单选题
Short of money? Need an instant loan? Since the early 1990s your best bet has been to go to the low-rent end of town and find an appointed loan-shop. There you can borrow money in small amounts, generally not much more than $500, against your post-dated pay-cheque. You will be charged around $15 interest for every $100 you borrow--and that is per month. For many people, there is no alternative. Banks refuse to make small loans because there is no money in it, and completely unregulated lending, via the internet or loan sharks, is too alarming. According to the Community Financial Services Association, an advocacy group for the industry, most borrowers are responsible and pay off their loans in a timely manner. But some don't. The Centre for Responsible Lending, a consumer group, says that many borrowers routinely roll over their loans. This quickly brings them into debt traps. A typical borrower may end up paying $793 for a $325 loan. The centre estimates that payday loans cost Americans $4.2 billion a year in interest and fees. The industry thrives, in large part, because it operates mostly outside state usury laws that prohibit excessive interest rates. Its spokesmen say lenders need such exemptions to make a profit on their basic service, small loans. Lenders say that their returns would amount to pennies on the dollar if interest rates were capped. In fact, they say, such restrictions would put them out of business. And that is exactly what many of their opponents would like to see--particularly when it comes to loans made to the families of soldiers. In one of the last acts of the Republican Congress, payday lenders were restricted to interest rates of 36% on loans to military personnel and their spouses. The Pentagon is worried that uniformed personnel, especially those serving in Iraq, have been losing their security clearances because of excessive debt at home. This, among other things, was leading to the costly reassignment of highly trained troops, such as communications experts, to ordinary low-skill jobs. Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell University, wrote recently in the New York Times that the industry -- not unlike the sub-prime mortgage sector -- is a beneficiary of the sweeping deregulation of the financial-services industry that has made credit more accessible. Its adverse consequences, he says, were" completely predictable". Once poor people get in over their heads, they will borrow themselves into bankruptcy if the law permits; and" if we are unhappy about that, the only solution is to change the rules./
单选题
What is the best way for a man who is in need of small sums of money in the US? [A] Go to the bank and try to make a commercial loan. [B] Ask for help on the internet to get donations. [C] Get some loan at a relatively low rate from the government. [D] Borrow money from designated firms at a fixed rate.
单选题
The small-loan industry is able to avoid law prohibitions because ______. [A] The excessive interest is made by the roll-over of borrowers. [B] Lenders vow that small loans can only survive without interest limitations. [C] It may provide help to military officials and their family. [D] Most borrowers can pay back their money timely
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题为推理判断题。选项A中的内容在文中有所涉及，但是这只是一种现象而非此类贷款能够逃避法律限制的原因。文中虽然提到了军事人员的问题，但是作为反面例证进行陈述的，并没有提到帮助的问题，所以C不对。选项D虽然也是事实，但是同题干无关。根据“Lenders say that their returns would amount to pennies on the dollar if interest rates were capped．”，如果小额贷款的利息受到限制，该项行业将无利可图，因此选B。
单选题
The adverse effect of such loans on uniformed personnel is that ______. [A] the highest interest has been restricted to 36%. [B] professional personnel may be forced to leave their posts due to high debts. [C] the soldiers or their spouses may lend money until they're bankrupt. [D] the Pentagon will reassign their officials in Iraq.
单选题
Which of the following circumstances is most unlikely to be realized? [A] A man who got a small loan has to pay three times back after a period. [B] A skilled serviceman is free of loan interest for his expertise. [C]A new act on the rules of small loans is issued by the Congress. [D] A poor man who has no other choice borrows money until bankruptcy.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题为推理判断题。根据“A typical borrower may end up paying $793 for a $325 loan．”可以得知选项A中的情况有可能发生。根据国会最近关于军人贷款利息上限的规定和文章最后提出的解决手段，C也是有可能发生的情况。根据最后一段的表述，选项D也有可能出现。B中的情况自始至终都没有提及，而且相关政策法规都没有涉及到这个问题，因此B是最不可能出现的情况。
单选题
According to the author, the small loan industry ______. [A] is a nice practice for people who need money urgently. [B] has both advantages and disadvantages which need to be modified. [C] is dangerous, especially for military personnel. [D] may lead to large amounts of bankruptcies and needs to be forbidden.