BEC商务英语中级阅读精品讲义(5)

第五课时

练习3. Banks and Banking : Other Bank Services

A modern bank provides many services other than checking accounts. ____1____

If you went to a bank to open a savings account, you would go through almost the same procedures followed in applying for a checking account. ____2____ Then you would be given a passbook in which your initial deposit would be recorded. All deposits and withdrawals from your account are entered into your passbook. ____3____ With a regular passbook savings account, you would be able to withdraw money wherever you needed it. All you would have to do is fill out a withdrawal order and present it, along with your passbook to the teller.

All banks pay interest on savings accounts. ____4____ Banks also pay interest at different times. ____5____ Suppose, for example, that on January 1, you deposited $ 1,000 in a bank that paid 4 1/2 percent interest semiannually. By July 1,you would have earned $ 22.50 interest. This interest would automatically be credited to your account; and of you left it in the bank, along with your original deposit, you would receive interest on $ 1,022.50 for the next six-month period. That is, your interest would be compounded.

A. But the majority of them pay semiannually, that is, every six months.

B. The interest rate varies from bank to bank, but the general range is from 4 1/2 to 6 percent.

C. This means that passbook contains an actual record of all transactions made and that you know the exact amount of savings you have at any one time.

D. One of these is checking accounts.

E. First you would be asked to fill out a signature card.

F. But most banks pay interest at the end of a year.

G. One of the most important of these is regular passbook savings.

H. One can withdraw money whenever necessary.

答案：1.G;2. ;3. ;4. B;5. A

PART TWO

Questions 8-12

l Read this text about electrical power in Canada.

l Choose the best sentence from the list A-I to fill each of the blanks.

l For each blank (8 - 12) mark one letter (A - I) on your Answer Sheet.

l De not mark any letter twice.

l One answer has been given as an example.

ELECTRICITY: WEALTH, MONEY, POWER

Canadian industries have prospered for more than a century on the country’s abundance of cheap, reliable electrical power. ____ example ____. In fact, Canada consumes more electricity on a per person basis than any country except for Norway ____ 8 ____

Electricity is a significant source of export income for Canada. ____ 9 ____ But in the 1970s , Canadian exports rose sharply to address the U. S. demand for cheaper and more reliable.

In 1985, exports of Canadian electrical power reached 1,400 million US dollars ____. 10 ____. Net electricity exports account for more than 60% of Canada’s balance of trade.

Domestically, Canada continues to generate electrical power, primarily from water ____ 11 ____ Exports of electricity are now subject to forces far beyond the control of utility managers ____ 12 ____

Example: B

A. Besides, electricity from coal and nuclear is 50% to 75% cheaper than many other industrial nations.

B. Generated primarily by water, our power supplies have attracted and supported energy-intensive industries such as mining.

C. It also ranks among the top three electricity producers in the world, behind the U. S. and Russia.

D. Next to electricity, Canadian paper exports came to 900 million US dollars every year in the 1960s.

E. Two large nuclear power plants began to generate electricity.

F. Since then, electricity’ exports have declined but they have continued to exceed 700 million US dollars.

G. Environmental and trade policies all influence electrical production and trade.

H. Canada and the U. S. imported and exported power in almost equal measures after 1901.

I. Therefore, the Canadian government has little influence on these forces.

答案：8.C 9. H 10. F 11. A 12. G