新标准大学英语四UNIT4

1、the credit card trap 1 i have a confession. several years ago, i was standing in a queue to collect some theatre tickets for my family, and my friend was doing the same for hers. i got mine, and paid for them by credit card, feeling contented by the convenience of this cash- free transaction. it was

2、 then her turn to pay. the whole operation passed as smoothly as mine, but my delight soon turned to abject shame. my credit card was a fairly pathetic, status-free dark blue, whereas hers was a very exclusive gold one.,text,2 how did she do this? how could this be? i knew i earned more than her, my

3、 car was newer, and my house was smarter. how did she get to appear more flash than me? 3 now, i had a job which was as steady as any job was in those days thats to say, not very, but you know, no complaints. i had a mortgage on my house, but then who didnt? i paid off all my credit debt at the end

4、of the month, so although technically, i was in debt to the credit card company, it was only for a matter of a few weeks. so i assumed i had a good credit rating.,text,4 call me superficial, and im not proud of myself, but there and then, i was suddenly jealous of my friend. i decided i no longer wa

5、nted a blue card. i wanted a gold one. a gold card was suddenly indispensable, it would make me feel good with myself, and desirable to others. 5 so i applied for the most distinctive, shiny golden card the company offered. 6 i was turned down.,text,7 when i had recovered from the shock, which took

6、several seconds, i asked why. it appears that because i pay my credit card bill both on time and in full, im not the kind of person that they want to have their gold credit card. they target people who are prone to impulse-buying, and potentially bad credit risks, tempted to spend more than they hav

7、e, and liable to fall behind with repayments. then they can charge them more interest, and earn more money. thats the way they do business.,text,8 so does this explain why the credit card companies are luring impoverished students with unrealistic interest rates, like my kids? 9 three weeks ago, no.

8、 2 daughter came home from university for the weekend. shes in her second term of her first year. she has a student loan of 3,000, like most of her friends, and a small allowance from her poor mother (ha!) for transport, books, living expenses. she wears clothes from the local charity shops, and rar

9、ely goes out. she hugged me (never usually does that) and then said, mum, i need to talk to you.,text,10 what is it, darling? tell me everything. 11 ive applied for a credit card, and i need someone to act as a guarantee for me. is it ok if i put down your name? thanks so much, mum, must dash! bye.

10、,text,12 after id hauled her back into the house, it transpired that her bank had written to her offering a credit card at a low interest for a trial three-month period, subject to suitability . and so on. her bank! i trusted them! they know even better than i do how broke she is. 13 heres a serious

11、 question. why do they call them credit cards when it would be more accurate to call them debt cards?,text,14 heres an even more serious story. another friends daughter, kelly, was studying modern languages at university, and spent a year overseas. at some point in the year, there was a change of pr

12、ocedure, and kellys bank failed to allow her to access her funds in her current account, because the request was from outside the uk. naturally, there was a lengthy correspondence while she tried to sort this out, so the delay in being able to access her funds meant that she went into the red, and h

13、er debts began to rise more than 200 above the agreed limit on her overdraft of 1,500.,text,15 when kelly got back home, the bank charged her 100 for going over the limit, and insisted she paid 30 a month to bring the balance back to below her limit. they omitted to tell her that she wasnt actually

14、paying off the debt, but only the exorbitant interest on the overspend of the overdraft. 16 so kelly had to turn to her credit card which she had used sensibly and sparingly until that point. because she was a student, and because she didnt use it much, naturally her credit limit was low.,text,17 an

15、d not surprisingly, she couldnt pay off even the minimum payment on her credit card bill. so there were not only bank,text,charges owing, but also credit card debts and interest. and of course, she was recorded as being a bad credit risk.,18 things then went from bad to worse. a few months into her

16、final year, the bank notified her that it was going to reduce her overdraft from 1,500 to 1,000. they told her to apply for a student loan to cover the rest. but when the loan company did a credit check, they discovered the card debt. 19 guess what? she didnt get the loan.,text,20 this was a delight

17、ful kid who had great restraint with her spending and was economical about her lifestyle. she didnt go on spending sprees buying new shoes, and she didnt use her credit card as if (unlike me) it was a fashion item. she used it to buy food, to survive. 21 and what happened? she had to drop out of uni

18、versity.,text,22 i wish there was a happy ending to kellys story, although maybe there will be. for the moment, shes working in the local supermarket, and its probable that shell have another go at university when she has paid off her debts. 23 so this is what the banks do. they set traps which appe

19、al to our vanity and greed and sometimes to our basic need for survival. and then when we fall into the trap they shout got you! didnt you realize it was a trap?,text,24 and here we are today, caught in the credit crunch, with world economies in free fall, all because the wicked bankers set us traps

20、 which we fell into, attracting us with endless publicity for loans of money which even they didnt have! it now appears they were borrowing on their own flashy gold credit cards too. 25 so i have a solution to the credit card trap, and i want all of you to listen to me very carefully.,text,26 i want

21、 you to lay out all of your credit cards in a line, take a large pair of scissors and cut them into small pieces. then put them in an envelope and send them to your bank, with a letter saying (more or less) i trusted you and you deceived me. youve got the whole world into this ridiculous credit card

22、 trap, and if i now cut your cards in half, and take away your potential to tempt money away from honest people like me, maybe it will be your turn to learn what its like to run out of cash.,text,27 as for me, i dont want any more credit cards, no more status symbols, no more bad feelings about wish

23、ing i could show how superior i am to others. im not going to yearn any more for what i cannot afford or cannot have.,text,信用卡陷阱 1 有一件事我得坦白。几年前，我排队为家人取戏票时，我的朋友也在为她的家人取票。我拿到了票，用信用卡付了账，对这种非现金交易的便利感到很满意。然后就轮到她付款了，整个交易也进行得同样顺利，但我的高兴劲儿很快就变成了莫大的羞耻：我的信用卡太寒酸了，是不显示身份地位的深蓝色卡，而她的信用卡则是高级的金卡。,text,2 她是怎样弄到金卡的？怎么

24、会这样呢？我知道我挣得比她多，我的车比她的车新，我的家比她的家漂亮，她怎么看起来显得比我光鲜呢？ 3 我有一份跟那时候任何工作相比还算安定的工作虽然不是非常安定，不过我也没什么可抱怨的。我是通过按揭贷款买的房子，可那会儿谁买房不贷款呢？我每个月底都付清信用卡欠款。所以，虽然从技术上讲，我欠过信用卡公司的钱，但只是欠几个星期而已。所以我认为我的信用等级应该很高。,text,4 你可以说我肤浅，而我也并不感到自豪。但就在当时当地，我突然非常嫉妒那位朋友，我决定不要蓝色信用卡了，我要一张金卡。金卡突然变得不可或缺，它会让我自我感觉良好，会让别人觉得我更有魅力。 5 于是，我去信用卡公司申请最特别、最

25、耀眼的金卡。 6 可是，我的申请被拒绝了。,text,7 过了几秒钟，我才从这个打击中回过神来，我问自己为什么被拒绝。显然，因为我每次都按时全额付清信用卡欠款，所以我不是他们想要的那种金卡客户。他们的目标客户是那些随时有购物刷卡的冲动、有潜在信用风险、经不住诱惑超支消费、并且经常延期还款的人。这样他们才有机会收取更多的利息，挣更多的钱，这就是他们的经营之道。,text,8 这能够解释为什么信用卡公司会用超低利率诱惑像我们家孩子那样的穷大学生吗? 9 三个星期前，我的二女儿回家过周末。她在读大一第二学期。和她的大多数朋友一样，她借了3,000 英镑的学生贷款，并从她可怜的妈妈（哈！）那里得到一小

26、笔补贴，用于支付交通费、书费和生活费用。她穿的衣服是从当地的慈善商店买来的，并且她平时也很少出门。她拥抱了我( 她以前从不拥抱我)，然后说：“妈妈，我有事要跟您商量。”,text,10 “亲爱的，什么事啊？都说出来让我听听。” 11 “我申请了一张信用卡，需要保证人，我可以填您的名字吗? 非常感谢，妈妈，我得赶快走啦，再见。”,text,12 我费了好大劲儿才把她从外面拽了回来。原来她的银行来信告诉她说：她可以申请一张试用期为三个月的、能够低息贷款的信用卡，只要满足要求如此云云。她的银行！我才不相信他们！他们甚至比我更清楚，我的女儿一贫如洗。 13 这里存在一个严重的问题：准确地说这种卡应该叫

27、债务卡，他们为什么要称其为信用卡呢？,text,14 还有一个更为严肃的故事。我一个朋友的女儿凯丽在大学攻读现代语言，其中一年在国外留学。在留学那一年的某段时间，由于程序上的变动，凯丽的银行限制她在除英国之外的其他国家支取现金账户的资金。通过书信同银行交涉的时间相当长，而未能及时支取账户资金使她欠了银行的债，欠款额超过了透支额度（1,500英镑）200多英镑。,text,15 凯丽回国后，银行因为她超支扣了她100英镑，并坚持要她每月支付30英镑，以使她的支出能重新控制在透支额度之内。但银行没有告诉她，每月支付的30英镑并不是用来偿清欠款，而只是支付超额透支的巨额利息。 16 因此凯丽不得不求

28、助于信用卡。在此之前她在用信用卡时一直非常小心谨慎，并且也很少用信用卡。由于她是学生，又很少用信用卡，她的信用额度自然就比较低。,text,17 毫不奇怪，她甚至无法偿还信用卡账单的最小还款额。所以她不仅欠银行手续费，而且还欠信用卡的账款及利息。当然，她因此被银行登记为信用风险高的人。,text,18 事情越来越糟。大学最后一年刚过几个月，银行就通知她：她的透支额度由1,500英镑减少到1,000英镑。他们让她申请学生贷款来填补缺口。可是，贷款公司检查她的银行信用时发现了她的信用卡欠款。 19 猜猜结果如何？她没有申请到学生贷款。,text,20 凯丽是个讨人喜欢的孩子，消费节制有度，生活节俭

29、。她并没有疯狂刷卡买鞋子，也没有把信用卡当成时髦玩意儿（不像我），她只是用信用卡买食物等生活必需品。 21 结果怎样呢？她不得不退学。,text,22 我希望凯丽的故事会有个好的结局，也许会有好结局的。现在，她在当地的一家超市工作，等她还清债务后可能会继续完成大学学业。 23 这就是银行的所作所为。他们常常利用我们的虚荣和贪婪，有时也利用我们生存的基本需求给我们设下陷阱。等我们掉进陷阱时，他们就会大喊：“抓住你啦！你当初没想到这是个陷阱吧？”,text,24 这就是我们现在的处境。随着世界经济一落千丈，我们都处在信贷危机之中。所有这一切都是因为邪恶的银行家通过大量广告推销他们压根就不存在的贷款

30、来吸引我们，给我们设圈套。现在真相大白了：他们也在用自己手中金光闪闪的金卡借钱！ 25 我有一个破解信用卡圈套的办法，各位请仔细听。,text,26 我要你们把所有的信用卡排成一排，拿一把大剪子把它们剪成碎片，然后把碎片装进信封寄回给银行，并附上一封信，上面（或多或少地）写上：“我信任你，可你却欺骗了我。你让全世界的人都钻进了这个荒谬的信用卡圈套。我把你的卡剪成了两半，让你再也不能像骗我这样的老实人一样去骗其他人的钱了，也许该让你来体验一下身无分文的滋味了。”,text,27 至于我，我再也不想要信用卡了，也不要身份的象征了，也不用费心思去炫耀我比别人优越了。我再也不会奢望我买不起或我无法得到

31、的东西了。,text,words to an acceptable extent 相当，很；还算 e.g. 1. she seemed fairly philosophical about the loss. 她对所受损失似乎还算看得开。 2. shes fairly responsive to new ideas. 她相当愿意接受新观念。 3. i was fairly certain she had nothing to do with the affair. 我相当肯定她与此事无关。 2) honestly; with justice 公平地；公正地 e.g. i think he wa

32、s quite fairly treated by the police. 我认为警察对他非常公正。,words they only made them the more glaring and the more pathetic. 金钱和漂亮衣服都不能弥补这些缺点，也不能把它们掩饰起来；反而使这些缺点更刺眼、更讨厌。 2) if someone or sth. looks or sounds pathetic, you feel sympathy for them 可怜的；令人同情的 e.g. it was pathetic to watch her condition deteriorat

33、e day by day. 看着她的健康状况日益恶化，真是可怜。,words distinctive handwriting is writing you dont confuse with someone elses.,words a deficit in a bank account caused by drawing more money than the account holds 透支额；透支 e.g. 1. you can have a $1000 overdraft on this account. 这个帐户可以透支1000美金。 2. i take out an overdra

34、ft to pay for my new car. 我用透支的钱买新车。 3. an overdraft resulted when a $1000 cheque was drawn against only $900 in the account. 当账户上只有900美元时你支取1000美元，那就造成了透支。,words & phrases,omit vt. fail to include someone or sth. , either deliberately or because you forget 疏忽；省略；遗漏 e.g. 1. ill not wish to omit this

35、 valuable book from my reading. 我可不愿漏看这本有价值的书。 2. every duty which we omit obscures some truth which we should have known. 每个忽略的责任里都隐含着我们应该明白的一些真理。 word family: omission n. see also: omit to do sth.,words & phrases,exorbitant a. an exorbitant price or amount of money is much more than is reasonable

36、（价格或金额）过高的，不合理的 e.g. 1. the biologist decided to try out that exorbitant device. 生物学家决定试用那套昂贵的设备。 2. that seaside hotel charges exorbitant prices during the summer holidays. 那家海滨旅馆在夏天休假期间漫天要价。 word family: exorbitance n.,words & phrases,overspend n. & v. 1) n. sing an extra amount that you should no

37、t have spent 超支额 e.g. at the next meeting i intend to ask the treasurer to account publicly for the overspend on his expenses allowance. 在下次会议上我想让会计当众解释他津贴支出的超额部分。 2) v. spend more money than you should or more than you intended to （使）超支 e.g. they are encouraged to overspend and borrow money. 有人鼓励他们

38、超支和借款。,words & phrases,sensibly ad. in a sensible way 合理地；明智地 sensible a. reasonable, practical, and showing good judgment 明智的，合理的，实际的 e.g. 1. theres a lot to be said for eating sensibly. 饮食合理的好处不胜枚举。 2. they sensibly invested their prize money rather than spending it. 他们明智地把奖金用于投资而不是花掉。 3. sometime

39、s turning tail is the only sensible thing to do. 有时出逃是唯一明智之举。 word family: sensibility n.,words & phrases,sparingly ad. in small quantities 少量地 e.g. 1. this expensive spice was used only sparingly in cooking. 这种价格不菲的调味品仅在烹调时少量地使用。 2. i lived near a year upon the money, spending very sparingly, and e

40、king things out to the utmost. 我就靠着这点钱，克勤克俭，七拼八凑地几乎过了一年。 word family: sparing a. e.g. we must be sparing with our resources. 我们必须节约使用资源。,words & phrases,notify vt. inform someone officially about sth. 通知；告知；报告 e.g. 1. they will notify her when to appear in court. 他们将通知她何时出庭。 2. any infectious diseas

41、e must be notified at once to the health ministry. 出现任何传染性疾病都必须马上通知卫生部。 word family: notification n.,words & phrases,delightful a. very pleasant or attractive 令人愉快的；讨人喜欢的；迷人的；漂亮的 e.g. 1. the wind blew delightful odors from the pine forests. 风从松林中吹来阵阵沁人的芳香。 2. peter played a delightful melody on his

42、flute. 彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。 3. he was a most delightful companion, full of wit and humour. 他是一个很惹人喜爱的伴侣，十分机智幽默。 word family: delight n.,words & phrases,restraint n. u the limit or control of the expression of strong emotion or opinion 控制；抑制；克制 e.g. 1. his affections were kept under continual restraint.

43、他的感情一直受到压抑。 2. he gave himself up to evil without restraint. 他胡作非为，肆无忌惮。 self-restraint n. u the ability to stop yourself doing or saying something, even though you want to, because it is more sensible not to do or say it 自我克制，自我约束 e.g. the un appealed for both sides to exercise self-restraint.,word

44、s & phrases,联合国呼吁双方要自我克制。,economical a. not costing or spending much money 不浪费的；节约的 e.g. 1. i have to buy a more economical stove. 我得买一个更节省燃料的火炉。 2. the invention of diesel engines enabled transportation to become more economical. 柴油机的发明使交通运输更经济了。 cf. economic a. relating to trade, industry, and the

45、 management of money 经济上的,words & phrases,fill in the blanks with economical, economically or economic. 1. the country is in a bad _ state, so we must reduce profits. 国家经济状况不佳，所以我们应减少利润。 2. to rent a house is more _ than to buy one. 租房比买房更经济。 3. governments should also protect this resource by provi

46、ding water in more _ and environmentally sound ways. (cet4-2001-06) 政府应通过更加节约和环保的供水方式来保护这一资源。,words & phrases,economic,economical,economically,spree n. c a short period that you spend doing a particular activity, especially sth. enjoyable such as spending money or drinking alcohol（尤指）狂欢作乐 e.g. 1. sh

47、e recently went on a huge shopping spree with her christmas bonus. 最近她拿着圣诞发的红包疯狂购物。 2. our team went on a scoring spree and won by ten goals to zero. 我们的球队继续疯狂进球，以十比零取胜。,words & phrases,probable a. likely to happen or be true 很可能的；很可能发生的 e.g. 1. the probable outcome of the talks is a compromise. 会谈的

48、结果很可能是妥协。 2. it is probable that she might change her mind at the last minute. 她大概会在最后时刻改变主意。 word family: probability n.,words & phrases,vanity n. u the fact of being too proud of your abilities, or too interested in your appearance 自负；虚荣 e.g. 1. his vanity brought his downfall. 他因虚荣心太重而垮台。 2. hes

49、not only weak but also admires vanity. 他既软弱又爱慕虚荣。 3. the girls vanity surprised me. 这个女孩子的虚荣心使我吃惊。 vanity table 梳妆台,words & phrases,greed n. u a strong wish to have more money, things, or power than you need 贪婪；贪心 e.g. 1. does nature punish man for his greed? 自然会惩罚人的贪婪吗？ 2. the miser was an incarnat

50、ion of greed. 那个守财奴是贪婪的化身。 word family: greedy a.,words & phrases,crunch n. & vi. 1) n. c (usu sing) a situation that is very difficult because you do not have enough of sth., especially time or money （尤指缺乏时间或金钱的）危机，危急关头 e.g. 1. he was caught in a financial crunch. 他陷入财政危机。 2. when it comes to the c

51、runch you chicken out. 一到紧要关头，你就退缩。 2) vi. make a noise like sth. being crushed 发出嘎吱嘎吱的响声 e.g. the frozen snow crunched under our feet. 冻结的雪踩上去嘎吱作响。,words & phrases,wicked a. 1) morally wrong and deliberately intending to hurt people 缺德的；邪恶的 e.g. it is wicked to give currency to lying scandals. 传播无根

52、据的谣言是不道德的。 2) slightly cruel but not intending to upset people 恶作剧的；捣蛋的 e.g. the little boy had a wicked twinkle in his eyes. 这个男孩的眼睛里闪烁着调皮的光。,words & phrases,banker n. c someone who has an important position in a bank or other financial organization 银行家；银行高级职员 e.g. 1. she was the daughter of a pros

53、perous banker. 她是一个富有的银行家的女儿。 2. primarily, the banker-customer relationship is that of debtor and creditor. 银行家与客户的关系主要是债务人与债权人的关系。,words & phrases,publicity n. u attention in magazines, newspapers, or television 报道，宣传 e.g. 1. the new project gained publicity through papers. 这项新工程通过报纸得到广泛宣传。 2. the

54、ir marriage took place amid a blaze of publicity. 他们的婚礼轰动一时。,words & phrases,flashy a. very fashionable or expensive in a way that is deliberately intended to impress people华丽的；奢华的 e.g. 1. because of the growing numbers of rich individuals, large houses and flashy cars are no longer a sufficient dem

55、onstration of wealth. 由于有钱人越来越多，豪宅名车已经不足以展示财富了。 2. he was ill-equipped to handle the flashy showmanship of his opponent. 他根本没有办法应付对手华美无比的表演技巧。 see also: flash.,words & phrases,deceive vt. trick someone by behaving in a dishonest way 欺骗 e.g. 1. nothing is easier than to deceive oneself. 再没有什么比欺骗自己更容易

56、的了。 2. he deceived me into signing the papers. 他骗我在文件上签了字。 word family: deception n.,words & phrases,yearn vi. (mainly literary) want sth. a lot, especially sth. that you know you may not be able to have 渴望；向往 e.g. 1. i yearn for things that expand the soul and not the pocket. 我渴望的是充实心灵而不是装满口袋。 2. m

57、ost of the young yearn to be beyond their parents control. 大部分的年轻人都渴望脱离父母的控制。,words & phrases,in full: completely, including the whole of sth. 全部地；足额地 e.g. 1. the tuition fee must be paid in full before next month. 学费必须在下个月之前全额支付。 2. we shall reproduce this handbook in full. 我们将把这本手册完整地复制一份。 3. the

58、message reads in full as follows. 电报全文如下。,words & phrases,put down: write sth. on a piece of paper 记下的姓名；登记 e.g. 1. let me put down your telephone number lest i forget it. 让我先记下你的电话号码，以免忘了。 2. everything he said was put down at once. 他说的话马上被记了下来。 3. please put down your names, addresses and telephon

59、e numbers here. 请把你们的姓名、住址和电话号码登记在这儿。,words & phrases,it transpired (that): (fml) used before you mention a fact or event that people did not know about 得知；事情是这样的 e.g. 1. it transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 情况是这样，这伙匪徒在银行里有内应。 2. it transpired that mr. james had already hired a new secretary. 有消息说詹姆斯先生已经雇了一名新秘书。,wo