133-year old Kodak film company might close down
Listen to the story (American accent)
Kodak is a very old company. It is famous for cameras. Now, Kodak has a problem. Maybe the company has to close down.
Kodak said it needs money. It owes about $500 million. The company may not have enough money to pay this debt.
To save money, Kodak will stop paying for its workers' retirement plans.
After this news, Kodak's stock price went down. It went down more than 25%.
Kodak started a long time ago in 1879. A man named George Eastman began the company. He wanted to make cameras easy for everyone to use.
Kodak was very popular for many years. It sold a lot of cameras and film. In 1975, Kodak made the first digital camera. But it did not make a lot of money from it. In 2012, Kodak was bankrupt.
In 2020, the US government wanted Kodak to make medicine. Kodak’s stock price went up fast.
Kodak still wants to make medicine. It also sells film and chemicals.
Vocabulary19 words
- Famous
- Many people know it; Well-known or admired by many people
- Close down
- to stop operating or doing business; to shut down
- Owe
- To have a duty to pay or repay something to someone; To have to pay back money
- Million
- 1,000,000 = one-million
- Enough
- Having what is needed or sufficient; plenty; a good amount; abundant
- Debt
- Money that you owe to someone; money that you have to pay back
- Save money
- You keep your money by not spending or not using it
- Retirement plan
- A way/plan to save money for when a person stops working
- Stock price
- the value or cost of one share of a company's stock in the financial market; the price of one small piece of a company that can be bought in a stock market like “the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street”; stock price goes up and down depending on how well the company is doing
- Name
- To give something/someone a name
- Popular
- Liked by many people; something many people like; common; frequent
- Film
- A thin plastic strip used to take pictures with old cameras
- Digital
- using numbers and codes in a system or computer to make things happen; Using computers or technology to store or process information
- Make money
- earn money; make a profit; gain or acquire money; get money for doing work
- Bankrupt
- When a person or company cannot pay their debts; when a company or person doesn’t have enough money
- the US
- USA; The United States of America
- Government
- the group of people who have the authority to make and enforce laws and manage a country or region; the people/group that manage and operate a country
- Medicine
- something, usually a liquid or a pill, that helps illness or injury; a pill, injection or liquid that helps you when you are sick
- Chemical
- any basic substance that is used in or produced by a reaction involving changes to atoms or molecules; stuff that things are made of; synthetic;
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Kodak _____ a very old company. It is _____ for cameras. Now, Kodak has a problem. Maybe the _____ has to close down.
Kodak _____ it needs money. It owes about $_____ million. The company may not have enough _____ to pay this debt.
To save money, Kodak _____ stop paying for its workers' retirement _____ .
After this news, Kodak's _____ price went down. It went down more than _____ %.
Kodak started a long time ago in _____ . A man named George Eastman began the company. He _____ to make cameras easy for everyone to _____ .
Kodak was very popular _____ many years. It sold a lot of cameras and film. In _____ , Kodak made the first digital camera. But it _____ not make a lot of money from it. In 2012, Kodak _____ bankrupt.
In 2020, the US _____ wanted Kodak to make medicine. Kodak’s stock _____ went up fast.
Kodak still wants to _____ medicine. It also sells film _____ chemicals.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think a company with a long history like Kodak can still fail today?
- How important do you think a company's brand name is? Do you think the name "Kodak" is still important today?
- Why do you think Kodak didn't make money from its digital camera?
- Do you think it is a good idea for the government to help a company like Kodak?
- If you had money, would you buy Kodak stock? Why or why not?
- What is another company that was once very popular but is not popular now?
More Business stories
Next story · Easy
Zoo asks for unwanted pets to feed to lions and tigers