You buy more credit when you choose.

听力原文： The Credit Card in the U. S. Today, more and more people in the U. S. are using credit cards instead of money to buy what they need. Almost anyone who bas a steady income and a continuous work record can apply for a credit card. With 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. Or you may choose to spread out your payments over several months and pay only part of the total amount each month.. With a credit card , you don’t have to carry much cash and you don’t have to be concerned about losing your money through carelessness or theft. The card user only has to worry about paying the final bill. This of course can be a problem if you charge more than you can pay for. （）

听力原文： The Credit Card in the U. S.

Today, more and more people in the U. S. are using credit cards instead of money to buy what they need. Almost anyone who bas a steady income and a continuous work record can apply for a credit card.

With 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. Or you may choose to spread out your payments over several months and pay only part of the total amount each month.. With a credit card , you don’t have to carry much cash and you don’t have to be concerned about losing your money through carelessness or theft. The card user only has to worry about paying the final bill. This of course can be a problem if you charge more than you can pay for.

(1)

Task 2

Directions: This task is the same as Task 1. The 5 questions or unfinished statements are numbered 41 through 45.

Most banks in the US open at 9:00 or 10:00 and close between 3:00 and 5:00, but stay open later on Fridays, and some banks have longer hours in order to attract customers on this day.

What's the best way to carry money safely while you are traveling？ There are three possibilities-personal checks from your country, travelers checks and credit cards. Some Ame-rican banks accept foreign checks such as Eurocheques (欧洲货币支票)；the problem is that only those banks that are used to dealing with foreigners will know what Eurocheques are.

It may be more convenient to carry travelers checks, which are insured against loss. They should be in dollars, because only a few banks do much business in foreign currencies. If your checks aren't in dollars, it may take you a long time to find a bank that will exchange them. You can use travelers checks almost anywhere. If you run out of them, you can buy more at most banks. Their service charge will vary, though, so ask what it is before you buy your checks.

Americans would say the best way to carry money is to have a credit card. Credit cards can be canceled if they are lost or stolen. And because they are widely accepted in the US, it is easy to use them to pay all kinds of bills.

Of course, you can't get along without cash, but you don't need to carry much with you.

In order to attract customers, on Fridays some American banks______.

A．close the banks at 3.-00 p.m.

B．close the banks at 5.00 p. m.

C．open the banks earlier than usual

D．close the banks later than usual

witty remarks. Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "Money makes money, and the money 【C1】______ makes, makes more money."

To most of us, money is 【C2】______ but the currency of a country. But to some people, money is either the best friend or the worst demon. To 【C3】______ ,however, money is a subject for study and for something to be money, it must at 【C4】______ have the following characteristics: portability, divisibility, stability, durability and acceptability.

【C5】______ , nowadays, money has got a lot of 【C6】______ : credit cards, debit cards, access cards, IC cards, etc, but they are usually 【C7】______ plastic money or electronic money, because they are used like money. 【C8】______ a credit card, for example, you can buy books and ties, pay your restaurant bills and taxi fares. You can 【C9】______ make a small overdraft if you cannot make your 【C10】______ meet this month. "Don't 【C11】______ home without it," American Express, one of the leading credit card issuers once 【C12】______ us. For many, 【C13】______ a reminder is no 【C14】______ necessary, because the plastic money is so safe and so convenient that many people 【C15】______ leave home without cash but never without a credit card.

【C1】______

A．that

B．which

C．it

D．what

SECTION A MINI-LECTURE

Directions: In this section you sill hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.

听力原文： Good morning, everyone. First about your second assignment. I'd like to remind you that your second assignment should be in by next Fri day. You can either put it in my pigeon hole, or leave it with the Department's secretary. Now, let's get down to the lecture.

Today, the lecture is on credit, er, or to be more specific, on credit cards. I'm sure you must have heard of some credit cards, like the VI SA card, which is an internationally used card, or the Great Wall card issued by the Bank of China, In order to give a better understanding, we'll discuss it in some detail.

Many businesses, such as department stores, restaurants, hotels and airline companies, use a credit system for selling their products and services. In a credit system, the seller agrees to sell something to the buyer without immediately receiving cash. He receives the goods or ser vices immediately and promises to pay for them later. This buy-now-pay later credit system is quite old.

There are two types of credit cards. One type is issued directly by a store to a customer. Many large department stores issue credit cards to their customers. The store credit card can be used to make purchases only at a particular store. For example, if you have a credit card from Store A, then you can only buy things in that store. Other stores would not accept it. The other kind of credit card is issued by a credit company. Credit cards from credit companies can be used to buy things almost anywhere. If you have a major credit card, you can buy airplane tickets, stay at hotels and eat at restaurant with it. Most large credit companies are connected to large banks. So if you want a credit card from a credit company, you generally have to make an application at a bank. After an applicant receives a credit card, he or she can make purchases using the

card.

The credit company sends the customer a statement of purchases at the end of each month. Generally the customer has to pay 25--50% of their credit hill every month. The customer pays directly to the credit company and the credit company pays to the store or hotel or restaurant.

There are some advantages and some disadvantages to using credit cards. The biggest advantage for the consumer is expressed by the phrase "buy now, pay later". This means that the consumer can purchase what he wants when he wants it. There is no need to save up money in advance. Another advantage of having a credit card is that it protects the owner, ff a credit card is lost or stolen, the owner only has to call the credit company and the credit company will stop the credit card number. No one else can use it. So the owner doesn't have to worry about losing the card. Another advantage of the credit card system is that the consumer receives a record of his or her purchases. Every month the credit customer receives a bill. The bill has a list of all purchases from that month. This makes it easier to remember when and where purchases are made. And another advantage is that credit cards can be used when something unexpected happens. Many kinds of professional people—plumbers, taxidrivers, doctors and dentists—will accept credit cards in an emergency. This is very important if you don't have any cash with you.

However, having said all that, using credit cards has one major disadvantage. That is, consumers tend to overspend their money. They spend more than they make. If a consumer buys a lot of th

ses, such as department stores, restaurants, hotels, and airline companies, use a credit system for selling their products. In a credit system the seller agrees to sell something to the buyer without immediately receiving cash. The buyer receives the goods or services immediately and promises to pay for them later. This "buy-now, pay-later" credit system is quite old. People have been buying things on credit for centuries. However, nowadays people use credit cards. There are two types of credit cards. One type is issued directly by a store to a customer. Many large department stores issue credit cards to their customers. The store credit card can be used to make purchases only at a particular store. For example, a credit card from Swans Department Store can be used only at Swans Department Store. The other kind of credit card is issued by a credit company. VISA and American Express are examples of credit companies. Credit cards from credit companies can be used to buy things almost anywhere. If you have a major credit card, you can buy airplane tickets, stay at hotels, and eat at restaurants with it. Most large credit companies are connected to large banks. So if you want a credit card from a credit company, you generally have to make an application at a bank. After an applicant receives a credit card, he or she can make purchases using the card. The credit company sends the customer a statement of purchases at the end of each month. Generally, the customer has to pay 25 to 50 percent of their credit bill every month. The customer pays directly to the credit company. And the credit company pays directly to the store, hotel, or restaurant. There are some advantages and disadvantages to using credit cards. The biggest advantage for the consumer is expressed by the phrase "buy-now, pay-later". This means that the consumer can purchase what she wants when she wants it. There is no need to save up money in advance. Another advantage of having a credit card is that it protects the owner. If a credit card is lost or stolen, the owner only has to call the credit company and the credit company will stop the credit card number. No one else can use it. So the owner doesnt have to worry about losing the card. A third advantage of the credit card system is that the consumer receives a record of her purchases. Every month the credit customer receives a bill. The bill has a list of all purchases from that month. This makes it easier to remember when and where purchases are made. And the fourth advantage is that a credit card can be used when something unexpected happens. Many kinds of professional people—plumbers, taxi drivers, doctors, and dentists—will accept credit cards in an emergency. This is very important if you dont have any cash with you. Using credit cards has one major disadvantage though. The main disadvantage is that consumers tend to overspend; they spend more than they make. If a consumer buys a lot of things on credit, she has to make large payments each month. Sometimes, it becomes impossible to keep up with the payments. The consumers life becomes more and more difficult. If the consumer cant make her payments, her credit card will be taken away. It will be very difficult for her to get another card in the future. So we can see that a credit buying system has some advantages and some disadvantages. On the one hand, it gives people some buying freedom; on the other hand, it tends to encourage overspending. Now get ready to answer the questions. You may use your notes to help you answer. 17. What is the talk mainly about？ 18. Why does the professor mention VISA and American Express？ 19. Which expression is NOT true according to the professor？ 20. How does the professor clarify the advantages of using credit cards？ Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question. Professor Using credit cards has one major disadvantage though. The main disadvantage is that consumers tend to overspend; they spend more than they make. If a consumer buys a lot of things on credit, she has to make large payments each month. Sometimes, it becomes impossible to keep up with the payments. The consumers life becomes more and more difficult. If the consumer cant make her payments, her credit card will be taken away. It will be very difficult for her to get another card in the future. 21. What is the professors reason for saying this？ Professor It will be very difficult for her to get another card in the future？ 22. Whats the professors general attitude towards using credit cards？Narrator Listen to part of talk in an economy class. Now get ready to answer the questions. You may use your notes to help you answer.

What is the talk mainly about？

A．The satisfactory "buy-now, pay-later" credit system.

B．The ways the credit companies use to issue credit cards.

C．The classification and advantages and disadvantages of credit cards.

D．The difference between store credit cards and other credit cards.

n people don’t need to carry any coins for currency at all？ Is money heavy to carry？ Is it safe to carry money？ Maybe in the future each of us will have only one small plastic credit card. We will use it to buy all the things we now buy with money. We will not need money to pay for things.Of course we may still have some of the same problems with cards that we now have with money. Sometimes we lose money. Maybe will lose the cards. People steal money. Maybe someone will take the card. Someone may even make a card that looks like our card. Since we can’t buy anything without our cards, the credit card may be no better than currency.Is there something even easier to use than credit cards？ All of us have a thumbprint. No two thumbprints are the same. Maybe someday the government will keep people’s thumbprints with a number. No person will have the same thumbprint or number. When you want to buy something you will put your t thumb on a machine or a computer. Each store or business will have one. Everyone’s thumbprint will be in the computers. It will be very difficult to lose our thumbprint. It will be difficult for someone to steal it or to make one like it.

1.The word “currency” (ParA. 1) most probably means __________.

A.plastic cards

B.money

C. coins

D. goods

2.According to the passage, we all need _______.

A.coins

B.some kind of money

C.credit cards

D.currency

3. Our thumbprints may be used in the future because ________.

A.every thumbprint is difficult to lose or make

B.each store will have a computer

C.they will help each store

D.computers need them

4. Which of the following statements gives the main idea of the second paragraph？

A.Credit cards are worse than currency.

B.Currency may not be more of a problem than credit cards.

C.We use credit cards because people steal money.

D.We have many problems with money.

5.Which of the following statements is NOT true？

A.There is something easier to use than credit cards.

B.There are no problems with currency.

C.Every person will have a different thumbprint number.

D.There are some problems with the use of credit cards.

A.buy

B.credit

C.access

D.data

A credit coupon______.

A．is used to buy a phone

B．has no value at all

C．has more value than the phone call

D．has the same value as the phone call

Your credit score will plummet, making it more difficult to buy a house or find a job.

A．multiply

B．omit

C．drop

D．overtake