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  3. What Does a Credit Card Bring Us? [A] "Charge it!" If those two words sound familiar, it is no wonder. Over 75 million Amer

What Does a Credit Card Bring Us? [A] "Charge it!" If those two words sound familiar, it is no wonder. Over 75 million Amer

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问题                                                    What Does a Credit Card Bring Us?
    [A]  "Charge it!" If those two words sound familiar, it is no wonder. Over 75 million Americans use credit cards to pay for everything from tickets on American Airlines to AAA car rental And the number of cardholders increases every month. In fact, most Americans receive at least two or three credit card applications in the mail every month.
    The First Credit Card
    [B]  At the beginning of the twentieth century, people had to pay cash for almost all products and services. Although the early part of the century saw an increase in individual store credit accounts, a credit card that could be used at more than one merchant was not invented until 1950. It all started when Frank X. McNamara and two of his friends went out to supper.
    The Significant Dinner
    [C]  During the dinner, they discussed a problem of one of McNamara’s customers who had borrowed some money but was unable to pay it back. This particular customer had gotten into trouble, when he had lent a number of his charge cards (available from individual department stores and gas stations) to his poor neighbors who needed items in an emergency. For this service, the man required his neighbors to pay him back the cost of the original purchase plus some extra money. Unfortunately for the man, many of his neighbors were unable to pay him back within a short period of time and he was then forced to borrow money from the Hamilton Credit Corporation.
    [D]  At the end of the meal with his two friends, McNamara reached into his pocket for his wallet so that he could pay for the meal (in cash). He was shocked to discover that he had forgotten his wallet. To his embarrassment, he then had to call his wife and have her bring him some money. McNamara vowed never to let this happen again.
    [E]   Merging the two concepts from that dinner, the lending of credit cards and not having cash on hand to pay for the meal, McNamara came up with a new idea—a credit card that could be used at multi-ple locations. What was particularly new about this concept was that there would be a middleman be-tween companies and their customers. McNamara discussed the idea with his two friends and the three pooled some money and started a new company in 1950 which they called the Diners Club, and it was going to be a middleman.
    [F]   The first Diners Club credit cards were given out in 1950 to 200 people (most were friends and acquaintances of McNamara) and accepted by 14 restaurants in New York. The cards were not made of plastic; instead, the first Diners Club credit cards were made of a paper stock with the accepting lo-cations printed on the back.
    The Popularity of Credit Cards (1) Among Merchants
    [G]  For a merchant, the answer is obvious. By depositing charge slips in a bank or other financial institutions, the merchant can convert credit card sales into cash. In return for processing the merchant’s credit card transactions, the bank charges a fee that ranges between 1.5 and 5 percent. Typically, small, independent businesses pay more than large stores or chain stores. Let’s assume that you use a Visa credit card to purchase a microwave oven for $400 from Richardson Appliance, a small retailer in Texas. At the end of the day, the retailer deposits your charge slip, along with other charge slips, checks, and currency collected during the day, at its bank. If the bank charges Richardson Appliance 5 percent to process each credit card transaction, the bank deducts a processing fee of $20 ($400x0.05= $20) for your credit card transaction and immediately deposits the remainder ($380) in Richardson Appliance’s account. Actual bank fees are determined by the volume of credit card transactions, total dollar amount of credit sales, and how well the merchant can negotiate.
    (2) Among Consumers
    [H] For the consumer, credit cards permit the purchase of goods and services even when the funds are low. Today most major credit cards are issued by banks or other financial institutions in cooperation with Visa International or MasterCard International. The unique feature of bank credit cards is that they extend a line of credit (信用贷款之最高限额) to the cardholder, much as a bank’s consumer loan department does. Thus credit cards provide immediate access to short-term credit for the cardholder, who instructs the bank to pay the merchant immediately and pay back the bank later. Of course, the ability to obtain merchandise immediately and pay for it later can lead to credit card misuse. Today the average American cardholder has a credit card balance in excess of $2,000. And with typical financial charges ranging from 1 percent to 1.5 percent a month, you can end up paying large finance charges. For example, if you carry a $2,000 balance on your credit card and your credit card company charges 1.5 percent a month, your monthly finance charge will be $30 ($2,000×0.015 = $30). And the monthly finance charges continue until you manage to pay off your credit card debt.
    Credit Card: Friend or Enemy?
    [I] A credit card can be your friend because it can get you through unexpected emergencies. And if there is a problem with the products or service you purchase with your credit card, you have an opportunity to withhold payment by asking the credit card company to "charge back" to the retailer until the dispute is settled. Monthly credit card statements can also help you keep your records in order. Finally, if you make payments on time, the card helps you to establish a good credit history.
    [J] A credit card can be your enemy because it is an invitation to purchase items you really do not need. The credit card companies’ continuous offers of low minimum payments, cash advances, and even months without payments may seem like a way to skate through a money crunch. In reality, your finance charges and fees only increase, and you go deeper into debt.
The credit card company can be asked to "charge back" to the retailer if a dispute is not settled.
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答案M
解析 此处需要形容词、名词或动词的分词作表语。根据and这个表示并列关系的信号词可判断空白处需要一个表示消极意义的词，故答案为depressed。
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