柯灵思英语-英语听力高手39

 Now internet stocks, they were going through the roof earlier this year until they ran into their recent difficulties. So the question is: has the bubble finally burst? So Katie, first of all, what drove these prices up so high in the first place?

Well, all the hype about theinternet would have attracted some investors¹ (inspectors )looking for a quick profit, but I think the real driving force has been (is being) the fact that demand has far exceeded a limited supply. There were only a handful of internet share offers last year so opportunities to jump onto the internet bandwagon have been limited.

And all this is despite the fact they(that) are far from what you’d call a safe investment?

Absolutely yes.

But what about good old profits? Do they match the performance of the share prices?

Well, this is what( they * works )so fascinating, take Amzon.com, for example, the internet bookseller, they have a market value of $18 billion, turnover² in excess ＄1 billion, and yet they haven’t even reached the break-even point. Apart (A power )from a couple of companies such as Yahoo！ and American Online, most of them are a long long way away from making any kind of profit whatsoever³, never mind the huge profits everyone’s hoping for.

So why on earth is everyone so keen to invest in them?

Well, they are very trendy, and of course, there is always the brand factor, which is another reason. Companies like Yahoo! and American Online now enjoy incredibly high brand awareness⁴, but the real attraction is the tremendous potential for future revenue, particularly from advertising⁵. Yahoo! already has 144 million page hits (pay *) a day and nearly 2000 advertisers. And with internet usage (user) expected to double within 5 years, advertising spending is bound to increase.

But then how do analysts⁶ value these companies?

Well, it’s not easy, they have few assets(essay)in the traditional sense and they all show (there are also) phenomenal growth in terms of turnover, so analysts are having to rely on alternative yardsticks⁸ (the artistic) to compare them.

Such as…?

Such as things like audience reach, Lycos, another search engine like Yahoo!, saw its shares (it )jump by more than a third recently when figures came out saying it reached 45% of all whole internet users.

So, let’s turn to the recent collapse⁹ in these shares prices. Has the bubble finally burst?

Well, we were due a (work *)sell-off, so it’s not surprising that shareholders¹⁰ took advantage of the recent sharp rises. But I think what’s really depressed¹¹ prices is the flood of internet companies that have floated recently and saturated¹² the market with their shares. It seems that supply and demand (amount) are now leveling out. In fact, several companies have even seen their shares slide(slight) below the offer price. Yes, enthusiasm does seem to be cooling.

Well, it seems to me that anyone investing in internet shares is in for a bit of a rollercoaster ride (influencing the *). So just why is the market so volatile¹³?

Well, it’s a very young market, don’t forget. And many companies have been listed for only a couple of months. Also, a lot of people who invest in these stocks actually use the Internet to trade on-line. Without the brokers’ commission, they can afford to buy in and out of(and now to) stocks several times a day. This makes the market very sensitive to any breaking news (youth). And I think it’s this responsiveness which makes it so volatile.

So, Katie, the big question, what’s market going to do next?

Well, Richard, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Some of the prices being paid do reflect the value of these companies so I can’t really (wait to) see prices falling much more. Although confidence will return, enthusiasm is cooling so don’t expect to see prices soaring in the near future.

So how do you see the future for (of) companies in this sector¹⁴?

Well, I think the sector is going to see lots of consolidation¹⁵ activity as the bigger players look to buy talent and market share. Lycos, for example, has just acquired HotBot, one of its rivals. We’ll also see one or two large established non-Internet companies looking to enter the market. The giant Germany publisher Bertelsmann, for example, has just entered into a joint-venture with US bookseller　Bames and Nobel(of novel) to challenge Amazon’s dominance on the Net. And if the internet continueｓ to grow like it is, then a few of these companies are bound to see substantial returnｓ on their investments.
New words

hype

n天花乱坠的广告宣传

bandwagon

n.乐队花车, 流行

jump on the bandwagon

赶时髦，一窝蜂作风

yardstick⁷

n.码尺;标准；准绳

We need a yardstick for health.

我们需要一个有关健康的标准。

Do you judge other children by the same yardstick as your own?

你用同样的标准衡量你的孩子和其他孩子吗？

sell-off

n. 证券的跌价
 

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

3 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 yardstick   

n.计算标准，尺度；评价标准

参考例句：

• This is a yardstick for measuring whether a person is really progressive.这是衡量一个人是否真正进步的标准。
• She was a yardstick against which I could measure my achievements.她是一个我可以用来衡量我的成就的准绳。

8 yardsticks   

比较或衡量的标准，尺度( yardstick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Your success in life can be measured by many yardsticks. 你在生活方面的成功是可以用许多标准来衡量的。
• Common yardsticks for measuring success are cost, choice, performance, and security. 判断一个操作系统是否成功的通用尺度包括成本、普及度、性能和安全性。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 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

11 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

12 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

13 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

15 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法