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The Boy and the Bank Officer Philip Ross. UNIT 4. Background: bank / churches and churchgoers. Text: sentence understanding /word study. Discussion: questions on text. Activities: dramatization. Background : Banks HISTORY OF BANKS.
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UNIT 4 Background: bank / churches and churchgoers Text: sentence understanding/word study Discussion: questions on text Activities: dramatization
Background: BanksHISTORY OF BANKS • Functions performed by banks today have been carried out by individuals, families, or state officials for at least 4,000 years. • Banks first emerged in the Middle Ages when people grew tired of carrying around all their gold and began leaving their money with the goldsmith. Italian Banking in the 14th Century
Background: Banks • During the early Renaissance(欧洲14至16世纪文艺复兴), as international trade revived, Italian money changers once again appeared. They did business in the streets from a bench (banca in Italian; hence the word bank). Florence, Italy, became a great banking center, dominated by the Medici (梅第奇)family. The Medici family, one of the most prominent banking families in Europe during this time, became quite wealthy from its banking and money lending practices.
Background: Banks • With the growth of commerce and trade in Northern Europe, the Netherlands(荷兰)became an international financial center. The Bank of Amsterdam(阿姆斯特丹/荷兰首都) was organized in 1609. A chartered public bank(特许银行)was opened in Sweden(瑞典)in 1656. Bank notes were probably first issued in the 1660s by the Bank of Stockholm(斯德哥尔摩/瑞典首都) in Sweden. It was probably the first financial institution in the world to issue standard-size payable-on-demand(随到随付)bank bills, which eliminated the handling of copper coins.
Background: Banks • The Bank of France was founded in 1800. For most of the 19th century the money markets of Europe were dominated by the House of Rothschild. The house was operated by Rothschild and his oldest son, Amschel Mayer, until its dissolution in 1901. The four other Rothschild sons opened bank branches in Vienna, Austria; Naples(那不勒斯), Italy; London, England; and Paris, France. The London and Paris branches are still in operation. Frankfurt House of Rothschild
Background: Churches and churchgoers Nobody but poor folks get happy in church. ---Richard Wright, U.S. novelist. The British churchgoer prefers a severe preacher because he thinks a few home truths will do his neighbors no harm. ---Attributed to George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright.
SentenceUnderstanding 1)Everything about him suggested a carefully dressed authority. ---His clothes, his manner, etc. indicated that he was a carefully dressed man who had an important position and power. 2)Now if you will excuse me. This expression is used when one wants to go back to one’s work, or to attend to other customers, or just to end the conversation.
SentenceUnderstanding 3) I didn’t think twice. I didn’t think very carefully. 4) Excuse me? But why/ I don’t understand. 5) I had my opening. I found a good chance to or to say something. 6) I moved in for the kill. I began to prepare to kill, destroy or defeat my enemy. He had a strong argument to silence the bank officer.
SentenceUnderstanding 7) How do you explain that? What can you say to get out of this ridiculous logic? 8) Look, we’re just wasting each other’s time. You are just talking nonsense. I don’t want to listen to you any more. 9) …has been shaking the boy down… ….has been getting money from the boy by using threats… 10) Anyway, the police are on the case. Anyway, the police are working on the case.
Word Study: happen to do: occur by chance 我们恰好是邻居。 We happened to be in the neighborhood.
Word Study: fortyish: at about the age of forty -ish: 1). somewhat,near to reddish greenish yellowish darkish 2). in the manner of foolish childish boyish womanish snobbish 3). of a country Irish Polish Finnish Spanish
Word Study: more than: (colloq.) ---very; extremely; beyond They were more than willing to help. more… than…: The child was more frightened than hurt. He always seemed old to me, more like a grandfather than a father. no more than: ---only; just / ---the same as It cost me no more than $5 to buy the book. He’s no more able to read Spanish than I am.
Word Study: think twice about / doing sth: ---think carefully before deciding to do sth You should think twice about employing someone you’ve never met. Once bitten, twice shy. 一次上当，下次小心。---(saying) after an unpleasant experience one is careful to avoid sth similar Lightning never strike in the same place twice. 同一灾祸不会在同一场所重复发生。 ---(saying) an unusual event, or one that happens by chance, is not likely to occur again in the exactly the same circumstances or to the same people.
Word Study: 至于其他，我一无所知。 I don't know anything as to the others.
Word Study: move in sth: --- live, be active, pass one’s time, etc. in a particular social group 她生活在高级社交圈里。 She moves in the highest circles of society.
Word Study: 敌人炮兵集中炮火于那个十字路口。 An enemy battery zeroed in on the crossroad.
Discussion: 1)How do you understand the author’s friend’s attitude toward banks? The author’s friend hates banks, saying that they act like churches. 2) What can banks do for us? And what about churches? Banks keep, land and issue money as well as offer many other financial services such as deposits, loans, exchange, savings, etc.. They also help to regulate the economy with changes in interest rate in money supply. Churches represent Almighty God; lt has right to tell people what to do and what not to do.
Discussion: 3) Are there any differences and similarities between banks and churches? They are ordinary stores. But a bank’s goods happen to be money. 4) What do you think of the ending of the story? What effect may it bring to the story? The ending of the story is unexpected. It may bring the story interesting. This article seems to prove that the prejudices of people like the author are ungrounded.
Activities: Dramatize the story and act it out.
Dramatize the story and act it out. B: But I don’t understand. I opened the account myself, so why can’t I withdraw any money? O: I’ve already explained to you that a fourteen-year-old is not allowed to withdraw money without a letter from his parents. B: Nut that doesn’t seem fair. It’s my money. I put it in. it’s my account. O: I know it is, but those are the rules. Now if you’ll excuse me. May I help you, sir? N: I was going to open a new account, but after seeing what going on here, I think I’ve changed my mind.
O: Excuse me, sir? N: Look. If I understand what’s going on here correctly, what you are saying is that this boy is old enough to deposit his money in your bank but he is not old enough to withdraw it. Since there doesn’t seem to be any question as to whether it’s his money or his account, the bank’s so-called policy is clearly ridiculous. O; It may seem ridiculous to you, but that is the bank’s policy and I have no other choice but to follow the rules. N: Have you withdraw money before by yourself? B: Yes.
N: How do you explain that? Why did you let him withdraw money before, but not now? O: Because the tellers were not aware of his age before and now they are. It’s really very simple. N: You’re really getting cheated. You ought to get your parents to come in here and protest. O: You know, you really shouldn’t have interfered. N: Shouldn’t interfered? Well, it damn well seemed to me that he needed someone to represent his interests. O: Someone was representing his interests. N: And who might that be? O: The bank.
N: Look, we’re just wasting each other’s time. But maybe you’d like to explain exactly how the bank was representing that boy’s interests? O: Certainly. We were informed this morning that some neighborhood bully has been shaking this boy down for more than a month. The other guy was forcing him to take money out every week and hand it over. The poor kid was apparently too scared to tell anyone. That’s the real reason he was so upset. He was afraid of what the other guy would do to him. Anyway, the police are on the case and they’ll probably make arrest today.
N: You mean there is no rule about being too young to withdraw money from a savings account? O: Not that I ever heard of. Now, sir, what can we do for you?
