VOA慢速英语20060707a

ECONOMICS REPORT - Enron's Ken¹ Lay Dies at 64 | Bill Aims to Renew Hedge Fund RuleBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 16:00:00 UTC

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


Ken Lay (File photo)

Kenneth Lay, the former chairman of Enron, died Wednesday in Aspen, Colorado. A medical examiner said the cause was a heart attack. Ken Lay was sixty-four years old.

In May, a jury in Houston, Texas, found him guilty of six charges related to the failure of the energy trading company. He faced sentencing in October to a long prison term.

The jury found former Enron president Jeffrey Skilling guilty of nineteen charges.

False record-keeping and other actions made Enron appear profitable even as its financial troubles grew. Its request for bankruptcy² protection in two thousand one marked, at the time, the biggest business failure in American history.

More than twenty people later admitted or were found guilty of charges of wrongdoing. Jurors said Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were responsible for what took place.

A week ago, government lawyers asked a judge to order the two men to pay more than one hundred eighty million dollars. They were seeking forty-three million of that from Ken Lay.

After Enron's failure, Congress moved to strengthen accounting³ rules with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of two thousand two.

Ken Lay had built Enron into one of the nation's biggest companies. News reports about his death noted⁴ that President Bush called him Kenny-Boy.

Legal experts say his death clears his criminal record because he did not have a chance to appeal. But civil actions to reclaim⁵ money can continue, though possibly with limits.

Ken Lay said his company was a victim of bad market conditions and unfair media coverage⁶. After the jury found him guilty, he told reporters: I firmly believe that I am innocent of the charges against me, as I have said from day one.

Before we go, a quick update. Recently we said hedge fund advisers⁷ had to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was true at the time, at least for advisers with fifteen or more investors⁹.

On June twenty-third an appeals court rejected that rule. But three members of the House of Representatives have since proposed a bill that would give the agency the power to renew it.

Hedge funds are estimated to hold between one and two million million dollars. But they are not governed by investor⁸ protections like mutual¹⁰ funds are.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. A free transcript¹¹ of this report is at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

3 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

8 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

9 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

10 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

11 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。