Part 1 NASDAQ 纳斯达克
For the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system, NASDAQ is one of the largest markets in the world for the trading of stocks. The number of companies listed on NASDAQ is more than that on any of the other stock exchanges in the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). The majority of companies listed on NASDAQ are smaller than most of those on the NYSE and AMEX.
NASDAQ has become known as the home of new technology companies, particularly computer and computer-related businesses. Trading on NASDAQ is initiated by stock brokers acting on behalf of their clients. The brokers negotiate with market makers who concentrate on trading specific stocks to reach a price for the stock.
Unlike other stock exchanges, NASDAQ has no central location where trading takes place. Instead, its market makers are located all over the country and make trades by telephone and via the Internet. Because brokers and market makers trade stocks directly instead of on the floor of a stock exchange, NASDAQ is called an over-the-counter market. The term over-the-counter refers to the direct nature of the trading, as in a store where goods are handed over a counter.
Since its inception in l97l, the NASDAQ Stock Market has been the innovator. As the world's first electronic stock market, NASDAQ long ago set a precedent for technological trading innovation that is unrivaled. Now poised to become the world"s first truly global market, the NASDAQ Stock Market is the market of choice for business industry leaders worldwide. By providing an efficient environment for raising capital NASDAQ has helped thousands of companies achieve their desired growth and successfully make the leap into public ownership.
纳斯达克（NASDAQ）是全美证券交易协会自动报价系统的首字母缩略词。它是当今世界上最大的股票交易市场之一。纳斯达克（NASDAQ）名下的上市公司在数量上超过了包括纽约证券交易所（NYSE）和美国证券交易所（AMEX）在内的任何一家美国证券交易所。与纽约证券交易所（NYSE）和美国证券交易所（AMEX）的多数上市公司相比，在纳斯达克（NASDAQ）上市的大多数公司规模较小。
现在纳斯达克（NASDAQ）已经成为新技术公司——尤其是计算机和与计算机相关行业——的基地。纳斯达克（NASDAQ）的交易是通过代表客户利益的股票经纪人发起的。这些经纪人与专注特定股票买卖的市场期票出票人进行协商以确定股票的价格。
与其他证券交易有所不同，纳斯达克（NASDAQ）没有股票交易的中心交易场所。它的市场期票出票人遍及全美各地，通过电话和国际互联网进行交易。由于股票交易是由经纪人和市场期票出票人直接进行，而不是在股票交易大厅内进行的，困此，纳斯达克（NASDAQ）被称为买卖双方直接交易市场。该术语指出了其交易的直接性质，就如同在商店柜台直接进行商品的买卖一样。
自1971年诞生之日起，纳斯达克（NASDAQ）股票市场就成了产业的革新者。作为世界上第一家电子股票交易市场，纳斯达克（NASDAQ）早就史无前例地进行了技术交易的创新。现在纳斯达克（NASDAQ）已稳稳地成为世界第一家真正意义上的全球股票交易市场，是全球产业界领袖的首选市场。通过提供一个有效的融资环境，纳斯达克（NASDAQ）已经帮助了成百上千家公司完成了其市值的预期增长，同时也成功地、跨越式地实现了公司股权的公众所有。
Part 2 Billy Lost Money Again. Billy又赔钱了。
Dialogue script 1 对话原文 1
Kelly: So, Jim, how has everything been with you?
Jim: My stocks are losing a little bit, but it's nothing too serious.
Kelly: Of course! Stocks, stocks, stocks...Some things never change!
Jim: Yeah. How have you been?
Kelly: Good, except for all the counterfeit money my software business has been receiving lately.
Jim: Really? Is that a big problem?
Kelly: Yeah. So I have to invest in one of those machines that can detect fake bills.
Jim: Why didn't you just buy one of those little things with a red light beam?
Kelly: Those red beams can't sniff out the high-quality fakes.
Jim: Sounds like a big hassle.
Kelly: It's a drain on small business - a real sore spot.
讲解：
1. 对话中Kelly碰见了 Jim，两个人在谈论彼此的近况。询问近况，可以像对话中的那样，How has everything been with you? 还可以说How have you been? 或者How is everything going on with you?
2. Jim说最近自己的股票赔了一点，但是还不太严重。Kelly一听说股票就不耐烦了，股票，股票，总是股票，真是江山易改，本性难移。Some things never change! 这句话就是说，有些习惯永远改不了，说难听一点就是狗改不了吃屎。俗话说，牛牵到北京还是牛。这里大多数时候指的是坏习惯或者错误一犯再犯，所以下次如果你发现别人死性不改，就可以说这句话还表示你的无奈和抗议。我们来用一个对话做例子，---I can't believe Tom's late again! ---Well, some things never change. Just give him a call. ---真不敢相信汤姆又迟到了。---狗改不了吃屎，给他打个电话吧。
3. 那么Kelly最近怎么样呢？还不错，就是最近卖电脑软件总是收到伪钞，counterfeit money，意思就是伪钞。counterfeit，既可以作名词，也可以作形容词，表示“伪造的，假冒的；赝品”，比如说，This ten-dollar bill is a counterfeit. 这张10美金的钞票是伪钞。
4. Kelly的问题还挺严重的，她不得不花钱买一台验钞机。这里我们可以看出，伪钞的另一种说法就是fake bills。Jim问为什么不买一支小小的带红光的机器呢？还要破费一大笔钱买一台验钞机。Kelly说那红光根本没有办法测出制作精良的伪钞。
5. 听起来还真伤脑筋。Sounds like a big hassle. hassle 这个词表示“麻烦”的意思，所以当你觉得某事做起来相当麻烦，就可以跟对方说这句话，委婉地表示“听起来真头痛。”我们用一个对话来做例子，---Oh, no! I forgot to put in the cables. I have to repack all these parcels. ---Sounds like a hassle. ---噢，不会吧！我忘了把电缆线放进去了，我还得重新打包。---听起来真是麻烦。
6. sniff sth/sb out 这个词组表示“发现某人，找出某人”，例如，They were determined to sniff out the murderer. 他们下定决心一定要找到杀人犯。Kelly抱怨说，小本生意加上金钱损失，实在是让人伤神啊。sore spot，指“痛处”，这里是用来形容收到伪钞的痛苦。
Dialogue script 2 对话原文 2
Jim: Speaking of losing money, have you heard from Billy lately?
Kelly: Not a peep. I haven't seen him since we had dinner together last time.
Jim: Same here. I know his stocks took a hit, though.
Kelly: Is it happening all over again - you know, Billy, losing money?
Jim: Well, I told him to invest in the HSI when it was above fifty-five hundred points.
Kelly: Over five thousand? Now it's hovering around four!
Jim: Yeah, that's what worries me... for Billy's sake.
讲解：
1. 对话中Kelly 和Jim想起好长时间没有Billy的消息了。hear from sb，这个词组表示“接到某人的来信，电话等”，也就是跟某人联系，有某人的消息，比如说，How often do you hear from your sister? 你多长时间收到你姐姐一次信？要跟hear of sb/sth区分开。hear of sb表示“听说过或者知道某人某事物”，比如说，I've never heard of the place. 我从没听说过那个地方。
2. Kelly说，Billy一点消息都没有。Not a peep. peep这里的意思是“消息”，那么not a peep的意思就是说“连点消息都没有”。有人向你问起一个消失了很久的朋友时，你就可以用这句话回答，比如说：---Have you heard from Jimmy recently? --- Not a peep. ---最近有Jimmy的消息吗？---他一点消息也没有。Jim也是一样，他说，Same here. 我们也可以说，Same with me.
3. 不过Jim知道Billy的股票跌的很惨，take a hit 这个词组的意思是“受到打击”。Kelly没想到Billy在股市上又赔钱了。Jim说他曾经告诉Billy在香港恒生指数还在5，500点以上的时候杀进。HSI 是Hang Seng Index的缩写，指香港恒生指数。
4. 但是现在恒生指数还在4000点徘徊呢。Billy这次可是赔大了。hover around 这个词组表示“在附近盘旋，徘徊”，比如说，She's always hovering around the place annoying people. 她总是在周围转来转去打扰别人。He hovered around outside, too afraid to go in. 他在外面犹豫徘徊，不敢进去。
5. 所以Jim很担心Billy，for one's sake，表示“因为某人的缘故”。
Part 3 Billy's Disappeared. Billy消失了。
Dialogue script 1 对话原文 1
Kelly: Hey, Jim. Listen to this: I called Billy's home...
Jim: And?
Kelly: His number is no longer in service. Then I called his company...
Jim: What did they say?
Kelly: They said they gave him the boot months ago.
Jim: Holy smokes! What's he doing, then? I hope he's OK.
Kelly: You know his girlfriend...try giving her a call.
(A day later.)
Jim: Guess what, Kelly? Linda and Billy broke up.
Kelly: Does she know where he is?
Jim: It sounds like she never wants to hear his name again, that wench!
Kelly: I thought they were in love.
Jim: I think she loved his promises of the easy life. Maybe Billy's too ashamed now to contact us.
Kelly: Let's keep trying his other friends to try to track him down.
讲解：
1. 对话中Kelly 和Jim在四处打探Billy的下落，Kelly给Billy家打电话，但是他家的电话已经停机了。be in service 表示“可供使用的”，那么be out of service的意思就是“无法使用的”。
2. 然后Kelly又给Jim的公司打了电话，但是他们说几个月前Billy就被解雇了。give someone the boot这个短语就表示“请某人走路，解雇某人”。一般来说，表示“解雇”这个意义的正式说法是I was laid off.
3. 如果要口语话一点，就是I was fired. 或者I was canned. 对话中的give someone the boot也可以表示“解雇”这个意义，我们一个对话来作例子，比如说，---Have you heard of it? Tom's given the boot! ---Wow! It's unbelievable! ---你听说了吗？汤姆被解雇了。---哇！真叫人无法想信！
4. 除了“解雇”这个意思之外，give someone the boot也可以表示“和某人断绝关系”，不过这里的关系通常是指男女关系。比如说，---Hey, Julie. Where's Peter? I thought he was coming. ---No, I gave him the boot. He was too possessive. ---嘿，Julie，Peter呢？我以为他也会来呢。---没有，我把他甩了。他的占有欲太强了。
5. Jim对这个消息感到很吃惊，他说，Holy smokes! 在口语中表示“天哪！”，跟Oh, God!差不多。Kelly让Jim打电话给Billy的女朋友，问问她知不知道Billy的下落。但是Jim带回来的消息却是，Billy和女朋友Linda已经分手了。她根本不知道Billy在哪，而且再也不想看见这个倒霉的人了。Jim很气愤，说Linda是wench，wench在口语中表示“可恶的女人”，就跟bitch差不多了。
6. Kelly还以为他们两个人是相爱的，没想到却大难临头各自飞，因为Linda看重的只是Billy承诺的轻松优越的生活。爱情事业都不得意，也许现在Billy没有脸跟朋友们联系了。too ashamed to do sth表示“感到很羞愧而不能做某事”，比如说，He felt too ashamed to ask for help. 他不好意思请求帮助。
7. be ashamed of sb/sth/oneself，表示“为某人/某事/为自己感到惭愧，感到羞耻”，比如说，You should be ashamed of yourself for telling such lies. 你应该为自己说谎而感到羞耻。He felt ashamed of having done so little work. 他因为只做了这么一点工作而感到惭愧。
8. Kelly还是不放弃希望，要继续打探Billy的消息。track sth/sb down，表示“经追踪或搜索而发现某人或某物”，比如说，I finally tracked down the reference in a dictionary of quotations.
Dialogue script 2 对话原文 2
Kelly: You'll never guess what happened!
Jim: What? Tell me!
Kelly: You know now I'm looking for a new home?
Jim: Yeah. You said the housing market is thirty to forty percent lower than two years ago.
Kelly: Right. Well, the real estate agent took me to see Billy's old place!
Jim: Wow! He's really hit rock bottom!
Kelly: Yeah. It was almost creepy to see Billy's pad up for sale!
Jim: Oh. Something else a friend of Billy's told me...
Kelly: What's that?
Jim: The banks are leaning hard on Billy to return some unpaid loans.
Kelly: Maybe he left the city - or the country - to escape all this pressure.
Jim: I would too if I had collection agencies breathing down my neck!
讲解：
1. 看来Billy真的是够倒霉的了。Kelly一直在找新房子，因为房市比起两年前，价钱低了三到四层。但是今天房屋中介带Kelly去的就是Billy以前住的地方。看来Billy真的是穷途末路了。hit rock bottom，“陷入低潮”的意思。这个短语是用来形容一个人正处于人生的“低潮”，也就是low point，心情跌倒谷底。这时候好像做什么事情都不顺利，好像一瞬间所有坏运气都聚集到他身上，就像中文里面的“屋露偏逢连夜雨”。比如说，---Tom's wife left him after he lost his job. ---Poor guy. He is definitely hit rock bottom. ---Tom丢了工作之后，老婆也离开了他。---可怜的家伙。真是祸不单行，倒霉透顶。 ---Don't let yourself hit rock bottom, turn yourself around before it's too late! ---Thanks for the advice. ---别让自己陷入万劫不复的境地，在一切还没有太晚之前浪子回头吧。---多谢你的提醒。
2. Kelly说看到Billy的房子等着被拍卖是在让人心底发毛。Jim还听说银行这个时候也在催Billy还一些未付清的贷款。
