在這個 商務英語 我們看的新聞課 商務英語詞彙related to the economy, particularly the relationship between inflation and interest rates.
Government spending throughout 2021 was a boon to the business sector. Jobs returned, production rose, and many countries ended the year on a positive note. But growth – and years of low interest rates – has raised the specter of inflation, or rising prices. Now all eyes are on central banks, especially in the United Stated, to see how they’ll respond. As the NY Times reports:
Federal Reserve policymakers have moved into inflation-fighting mode saying they would cut back more quickly on their pandemic-era stimulus at a moment of rising prices and strong economic growth. This move will cap a challenging year with a policy shift that could usher in higher interest rates in 2022.
Spring is a busy time for accountants in the U.S. and many other countries. That’s because spring is when corporations and individuals have to file a tax return with the government. It’s our yearly reminder that we don’t get to keep everything we earn.
當然, those busy accountants aren’t just calculating your revenue and costs. They’re looking for ways to reduce the amount you – or your business – have to pay in tax. And that’s why the chatter around offices and board rooms is all about ways to avoid handing over too much money to the tax man.
Listen to these conversations and you’ll notice many useful expressions. 例如, I’ve already used the phrase “file a tax return.” That verb “file” always goes with “return” when we talk about our annual submission to the government. You can learn those words together, as one expression or “collocation.”
A collocation is just a natural combination of words that native English speakers learn as a chunk. With英語搭配, we don’t have to go searching for every word in our brain. 代替, we pull out a string of words that matches our intended meaning. Learning these strings of words is more efficient, and will make you sound more natural. As you listen to today’s conversation, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.
在對話方塊中, we’ll continue with a conversation about the tax situation of a company called Brando Equipment. Christie has been giving an update to two senior managers: Glen and Ivana. Last time, Christie gave them an overall picture of the tax situation, and today she’s providing more detail.
Listening Questions
1. What does Christie say is one factor that increased their reported income? 2. What helped reduce the company’s reported income by about $50,000? 3. What important issue does Ivana want to discuss in more detail at the end of the dialog?」
There’s an old saying in English that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” 但, 雖然稅收是確定的, 您需要支付的確切金額不是. 只要問任何會計師. 對於公司和個人, 有各種各樣的方法來降低您的稅單. 較低的稅單意味著我們口袋裡有更多的錢, 或在我們股東的口袋裡. 為此原因, 稅收是一個熱門話題, 尤其是在春季，大多數稅款到期.
在這個 accounting English 課, 我們將聽白蘭度設備公司的三位經理討論他們的稅收情況. 談話中, 經理們使用很多與稅收相關的常用表達方式. We call these expressions “collocations.” A collocation is just a group of words that go together naturally.
Some English collocations, 例如“抓住機會,” are widely used. 但是許多搭配是特定於某個工作領域或主題的. 並從事該領域或討論該主題, 您需要了解這些特殊表達. 說到稅收, 例如, you need to know that we use the verb “file” with “taxes” to talk about our yearly report to the government. 在不同的領域學習類似的搭配會發展您的詞彙量，並幫助您聽起來更自然.
