VOA慢速英语20060516a

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Chicago Board of Trade Moves Into the FutureBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, May 16, 2006

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The Chicago Board of Trade is one of the largest exchanges for futures¹ trading, and one of the oldest. It opened in eighteen forty-eight.


Chicago Board of Trade

A futures contract is an agreement on a price and a date to buy or sell goods in the future. Agricultural futures have long been a way to limit risk with crop prices. Futures trading can help protect against losses. Companies also buy futures to guarantee costs for materials.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, or CBOT, futures have always been traded using the open outcry system. Floor brokers² bring together buy orders with sell orders in an area called the pit.

Brokers shout and wave their hands. The system looks disorganized. But in fact it is part of an orderly market. Hand signals identify buyers and sellers and show how many contracts will be traded.

The open outcry system will continue. But starting August first, the Chicago Board of Trade will begin using a new electronic system at the same time. This system is called ecbot.

Now traders will be able to trade futures in corn, wheat, soybeans, soybean oil, soybean meal and rough rice by computer. The use of two systems is similar to the hybrid³ market at the New York Stock Exchange. Trading takes place both on a physical trading floor and electronically.

CBOT says its new electronic trading system will help it expand internationally. Last year, the Board of Trade began to offer contracts for Brazilian soybeans. This meant that contracts to receive a shipment⁴ of soybeans could be traded among buyers both inside and outside the United States.

Futures trading can get highly complex. But farmers commonly use futures as a way to protect against low crop prices. The crop is still sold at harvest time. Market forces still set prices. But, before the crop is ever harvested, a farmer can buy a contract giving the right to sell an amount of the crop at a set price.

Futures guarantee prices for goods. Yet, in futures trading, real shipments⁵ of goods rarely take place. In fact, CBOT says only about four percent of contracts result in any products being sent to a buyer.

A futures market could not operate without speculators. Speculators are investors⁶ who purposely take risks trying to guess which direction prices will go.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

2 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

3 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

4 shipment   

n.装货，装载的货物

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment.货物已打包以备装船。
• Please advise the date of shipment as soon as possible.请尽快通知装货日期。

5 shipments   

船运，水运( shipment的名词复数 )； （从海路、陆路或空运的）一批货物

参考例句：

• The shipments are being expedited as much as possible. 装货速度在尽量加快。
• We received two shipments from Chicago. 我们收到从芝加哥运来的两船货物。

6 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