meet certain requirements. To be listed on the New York Stock Exchange last year, for example, a company had to have issued at least a million shares of stock worth$16 and had to have had more than $2.5 million net income.
George: Wow, that’s a huge sum! Small companies haven’t got a chance.
Diana: Big companies have more influence on the stock prices after all.
George: I see what you mean.
Stock exchange a thing some tips define investment bankers Europe a member stock market requirements a million shares net income
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