聽力原文:
Business in America
美國(guó)商業(yè)
The problem with profits
利潤(rùn)問題
Big firms in the United States have never had it so good. Time for more competition
美國(guó)大公司的利潤(rùn)從來(lái)沒有如此好看過。是時(shí)候開始真正的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)了
AMERICA used to be the land of opportunity and optimism. Now opportunity is seen as the preserve of the elite: two-thirds of Americans believe the economy is rigged in favour of vested interests. And optimism has turned to anger. Voters’ fury fuels the insurgencies of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders and weakens insiders like Hillary Clinton.
重點(diǎn)詞匯：
1 preserve （某人或群體活動(dòng)、工作等的）專門領(lǐng)域
2 elite n. <法>精華; 精銳，精英; 上層集團(tuán); （統(tǒng)稱）掌權(quán)人物;
3 rig（以不正當(dāng)?shù)氖侄危┎倏v，控制
4 vest（合法地）屬于，歸屬
5 vested interest 既得利益;既定權(quán)利;好處
6 fury 狂怒；暴怒
7 insurgency 起義；叛亂；造反
聽力原文:
The campaigns have found plenty of things to blame, from free-trade deals to the recklessness of Wall Street. But one problem with American capitalism has been overlooked: a corrosive lack of competition. The naughty secret of American firms is that life at home is much easier: their returns on equity are 40% higher in the United States than they are abroad. Aggregate domestic profits are at near-record levels relative to GDP. America is meant to be a temple of free enterprise. It isn’t.
重點(diǎn)詞匯：
1 reckless 魯莽的；不計(jì)后果的；無(wú)所顧忌的
2 overlook 忽略；未注意到
3 corrosive 腐蝕性的；侵蝕性的；損害性的；逐漸起破壞作用的
4 naughty adj. 頑皮的; 不聽話的; 淘氣的; 粗俗的，下流的;
5 returns on equity 資本/投資回報(bào)
6 equity （公司的）股本；資產(chǎn)凈值, 公平；公正
7 Aggregate總數(shù)的；總計(jì)的 例如：aggregate demand/investment/turnover 總需求 / 投資 / 成交量
an aggregate win over their rivals 以總分戰(zhàn)勝他們的對(duì)手。
聽力原文:
High profits might be a sign of brilliant innovations or wise long-term investments, were it not for the fact that they are also suspiciously persistent. A very profitable American firm has an 80% chance of being that way ten years later. In the 1990s the odds were only about 50%. Some companies are capable of sustained excellence, but most would expect to see their profits competed away. Today, incumbents find it easier to make hay for longer
重點(diǎn)詞匯：
1 odds 可能性，概率，幾率，機(jī)會(huì)
2 incumbent 在職者；現(xiàn)任者 the present incumbent of the White House
3 hay 干草，草料, a small amount of money 少量的錢
4 make hay 把握時(shí)機(jī);
聽力原文:
You might think that voters would be happy that their employers are thriving. But if they are not reinvested, or spent by shareholders, high profits can dampen demand. The excess cash generated domestically by American firms beyond their investment budgets is running at $800 billion a year, or 4% of GDP. The tax system encourages them to park foreign profits abroad. Abnormally high profits can worsen inequality if they are the result of persistently high prices or depressed wages. Were America’s firms to cut prices so that their profits were at historically normal levels, consumers’ bills might be 2% lower. If steep earnings are not luring in new entrants, that may mean that firms are abusing monopoly positions, or using lobbying to stifle competition. The game may indeed be rigged.
重點(diǎn)詞匯：
1 dampen 抑制，控制
2 inequality 不公平
3 steep 突然的；急劇的；大起大落的
4 lure 勸誘；引誘；誘惑
5 entrant 新職員；新生；新會(huì)員；新成員
6 abuse 濫用，妄用，虐待
7 monopoly 壟斷；專營(yíng)服務(wù)；被壟斷的商品（或服務(wù)）
8 lobby 游說(shuō)（從政者或政府）stifle 壓制；扼殺；阻止；抑制
聽力原文:
One response to the age of hyper-profitability would be simply to wait. Creative destruction takes time: previous episodes of peak profits—for example, in the late 1960s—ended abruptly. Silicon Valley’s evangelicals believe that a new era of big data, blockchains and robots is about to munch away the fat margins of corporate America. In the past six months the earnings of listed firms have dipped a little, as cheap oil has hit energy firms and a strong dollar has hurt multinationals.
重點(diǎn)詞匯：
1 episode 插曲; 片段; 一集; 一段經(jīng)歷;
2 evangelical 基督教福音派教徒，adj 衷于傳播自己觀點(diǎn)的
3 blockchain 區(qū)塊鏈
4 munch 大聲咀嚼，用力咀嚼（脆的食物）
5 dip下降，下沉



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