VIP Class Notes (Nicholas)

Let’s work through some headlines in the Business section of the Washington Post; breakdown the meanings of headline words, and then select an article to read aloud and discuss.

Vocabulary

Affluent (富裕): word describing wealthy or rich people; a formal word for “rich” or “wealthy”

e.g. I work with affluent families and help them find the best investments for their goals.

e.g. The needs of the poor and the affluent are very different.

Non-profit organization: a company or business that usually have a charity (慈善) focus; their goal is not to make money or turn a “profit” but rather to run a successful company that helps others.

e.g. Churches, hospitals, and food banks are all good examples of non-profit organizations.

To deal: a couple different ways we can use this word…(1) to deal cards (2) to make a deal or an agreement between two parties/people.

e.g. Sometimes life deals you a bad hand, but you must always try to make the best of the situation you find yourself in.

Witness: a person who saw a crime or event happen in real time OR can be used as a verb meaning “to see” or “to watch”.

e.g. There was a big robbery on Nanjing Road today, unfortunately, no one was there to witness the crime.

e.g. They got married on a beautiful beach among 30 witnesses — their closest friends and family.

Recount: two ways of thinking of this word (1) to literally count something again (2) to remember a story or event that happened.

e.g. In 2000 there was an historic recount of votes in the Presidential election.

e.g. I asked my son hat happened today in school, but he couldn’t recount his day.

Account: similar to the word above, it has two meanings or uses (1) a bank account or account on a website i.e. a username + password (2) your version of a story or event.

e.g. Joyce and Nick were both at the crime scene but gave different accounts of what happened.

Analyze (verb) / Analyst (noun): A person who makes a careful study of an industry or sector of the economy.

e.g. Joyce analyzed multiple companies for the best stock of the month award; Joyce is an award winning analyst.

Unhealthy: the opposite of healthy, to not be healthy

e.g. Unfortunately he died at a young age due to his unhealthy lifestyle.

Positive / Negative: More than zero / Less than zero.

e.g. Companies with positive cash flows are usually stronger than companies with negative cash flows.

Surplus / Deficit: similar to positive negative, but pertaining to total amount of money, not the flow of money.

e.g. The United States runs a large budget deficit each year, so they are forced to borrow money from other countries; in the 1990s when the economy was strong, the USA ran a large budget surplus — there was extra money — the government took in more money than it spent.

Net Worth: How much money are you worth? Meaning your assets minus/subtracting your expenses.

e.g. People thought he was a very wealthy man, but actually his net worth was very low due to credit card debt.

Net Number: Similar to net worth, any number minus all costs.

e.g. My monthly salary is 20,000 RMB but I’m not sure if that’s a net number (after government taxes).

Gross Number: This number includes the costs, or the costs were not subtracted, so it’s a grand big total.

e.g. Our gross revenue before expenses was 10,000 RMB. Unfortunately the net number/revenue will be much lower once we subtract our electricity bill.

Siblings: your brothers and/or sisters.

e.g. He was part of a huge family; eight brothers and four sisters — twelve siblings total.

Hike: Has two meanings (1) Go higher in the mountains (2) to raise or make a price go higher.

e.g. Soon the Bank of China will hike interest rates and make business loans more expensive.

Pronunciation

Quality: pronounced kwall-ity

Grammar

“What hours do you work?”: A quick way of asking when do you go to work and when do you leave?

e.g. “What hours do you work?” “Oh I typically get to the office at 7:00 AM and leave by 4:00 PM”.