VOA慢速英语2010年-Economics Report - A Quick Lesson in W

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Businesses are structured in different ways to meet different needs.

The simplest form of business is called an individual or sole proprietorship². The proprietor¹ owns all of the property of the business and is responsible for everything.

For legal purposes, with this kind of business, the owner and the company are the same. This means the proprietor gets to keep all of the profits of the business, but must also pay any debts.

Another kind of business is the partnership³. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to decide how much of the partnership each person controls.

One kind of partnership is called a limited liability partnership. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits, but they also have less responsibility for the business.

Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships⁴ to share their risks and profits. A husband and wife can form a business partnership together.

Partnerships exist only for as long as the owners remain alive. The same is true of individual proprietorships.

But corporations are designed to have an unlimited⁵ lifetime. A corporation is the most complex kind of business organization.

Corporations can sell stock as a way to raise money. Stock represents shares of ownership in a company. Investors⁶ who buy stock can trade their shares or keep them as long as the company is in business.

A company might use some of its earnings⁷ to pay dividends⁸ as a reward to shareholders⁹. Or the company might reinvest the money back into the business.

If shares lose value, investors can lose all of the money they paid for their stock. But shareholders are not responsible for the debts of the corporation.

A corporation is recognized as an entity¹⁰ -- its own legal being, separate from its owners.

A board of directors controls corporate¹¹ policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold shares in the corporation.

Corporations can have a few major shareholders. Or ownership can be spread among the general public.

But not all corporations are traditional businesses that sell stock. Some nonprofit groups are also organized as corporations.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can learn more about business and economics on our website, voaspecialenglish.com. We're also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Barbara Klein.
 

1 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

2 proprietorship   

n.所有（权）；所有权

参考例句：

• A sole proprietorship ends with the incapacity or death of the owner. 当业主无力经营或死亡的时候，这家个体企业也就宣告结束。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• This company has a proprietorship of the copyright. 这家公司拥有版权所有权。 来自辞典例句

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

8 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

9 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

10 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。