6 Minute English - Credit cards | Текст песни

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• 6 Minute English
• Credit cards

NB: This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript.
Группа Learning English.
Продолжение текста здесь: http://wsdownload.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/pdf/2010/02/100203160228_100211_6min_creditcards.pdf

Dan: Hello, I’m Dan Walker Smith and this is 6 Minute English from the BBC. Today I’m joined by Kate. Hi Kate.
Kate: Hi Dan.
Dan: Now Kate, today we're talking about credit cards. So could you please tell me what those are?
Kate: Sure. Well, credit cards are the plastic cards we use instead of money. You can use credit cards to pay for items in shops or to take out cash; that is money in its physical form, such as coins or notes.
Dan: So this week's question for you Kate is: In what year was the first ever credit card introduced? Was it:
a) 1951
b) 1955
c) 1962
Kate: That's an interesting question. I had no idea they even went back as far as 1962. I thought they were much more recent than that. So in that case I'm going to go for c, 1962.
Dan: OK, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme.
Kate: Now one of the obvious advantages of using a credit card is that it's often more
convenient than carrying cash. If something's convenient it means it's easier generally or more suitable.
Dan: As you're not using actual money, some people say that credit cards can encourage you to spend more than you can really afford, and you could fall into debt. Could you explain what that means Kate?
Kate: Of course. Well the word debt, spelt D-E-B-T, is when you owe money to someone else. And unfortunately credit cards often mean that people build up an awful lot of debt. So they're often not a terribly good idea. Have you ever had a credit card Dan?
Dan: I have what they call a debit card, so I never accumulate money. I just pay off what I already have, and I'm never in debt to anyone.
Kate: Well that's very sensible. I think credit cards can be a very good idea if you're travelling or if you're abroad, and you're a bit worried about not being able to get money out of the cash machine. But then unfortunately by the time you get back to your own country you've run up lots of debt on your credit card, which you have to pay off.
Dan: That's the thing; they're good for emergencies, but maybe you don't want to use them for everyday life.
OK, let's listen to the British journalist Mark Flint, as he explains why credit cards became so popular.
Kate: You'll hear the expression that credit cards were 'catching on'. To catch on in this context means to become popular.
Dan: And listen out for the word convenience, which, means that the people found the cards convenient. As we heard before, if something's convenient it can save you time and effort. So if credit cards were popular with bank customers because of their convenience, why were they so popular with the banks?
Extract 1
By the early 70s the credit card was catching on quickly. Consumers liked the convenience and banks liked the profits.
Kate: Aha, so while the customers liked the convenience of a bank card, the banks liked the profit, unsurprisingly. The profit is the amount of money that they were making.
Dan: Banks make profit from credit cards by charging interest each month on the unpaid debts.
Kate: And the word interest here is the term we use for a fixed fee that you pay
when you borrow money. It's usually a percentage of the total amount. And
debt, remember, is when you owe someone money.
OK, so let's have a listen to the next extract. The speaker talks about cash machines. These are machines where you can take out money – or cash – using your credit card. They're also called ATMs, which stands for Automated TellerMachine.
Dan: Can you tell me when the world's first cash machine was installed?
...