A Cashless Society

灝藍供稿

A Cashless Society

無現金社會

灝藍供稿

There is nothing worse thanfumbling around[摸索，亂摸]in your pocket trying to find some small change to pay for a newspaper or a coffee. So it’s good to know that new technology is making cash—banknotes[紙幣]and coins—a thing of the past, turning us into a cashless society.

Today, many of us already usecredit[信用]anddebit cards[借記卡]for financialtransactions[交易], so there’s no need to carry around huge wads ofhard currency[硬貨幣]. And now it’s possible to makecontactless payments[無接觸支付]usingtap-and-go[輕觸即付]cards which are regular bankcards but with abuilt-in chip[內嵌芯片]and antenna. The card reader sends out a radio frequency, and when you bring the card close to the reader, the antenna picks up the signal to make the payment.

Paying this way or spending on a credit card can put you at risk offraud[詐騙]. Criminals try to steal cards, or the information on them, to make purchases online or in shops. However, contactless payment iscapped[設上限]—in the UK the limit is ￡30. And, if someone does go on aspending spree[消費熱潮]with your card, your bank covers you against the loss—something that wouldn’t happen if your banknotes were stolen. Also, the introduction ofchip and PIN[芯片和密碼的]technology has led to a drop in fraud and has even been helping businesses.

But, if getting your bankcard out seems like too much trouble, there’s now a solution using wearable tech—that’s clothing andaccessories[配飾]that include computer and electronic technologies. Kenneth Cukier, economist and technology expert, says “This is intended for people who are very lazy who don’t want to take their card out of their wallet, or use their phone, or use their watch. People are going to be making more purchases more of the time—particularly for small-valued goods.”

And, although our mobile phones are another way of making payments, BBC reporter Kate Russell says that when this is inconvenient, you can use thefingo-pay[指紋支付]system which “reads the unique maps ofveins[靜脈]under the surface of your finger.” The trick is remembering which finger youregistered[注冊]with—that’s when good old-fashioned cash mightsave the day[反敗為勝]! What do you prefer to use when you buy something?

? 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1) True or false? A debit card can be used to buy something now and pay for it later.

2) What do criminals need to make a purchase that you have to pay for?

3) What word is used in the article that means to have put information on an official list?

4) Name one way, mentioned in the article, to pay for something without using cash.

5) Which part of your body does the fingo-pay system use to know it is you who is paying for something?

? 選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1) The man was arrested after he tried to buy a new car using

fake ＿＿.

bankers banknotes purchases

2) I called my bank after I saw a suspicious ＿＿ on my credit

card bill.

transactioned transaction transactions

3) Jane was given lots of money for her birthday, so she decided

to go on a big ＿＿.

fraud credit card spending spree

4) At the border, I was only allowed to use ＿＿ to pay for my visa.

hard currency harder currency hard current

答案

? 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1) False. A debit card takes money out of your account straight away.

2) The information on your credit or debit card.

3) The word is “registered.”

4) Mobile phone, watch, credit or debit card, tap-and-go cards, wearable tech as well as fingo-pay.

5) It uses your finger.

? 選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1) banknotes； 2) transaction；3) spending spree；4) hard currency