2017公共英語二級美文閲讀欣賞

PETS2是中下級，相當於普通高中優秀畢業生的英語水平(此級別筆試合格成績可替代自學考試專科階段英語(一)、文憑考試基礎英語考試成績)。以下是yjbys網小編整理的關於公共英語二級美文閲讀欣賞，供大家閲讀備考。

A modern bank provides many services other thanchecking accounts. One of the most important ofthese is regular passbook savings.

If you went to a bank to open a savings account, you would go through almost the same procedures asfollowed in applying for a checking account. First youwould be asked to fill out a signature card. Then youwould be given a passbook in which your initialdeposit would be recorded. All deposits andwithdrawals from your account are entered into yourpassbook. This means that the passbook contains anactual record of all savings you have at any one time. With a regular passbook savings account, you would be able to withdraw money whenever you need it you would have to do is fill outa withdrawal order and present it, along with your passbook, to the teller.

All banks pay interest on savings accounts. The interest rate varies from bank to bank, butthe general range is from 4 to 6 percent. Banks also pay interest at different times. But themajority of them pay semiannually. Suppose, for example, that on January 1, you deposit$1000 in bank that paid 5 percent interest semiannually. By July 1, you would have earned $50 interest. The interest would automatically be credited to your account; and if you left it in thebank, along with your original deposit, you would receive interest on $1050 for the nest six-month period. That is, your interest would be compounded.

If you knew that you could keep your money in the bank for a certain period of time, youcould get a higher interest rate by buying a savings certificate. These certificates are for threemonths. You can also buy certificates for periods of one or two years. When you buy a savingscertificate, you sign a contract with the bank stating that you will not be able to get yourmoney back until the date when the certificate is due.

Another important service that banks provide is traveler’s checks. If you go on a vacation ortraveled on business to another cit or state or country, you probably want to bring sometraveler’s checks along with you. They have two important advantages over cash. One is thatyour money is always safe. If the checks are lost or stolen, you can receive a refund for the totalamount. Another is that they are more convenient. Many businesses are reluctant to cashpersonal checks on out-of-town banks. But with proper identification, you can readily cashtraveler’s checks almost anywhere in the United States or abroad. Every traveler’s check has itsown individual number. When you buy these checks (you must purchase at least $50 worth), the teller gives you a slip on which the number of every check is recorded. A copy of this slipis kept b the bank. If the checks are lost or stolen, you can bring this slip to the bank and yourmoney will be returned. Before you are given the checks, you are asked to sign each one ofthem at the top. When you cash the check, you must sign it again in the presence of theperson who gives you the money at the bottom. For this service, the bank charges 1 percent ofthe amount of the check. If you bought a $50 check, for example, you would have to pay$0.50 for it.

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除了活期賬户，銀行還提供主許多其他的服務。其中最重要的是存摺儲蓄。

去銀行開一個儲蓄賬户的過程和申請活期賬户大致一樣。首先是填一張簽名卡。然後銀行工作人員會給你一個存摺，上面有你第一筆的存款記錄。以後每次存款或取款都會在存摺上有記錄，這就是説存摺上會顯示你在任何需要的時候取錢。取錢的時候只需要填一張取款單，把它同存摺一併交給出納員。

所有的銀行都付利息給儲蓄賬户。各個銀行的利率不一樣，但總體在4%到6%之間波動。

各銀行，付利息的時間也不一樣，但是大部分銀行都是半年付一次。比如説你在1月1號存入了1000美元，利息為5%，那麼到7月1號，你就能得到50美元的利息，利息會自動存入你的賬户。如果你將利息和原來的存款一起留在賬户裏的話，下六個月你得到的利息是$1050的基礎上開出來的，就是説你所得到的利息是以複利來計算的。

如果你確定自己的錢將會在銀行存比較長的時間，你可以買一張儲蓄單據，這樣得到的利息就比較高。你可以買$500的儲蓄單據或者更多。儲蓄單據開出的時間越長，你得到的利息就越多。短期的儲蓄單據是三個月。你還可以買時間是一年或兩年的儲蓄單據。在買儲蓄單據的時候，你要跟銀行籤一項合同，説明在單據最後期限之前你不能從銀行取錢。

銀行的另一項重要服務是旅行支票。如果你去別的城市，別的州或國家度假或者是出差，你大概會想帶一些旅行支票。比起現金，旅行支票有兩個重要優點：一是安全，如果你的支票丟了或是被偷了，上面的.錢還可以如數找回。另外是方便。有些私人支票在城鎮的銀行兑不到錢，但是隻要有身份證明，旅行支票在哪都能兑到錢，不管是在美國還是在國外。每一張旅行支票都有特定的號碼。在買支票的時候(至少買50美元的)，出納員會給你一張記錄所有支票號碼的單子。銀行也會將這張單子備份保存，如果支票丟了或是被偷了你可以拿着這張單子到銀行拿回支票上面的錢。在給你支票之前出納員還會在每張支票上方簽上自己的名字，兑錢的時候還要在給你錢的出納員那兒再籤一次，這次是簽在支票下方。銀行會收取支票面額的1% 作為手續費，比方説，你買一張50元的支票要付0.5美元的手續費。