In 1904 A. P. Giannini became a board member of a San Francisco bank. He discovered that most banks cared only for the wealthy,

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问题     In 1904 A. P. Giannini became a board member of a San Francisco bank. He discovered that most banks cared only for the wealthy, powerful, and well-born. The "little fellows" had to hide their savings under a mattress (床垫) and borrow from loan sharks at high rates.
    Yet A. P. knew these people were struggling to make something of their lives. A. P. argued with the bank’s directors to change their policies. They refused. So he stormed out saying, "I’ll start my own bank!" And on October 17, 1904, Bank of Italy later renamed Bank of America opened its doors.
    According to Giannini, "There isn’t any good reason why a bank should have the temperature of a fish market. When you walked into some of them you felt as if you’d got into a funeral parlor. I think what I am most proud of is anything I may have done to help with the humaniza-tion of banking. "
    At first, bankers looked down their noses at "the baby bank" and its methods. They felt that going out to ask for new business was distasteful especially from immigrants, farmers, and wage-earners. But A. P. and bank employees went door-to-door explaining to people what a bank could do for them and inviting them to become customers. They did. And Bank of Italy grew. Said Giannini, "The old idea of a banker was that he must wear a silk hat and shut himself up in fancy quarters. He thought he couldn’t ask for business. If business is worth having, it’s worth going after. It helps to get up earlier than your competitor, and to keep looking for new ways to do more good business. "
    A former bank vice-president remembers that "A. P. was always available. People would often come to his desk, just to say hello. " Recalls another bank employee: "He wanted to make sure the customer was always our boss, that we were working for the customer. "
The term "loan sharks" (Line 3, Para. 1) refers to______.

选项 A、people who lend money at illegal rates of interest
B、banks which care only for influential persons
C、banks which keep money for the poor but charge high fees
D、people who possess wealth and power

答案A

解析 本题是一道词汇含义类问题。问第一段第三行中的loan sharks是什么意思。根据上下文,1904年,吉安尼尼进了旧金山一家银行的董事会。他发现,大多数银行只关注那些有钱有势、出身富有的人,那些平民百姓只好将他们的积蓄藏在床垫下面,借钱时以高利率受放高利贷者盘剥。由此,我们可以推知所测词语的含义应是指那些放高利贷的人。因此,本题的正确答案应是A“那些以非法利率放贷的人”。
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