One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the“cashless society”is not on the horizon—it's already here.

While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.

Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

1. According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to______.

A. withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes

B. obtain more convenient services than other people do

C. enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper

D. cash money wherever he wishes to

Best Answer:B

详解:选B)。短文第一段是关于信用卡(credit card)的。B项的根据是第一段中的They (credit cards) give their owners automatic credit in stores…和…can be read automatically.既然信用卡能在商店、餐馆、旅店、家里、全国各地、甚至国外等各种场合自动给予“信用”，那么信用卡持有人当然会比其他得到更为方便的服务。A)是陪衬项，明显不对;C)项解释错误;根据withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations判断D)项错。

2.From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that______.

A. in the future all the Americans will use credit cards

B. credit cards are mainly used in the United States today

C. nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash

D. it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before

Best Answer:C

详解:选C)。本题是语义理解题。第一段最后一句意思是“对我们大多数人来说，‘无现金的社会’不是在地平线上(即不是刚刚出现的新事物)，在这儿已经实现了”。句中many of us指我们许多美国人，it's already here中的it指cashless society，即“不用现金支付”。显然C)项是这句话的含义。最后一句话只谈到cashless society的已经存在，既推不出A)，也推不出B)。 3. The phrase“ring up sales”(Line 2, Para. 2) most probably means______.

A. make an order of goods

B. record sales on a cash register

C. call the sales manager

D. keep track of the goods in stock

Best Answer:B

详解:选B)。本题考查考生根据上下文推测词义的能力。短语所在的句子是比较级句型，根据“比较对象一致”的原则可知，ring up sales与“电子现金出纳机”electronic cash register属于同类东西。又根据下文They can keep a wide range of records，including…，可知electronic cash register能记许多东西，提供各种销售信息，从这两方面可猜测B项是ring up sales的意思，即现金收录记录机，一种功能单一的现金出纳机。A)项解释毫无根据，C)项离得太远，D)项是electronic cash register的功能之一。故B)为最佳答案。

4. The second paragraph focuses upon the purpose of______.

A. giving some specific examples of how businessmen rely on computers

B. convincing us how useful computers are to sellers

C. conveying computers are derived from promotion campaign

D. supporting the idea that we rely on computers completely

Best Answer:B

详解:选B)。题干问“第二段的主要用途是什么”?A)项为了提供一些商人怎样依赖于电脑的确切例子;B)项为了使我们相信计算机对商人有多么重要;C)项表明计算机起源于推销运动;D)项为了证明我们完全依赖于电脑。纵观全文可知，通篇第二段在讲计算机对商人的种种用途，因此，答案为B)。

5. What is this passage mainly about?

A. Approaches to the commercial use of computers.

B. Conveniences brought about by computers in business.

C. Significance of automation in commercial enterprises.

D. Advantages of credit cards in business.

Best Answer:B

详解:选B)。本题为中心思想测试题。第一段介绍了计算机使credit card持有人存款、存、支付等极其方便;第二段讲计算机给销售商带来许多便利，第三段讲了计算机运用的广泛性，而且都是商业方面的运用，由此可知，本文主题思想应为B)(计算机在商业中所带来的好处)。A)项计算机的商用方法;C)项商业自动化的重要性;D)项商业中信用卡的优点。A)、C)、D)均不是本短文的主题思想。