首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
For years, Europeans have been using "smart cards" to pay their way through the day. They use them in shops and restaurants; plu
For years, Europeans have been using "smart cards" to pay their way through the day. They use them in shops and restaurants; plu
admin
2013-05-29
92
问题
For years, Europeans have been using "smart cards" to pay their way through the day. They use them in shops and restaurants; plug them into public telephones and parking meters. In France smart cards cover anything from a biscuit bill to a swimming-pool entry fee. In America, smart cards are not nearly so common-only about 430,000 are now circulating in the US and Canada-but Forrester Research of Cambridge, Mass., predicts that number will balloon to 4.7 million by the year 2002.
What is a smart card, exactly, and how does it work?
Also called a chip card because of the tiny microprocessor embedded in it, a smart card looks a lot like the other plastic in your wallet. To make things more confusing, some smart cards pull double duty as regular ATM bank cards. The difference is that when you swipe your ATM (or debit) card at the grocery-store checkout, you’re draining cash from your bank account. Smart cards, on the other hand, are worthless unless they are "loaded" with ash value, pulled directly from your bank account or traded for currency. The chip keeps track of the amounts stored and spent. The advantage, in theory, is convenience: consumers bother less with pocket change and are able to use plastic even at traditionally cash-only vendors. The electronic transaction doesn’t require a signature, a PIN number or bank approval. Downside: lose the card, lose the money.
Most people are probably more familiar with stored-value cards equipped only with a magnetic stripe, such as fare cards issued to riders on the Washington metro or the New York City subway. The newer Chip-enhanced versions armed with more memory and processing power, have popped up in various places in the past year or so, from college campuses to military bases to sports stadiums. Other experiments are under way. A healthcare claims processor in Indianapolis, Ind., hopes smart cards will streamline medical bill payments. In Ohio, food-stamp recipients receive a smart card rather than paper vouchers.
Smart cards issued for general commerce are rarer, unless you happen to live in a place designated for a test run, such as Manhattan’s Upper West Side. But big banks and plastic-purveying kings Visa and Master Card are hot for the idea, promising more extensive trials and more elaborate, multipurpose cards capable of rendering everything else you carry-plastic, paper or coin-superfluous.
Today’s smart cards may not be revolutionizing the way we buy the morning paper yet, but they could turn out to be the right tool to spur Internet commerce and banking. For the time being, though, smart cards are just another way to buy stuff. And it could be a while before even that catches on. Remember: some people still don’t quite trust ATMs either.
The author implies that people today buy newspapers ______.
选项
A、with smart cards
B、in traditional ways
C、to learn about smart-card test runs
D、without bringing pocket change with them
答案
B
解析
最后一段第一句话指出“Today’s smart cards may not…yet”(智能卡还没有改变我们买早报的方式),可知现今的人们买报纸用的仍是传统方式。因此,B项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/lKTO777K
0
研究生英语学位课统考(GET)
相关试题推荐
MostpeoplewhodevelopedLymedisease,atick-borninfectionthat’sendemicinpartsoftheNortheastandMidwest,areeasilyc
Mostadultsdonotfeel______todealwithamedicalemergencyinvolvingachild.
Writeanessayofabout250to300wordsonthetopic"LoveandBeingloved"accordingtotheinstructionsgivenbelow.Writey
Planningisaveryimportantactivityinourlivesyetreallysophisticated.Itcangivepleasure,evenexcitement,【C1】______ca
Planningisaveryimportantactivityinourlivesyetreallysophisticated.Itcangivepleasure,evenexcitement,【C1】______ca
Notsurprisingly,peopleinthenorthernpartofthecountry,wheretheworkethicandtheclimatepushthepaceoflifeeverup
Ourlivesarewoventogether.AsmuchasIenjoymyown【C1】______,InolongerimagineIcangetthroughasingledaycompletely
Thosegovernmentswillprovidebigfoodandfuel______accordingtotheAsianDevelopmentBank.
TheartofpublicspeakingbeganinancientGreeceover2,000yearsago.Now,twitter,instantmessaging,e-mail,blogsandcha
Forsometimepastithasbeenwidelyacceptedthatbabies—andothercreatures—learntodothingsbecausecertainactsleadto"
随机试题
绒毛膜癌病人可有哪些临床表现
肛裂常用的检查方法是肛瘘常用的检查方法是
某重型石油库航空煤油的立式固定项储罐设置了低倍数泡沫灭火系统,采用水成膜泡沫液,运行几年后,消防设施检测机构对该系统进行检测与评估,下列检测结果中,不符合现行国家消防技术标准的有()。
下列属于硬盘的特点有()。
从事生产经营的纳税人外出经营,在同一地累计超过______,应当在营业地办理税务登记手续。
根据对市场有效性的不同判断,可以将股票投资组合策略分为两大类:一类是以战胜市场为目的的()股票投资组合策略;另一类是以获得市场组合收益为目的的()股票投资组合策略。
年金为A,利息率为i,计息期数为n,则普通年金终值的计算公式有()。
我国《刑法》规定,已满14周岁不满16周岁的人,应对()行为负刑事责任。
Idealsabout"spoiling"childrenhavealwaysinvolvedconsiderationofwhataspoiledchildis,howspoilingoccurs,andwhatth
WhenLaurieAronsonwasover35,shedidnotfeelworriedbecauseshewasunwillingtogetmarried.SusanFaludidisagreedwith
最新回复
(
0
)