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  3. Forget about the days when banks lured customers with offers of "free" toaster. In the harsh new world of consumer banking, it’s

Forget about the days when banks lured customers with offers of "free" toaster. In the harsh new world of consumer banking, it’s

admin2013-01-25  3
问题     Forget about the days when banks lured customers with offers of "free" toaster. In the harsh new world of consumer banking, it’s the account holder who may get burned.
    Over the past few years, banks have systematically raised their old fees and invented new ones—as many as 100 different kinds. The size of these charges jumped more than 50 percent on checking and savings accounts since 1990, according to Bank Rate Monitor, an independent provider of financial data. Meanwhile, interest rates paid on passbook savings and negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts failed to keep pace with inflation, let alone with other low-risk investments. And technologies like automated teller machines(ATMs) have truly turned into cash machines—for the bank.
    Checking Profits. According to a report by the Federal Reserve Board, fewer than eight percent of all commercial banks now offer tree checking. In some big cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, free checking is virtually extinct.
    What’s more, the minimum balance required for the average checking account has increased dramatically since the Federal Reserve last surveyed banks in 1994. Account holders looking for interest on their checking through a NOW account had to raise their balance nearly 50 percent to $1,500 on average and they earned just 1.5 percent annually for their trouble.
    NationsBank in Miami recently offered a "Deluxe Secure" checking account. Depositors got only an average 1.5 percent interest on their checking balance. And they were required to keep $5,000 tied up in a savings account or $21 maintenance fee.
    New York City’s chemical informed its checking customers that their "low minimum" accounts would be converted into new "relationship" accounts—with a higher minimum balance. The new minimum necessary to avoid extra fees jumped from $1,500 to $3,000. The dubious new benefits to customers?
    Banking executives say there’s a good reason why fees are higher. Since financial services were deregulated in the early 1980s, competitors have lured away high-margin business that once sustained bank profits. Americans are avoiding low-interest bank accounts in favor of high-yielding investments such as mutual funds. Creditcard holders can get more favorable terms from a national card issuer than from their local bank. Home-buyers can now tap a national market for the most competitive mortgage rates, and new-car buyers can shop for loans from auto-finance specialists like General Motors Acceptance Corp.
    Still, the banks have managed to regain their profits in part with high customer fees. In fact, the banking industry has reported record earnings over the past three years.
选项 A、The author asserts that the account holder should be careful about the free toaster.
B、The author thinks that the account holder is the very person who uses the toaster.
C、The author suggests that the account holder should be careful about the bank.
D、The author holds that the bank should be criticized.
答案C
解析 语义理解题。文章首段指出"忘了过去银行赠送免费烤箱来吸引客户的日子吧。在严酷的顾客储蓄的新世界中，可能被烫伤的却是储户自己"。这里，作者通过比喻，提醒储户不要为那些银行五花八门的优惠条件所打动。拿着银行赠送的免费烤箱，储户可能庆幸没有花钱，却不知这烤箱会烫伤自己，这里是指储户实际上是吃亏了。因此"作者暗示储户要提防银行"是正确选项。
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考研英语一

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