Question

Over 60 million persons in the United States own a credit card, which has had the effect of increasing consumption possibilities for households by allowing them to make heavy purchases without giving up a single dollar and coin for them. In fact, thousands of dollars of merchandise, ranging from autos, clothing, to electrical appliances (电器) are purchased by buyers through the credit card. Credit cards have also been of significant importance to the national economy. Businessmen have been encouraged to expand plant and equipment and hire additional personnel to meet the heavy demand for their products. The tendency  of employment and income would be to rise significantly (显著的).

Unfortunately, the ease with which buyers can increase their purchase with credit cards has caused them to overlook the additional costs. Purchases on credit cards are postponed payments.  Buy-now-and-pay-later encourages buyers to use credit cards extensively.  Since the buyer is in effect borrowing money for a specific purpose, he must expect to pay an interest charge. Interest is the price of using money over a long period of time. A close analysis of the use of credit cards for heavy purchases will show that the buyer has added to the cost of making these purchases. It must also be kept in mind that unpaid monthly balance means added interest charges. Furthermore, the use of credit cards will add to the cost of the product since the shopkeeper does not receive the money at the time of purchase. Shopkeeper might add on the cost of handing credits to the bill.

　　 1. This passage is mainly concerned with——.

　　　　   A. the cashless economy

　　　　   B. the cost of making payments by credit cards

　　　　   C. the advantages of credit cards

　　　　  D. the necessity of using credit cards

　　 2. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the use of credit cards?

　　　　  A. It affects the level of employment and income.

　　  B. It is significant to the national economy.

　　　　  C. It stimulates people to buy more.

　　　　  D. It makes purchasing more complicated.

　　 3. Interest charges for the use of credit cards reflect——.

　　　　  A. the cost of owning a credit card

　　　　  B. the unpaid balance of a monthly bill

　　　　  C. the shopkeeper's cost of handling credit cards

　　   D. the price of using money for a long period of time

　　 4. The author of the passage implies that——.

　　　　  A. credit cards tend to raise interest charges

　　　　  B. buyers should not use credit cards at all

　　　　  C. buyers should make purchases with credit cards cautiously

　　　　  D. the use of credit cards reduces the consumption possibilities

 

Answer 1

答案：B;D;D;C
解析：

1．B。主旨题。文章第一段说明了信用卡在美国的广泛使用及它对美国国民经济的作用，这是对信用卡的背景介绍。第二段则介绍用信用卡消费可能带来的额外费用问题，这是本文的内容主体。依此判断，选项B正确。本文没有涉及选项A、C、D中的内容。     2．D。细节题，但要经过推断做出取舍。从第一段可以看出，作者在谈论信用卡的使用情况。由于信用卡的广泛使用，①它促进了雇用人数与收入的上涨；②它对国民经济意义重大；③它刺激了人们的购买力。以上三个细节在第一段便可找到。据此，选项A、B、C与本文内容相符。根据本题要求，故选D。     3．D。细节题。文章第二段说，信用卡消费是一种延缓支付。买方实际上是在借钱消费，而利息就是长期使用这部分钱的代价。因此，选项D的内容符合题意。这一点可在第二段第二、四、五句的上下关系中明显看出。选项A、B、C均不符合这样的上下文关系。     4．C。推断题。本题要求推断出作者想说而未说出的内容。在第二段开头作者就用了unfortunately一词。这表明作者对信用卡消费所带来的额外费用感到遗憾。接下来，作者指出信用卡的使用方便造成消费者对额外费用的忽略。然后，他又指出信用卡消费的实质就是“先买东西后付钱”，但“借钱”是要有利息的。现实生活中，消费者用信用卡消费时，实际上已支付了这笔利息。因此，消费者用信用卡消费要慎重。这就是作者想说而又未明说的话。据此，选项C正确。选项A、B、D不是作者的本意。

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