VOA标准英语2010年-Old Hands See a New Era for Green Inve

Speakers at the conference on alternative investments said Monday that an increasing number of shareholders¹ want assurances that their investments are environmentally friendly. And they want them return a healthy yield.

One of the speakers is Mary Buffett, an author, business woman and investor². Her books include several on the investment techniques of her former father-in-law, Warren Buffett, one of the world's wealthiest individuals.

She says that clean energy and the ability to produce alternative sources of fuel will play an increasingly important role in financial markets. That is particularly so in Asia where large populations in China, India and in Southeast Asia must compete for scarce resources.

"I believe that shareholders, especially younger shareholders, are going to be putting pressure on the companies and the investments that they own to make sure the companies put their feet to the fire and hold them to standards that they previously³ may not have had from an environmental standpoint," Buffett said.

She says investors⁴ today are very aware of the environmental and social costs tied to corporate⁵ activity.

She, herself, refuses to buy tobacco stocks. Tobacco use is linked to a number of potentially fatal diseases.

Her sentiments were echoed by another speaker, Michael North, president of Greenstar Corporation, a technology company that focuses on solar power, wireless⁶ communications and media development. He says the planet can expect to suffer a number of environmental crises over the next 10 years as the climate warms.

"The pattern is going to be sustained for some time, and those events when they take place, as tragic⁷ as they are, they are needed wake-up calls for the investor and for the entrepreneur, for the people building businesses," North said. "They will see opportunities in those crises – the little Warren Buffetts will be going green."

Both Buffett and North say they think the worst of the global financial crisis is over, although the next two years will remain tough, and will be followed by a period of low but steady growth.

The investment conference ends Tuesday.
 

1 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。