Cash is no longer king as far as most Australians and South Koreans are concerned as more than eight in ten pay less often in cash today than they did five years ago, according to a survey released on Monday. 50 , 69 percent of Americans surveyed use less cash than five years ago, 51 in Asia the figures were generally 52 , with
Shuan Ghaidan, MasterCard’s Asia Pacific head of product sales and delivery, said one 53 for the 54 use of cash in Australia was the growing 55 of debit cards (借记卡), while in South Korea contactless payment on mobile phones had been popular. Credit cards 56 be used for higher value transactions, he said. Besides young people, for whom 57 cards are usually their first card, he said the debit card is also 58 by some older people “who don’t want credit any more, don’t want to 59 debt any more.”
The global 60 has been rocked in the past year by a credit crisis 61 US mortgage loan defaults (次级房贷问题).
The 62 noted that nearly nine in ten Australians and New Zealanders said they
63 carrying large amounts of cash, compared with six in ten Singaporeans or 80 percent of Americans.
MasterCard said it 64 7,000 interviews across 12 countries, including
50. A. On the contrary | B. In comparison | C. In addition | D. By turn |
51. A. as | B. yet | C. while | D. when |
52. A. higher | B. lower | C. shocking | D. notable |
53. A. reason | B. cause | C. result | D. case |
54. A. declining | B. sensible | C. full | D. good |
55. A. development | B. involvement | C. recycling | D. popularity |
56. A. designed to | B. used to | C. were used to | D. tended to |
57. A. post | B. ID | C. debit | D. credit |
58. A. agreed | B. proved | C. honored | D. preferred |
59. A. fall into | B. take into | C. break into | D. put into |
60. A. economy | B. weather | C. population | D. environment |
61. A. leading to | B. resulting from | C. bringing about | D. resulting in |
62. A. experiment | B. survey | C. examination | D. competition |
63. A. disliked | B. preferred | C. favored | D. enjoyed |
64. A. invented | B. published | C. conducted | D. carried |
A. experience B. celebrate C. surrounding D. support E. actually F. society G. lonely H. positive I. mean J. alone |
Do you ever feel like no one understands you? It may seem like everyone else has lots of friends, and is getting invited to fun parties and outings while you are at home by yourself. But in fact, you’re not the only one who feels like this. In today’s 41 , with so many people all crowded together in such big cities, lots of people feel alone, even when there are many people 42 them.
But being alone doesn’t 43 that you have to be lonely. Whenever I’m reading a book, exercising, or doing other things that I love, I don’t feel lonely at all. I 44 feel quite happy when I’m busy. But when I focus on all of the things that I’m lacking, I get lonely and feel unhappy. Everyone feels lonely at one point or another ― even the happiest people can feel lonely sometimes.
That you may feel lonely doesn’t mean it has to be a painful 45 . You can actually enjoy your time 46 by doing things that make you happy ― give some 47 attention to yourself and to your hobbies. Reading a good book, going on a walk, or keeping a diary can give you some time to think about yourself and your feelings. Sometimes, it’s even more fun to do things on your own without anyone else to think about.
Since November 11th is “Bachelor’s Day”(单身汉节)why not 48 your independence and treat yourself to something special. Enjoy the quiet time by yourself. If your friends are feeling lonely, make sure that you 49 them by being there during hard times. And remember, one doesn’t have to be the loneliest number!