VOA慢速英語:Organizing a Business In Different Ways

This is the VOA Learning English Economics Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語經(jīng)濟(jì)報(bào)道。

Businesses are structured in different ways to meet different needs.

企業(yè)存在不同的構(gòu)成形式以滿足不同需求。

The simplest form of business is called an individual or sole proprietorship. The proprietor owns all of the property of the business and is responsible for everything.

最簡單的一種企業(yè)構(gòu)成形式就是獨(dú)資企業(yè)，企業(yè)主擁有企業(yè)所有資產(chǎn)，也承擔(dān)一切責(zé)任。

For legal purposes, with this kind of business, the owner and the company are the same. This means the proprietor gets to keep all of the profits of the business, but must also pay any debts.

從法律上來講，獨(dú)資企業(yè)主等同于企業(yè)，這意味著企業(yè)主獲取企業(yè)所有收益，也承擔(dān)所有債務(wù)。

Another kind of business is the partnership. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to decide how much of the partnership each person controls.

另外一種是合伙企業(yè)，由兩個或兩個以上的人合伙經(jīng)營。合伙人之間通常必須擬定協(xié)議，以規(guī)定各自所控制的企業(yè)份額。

One kind of partnership is called a limited liability partnership. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits, but they also have less responsibility for the business.

其中一種合伙企業(yè)成為有限責(zé)任合伙企業(yè)。合伙人分為普通合伙人和有限責(zé)任合伙人。有限責(zé)任合伙人可能享受的收益不高，但他們相應(yīng)承擔(dān)的責(zé)任也少。

Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships to share their risks and profits. A husband and wife can form a business partnership together.

醫(yī)生、律師和會計(jì)們經(jīng)常組建合伙企業(yè)，共同分擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和收益。夫妻也可以共同組建合伙企業(yè)。

Partnerships exist only for as long as the owners remain alive. The same is true of individual proprietorships.

合伙企業(yè)僅在企業(yè)主在世的情況下存在，獨(dú)營企業(yè)也是如此。

But corporations are designed to have an unlimited lifetime. A corporation is the most complex kind of business organization.

但公司沒有經(jīng)營期限限制，這是最復(fù)雜的一種企業(yè)形式。

Corporations can sell stock as a way to raise money. Stock represents shares of ownership in a company. Investors who buy stock can trade their shares or keep them as long as the company is in business.

公司可以通過出售股票的形式籌集資金。股票代表公司所有權(quán)，股票投資人可以進(jìn)行股票交易，也可以長期持有，只要公司仍在經(jīng)營。

A company might use some of its earnings to pay dividends as a reward to shareholders. Or the company might reinvest the money back into the business.

公司可能會拿出一部分收益作為股息獎勵給股東，也可能把錢再次投入公司經(jīng)營。

If shares lose value, investors can lose all of the money they paid for their stock. But shareholders are not responsible for the debts of the corporation.

如果股份失去價(jià)值，投資者就會損失掉所有投到股票里的錢。但是股東不用對公司的債務(wù)承擔(dān)責(zé)任。

A corporation is recognized as an entity -- its own legal being, separate from its owners.

公司被認(rèn)為是一個合法存在的實(shí)體(即獨(dú)立法人)，與股東是分離的。

A board of directors controls corporate policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold shares in the corporation.

董事會控制公司決策。董事任命公司的上層員工，但董事不一定就是該公司股東。

Corporations can have a few major shareholders. Or ownership can be spread among the general public.

公司可能只有幾個主要的股東，也可能所有權(quán)為公眾廣泛持有。

But not all corporations are traditional businesses that sell stock. Some nonprofit groups are also organized as corporations.

但不是所有公司都是出售股票這種傳統(tǒng)商業(yè)模式。一些非營利性組織也以公司形式存在。