News Item 1 Russia Disusses Oil Cuts
Vocabulary:
1.speculation n. contemplation or consideration of a subject ; meditation 思索;沉思
2.squeeze v. to press hard on or together ; compress 榨取,汲取
3.appeal v. to make an earnest or urgent request, as for help 懇求,求助 to have recourse, as for corroboration; resort 呼籲;依靠
4.trim v. to remove (excess) by cutting; reduce 削減;減少
5.expectation n. prospects, especially of success or gain 希望,期望,期 望中的事,尤指成功或收獲
Step One Listen to the news and decide whether they are true or false.
1.Russia, as an OPEC member, agreed to cut as much as two hundred thousand barrels a day on Wednesday.
2.Russia will follow Norway to squeeze its production.
3.OPEC refuses to reduce its global oil output unless non-OPEC producers make similar sacrifices.
4.Oil prices suffered sharp declines last week.
5.In London Brent Crude is now back to just under forty dollars a barrel.
Step Two Complete the following blanks with the exact words from the news.
1.Now waiting on a ____, the Russian government is meeting with the ____ of several oil companies this morning, and ____ is growing that Russia will agree to cut oil output and help OPEC____prices.
2.If you look over the last three years what has happened is____supplies have gone up three million barrels a day, of ____ almost half has been Russia ____,and demand has only____by a million.
3.In order to____the market, that has____OPEC to cut production two million a day,and ____they are tired of doing it all by themselves.
4.They&aposre looking for some small non-OPEC ____,and if they get this you&aposre talking about significantly ____than we see today.
Notes:
1.OPEC: 歐佩克,全稱是石油輸出國組織(Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries)。 該組織成立於I960年,總部設在維也納,現有來自西亞和拉丁美洲的11 個成員國。其宗旨是:協調和統一各成員國的石油政策,並確定以最適宜的手段來維 護他們各自和共同的利益。歐佩克國家目前石油日產量為3210萬桶,約占全球原油 日產量的三分之一,對世界石油市場走勢具有極其重要的影響。
2.Brent Crude: 布倫特原油。布倫特原油產於英國的北海近海,每天產量約50萬桶。 雖說這個數字還不足世界原油產量的1%,但世界原油市場上有大概3500~4000萬 桶原油價格的形成都取決於布倫特的原油價格,因此,布倫特原油價格在世界原油市 場上舉足輕重。
News Item 2 Daimler-Chrysler Profit Plunge
Lesley Carwen, BBC News
Vocabulary:
1.sue v. to petition (a court) for redress of grievances or recovery of a right. 向(法 院)起訴,請求(法院)做法律上的補救或恢複某項權利to institute proceedings against (a person) for redress of grievances 提出訴訟,通過法律程序起訴(某人)謀求公正
2.glamorous adj. full of or characterized by glamour 充滿魅力的,迷人的
3.downturn n. a tendency downward, especially in business or economic activity 衰退,下降
趨勢,尤指商業或經濟活動的下降趨勢;低迷時期
4.Amir also Emir a prince, chieftain, or governor, especially in the Middle East 酋長王子、酋長或統治者,特別是在中東地區
5.slash vt. to reduce or curtail drastically 大量地減少或削減
Step One Listen to the news and decide whether they are true or false.
1.Profits of Daimler-Chrysler at the German and the US market dropped sharply last year.
2.Daimler-Chrysler&aposs problems lie in the fact that its business in the U. S. is losing money.
3.There will be a restructuring program at the beginning this month.
4.About 20% of Chrysler&aposs employees will be dismissed in the next two years.
5.It is reported that shareholders are becoming more and more disappointed with Daimler-Chrysler management.
Step Two Complete the following blanks with the exact words from the news.
1. The group____the market by____a 49 percent fall in operating profits to $ 4. 8 billion. Last week it announced the ____ of its Chrysler operations following a____ in its US business.
2.Today&aposs results ____ yearly operating profits have ____ at the group as a____. But there were no separate____of the plight of the Chrysler____.
3.Two days ago, the Amir of ____’ whose country is the second biggest ____’received a____from the group&aposs chief____Jurgen Schrempp.
4.Like other____, they will want to know____plans for how the spiraling losses at Chrysler can be____.
Notes:
1.Damiani: 即為布萊德和詹妮弗製作戒指的意大利珠寶商Slvia Damiani。
2.Chrysler Walter Percy克萊斯勒?沃爾特?珀西(1875—1940),美國汽車製造商。克萊斯勒汽車公司是美國第三大汽車工業公司,創立於1925年,創始人名叫沃爾特· 克萊斯勒。該公司在全世界許多國家設有子公司,是一個跨國汽車公司。公司總部 設在美國底特律。1924年沃爾特·克萊斯勒離開通用汽車公司進入威廉斯·歐夫蘭 公司,開始生產克萊斯勒牌汽車。1925年他買下破產的馬克斯維爾公司組建自己的 公司。憑借自己的技術和財力,他先後買下道奇、布立格和普利茅斯公司,逐漸發展 成為美國第三大汽車公司。隨著經營的擴大,克萊斯勒開始向海外擴張,先後在澳大 利亞、法國、英國、巴西建廠和收買當地汽車公司股權,購買了意大利的馬沙拉蒂公 司和蘭伯基尼公司,從而使公司成為一個跨國汽車公司。
3.Daimler Gottlieb: 戴姆勒·戈特利(1834—1900),德國工程師和汽車製造業先驅,他 研製出第一台高速內燃機(1885年),他被世人譽為“汽車之父”,組建戴姆勒汽車廠。 1926年與奔馳汽車廠合並為戴姆勒一奔馳汽車公司,簡稱奔馳汽車公司。奔馳公司 總部設在德國斯圖加特,雇員總數為18.5萬人。年產汽車60萬輛。奔馳汽車公司經 營風格始終如一,不追求汽車產量的擴大,而隻追求生產出高質量、髙性能和高級別 汽車產品。在世界十大汽車公司中,奔馳公司產量最小,不足100萬輛,但它的利潤 和銷售額卻名列前五名。
News Item 3 BP Buys E. ON Oil Business
Rebecca Marston BBC News.
Vocabulary:
1.stake n. a share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share 股份, 指企業的股份,尤指金融股
2.swap v. to trade one thing for another 易物交易 to exchange ( one thing) for another 以(一物)換另一物
3.utility n. the quality or condition of being useful; usefulness 功用,效用;有效用的特征或狀態;有用,實用
4.asset n. a useful or valuable quality, person, or thing; an advantage or a resource 資源,優點 a valuable item that is owned 資產
5.rival n. one who attempts to equal or surpass another, or who pursues the same object as another ; a competitor 競爭對手,敵手
Step one Try to answer the following questions in your own words as clearly as possible.
1.How much is the cash and stock worth in the deal?
2.How many petrol stations does BP already own in Germany?
3.What does the link up mean?
4.What would be the result if this was taken up?