Today, more and more people in the United States are using credit cards instead of money to buy the things they need. Almost any one who has a steady income and a continuous work record can apply for a credit card. There are many credit cards available: American Express, VISA, and Master Charge are some of the most popular. 今天，越來(lái)越多的美國(guó)人流行用信用卡而不是用貨幣購(gòu)買他們所需要的東西。幾乎所有收入來(lái)源穩(wěn)定，有持續(xù)工作記錄的人都可以申請(qǐng)信用卡?？晒┻x擇的信用卡種類很多，其中有些信用卡很流行，如美國(guó)運(yùn)通卡、維薩卡及萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡等等?！?BR> If you have a credit card, you can buy a car, eat a dinner, take a trip, and even get a haircut by charging the cost to your account. In this way, you can pay for purchases a month later, without any extra charge. Or you may choose to make your payments over several months and pay only part of the total amount each month. If you do this, the credit company, or the bank that sponsors the credit card, will add a small service charge to your total bill. This is very convenient for the customer. 如果你持有信用卡，只要記一下賬，你就可以買汽車、旅行甚至理發(fā)。這樣，你可以在一個(gè)月以后再支付貨款，不收任何額外的費(fèi)用?；蛘?，你可以選擇在幾個(gè)月期間內(nèi)進(jìn)行支付，每個(gè)月只付其中的一部分。如果你這樣做，信用卡公司，或發(fā)卡銀行會(huì)在你的賬單總額中加收一點(diǎn)手續(xù)費(fèi)。這對(duì)客戶是非常便利的。
With the credit card in your wallet or purse, you don't have to carry much cash and worry about losing money through carelessness or theft. The card user only has to worry about paying the final bill. This, of course, can be a problem, if you charge more than you can pay for. In the recent years, credit cards also appear in China. The Great Wall credit card and the Peony credit card are the pioneer cards sponsored by the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, respectively. 你的皮夾里有信用卡，你就不必?cái)y帶大量的現(xiàn)金，也不必?fù)?dān)心由于疏忽大意或遭扒竊而喪失錢財(cái)。持卡人只須為最終結(jié)賬而擔(dān)憂。當(dāng)然，如果你的賬單金額超出了你的支付能力，這就成問(wèn)題了。近年來(lái)，中國(guó)也有了信用卡。長(zhǎng)城信用卡和牡丹信用卡是由中國(guó)銀行和中國(guó)工商銀行分別發(fā)行的早期信用卡?！?BR> Many of us believe that it will only be a matter of time before credit cards replace cash and checks for both individuals and businesses. 我們?cè)S多人相信，信用卡代替現(xiàn)金，取代個(gè)人支票和企業(yè)支票只是一個(gè)時(shí)間問(wèn)題?！?BR> People spend a lot of money in their daily lives. Working people spend their money on transportation to and from work, and on various expenses throughout the day. Most people enjoy shopping and buy many things that they need and want. They buy sports equipment, go to sporting events, and do many things that cost money. 人們?cè)谌粘Ｉ钪谢ㄙM(fèi)大量的貨幣。有工作的人花錢乘車上下班，用于日常的各種消費(fèi)。人們大都喜歡購(gòu)物，購(gòu)買他們想要的必需品。他們購(gòu)買體育器材，參加體育比賽項(xiàng)目，從事許多花錢的活動(dòng)?！?BR> However, many Americans don't pay cash or write checks for these things. More and more they pay for things with credit cards. Credit cards are small rectangular plastic cards. Banks give these cards to their customers. When a customer buys something at a store, he shows his card at the store. This authorizes the store to charge the bank for the customers purchase. The bank collects all the charges for each customer. Then once a month the bank requires the customer to pay all the charges for that month. The bank doesn't force the customer to pay the full amount. It allows the customer to pay for charges in several payments over a period of time. However, the bank requires the customer to pay interest on the unpaid part of the charges. In this way the bank allows customers to buy things that they can not afford at one time. People can use the cards to buy what they want and pay for it over a period of time. They also do not need to carry a lot of money. 可是，許多美國(guó)人不用現(xiàn)金購(gòu)物，也不用支票購(gòu)物，他們?cè)絹?lái)越多地用信用卡來(lái)支付購(gòu)物款。信用卡是小方形的塑料卡片，銀行就把這些卡片給客戶。當(dāng)客戶在商店購(gòu)物時(shí)，只要出示本人的信用卡，這就授權(quán)商店向銀行收取客戶的購(gòu)物款，銀行向每一個(gè)客戶收取所有費(fèi)用，于是，銀行每月一次要求客戶支付當(dāng)月的所有費(fèi)用。銀行并不強(qiáng)迫客戶付清所有費(fèi)用，允許客戶在一段時(shí)期內(nèi)分幾次支付費(fèi)用。然而，銀行要求客戶對(duì)未償還費(fèi)用支付利息，銀行用這樣的方法，允許客戶購(gòu)買他們一次付不起的東西。人們可以使用信用卡購(gòu)買他們需要的東西，并在一段時(shí)期內(nèi)付款，也不必隨身攜帶大量的現(xiàn)金。
So, a credit card is a card issued by a bank, allowing the holder to obtain goods and services on credit. 如此說(shuō)來(lái)，信用卡是由銀行發(fā)行的卡，持卡人可以憑卡賒購(gòu)商品和勞務(wù)?！?BR>