German and NY Stock Exchanges Approve Merger

    The company that operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and other European markets is buying the New York Stock Exchange to form the world's largest market for trading stock and other securities(有价证券).
    The boards of Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext approved the merger² Tuesday. The Bloomberg financial news agency reports the German company will pay $9.53 billion for the New York-based exchanges.
    The deal will create a single company, which the Reuters news agency says will handle an estimated $20 trillion in annual trading in the United States, Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium.
    The deal must still be approved by regulators in the United States and Europe.
    New York stock trading can be traced to 1792, when traders first made a deal under a buttonweed tree on Wall Street. Now, the stocks of thousands of companies are traded on the NYSE（纽约证券交易所）.
    To millions of Americans, the New York Stock Exchange may symbolize³ "Big Business" and be the source of personal wealth and security. The fortunes of the exchange itself have faltered⁴ in recent years, however, as the trading of stock and other securities has greatly expanded around the clock at exchanges throughout the world - not just most prominently in New York.
    Smaller stock exchanges have been forced to merge¹ with larger ones in order to meet the fast pace of securities trading. Trading now is most often conducted through the use of advanced computers, not in a face-to-face transaction between two traders, as once was the case.
    Last week, the London Stock Exchange said it is merging⁵ with Canada's TMX Group. Eight other stock market mergers⁶ have occurred since 2000 and the Hong Kong Exchange said Thursday it also would consider a merger.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

2 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

3 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

4 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

5 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

6 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件