Question

How do you pay for things? Do you usually use cash(金钱), or do you like to pay by credit card(信用卡)? If you are like a lot of people, you probably have at least one credit card. Also, you might use it more often than you probably should.

　　Credit cards first became popular in the 1920s. At that time, businesses, such as hotels and companies, gave credit cards to their best customers(顾客). Unlike today’s credit cards, customers could only use these cards at the shops or business that gave out the cards. Customers had to pay for things in full. They couldn’t pay for something a little at a time.

　　In 1950, a businessman named McNamara started a credit card company — Diners Club. Unlike earlier credit cards, this card could be used by customers at many restaurants. Customers liked the card because they didn’t have to carry a lot of cash with them. Restaurant owners liked the card, too. Why? They found out that customers usually spent more money when they could pay by credit card.

　　In its first year of business, Diners Club issued 200 card s. The customers who got the cards from Diners Club could use them at 27 different restaurants. Today, Diners Club has about 8 million customers, and they can use their cards in over 7.6 million businesses in more than 200 countries.

　　( ) 1. What can we know about the earlier credit cards from the passage?

　　A. They could be used everywhere.

　　B. Customers had to pay for things in full.

　　C. They were very popular before the 1920s.

　　D. Everyone could get this kind of credit cards.

　　( )2. The underline word “issued” in the passage probably means “______”.

　　A. showed B. took C. borrowed D. provided

　　( ) 3. This passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. part of the development of credit cards.

　　B. how to use cash

　　C. the number of people who use credit cards in the world

　　D. how credit cards help businessmen

Answer 1

1B   2D   3A