VOA慢速英语2011--k Lesson in Ways Businesses Are Organize

Economics Report - A Quick Lesson in Ways Businesses Are Organized

经济报道 - 企业组成形式快速入门
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Businesses are structured in different ways to meet different needs.
企业存在不同的构成形式以满足不同需求。
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.
最简单的一种企业构成形式就是独资企业，企业主拥有企业所有资产，也承担一切责任。
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.
从法律上来讲，独资企业主等同于企业，这意味着企业主获取企业所有收益，也承担所有债务。
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.
另外一种是合伙企业，由两个或两个以上的人合伙经营。合伙人之间通常必须拟定协议，以规定各自所控制的企业份额。
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.
其中一种合伙企业成为有限责任合伙企业。合伙人分为普通合伙人和有限责任合伙人。有限责任合伙人可能享受的收益不高，但他们相应承担的责任也少。
Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships⁴ to share their risks and profits. A husband and wife can form a business partnership together.
医生、律师和会计们经常组建合伙企业，共同分担风险和收益。夫妻也可以共同组建合伙企业。
Partnerships exist only for as long as the owners remain alive. The same is true of individual proprietorships.
合伙企业仅在企业主在世的情况下存在，独营企业也是如此。
But corporations are designed to have an unlimited⁵ lifetime. A corporation is the most complex kind of business organization.
公司没有经营期限限制，这是最复杂的一种企业形式。
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.
公司可以通过出售股票的形式筹集资金。股票代表公司所有权，股票投资人可以进行股票交易，也可以长期持有，只要公司仍在经营。
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.
公司可能会拿出一部分收益作为股息奖励给股东，也可能把钱再次投入公司经营。
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.
如果股份失去价值，投资者就会损失掉所有投到股票里的钱。但是股东不用对公司的债务承担责任。
A corporation is recognized as an entity¹⁰ -- its own legal being, separate from its owners.
公司被认为是一个合法存在的实体（即独立法人），与股东是分离的。
A board of directors controls corporate¹¹ policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold shares in the corporation.
董事会控制公司决策。董事任命公司的上层员工，但董事不一定就是该公司股东。
Corporations can have a few major shareholders. Or ownership can be spread among the general public.
公司可能只有几个主要的股东，也可能所有权为公众广泛持有。
But not all corporations are traditional businesses that sell stock. Some nonprofit groups are also organized as corporations.
但不是所有公司都是出售股票这种传统商业模式。一些非营利性组织也以公司形式存在。
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can learn more about business and economics on our website, voanews.cn. We're also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Jim Tedder¹².

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。

12 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网