A corporation is a firm owned by one or more individuals who own shares of stock that define ownership and rights to profits. Liability is limited to the value of corporation assets. Although corporations constitute the smallest category of business organization in the United States, they conduct most of the business. In 1998. corporations accounted for just 19 percent of the total number of firms in the economy but 90 percent of total business revenuers. From these numbers we can infer that many large firms are corporations and that this form of business organization possesses certain advantages over the proprietorship and the partnership in conducting large-scale production and marketing. In a corporation, ownership is divided into equal parts called shares of stock. Shares are the equal portions into which ownership of a corporation is divided. If any stockholder dies or sells out to a new owner, the existence of the business organization is not terminated or endangered as it is in a proprietorship or partnership. For this reason the corporation is said to possess the feature of continuity(连续性). Another feature that makes the corporation radically different from other forms of business organization is share transferability-the right of owners to transfer their shares by sale or gift without having to obtain the permission of other shareholders(股东). For many large organizations, shares of stock are traded on a stock market such as the New York Stock Exchange. Other corporations, however, are smaller, and their shares are traded so seldom that they are not even listed on formal stock exchanges. The shares of these firms are traded by independent stockbrokers(股票经纪人) on the over-the-counter market. Share transferability is the most economically important feature of the corporation; in fact, share transferability is one reason for the origin of the corporation. It allows owners and managers to specialize, increasing efficiency and profitability in the firm. Owners of stock in a corporation do not need to be concerned with the day-to-day operations of the firm. All that owners need to do is observe the changing price of the firm's shares on the stock market to decide whether the company is being competently managed if they are dissatisfied with the performance of the company, they can sell their stock. Managers, on the other hand , specialize in reviewing the day-to-day operations of the corporation. Still another feature of the corporation is limited liability. Corporate shareholders are responsible for the debts or liabilities of the corporation only to the extent that they have invested in it. Many investors prefer investments in which their risk of personal loss is strictly limited; the amount of direct investment in corporations is therefore increased as a result of the limited liability involved.
单选题
One difference between a corporation and a partnership lies in______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】根据第二段的最后两句，尤其是最后一句For this reason the corporation is said topossess the feature of continuity…便可知答案。
单选题
In the case of a corporation, the right to transfer shares is______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】根据第三段可知share的转让权灵活，买卖自由。
单选题
The passage implies that the price of the firm's shares is an indication of its______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】答案主要根据第四段的All that owners need to do is observe the changing price of the firm's shares on the stock market to decide whether the cornpany is being competently managed…这句话。
单选题
One defining feature of the corporation is______