英语翻译＋英语口译 -  2008年8月14日经济报道－信用卡业深陷动荡之中。

ECONOMICS REPORT - An Unsettled Time for the Credit Card Industry
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
经济报道－信用卡业深陷动荡之中。
2008年8月14日
这是VOA特别英语的经济报道。
Credit cards let people buy things now and pay for them over months or even years. But some people get deep into debt. And critics say some banks have terms and charges that can make it harder for people to pay off that debt.
信用卡使大家现在购买物品，并在几个月甚至几年之后还款。但却使一些人债台高筑。另外，批评人士说，有些银行设有条款及费用，使大家不易还清债务。
In the United States, there are calls for stronger government supervision of the credit card industry.
在美国，要求对信用卡业加强政府的监管。
Credit cards have been heavily marketed through the mail and at stores. They offer economic power at a price.
信用卡通过邮件和商店进行极力推广。信用卡以一定的代价提供经济能力。
In two thousand four, Americans had about eight hundred billion dollars in credit card debt. Now they owe about nine hundred sixty-eight billion. The average interest rate on those cards is currently thirteen and a half percent.
2004年，美国人大约有8000亿美元的信用卡债务。目前，美国人大约有9680亿美元的信用卡债务。目前，这些信用卡的平均利率是13.5%。
Critics say banks made it too easy to get credit cards. But that may be changing. The crisis in the housing and credits markets is beginning to affect the credit card industry. More payments are late. Charges for late payments are a growing source of profit for banks. But late payments can also signal bad debts.
批评人士说，银行使大家获得信用卡太容易。但是，情况正在变化。房产及信用市场的危机开始影响信用卡业。延迟还款增多；延迟还款的费用是银行收益中不断增长的来源。但是，延迟还款也可表明坏帐。
The central bank, the Federal Reserve, says two-thirds of American banks have recently reported tighter lending requirements. Many people report having their credit limits reduced without warning.
美国央行(美联储)说，三分之二的美国银行最近加强贷款要求。许多人说，他们的信用限额未经警告而被降低。
Some lawmakers are concerned that cardholders do not have enough protections from what critics say are abusive policies. These include actions like raising interest rates because of an unrelated event -- like a missed payment on another debt. Also, banks may raise the chances of a late payment by changing monthly payment dates for credit cards.
一些立法者担心持卡人对(批评人士称为的)滥用政策无力保护，其行为包括：因无关事件而提高利率，如误付另一笔欠款等。另外，银行因改变信用卡每月还款日期而提高延迟还款的可能。
Congress has been considering bills to increase cardholder protections. The industry sees no need for more rules.
国会正在考虑立法，以提高对持卡人的保护。但信用卡业界却认为无需更多的条条框框。
Eighty-two percent of Americans think credit cards provide a valuable service. But a majority, fifty-eight percent, say they do not trust credit card companies. And three out of four think the government should regulate the industry more closely.
82%的美国人认为信用卡提供一项宝贵的服务。但是，大多数人(58%)说，他们不信任信用卡公司。另外，四分之三的人认为，政府应更严密地监管信用卡业。
These are among the findings released this week from a national survey. CreditCards.com, an online marketplace, reported the findings based on a thousand adults.
这些是本周发布的一些全美调查结论。在线市场CreditCards.com(信用卡)根据1000名成人所得出的结论。
Three out of four people feel there is always some condition that makes a card less appealing than the company made it sound. And a little more than half say they have had a card that was not as good as they expected. But close to eighty percent say no one really reads the terms and conditions when they sign up for a credit card.
四分之三的人认为，总有某些条件使信用卡没有信用卡公司吹嘘的那样美妙。并且，略多于一半的人说，他们有的信用卡没有预期的那样好。但是，大约80%的人说，在签约信用卡时，没有一个人真正阅读条款。
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.
这是由Mario Ritter编写的VOA特别英语的经济报道。我是Steve Ember。