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Credit Cards
简体
Credit Cards
信用卡

Learn English with this finance English lesson

Date: Feb 04 2013

Themes: Travel

Grammar: Simple Future Tense

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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It’s almost rare to see cash these days. Why carry around all that money when you can use your card for almost everything?

Not only do most businesses accept credit cards now, many businesses offer their own credit card which gives you special rewards for using it when you shop.

The difficult thing about credit cards though is when you swipe your card, it doesn’t feel like you paid any money. It’s easy to get behind on the payments and go into debt since credit cards have high interest rates.

Mason loves to use his credit card, but Sara is more cautious with hers. Listen to them talk about the benefits and risks of plastic in this finance English lesson.

现在,很少看到人们使用现金了。使用卡就能搞定一切,为什么要带着所有的钱呢?

现在不仅大多数企业接受信用卡消费,许多企业还推出自己的信用卡,当你使用它购物时,会得到特殊奖励。

但信用卡的困扰在于,当你刷卡时,感觉没有付任何钱。这就很容易忘记还款,而且因为信用卡的利率高,所以也容易负债。

梅森喜欢使用他的信用卡,但萨拉使用信用卡更为谨慎。在本节金融英语课上,请听他们谈论信用卡的利弊。

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Mason

Mason

Sara

Sara

Mason:  I’m super excited for my trip to Europe this winter because I got the tickets using airline miles from my credit card.

Sara:  Woah, so you bought enough on your credit card that then you had enough miles to buy a ticket to Europe, is what you are saying?

Mason:  Absolutely! It’s totally the way to go. I buy everything with my credit card because I get the points, and then I can use them to get stuff. I just pay the credit card off every month so I don’t get any debt.

Sara:  So, you go to the convenience store and buy a couple of bottles of soda and you just swipe your credit card and that contributes to your European vacation?

Mason:  Basically, yes. I will even sometimes pay the extra fee to use my credit card when I have cash because I get the extra stuff.

Sara:  You know, I have a credit card but I barely ever use it. I think I’m just just afraid of going into debt.

Mason:  Well, it’s the kind of thing that I know a lot of people save for a rainy day but it’s just really about, do you have the discipline to say, “This only represents real money that I have,” not, “Hey, this is magic money that I’ll take care of later.”

Sara:  Right, it’s a different kind of magic money that allows you to go to Europe!

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Mason is taking a trip to Europe soon and he is excited because he got the airplane tickets for free from using his credit card. He pays with plastic whenever he can so that he can get lots of airline miles.

Sara usually pays with cash. She is worried that she won’t pay the credit card off on time and will owe a lot of money in interest. Mason tells her that if you can be responsible with your card, there’s a lot you can do with the points you earn for using it.

Do you have a credit card? Do you use it often? Have you gotten any rewards for using your card?

 

Comments

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Wielomian

Wielomian

Poland

I don’t have any. I think I can have more control when I paying for my stuff by cash. If I spend much money, I can see it, because they disappear from my wallet. When you use plastic then you see only numbers. It is easier to use credit cards because they are some kind of abstract and we can’t directly feel, how much money we have used.

06:35 AM Feb 04 2013 |

jeongyaong

jeongyaong

South Korea

I don’t have any plastic, since in Korea if you want to have one, at least you have to be an employee. I think this is a great policy. Thanks to it, I will never be with a lot of debts which I have to pay off after swiping my card imprudently despite my umployment situation. However, I used to use a credit card while traveling abroad which was a family credit card issued for my mother.


Here, in Korea, for check card users, you can have a lot of rewards, especially in the form of discounts for, such as using transportation fare, amusement parks, cafes and others. I prefer saving for a rainy day, using my check card to using credit card.    

06:26 AM Feb 04 2013 |

Tracy_green

China

I don’t have one.


But many friends around me do.


They really get rewards for using thier credit cards here and there. 

05:13 AM Feb 04 2013 |

1 person likes this

Ngubo Sixtus

South Africa

credit cards are helpfull. it’s help those need buying something on credt card because they don,t have cash by that time but they need that thing.

04:56 AM Feb 04 2013 |

1 person likes this

qingqiao112

China

信用卡

03:39 AM Feb 04 2013 |

1 person likes this

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