Passage 1 includes chatty personal narratives, talking mainly colloquially(口语中/化) about the writer’s and her friend’s bad experiences of using credit cards.
Part I  Additional new words
1. collect –v. come to take back 领取；接走
eg He ~ed the children from school.  She ~ed her skirt form the cleaner’s.
2. status-free – a. not showing one’s status 不显示身份地位的
3. mortgage – n/v. 抵押（贷款）  eg take out/repay a ~
4. but then =but then again =but
5. pay off – pay the whole of (a debt) 还清；付清工资解雇；成功
6. technically – ad. strictly; according to the facts or exact meaning of sth 严格/准确地
7. target (on, at) – v. cause to have an effect on a particular group 以…为目标/对象
eg Welfare spending is being cut, so it should be ~ed on the people who need it most. 8.  repayment – n. paying back; sth paid back偿还；回报
eg It’s a small ~ for all you have done.  the ~ of the loan
8. allowance – n. 生活费；零用钱；津贴
9. go out – leave the house for amusement; spend time regularly with someone of the opposite sex 出门（消遣）；与异性交往
10. sort out sthguarantee – n. 担保；保证；保证书
11. haul – v. pull with effort or difficulty （用力）拖；拉  eg ~ up the fishing nets
12. access – v. obtain, examine, or retrieve 访问；存取
13. current/checking account – 活期存款账户
14. sort sth out – deal with; make clear 处理；澄清
eg It was just a silly quarrel that’s now been ~ed out.
15. balance –n. an amount that remains or is left over 余数/额；结余
16. cover – v. be enough money for 够支付
eg Will $100 ~ the cost of the damage?
17. tempt – v. persuade or attract someone to or sth hat seems pleasant or advantageous but may be unwise or immoral 引诱；怂恿
eg. A rival company is trying to ~ her away from her present job with an offer of more money.    ~ people into stealing    The fine weather ~s us to go outside.
~ing a.    ~ation n.
Part II Questions for discussion
1. What are the advantages of having a credit card?
2.  What sort of customers do the credit card companies hate?
3.  What are good customers for credit card companies?
4.  How do credit card companies make profits?
5.  What are the dangers of having a credit card?
6.  How have credit cards changed people’s attitude to money?
  (Do you have a credit card? If not, do you plan to apply for one? Why do/don’t you changed your attitude to money or ways of spending money? Are you encouraged to spend more than you have? Do credit cards encourage overspending? Do you know anyone who falls into a credit card trap?)
7. What’s the main idea of the article? 
8. What’s the solution to the problem?
Debating
Form groups to debate the topic: Is it necessary to get a student credit card?
Part IV Language points
1. I have a confession. (Para 1)
    Has the writer done something seriously wrong? No. It makes an interesting and ironic beginning. The confession is actually about something small and quite trivial. But the writer uses the story of this experience to raise serious issues about credit cards and banks.
2. My credit card was fairly pathetic, status-free dark blue, whereas hers was a very  exclusive gold one. (Para 1)
Paraphrasing: My credit card was quite useless in an annoying way. It was dark blue and ordinary, and it did not have any particular status. Hers was gold and was limited to a particular group. So the writer felt inferior and wanted a gold credit card too. 我的信用卡太寒酸了，是不显示身份地位的深蓝卡，而她的信用卡则是高级的金卡。
3. Now, I had a job which was as steady as any job was in those days – that’s to say, not  very, but you know, no complaints. (Para 3)
Paraphrasing: In those days a steady job often became not so steady because in the bad economic situation many people would lose their jobs – no job was steady, including the writer’s – but at least she had a job. So she did not really have any complaints. 我有一份跟那时候任何工作相比还算的工作 – 虽然不是非常，不过我也没什么可抱怨的 。
4. …….and a small allowance from her poor mother(ha!)
Ha! is an aside which indicates a laugh, a mocking or ironic laugh.
What is the laugh for?  -- I’m poor but still have money to give my daughter an allowance.
aside – n. a remark in a low voice not intended to be heard by everyone present (非说给别人听的)低声说的话
5. They target people who are prone to impulse-buying, and potentially bad credit risks, tempted to spend more than they have, and liable to fall behind with repayments.
(Para 7)  Paraphrasing: The credit card companies or banks direct their advertising and sales promotions at people who are very likely to buy things on impulse (without planning), who may not be able to pay their debts, who spend more money than they have, and who will not make repayments on time. 他们的目标客户是那些随时有购物刷卡的冲动、有潜在信用风险、经不住诱惑超支消费、并且经常延期还款的人。

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