年月中级口译考试听力原文文字版.pdfVIP

上海新东方口译教研组 上海新东方口译教研组提供 2006 年 3 月中级口译考试听力原文 Spot Dictation In the early 1970s, Citibank of New York city became one of the first financial institutions to install ATMs on a large scale. Since then, the popularity of Automated Teller Machines has increased dramatically. At the time, the bank hoped simply to reduce their operating costs by replacing human tellers with machines. Little did they suspect that the cash machines would become so successful. However, as more banks added round-the –clock automated service through ATMs, the machines mushroomed all over the world. To use an ATM, all you need is a plastic card issued by your bank. Your bank may also offer ATM service through a credit card, such as Master Card or Visa. To begin a transaction, you need to insert the card into an ATM, and punch in a personal identification number on the machine’s keypad. The personal ID number may consist of four or six digits, and can prevent anyone from using the card. The ATM next flashes instructions on its display screen for carrying out transaction. To get cash, for example, you are instructed to press buttons that indicate ‘Whether the Money Should Be Withdrawn from a Checking or a Savings Account?’, and ‘The Amount to be withdrawn’. This request is then displayed on the screen. After you press a button to verify that the information is correct, the ATM goes to work on the request. How safe, you may ask, is banking by ATM? The personal ID number is meant to prevent anyone, no matter who you are, from using a cash card without authorization. If you enter the wrong ID number for a card, a message on the screen will ask you to try again. If you fail to produce the correct number for three times, most machines will keep the card. As another prec