第16单元 股票市场
Unit 16 Stock Market
Text A
Ⅰ．课文导读
股票市场是股民从事股票交易的场所。历史证明，从长期来看，购买股票是实现资产增值的最简单和有效的方式。福布斯财富排行榜前400位富豪，都拥有大量的股票。一般说来，股票的价格由供求关系所决定。对于一支股票来说，购买的人越多，它就变得越稀缺，价格也就会上扬。反之，购买的人越少，抛售的人越多，价格也就会迅速下跌。因此，股价会经常上下波动。如果大股东执意要卖掉大量的股票，即使发行股票的公司并没有出现任何问题，该股股价仍然会应声下挫。
Ⅱ．Text
The stock market is essentially a giant auction—only instead of antiques and heirlooms[1]．Stocks are traded at places called exchanges．At these exchanges，traders buy and sell shares of companies．Generally，the price of a stock is determined by supply and demand．For example，if there aremore people wanting to buy a stock than to sell it，the price will be driven up because those shares are rarer and peoplewill pay a higher price for them．On the other hand，if there are a lot of shares for sale and no one is interested in buying them，the price will quickly fall．
Because of this，themarket can appear to fluctuate[2]widely．Even if there is nothing wrong with a company，a large shareholder who is trying to sellmillions of shares at a time can drive the price of the stock down，simply because there are not enough people interested in buying the stock he is trying to sell．Because there is no real demand for the company he is selling，he is forced to accept a lower price．
History has shown that owning stocks is one of the easiest and most profitable ways to grow your wealth over the long-term．Virtually[3]every member of the Forbes 400 list got there because they own a large block of shares in a public or private corporation，ranging froMmanufacturing and oil drilling to cosmetics and moneymanagement．Although your beginningmay be humble，this guide to investing in stockswill explain what stocks are，how you canmakemoney froMthem，and much more．
Have you ever asked yourself，“What is stock？”or wondered why shares of stock exist？This introduction to the world of investing in stockswill provide answers to those questions and show you just how simple Wall Street really is．Itmay turn out to be one of themost important articles you've ever read if you don't understand what stocks represent．
Imagine you wanted to start a retail store with members of your faMily．You decide you need$ 100，000 to get the business off the ground so you incorporate a new company．You divide the company into 1，000 pieces，or“shares”of stock．(They are called this because each piece of stock is entitled to[4]a proportional share[5]of the profit or loss)．You price each new share of stock at$ 100．If you can sell all of the shares to your faMily members，you should have the$ 100，000 you need(1，000 shares x$ 100 contributed capital per share=$ 100，000 cash raised for the company)．
If the store earned$ 50，000 after taxes during its first year，each share of stock would be entitled to 1/1，000th of the profit．You'd take$ 50，000 and divide it by 1，000，resulting in $ 50．00 earnings per share(or EPS as it is often called on Wall Street)．You could call ameeting of the company's Board of Directors(these are the people the stockholders elected to watch over their interest since they couldn't run the business) and decide to use themoney to pay cash dividends[6]，repurchase stock，or expand the company by reinvesting in the retail store．
At some point，you may decide you want to sell your shares of the faMily retailer．If the company is large enough，you could trade on a stock exchange．That's what is happening when you buy or sell shares of a company through a stock broker．You are telling themarket you are interested in acquiring or selling shares of a certain company and Wall Streetmatches you up with[7]someone and takes fees and comMissions[8]for doing it．Alternatively，shares of stock could be issued to raise millions，or even billions，of dollars for expansion．When SaMWalton formed Wal-Mart Stores，Inc．，the initial public offering that resulted froMhiMselling new ly created shares of stock in his company gave hiMenough cash to pay off most of his debt and fund Wal-Mart's nationwide expansion．
Shares of Stock on Wall Street Are No Different
It doesn'tmatter if you invest in shares of stock of multi-billion dollar conglomerates[9]or tiny publicly traded retailers，when you buy share of stock，you are purchasing a tiny piece of a company．For instance，McDonald's Corporation has divided itself into 1，079，186，614 shares of common stock．Over the past twelvemonths，the company earned net income of$ 4，176，452，196．18 so management took that profit and divided it by the shares outstanding，resulting in earnings per share of$ 3．87．Of that，the company's Board of Directors voted to pay$ 2．20 out in the forMof a cash dividend，leaving$ 1．67 per share for the company to devote to other causes such as expansion，debt reduction，share repurchases，orwhatever else it decides is necessary to produce a good return for its owners，the stockholders．
The current stock price of McDonald's is$ 61．66 per share．The stock market is nothing more than an auction．Individual investors，just like you，are making decisions with their own money in a real-time auction．If someone wants to sell their shares of McDonald's and there are no buyers at$ 61．66，the pricewould have to continually fall until someone else stepped in and placed a buy order with their broker．If investors thought McDonald's was going to growits profits faster than other companies，they would be willing to bid up the price[10]of the stock (which is affected by supply and demand because there are only a fixed amount of shares in existence，in this case 1，079，186，614 shares)．Likewise，if a large investor were to dump his or her shares on the market，the supply could temporarily overwhelMthe demand and drive the stock price lower．
Keep Perspective on[11]Stocks and Never ForgetWhat They Represent
What happens if you believe McDonald's will generate far higher earnings per share of stock within five years，you buy 1，000 shares at$ 61．66(for a total investment of$ 61，660)，and the very next day，the stock falls to$ 30 per share？Should you be upset？
In this situation，you need to remember that the stock market is an auction．If you still believe the company will generate the earnings per share you calculated several years froMnow，to be upset that the stock price got cheaperwould be，in thewords of the legendary Benjamin Graham，to allow yourself to get upset by“other peoples'mistakes in judgment”．The share price may move around wildly as Millions of investors throughout the world make decisions about how much they arewilling to pay，but the ultimate value of your shareswill come froMthe profit the company generates．
If McDonald's did reach，say，$ 8 in per share earningswithin five years，and kept the same dividend policy，your shares would collect$ 4．55 in cash dividends each year．That means you'd be earning 15．17% in cash dividend yield on the stock you purchased when it fell to $ 30 per share．This is why you see many successful investors completely unemotional about stock market crashes; they view the events as nothingmore than the opportunity to buy a greater stake[12]in businesses they like that generate lots of cash．
Stock typically takes the forMof shares of either common stock[13]or preferred stock[14]．As a unit of ownership，common stock typically carries voting rights that can be exercised in corporate decisions．Preferred stock differs froMcommon stock in that it typically does not carry voting rights but is legally entitled to receive a certain level of dividend payments before any dividends can be issued to other shareholders．Convertible[15]preferred stock is preferred stock that includes an option for the holder to convert the preferred shares into a fixed number of common shares，usually anytime after a predeterMined date．Shares of such stock are called“convertible preferred shares”(or“convertible preference shares”in the UK)
New equity issues[16]may have specific legal clauses attached that differentiate theMfroMprevious issues of the issuer．Some shares of common stock may be issued without the typical voting rights，for instance，or some sharesmay have special rights unique to theMand issued only to certain parties．Often，newissues that have not been registered with a securities governing body[17]may be restricted froMresale for certain periods of time．
Preferred stock may be hybrid[18]by having the qualities of bonds of fixed returns and common stock voting rights．They also have preference in the payment of dividends over common stock and also have been given preference at the time of liquidation[19]over common stock．They have other features of accumulation[20]in dividend．
Ⅲ．Notes
1．Forbes(福布斯杂志)．Forbes is an American publishing and media company．Its flagship publication，the Forbesmagazine，is published biweekly．Its primary competitors in the national businessmagazine category are Fortune，which is also published biweekly，and Business Week．Themagazine iswell-known for its lists，including its lists of the richest Americans(the Forbes 400) and its list of billionaires．
2．W all Street(华尔街)．Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City，named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running froMBroadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan．Anchored by Wall Street，New York City is one of the world's principal financial centers．
3．Common stock(普通股)．Common stock is a forMof corporate equity ownership，a type of security．It is called“common”to distinguish it froMpreferred stock．In the event of bankruptcy，common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders，bondholde-rs，creditors，etc．On the other hand，common shares on average perforMbetter than preferred shares or bonds over time．
4．Preferred stock(优先股)． Preferred stock，also called preferred shares，preference shares，or simply preferreds，is a special equity security that has properties of both an equity and a debt instrument and is generally considered a hybrid instrument．Preferreds are senior(i．e．higher ranking) to common stock，but are subordinate to bonds．Preferred stock usually carries no voting rights，butmay carry a dividend andmay have priority over common stock in the payment of dividends and upon liquidation．Preferred stock may have a convertibility feature into common stock．SiMilar to bonds，preferred stocks are rated by themajor credit rating companies．The rating for preferreds is generally lower since preferred dividends do not carry the same guarantees as interest payments froMbonds and they are junior to all creditors．
5．BenjaMin Graham(本杰明·格雷厄姆)．Benjamin Graham(May 8，1894-September 21，1976) was an American economist and professional investor．GrahaMis considered the first proponent of value investing，an investment approach he began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently refined with David Dodd through various editions of their famous book Security Analysis．GrahaMhad such an overwhelming influence on his students that two of them，Buffettand Kahn，named their sons，Howard GrahaMBuffett and Thomas GrahaMKahn，after him．
Ⅳ．Useful Expressions
1．get．．．off the ground:开始，使有进展
2．be entitled to:享有，应得
3．match up with:与……匹配
4．pay off one's debt:还债
5．keep perspective on:明察事理
6．differentiate sth．from:与……区别开来
7．differ froMin:在……方面不同
8．take the forMof:以……形式(出现)
9．in existence:存在
10．in the words of sb．:以……的话说
Ⅴ．Reading Comprehension
Questions
1．Why is a stock market a giant auction？
2．How does a stock market operate？
3．What's the difference between preferred stock and common stock？
4．What rules are there for new equity issues？
5．Why are successful investors not upsetwhen the stock market crashes？
Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false．
1．Tradersmerely buy and sell stocks at places called exchanges． ( )
2．Supply and demand determines the price of a stock． ( )
3．Owing a large block of sharesmakes people listed the rank of Forbes rich． ( )
4．If the earned$ 50，000 is entitled to 1/1，000th of the profit，the EPS is$ 50．00．( )
5．A large investor shares decides the price of a stock． ( )
6．People are upset since they are influenced by other stock-holders' judgments． ( )
7．The profit the company ultimately earns decides the value of the shares． ( )
8．Preferred stock carries voting rights and is entitled to receive a certain level of dividend payments．
9．If a preferred stock that includes an option for the holder to convert the preferred shares into a fixed number of common shares，it could be viewed as“convertible preferred shares”
10．Every share of common stock may be issued without the typical voting rights．( )
Ⅵ．Discussion
What kind of stockswould you choose？Why？
Text B
BEC Reading Texts
PART ONE
Questions 1—8
·Look at the statements below and the five extracts about equity and preferred stock froMan article．
·Which extract(A，B，C，D or E) does each statement(1—8) refer to？
·For each statement(1—8)，make one letter(A，B，C，D or E) on your Answer Sheet．
·You will need to use some of these lettersmore than once．
1. This definition is helpful in understanding the liquidation process in case of bankruptcy．
2. In accounting and finance，equity is the residual claiMor interestof themost junior class of investors in assets，after all liabilities are paid．
3. Public companies usually pay dividends on a fixed schedule，butmay declare a dividend at any time，sometimes．
4. The rating for prefer reds is generally lower since preferred dividends do not carry the same guarantees as interest payments froMbonds and they are junior to all creditors．
5. For a joint stock company，a dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share．
6. Thus owners'equity is reduced to zero．Ownership equity is also known as risk capital or liable capital．
7. After liabilities have been accounted for the positive remainder is deemed the owner's interest in the business．
8. Similar to bonds，preferred stocks are rated by themajor credit rating companies．
A. If liability exceeds assets，negative equity exists．In an accounting context，shareholders' equity(or stockholders'equity，shareholders' funds，shareholders'capital or similar terms) represents the remaining interest in assets of a company，spread among individual shareholders of common or preferred stock．
B. Therefore，a shareholder receives a dividend in proportion to their shareholding．For the joint stock company，paying dividends is not an expense; rather，it is the division of after tax profits among shareholders．Retained earnings(profits that have not been distributed as dividends) are shown in the shareholder equity section in the company's balance sheet-the same as its issued share capital．
C. At first，all the secured creditors are paid against proceeds froMassets．Afterward，a series of creditors，ranked in priority sequence，have the next claim/righton the residual proceeds．Ownership equity is the lastor residual claiMagainstassets，paid only after all other creditors are paid．In such caseswhere even creditors could not get enough money to pay their bills，nothing is left over to reimburse owners'equity．
D. Preferred stock usually carries no voting rights，butmay carry a dividend and may have priority over common stock in the payment of dividends and upon liquidation．Preferred stock may have a convertibility feature into common stock．Terms of the preferred stock are stated in a “Certificate of Designation”．
E. At the start of a business，owners put some funding into the business to finance operations．This creates a liability on the business in the shape of capital as the business is a separate entity froMits owners．Businesses can be considered，for accounting purposes，sums of liabilities and assets; this is the accounting equation．
PART TWO
Questions 9—14
·Read the text about the stoke trading．
·Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps．
·For each gap(9—14)，mark one letter(A-H) on your Answer Sheet．
·Do not use any lettermore than once．
Stock Trading
Participants in the stock market range froMsmall individual stock investors to large hedge fund traders，who can be based anywhere．Their orders usually end up with a professional at a stock exchange，who executes the order of buying or selling．
(9)．．．，thus providing a marketplace(virtual or real)．The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities，facilitating price discovery．
Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor，by amethod known as open outcry．This type of auction is used in stock exchanges and commodity exchanges where traders may enter“verbal”bids and offers simultaneously．(10)．．．，composed of a network of computerswhere trades aremade electronically via traders．
Actual trades are based on an auctionmarketmodelwhere a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock and a potential seller asks a specific price for the stock．(11)．．．When the bid and ask pricesmatch，a sale takes place，on a first-come-first-served basis if there are multiple bidders or askers at a given price．
The New York Stock Exchange is one of the physical exchanges，also referred to as a listed exchange-(12)．．．Orders enter by way of exchangemembers and flow down to a floor broker，who goes to the floor trading post specialist for that stock to trade the order．(13)．．．If a spread exists，no trade immediately takes place—in this case the specialist should use his/her own resources(money or stock) to close the difference after his/her judged time．Once a trade has been made the details are reported on the“tape”and sentback to the brokerage firm，which then notifies the investor who placed the order．(14)．．．，computers play an important role，especially for so-called“prograMtrading”．
A. The other type of stock exchange is a virtual kind
B. The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers
C. Although there is a significant amount of human contact in this process
D. stocks listed on one exchange can also be traded on other participating exchanges
E. The specialist's job is to match buy and sell orders using open outcry
F. Buying stock onmarginmeans buying stock withmoney borrowed against the stocks in the same account．
G. Buying or selling atmarketmeans you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock，respectively
H. only stocks listed with the exchangemay be traded
PART THREE
Questions 15—20
·Read the following article on the stock market．
·For each question(15—20) mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose．
On Monday，October 19，1987，a wave of selling triggered widespread price declines in stock markets froMNew York to Australia．On that day，nowinfamous as“Black Monday”，over 600 million shareswere traded on the New York Stock Exchange．The Dow Jones Industrial Average of the prices of 30 stocks of major US companies lost 22．6 percent of its value on that memorable day，plunging 508 points in the panicked rush to sell．
What is the stock market，and howis it affected by the forces of supply and demand？The stock market is themeans through which previously issued corporate stocks，shares of ownership in a corporation，are traded．Stock exchanges are organizationswhosemembers act as intermediaries to buy and sell stocks for their clients．About80 percent of all stock trading in the United States takes place at the New York Stock Exchange．There are other stock exchanges in the U-nited States aswell as in Paris，London，Sydney and Tokyo．
How are stock prices determined？The answer，as you might expect，is by supply and demand．However，the forces influencing the prices of corporate stocks are quite different froMthose influencing the prices of goods and services．People and organizations that buy and hold stock do so for the incomes they hope to earn．The incomes depend on dividends paid to stockholders，changes in the price of stock over time，and the expected return on alternative investments．
On any given day in the stock market，there are orders to buy and orders to sell．The orders to buy constitute the quantity of a stock demanded at the current(or anticipated) price per share，while the orders to sell constitute the quantity supplied at that price．The chief influence on both the supply of and demand for stocks is the income potential of holding the stock compared to the income potential of holding alternative assets such as bonds，other types of securities，or real property like buildings and land．
On the New York Stock Exchange，trading in all stocks is continuous．A specialist is assigned to oversee trading in each stock．This specialist is a“broker's broker”who tries to adjust the price of the stock so thatquantity demanded equals quantity supplied．However，the specialist is also allowed to purchase the stock to hold as a personal investment if no buyer can be found．In thisway the specialist can exert some influence on the supply of and demand for stocks，and will do so if it's profitable．
On October 19，1987，there were hardly any buy orders，and themarketswere flooded with sell orders．Because of the tremendous surplus of stocks at the prevailing prices，specialists and call clerks lowered prices until quantity demanded equaled quantity supplied．When Black Monday finally reeled to a close，many a portfolio had lostover a fifth of the value ithad the day before．
15. By the word“intermediaries”(line 4，paragraph 2)，the authormeans_______．
A. connections
B. messengers
C. go-betweens
D. spokesmen
16. Which of the following does not deterMine people's incomes in stock market？
A. Changes in the price of stock．
B. Dividends paid to stockholders．
C. The expected return on alternative investments．
D. The supply of the stock．
17. Which of the following can not be considered as“alternative assets”according to the passage？
A. Buildings
B. Stocks
C. Bonds
D. Securities
18. Which of the following stock exchange centers arementioned in the passage？
A. Stock exchange centers in London，Sydney and Moscow．
B. Stock exchange centers in Paris，London，Sydney．
C. Stock exchange centers in Frankfurt，Paris，New York．
D. Stock exchange centers in London，Tokyo，Hong Kong．
19. Which of the following is NOT the right description of stock market on October 19，1987？
A. Themarketswere flooded with sell orders．
B. More than 600 million shareswere traded on the New York Stock Exchange
C. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of the prices of 30 stocks of major US companies lost 22．6 percent of its value
D. Many a portfolio had lost a fifth of the value it had the day before．
20. Whatmight be themost appropriate title of the passage？
A. Stock Market
B. Stock Exchange
C. Infamous“Black Monday”
D. The Caprice Stock Market
PART FOUR
Questions 21—30
·Read the article below about the function and purpose of stokemarkets．
·Choose the correctword to fill each gap froMa，B，C or D．
·For each question(21—30)，mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet．
Function and Purpose of Stock Markets
The stock market is one of themost important(21)．．．for companies to raisemoney．This allows businesses to be publicly(22)．．．，or raise additional financial capital for expansion by selling shares of ownership of the company in a public market．The(23)．．．that an exchange provides affords investors the ability to quickly and easily sell securities．This is an attractive feature of(24)．．．in stocks．
Exchanges also actas the(25)．．．for each transaction，meaning that they collectand deliver the shares，and guarantee payment to the seller of a security．This eliMinates the risk to an individual buyer or seller that the counterparty could(26)．．．on the transaction．The smooth functioning of all these activities facilitates econoMic grow th in that lower costs．In thisway the financial systeMis assumed to contribute to increased prosperity．
History has shown that the price of shares and other(27)．．．is an important partof the dynamics of economic activity，and can influence or be an indicator of socialmood．An economy where the stockmarket is on the rise is considered to be an up-and-coming economy．In fact，the stock market is often considered the primary indicator of a country's economic strength and development．
(28)．．．share prices，for instance，tend to be associated with increased business investment and vice versa．Share prices also affect the wealth of households and their consumption．(29)．．．，central banks tend to keep an eye on the control and behavior of the stockmarketand，in(30)．．．，on the smooth operation of financial systeMfunctions．
21. A. sources B. assistants C. reasons D. ways
22. A. bought B. traded C. conducted D. done
23. A. convenience B. liquidity C. superiority D. celerity
24. A. indulging B. engaging C. investing D. funding
25. A. clearinghouse B. greenhouse C. whitehouse D. workhouse
26. A. counter B. breach C. default D. fail
27. A. exchanges B. transactions C. assets D. investments
28. A. Decreasing B. Steadying C. Learning D. Rising
29. A. However B. Besides C. Moreover D. Therefore
30. A. return B. general C. short D. fact
PART FIVE
Questions 31—40
·Read the article below about stock market crashes．
·For each question 31—40，write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．
Stock Market Crashes
A stock market crash is often defined as a sharp dip in(31)．．．prices of equities listed on the stock exchanges．In parallel(32)．．．various econoMic factors，a reason for stock market crashes is also(33)．．．to panic and investing public's loss of confidence．Often，stock market crashes end speculative economic bubbles．
There have been famous stockmarket crashes that have ended in the(34)．．．of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on amassive scale．An increasing(35)．．．of people are involved in the stockmarket，especially since the social security and retirement plans are(36)．．．increasingly privatized and linked to stocks and bonds and other elements of the market．There have been a number of famous stock market crashes like the(37)．．．Street Crash of 1929，the stock market crash of 1973-4，the Black Monday of 1987，the Dot-coMbubble of 2000，and the Stock Market Crash of 2008．
One of themost famous stock market crashes started October 24，1929 on Black Thursday．The Dow Jones Industrial lost50% during this stock market crash．Itwas the beginning of the Great Depression．(38)．．．famous crash took place on October 19，1987-Black Monday．The crash began in Hong Kong and quickly(39)．．．around the world．By the(40)．．．of October，stock markets in Hong Kong had fallen 45．5%%，Australia 41．8%%，Spain 31%%，the U-nited KingdoM26．4%%，the United States 22．68%%，and Canada 22．5%%．
PART SIX
Questions 41—52
·Read the text below about disintermediation．
·In most lines(41—52)，there is one extra word．It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text．Some lines，however，are correct．
·If a line is correct，write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet．
·If there is an extra word in the line，write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．
Disintermediation—A Remarkable Transformation
41. The financial systeMinmostwestern countries has been undergone a remarkable transformation．One feature of this development is disintermediation．A portion of the funds
42. involved in saving and financing，it flows directly to the financialmarkets instead of being routed
43. via the traditional bank lending and deposit to operations．The general public interest in investing
44. in the stock market，either directly or through mutual funds，has been an important component of
45. this process．Statistics show that in recent decades selling shares havemade up an increasingly
46. large proportion of households'financial assets inmany countries abroad．In the1970s，in
47. Sweden，deposit accounts and any other very liquid assets with little risk made up almost60
48. percent of households'financialwealth，compared to less than 20 percent in the 2000s．The
49. major partof this adjustment is that financial portfolios have gone directly to shares but not a good deal now takes the forMof various kinds of institutional investment for groups of individuals，
50. e．g．，pension funds，mutual funds，hedge funds，insurance investment of preMiums，etc．The
51. trend towards forms of saving with a higher risk which has been accentuated by newrules for
52. most funds and insurance．Similar tendencies are to be difficult found in all developed econoMic systems，such as the European Union，the United States，Japan and other developed nations:saving hasmoved away froMtraditional bank deposits tomore risky securities of one sort or another．
【注释】
[1]heirloom:传家宝
[2]fluctuate:波动
[3]virtually:实际上;几乎
[4]is entitled to:享有
[5]a proportional share:定额;一定比例的份额
[6]dividend:红利
[7]match up with:匹配
[8]commissions:佣金
[9]conglomerate:企业集团
[10]bid up the price:哄抬价格
[11]keep perspective on:明察
[12]stake:股份
[13]common stock:普通股
[14]preferred stock:优先股
[15]convertible:可转换的
[16]new equity issue:新股票发行
[17]securities governing body:证券管理机构
[18]hybrid:混合物
[19]liquidation:清算
[20]accumulation:积累
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