本题是2009年下半年学位英语教材第21单元的课后阅读理解1。

Today, more and more people in the U.S. are using credit cards instead of money to buy things they need. Almost anyone who has a steady income and a continuous work record2 ca apply for a credit card. There are many credit cares available: *American Express, Master Charge, VISA, and Diner’s Club3 are some of the most popular.
　　[2] If you have a credit card, you can buy a car, eat a dinner, take a trip, and even get a haircut by charging the cost to your account. In this way you can pay for purchases a month or two later, without any extra charge. Or you may *choose to spread out your payments4 over several months and pay only part of the total amount each month. If you do this, the credit card company or the bank who sponsors he credit card will add a mall service charge to your *total bill.5 This is very convenient for the customer. With the credit card in your wallet or purse, you don’t have to carry much cash. Also if you carry credit cards instead of a lot of case, you don’t have to *be concerned about6 losing your money through carelessness or theft. The car user only has to worry about paying the final bill. This of course can be a problem if you charge7 more than you can pay for.
　　[3] Credit cards are big business. Americans spend $16 billion a year on cards and there are already 590 million of them *in circulation8. Many banks sponsor their own credit card companies and issue cards free to their customers. Other credit card companies charge their members annual dues. The stores that accept credit cards must pay a small fee to the credit card company---a percentage of the purchase price of the merchandise or service in tern, the credit card company promptly pays the store for the merchandise or service. Credit card companies make a profit from the fees they charge9 the sore and also from the fees collected from customers who pay for their charges *in monthly instalments.10 However, credit card companies sometimes have problems collecting overdue payments from unreliable customers. Also the use of stolen, lost, or counterfeit credit cards by criminals has become a big headache for the credit card company that is responsible for the goods and services illegally charged to it customers’ account.

今天，越来越多的人正在使用信用卡来代替现金购买他们所需要的东西。几乎每个拥有稳定收入和良好工作记录的人都可以使用信用卡。

如果持有了信用卡，只要记下账，你就可以买车、吃饭、甚至理发。用这种方式，你可以一个月以后支付购物款而无须支付额外费用。或者你可以选择分几个月付款的方式，而每个月只付总额的一部分。如果这样，经办信用卡的公司或银行，就会在你的账单总额中再加收少量的手续费。这对于顾客来说是非常方便的。你的钱包里有了信用卡，就不必携带很多的现金了。这也就省去了你到银行去兑换支票或提取现金的麻烦。而且，假如你持有信用卡而不是大量现金的话，你就不必担心由于粗心或被盗而丢失现金。持卡人唯一要担心的是最后支付总账。有关这一点，假如你透支的话，就当然是个问题了。

信用卡是笔大买卖。许多银行经办自己的信用卡公司，并且向它们的顾客免费发放信用卡。有一些信用卡公司向它们的顾客收取年费。接受信用卡的公司必须按商品或劳务购买价的一定百分比向信用卡公司支付少量的手续费。随后，信用卡公司立即向商店支付商品或劳务的款项。信用卡公司从它们向商店收取的费用中获取利润，也从那些按月份期付款的顾客那里收取的费用中获取利润。然而，有时信用卡公司在向那些不可靠的顾客那里收取过期应付款时会遇到麻烦。此外，犯罪分子使用盗窃、遗失或伪造的信用卡已成为信用卡公司一个十分棘手的问题，因为信用卡公司必须对非法记入其顾客帐内的商品和劳务的费用承担责任。

5. The main purpose of this passage is _______.

   A. to promote the sale of credit cards

   B. to persuade you not to buy credit cards

   C. to explain credit card economy

   D. to give you some instructions on how to use the credit card

3. In the passage, “Credit cards are big business” means that ________.

   A. credit card banks earn a lot of money

   B. credit cards are sold at a high price

   C. every customer has bought a credit card

   D. customers must pay a lot of money to the credit card companies

1. According to the author, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

   A. With a credit card you can pay for purchases two months later.

   B. With a credit card you can charge the cost to your account.

   C. With a credit card you don’t have to be worried about a thief.

   D. With the credit card you don’t have to worry about your final bill.

With the credit card in your wallet or purse, you don’t have to carry much cash. This saves your trips to the bank to cash checks or withdraw cash, also if you carry credit cards instead of a lot of cash, you don’t have to be concerned about losing your money through carelessness or theft.

钱包里装着信用卡，你将无需带太多现金。这免去了你到银行兑付支票或取钱。而且，如果你带的是信用卡而非大量的现金，你就不必担心由于疏忽或失窃而丢钱了。

1.D. don’t have to worry about your final bill

2.D. convenient for them to buy goods.

3. “Credit cards are big business” A. credit card banks earn money

4.B. gathering overdue payments 5.C.explain credit card economy

10年下半年学位英语教程目录见 http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_56573c7e0100lp6n.html

09年下半年学位英语教程目录见 http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_56573c7e0100fgmj.html

10年上半年学位英语教程目录见 http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_56573c7e0100iap0.html 

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