常考时文朗诵03

Passage 3

1. Which type of business does life insurance belong to insurance?

2. What is the difference between general insurance and life insurance? The

former is based on…, but latter on…

3. What does a financial economist¹ consider life insurance as?

Business of Insurance Companies

Insurance companies do two types of business. One is general insurance

against various forms of risk, and the other is long-term insurance which is

mainly life insurance. General insurance will agree to pay a person or a

company a sum of money in the event of something happening or not happening.

It’s a big business today. If the project succeeds, shareholders² in your

company will expect to be paid a dividend³. If you ask an insurer to

underwrite your project, then he will require a payment in advance, a

premium⁴. If the project succeeds, he keeps the premium, but you don’t pay

him anything else. Paying a premium to an insurer or underwriter is often

cheaper than paying a divident to shareholders. If your dividends⁵ are paid

to shareholders, then more money can be kept as retention⁶ to finance the

company’s next project. Another type of insurance business is the life

insurance. It differs basically from general insurance in that it is based

not on the risk but on certainty. The certainty that each of us will one day

die. Life insurance is the basis of pension funds which provide for

retirement⁷ and guard against other contingencies⁸, such as ill-health, but is

best seen by a financial economist as a means of collecting many small

savings⁹ to put together into large investments, in short, as a form of

intermediation.

Why did the two brothers grow cold and often quarrel with each other?

The division of their father’s property their bone of contention¹⁰.

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 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

3 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

4 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

5 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。

6 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 contingencies   

n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一

参考例句：

• We must consider all possible contingencies. 我们必须考虑一切可能发生的事。
• We must be prepared for all contingencies. 我们要作好各种准备，以防意外。 来自辞典例句

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。