考研英语外刊阅读能力的提升，需要日积月累才能看得到效果。接下来，北京文都考研网为帮助2020考研学子，在英语水平上更上一层台阶，特意整理出考研英语外刊阅读精选:电子支付崛起(上)，供考生参考。
2020考研英语外刊阅读精选:电子支付崛起(上)
Rich countries are racing to dematerialise payments.They need to do more to prepare for the side-effects
发达国家竞相使用电子支付。应做好准备应对随之而来的副作用。
For the past 3,000 years, when people thought of money they thought of cash. From buying food to settling bar tabs, day-today dealings involved creased paper or clinking bits of metal.
过去的三千年间，提起钱人们就会想起现金。从购买食物到结算酒吧消费，日常交易都涉及到皱巴巴的纸币或叮当作响的金属币。
Over the past decade, however, digital payments have taken off— tapping your plastic on a terminal or swiping a smartphone has become normal.
然而，过去十年间，电子支付突然取得成功，在终端机划卡或刷手机已经成为常态。
Now this revolution is about to turn cash into an endangered species in some rich economies. That will make the economy more efficient—but it also poses new problems that could hold the transition hostage.
现在，这场革命即将让现金在发达国家成为濒危物种。这将使经济更加有效，但同时也带来了一些新的问题，这些问题可能会阻碍经济转型。
Countries are eliminating cash at varying speeds. But the direction of travel is clear, and in somecases the journey is nearly complete. In Sweden the number of retail cash transactions perperson has fallen by 80% in the past ten years. Cash accounts for just 6% of purchases byvalue in Norway.
各国正在以不同的速度消除现金。但旅行的方向是明确的，在某些情况下，旅程几乎已经完成。在过去的十年里，瑞典人均零售现金交易数量下降了80%。按价值计算，现金仅占挪威购买量的6%。
Britain is probably four or six years behind the Nordic countries. America is perhaps a decade behind. Outside the rich world, cash is still king. But even there its dominance is being eroded. In China digital payments rose from 4% of all payments in 2012to 34% in 2017.
英国可能比北欧国家落后四或六年。美国或许落后了十年。而在发达国家之外，现金仍然是王道。但即便非发达国家，其主导地位也正在受到侵蚀。在中国，电子支付占所有支付的比例从2012年的4%升至2017年的34%。
Cash is dying out because of two forces. One is demand— younger consumers want payment systems that plug seamlessly into their digital lives.
由于两股力量，现金正在枯竭。一个是需求——年轻的消费者希望支付系统能无缝地接入他们的数字生活。
But equally important is that suppliers such as banks and tech firms (in developed markets) and telecoms companies (in emerging ones)are developing fast, easy-to-use payment technologies from which they can pull data and pocket fees.
但同样重要的是，银行和科技公司(在发达市场)以及电信公司(在新兴市场)等供应商正在开发快捷简便的支付技术，这种数据可以支持从中获取数据和收取小额费用。
There is a high cost to running the infrastructure behind the cash economy—atms,vans carrying notes, tellers who accept coins. Most financial firms are keen to abandon it, or deter old-fashioned customers with hefty fees.
运营现金经济背后的基础设施成本很高——自动取款机、钞票运输车、接受硬币的出纳员。大多数金融公司都热衷于放弃现金，或者用高昂的费用阻止传统的客户。
In the main the prospect of a cashless economy is excellent news. Cash is inefficient. In rich countries, minting, sorting, storing and distributing it is estimated to cost about 0.5% of GDP.
总的来说，无现金经济前景一片大好。现金低效。在发达国家，铸造、分拣、储存和分配这些成本估计约占GDP的0.5%。
But that does not begin to capture the gains. When payments dematerialise, people and shops are less vulnerable to theft.
但成本高并没有带来好处。当支付电子化时，人们和商店就不那么容易被盗。
Governments can keep closer tabs on fraud or tax evasion.Digitalisation vastly expands the playground of small businesses and sole traders by enabling them to sell beyond their borders. It also creates a credit history, helping consumers borrow.
政府可以对欺诈和逃税进行更密切的监控。数字化使小型企业和个体贸易商能够在海外销售产品，从而极大地拓展了经营范围。数字化还创造了信用记录，帮助消费者借贷。
Yet set against these benefits are a bundle of worries. Electronic payment systems may be vulnerable to technical failures, power blackouts and cyber-attacks—this week Capital One, an American bank, became the latest firm to be hacked. In a cashless economy the poor, theelderly and country folk may be left behind.
然而，既有益处，也有令人担忧的地方。电子支付系统可能容易受到技术故障、停电和网络攻击的影响。本周，美国第一资本银行成为最新一家遭到黑客攻击的公司。在无现金经济中，穷人、老年人和乡下人可能会被落下。
And eradicating cash, an anonymous paymentmethod, for a digital system could let governments snoop on people’s shopping habits and private titans exploit their personal data.
此外，数字系统消除了现金的匿名支付方式，可能会让政府窥探人们的购物习惯，让私人巨头利用消费者的个人数据。
以上是北京文都考研网给出的“2020考研英语外刊阅读精选:电子支付崛起(上)”，希望对2020考研者有所帮助!祝2020考研成功!
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