Market trends
1. Listening.
Internet share prices have fluctuated wildly over the past twelve months. Prices were very high earlier this year but have recently collapsed.
2. Listen again.
(1) B
(2) C
(3) A
(4) C
(5) B
(6) A
(7) B
(8) A
Vocabulary in listening piece
go through the roof
informal
a) also hit the roof
to suddenly become very angry暴跳如雷，大发雷霆
Put that back before Dad sees you and hits the roof!
b) if a price, cost etc goes through the roof, it increases to a very high level(物价等)涨到(或超出)最高限度
The bubble finally burst. 泡沫终究破灭了。
hype noun [uncountable]
attempts to make people think something is good or important by talking about it a lot on television, the radio etc - used to show disapproval(刺激兴趣、促进销售等)天花乱坠的广告宣传(贬义)
Some experts are concerned that the new drug won’t live up to all the hype. 一些专家对于这款新药并不能有广告中所吹捧的药效而感到忧心忡忡。
Despite the media hype, I found the film very disappointing. 尽管媒体对这部电影进行大量的吹捧，我还是觉得它很令人失望。
driving adjective
1 driving rain/snow
rain or snow that falls very hard and fast 倾盆大雨/大雪
2 driving force
someone or something that strongly influences people and makes them do something 驱动力
driving force behind
Hawks was the driving force behind the project.
3 driving ambition
a very great desire to do or achieve something 迫不及待的愿望
Demand has far exceeded a limited supply. 供不应求。
handful noun
1 [countable] an amount that you can hold in your hand 手中所握之量
handful of
The boy picked up a handful of stones and started throwing them at us. 这个男孩拿起一手石子开始向我们扔过来。
2 a handful of something
a very small number of people or things 少量的
There were only a handful of people there.那里人很少。
3 be a handful
informal someone, especially a child, who is a handful is difficult to control 很难驾驭的(小孩)
She’s a lovely child, but she can be a bit of a handful sometimes. 她是个可爱的孩子，但是她有时很难管教。
bandwagon noun [countable]
1 an activity that a lot of people are doing 人们都竞相做的事情
The keep-fit bandwagon started rolling in the mid 80s. 人们在80年代中期开始健身这项运动。
2 climb/jump/get on the bandwagon
to start doing or saying something that a lot of people are already doing or saying - used to show disapproval(贬义)赶浪头;人云亦云
I don’t want to look as if I’m jumping on a green bandwagon. 我并不想看上去也在赶绿色环保这个时尚。
excess noun
2 in excess of something超过
more than a particular amount
The car reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. 这辆汽车每小时的时速超过100迈。
breakeven noun [uncountable] the level of business activity at which a company is making neither a profit nor a loss不赚不赔;收支平衡
(the) breakeven point/level
The firm should reach breakeven point after one year. 该公司在一年后收支平衡。
break even
to neither make a profit nor lose money赚不赔;收支平衡
We’re hoping that we’ll at least break even, and perhaps make a small profit. 我们预计我们的生意至少收支平衡，或者略微获利。
couple noun
1 a couple
a) two things or people of the same kind 两个事物或人
a couple of
There are a couple of girls waiting for you. 有两个女孩在等你。
b) a small number of things 一些事情
I just need to make a couple more calls. 我还要打几个电话。
a couple of
You’ll be all right in a couple of days. 再过几天，你的病就会好的。
2 [countable] two people who are married or having a sexual or romantic relationship 夫妇
a newly married couple 新婚夫妇
the couple next door 隔壁的夫妇
a long way
very much, far, or a great amount or degree 很远的路
We’re still a long way from achieving our sales targets. 我们离销售目标还有很大的距离。
Psychiatry has come a long way (=developed a lot) since the 1920s. 精神病学自从20世界20年代已经发展了很多。
trendy adjective
comparative trendier superlative trendiest
influenced by the most fashionable styles and ideas时髦的，摩登的
a trendy Bay Area restaurant
ￚtrendiness noun [uncountable]
trendy noun[countable] British English informal
plural trendies
someone who is trendy and wants other people to think they are very modern - used especially to show disapproval 赶时髦的人
young trendies from art college 艺术学校的年轻时尚学生
brand factor品牌因素
high brand awareness 对某一品牌的高度认知
revenue noun [uncountable] also revenues
1 money that a business or organization receives over a period of time, especially from selling goods or services 收入
advertising revenue 广告收入
Strikes have cost ￡20 million in lost revenues. 罢工致使这家企业损失了2千万英镑的收入。
2 money that the government receives from tax 国家征收的税收
an increase in tax revenues of 8.4% 税收收入增长了8.4%
….page hits
hit noun [countable]
▶SUCCESSFUL◀
something such as a film, play, song etc that is very popular and successful 成功的电影、演出、歌曲等
a hit single/show/record etc 畅销单曲/演出/磁带
the hit musical ’Phantom of the Opera’
a big/smash/number 1 etc hit
the Beatles’ greatest hits
Which band had a hit with ’Bohemian Rhapsody’?
be a hit with somebody
(=be liked by them)
It’s hoped the new museum will be a big hit with families.
▶HIT SOMETHING◀
an occasion when something that is aimed at something else touches it, reaches it, or damages it 撞击
Our ship took a direct hit and sank.
▶COMPUTER◀
a) an occasion when someone visits a website 浏览
The site had 2,000 hits in the first week. 该网站第一周就迎来了2000次的点击。
b) a result of a computer search, especially on the Internet 点击
thousands of irrelevant hits 上千次的无关点击
phenomenal adjective
very great or impressive极其显著的
the phenomenal success of computer games in recent years 近些年来电脑游戏取得的巨大成功
phenomenal growth/rise/increase
California had experienced a phenomenal growth in population. 加利福尼亚的人口经历了明显的增长。
He has learned a phenomenal amount in the last two years. 他在过去的两年间学习到了大量的知识。
The results have been phenomenal. 结果很显著。
ￚphenomenally adverb
The group have been phenomenally successful in Europe. 这个集团在欧洲非常地成功。
turnover noun
1 [singular, uncountable] British English the amount of business done during a particular period营业额
2 [singular, uncountable] the rate at which people leave an organization and are replaced by others 员工流动的比率
turnover of
Low pay accounts for the high turnover.
staff/labour turnover
a high degree of labour turnover among women 妇女中的好流动率
yardstick noun [countable]
1 something that you compare another thing with, in order to judge how good or successful it is标准;准绳
yardstick of
Profit is the most important yardstick of success for any business. 利润是衡量任何一家企业成功的最重要尺度。
as a yardstick
These subjects are used as a yardstick against which to measure the children’s progress.这些科目是用来衡量孩子进步的尺度。
2 a special stick used for measuring things which is exactly one yard long码尺
jump noun [countable]
▶INCREASE◀
a sudden large increase in an amount or value 突然的巨大上升
jump in
a jump in inflation rates 通货膨胀率的大幅上升
search engine noun [countable]
a computer program that helps you find information on the Internet 搜索引擎
sell-off noun [countable]
1 British English the sale of an industry that the government owns, to private companies or other people 将国有企业出售给私人
2 American English the sale of a lot of stocks or shares, which makes the price decrease 抛售股票(从而致使股票价格下跌)
depress verb [transitive]
1 to make someone feel very unhappy 让某人不高兴
The thought of taking the exam again depressed him. 一想到考试就让他高兴不起来。
It depresses me that nobody seems to care. 没有人关注此事让我很不高兴。
2 to prevent an economy from being as active and successful as it usually is 不景气
Several factors combined to depress the American economy. 几个因素综合在一起让美国经济不景气。
3 formal to reduce the value of prices or wages 降低
High interest rates may depress share prices. 高利率可以降低股票价格。
the flood of Internet companies 大量的网络公司
flood noun
1 [uncountable and countable] a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry 洪水
The village was cut off by floods.
the worst floods for over fifty years
2 [countable] a very large number of things or people that arrive at the same time 向洪水般涌入的人或事
flood of
The UN appealed for help with the flood of refugees crossing the border. 当难民洪水般跨国边境时，联合国提出申请援助。
float ▶COMPANY◀
[transitive] to sell shares in a company or business to the public for the first time公司首次发行股票
float something on something
The company will be floated on the stockmarket next year. 该公司将于明年在股票市场上市。
flotation noun [uncountable and countable]
a time when shares in a company are made available for people to buy for the first time
The company has decided to postpone its flotation on the stock market until next year.
saturate verb [transitive]
1 formal to make something very wet 浸湿
ￚ同义词 soak ￚ反义词 dry
Water poured through the hole, saturating the carpet. 水通过漏洞留下来，将地毯浸湿。
2 to put a lot of something into a particular place, especially so that you could not add any more 饱和
saturate something with something
Our culture is saturated with television and advertising. 我们的文化在电视和广告中随处可见。
3 saturate the market 市场饱和
to offer so much of a product for sale that there is more than people want to buy
level off/out phrasal verb
1 to stop going up or down and continue at the same height (使)变得平坦，(使)变得平整
After climbing steeply, the path levelled off. 在爬过了这段陡峭的路途后，道路开始平缓下来。
The plane levelled out at 30,000 feet. 飞机在3万英尺的高空开始水平飞行。
2 to stop rising or falling and become steady达到稳定
Inflation has begun to level off. 通货膨胀开始稳定下来。
slide verb
past tense and past participle slid
1 [intransitive and transitive] to move smoothly over a surface while continuing to touch it, or to make something move in this way在平面上滑动，使在平面上滑动
slide along/across/down etc
Francesca slid across the ice.
slide something across/along etc
He opened the oven door and slid the pan of cookies in.
He slid open the door of the glass cabinet.
2 [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move somewhere quietly and smoothly, or to move something in this way溜过，滑过;缓慢潜行
slide into/out of etc
Daniel slid out of the room when no one was looking.
She slid into the driver’s seat.
slide something into/out of etc something
He slid the gun into his pocket.
