中阶生活|第42集：生活小妙招

音频一：

Behind the cash register at a store in downtown San Francisco, Sam Azar swiped his credit card to pay for a pack of cigarettes. The store's card reader failed to scan the card's magnetic strip. Azar tried again and again. No luck.

音频二：

As customers began to queue, Mr. Azar reached beneath the counter for a black plastic bag. He wrapped one layer of the plastic around the card and tried again. Success.

音频三：

The sale was completed. "I don't know how it works. It just does." said Mr. Azar who learned the trick from another clerk. Today's shaky economy is likely to produce many more such tricks.

重点词汇：

1, cash register /'redʒɪstə/ n. 收银机

2, downtown /‚daʊn'taʊn/ adv. 向[在]巿中心

3, swipe /swaɪp/ v. 刷〔卡〕

4, scan /skæn/ v. 〔用电磁波等〕扫描

5, magnetic strip /mæɡ'netɪk/ /strɪp/ 磁条

6, queue /kju/ v. 排队〔等候〕n. 队，行列

7, beneath /bɪˈniːθ/ adv, prep 在…之下，在…正下方；往…下面

8, wrap /ræp/ v.〔用纸或布等〕包，裹〔某物〕

9, layer /'leɪə/ n. 表层；层

10, trick /trɪk/ n. 诀窍；技巧，技法

11, shaky economy 不稳定的经济

跟读训练：

一、

Behind the cash register at a store in downtown San Francisco, Sam Azar swiped his credit card to pay for a pack of cigarettes.

旧金山市中心的一家商店收银处，山姆·阿扎正在用信用卡支付一包香烟的钱。

The store's card reader failed to scan the card's magnetic strip. Azar tried again and again. No luck.

商店的读卡器无法识别他卡上的磁条，阿扎试了又试，总是不行。

二、

As customers began to queue, Mr. Azar reached beneath the counter for a black plastic bag.

眼看顾客们开始排队，阿扎在收银台后面拿出了一个黑色的塑料袋。

He wrapped one layer of the plastic around the card and tried again. Success.

他把卡用一层塑料包起来然后有刷了一次，这次成功了。

三、

The sale was completed. "I don't know how it works. It just does." said Mr. Azar who learned the trick from another clerk.

交易完成了。阿扎先生说：“我不知道其中的原理。但是就是行得通。”这是他从一名其他员工那里学来的小窍门。

Today's shaky economy is likely to produce many more such tricks.

如今不稳定的经济可能会催生更多这种小窍门。

背景拓展：

在中国，咱们已经习惯了用支付宝和微信，手头紧的时候可能选择蚂蚁花呗和蚂蚁借呗，但是在美国，还是信用卡为王的天下。在美国几乎人人都有一套完整的个人信用记录体系 credit system。信用点数的高低直接影响日常生活中的点点滴滴，从信用卡申请，到贷款买车，租赁车，贷款买房，甚至租房申请手机号，贷款利率等。益百利Experian，艾贵发Equifax和环联公司TransUnion是美国最常用的三家信用记录局，当需要调取你的信用报告时，他们都会提供你的信用记录。