Millions of Americans run to the bank or visit ATM when they need cash. They use credit cards when they want to buy clothes, VCRs, or television sets.

  But there is an underclass—people with low incomes and no credit history—who visit their neighborhood pawnshops(当铺)when they need cash or a loan(贷款).

  About 20 percent of the US population has no bank account. More than half of this group don’t have credit cards and cannot get bank loans.

  “These people are borrowing an average of $50,” said John P. Caskey of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. “If you add up in terms of how much dollar value pawnshop provide, they don’t look very important. If you add up how much of the population they serve or the number of loans they make, they are important.”

  Because they make loans, pawnshops are a type of bank, often calling themselves “the bank of the little people”.

  Caskey and Swarthmore student Brian Zidmund in 1989 looked at the importance of pawnshops in the US economy—the first serious study of the subject since the 1930s.

  Their conclusion: pawnshops are the consumer’s lender of last resort(最后一招).

  Pawnshop customers typically cannot get credit at banks. They have poor credit records, low and unstable incomes, or cannot maintain positive bank account balances.

  Typically, pawnshop customers borrow relatively small amounts that traditional lenders are unwilling or unable to provide on a secured basis.

  “If you look at total consumer credit, the amounts provided by pawnshops remain small,” Caskey said. “They are lending mainly to low-income people. In terms of the population they serve, they’re really important.”

  In 1988, there were about 6,900 pawnshops in the United States—one for every two commercial banks. They made about 35 million loans, providing 1 percent of the nation’s consumer credit.

1. The best title for the passage would be ____.

  A. Credit Cards for the Poor         B. Banks for the Poor

  C. Pawnshops VS Banks           D. Commercial Banks

2. What does the underclass people do when they need cash?

  A. They go to local banks for help.

  B. They apply for credit cards.

  C. They ask for a loan from large banks.

  D. They apply for a loan in pawnshops.

3. What can we learn about pawnshops?

  A. Poor people come to pawnshops as their last resort.

  B. Most people prefer pawnshops for their need of cash.

  C. Pawnshops are an important part of the state economy.

  D. Pawnshops are not important because they make up only 1 percent of the nation’s

    consumer credit.

4. According to John P. Caskey, pawnshops are important because ____.

  A. they provide great dollar value to the poor

  B. they make big loans to a lot of people

  C. they are serving the majority of the population

  D. they make a large number of loans to the poor

 

In the world today, all of the people need recreation (消遣). We cannot work all the time if we are going to keep healthy and enjoy life.

Everyone has his own way of relaxing. Perhaps the most popular form is to take part in sports. There are team sports, such as basketball and football; There are also individual (个人的) sports, such as swimming and running. Skating and mountain climbing are the most popular recreation for people who like to be outdoor.

Not everyone who enjoys sports likes to take part in them. Many people like watching them on TV or listening to them on the radio. So many people like some forms of indoor recreation, such as watching TV, singing and dancing.

It doesn’t matter whether we like indoor recreation or take part in outdoor sports. It is important for everyone to relax from time to time, and enjoy some forms of recreation.

1.Which is the most popular form of recreation?

A.Sports.           B.Watching TV.

C.Sleeping.          D.Singing and dancing.

2.People want to take part in sports in order to ____.

A.keep healthy and enjoy life        B.make friends

C.find a good job        D.make more money

3.Outdoor sports include ____.

A.watching TV          B.singing and dancing

C.listening to the radio           D.skating and mountain climbing

4.The passage mainly tells us that ____.

A.basketball is a kind of team sport

B.everyone who enjoys sports should take part in them

C.different people have different ways of relaxing

D.indoor recreation is not as important as outdoor sports

 

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