listening 听力

Babara discusses the cash flow problem with Steve and Sue. Listen to their discussion. What are their attitudes to early

settlement discounts.

巴巴拉与史蒂夫和苏讨论现金流量问题。先听听他们的谈话，他们对提前付款折扣有什么看法？

听力要点解释

1. over trading 贸易透支，指超过公司贸易能力的贸易

2. to figure out a quicker way of turning those sales into cash. 找到把销售变现（把销售额转换为现金）的快捷方法。

3. our margins are small enough already 我们的利差已经很小了

4. I don’t see how we can afford to offer discounts. 我不明白我们怎么还能够提供折扣。

5. Financing your cash flow gap means…筹集资金填补缺口意味着…

6. I get the point. 我明白了 （口语）

参考答案

Steve: Steve seems skeptical about early settlement discounts. He finally agree to a 1% discount-but with some reluctance.

Sue: Sue is more positive about early settlement discounts.

Barbara: Barbara looks all the possibilities and ask questions about the implications of the various options. She seems open

-minded but fundamentally in favor of the proposal.

Listen again and answer the following questions.

1. how does Barbara describes the problem?

2. how many customers would be interested in a 1% early settlement discount?

3. why doesn’t Steve want to offer discounts?

4. what is the company’s average monthly turnover?

5. what does Steve forget to include in his calculations?

6. how much extra would be 1% discount really cost the company?

7. how would a 2% discount improve Steve’s cash flow?

8. what action do Steve and Sue decide to take?

参考答案

1. over-trading

2. about half

3. their margins are already small; they can’t afford to offer discounts.

4. $ 25,000

5. financing cost

6. $ 500

7. they would have an extra $ 16,000 a month.

8. they decide to offer 1% early settlement discount.