1 . Imagine stepping into your local supermarket, choosing your necessary things into a basket, heading to the bagging area and walking out with your weekly shopping. There is no need to make a payment, no counting coins, and no placement of a credit card in a terminal. In fact, there is no cashier at all. This is not a theft but a realistic picture of the future way to pay — when technology recognizes your presence, scans your shopping, and invisibly takes payment from your account.
Amer Sajed, the chief executive of Barclaycard, says it will result in the steady dying of the physical plastic credit card, which his company introduced to the UK over 55 years ago. Credit cards have evolved ever since 1966, but the basic procedure of payment has remained the same. A card is either handed over, or the number on it is read out or entered into a machine.
All that requires the existence of a plastic card, but Mr Sajed says this will be replaced by wearable items. At a display for Barclaycard staff, he shows off a plastic ring, a bracelet and a keychain which all contain a chip allowing the shopper to make payments on credit. This, he says, is just a bridge to technology that will recognize customers by their eye or fingerprint, so people will be able to shop without lining up at a checkout.
Although cash, cheques and indeed cards will remain a choice for shoppers, he says, these new ways of paying will take a growing share of the payments market in 10 years’ time. Such a future sounds frightening for anyone who already has concerns about the safety of payment. Mr Sajed argues that nothing will be done without permission.
As this digital market becomes more popular, and the technology advances, there will be a battle among banks, payment providers and others for their product to be used.
1. What can we infer according to the first paragraph?
| A．Thefts will often happen. | B．There’s on need to make cash. |
| C．You can do some shopping for free. | D．Shopping will be more convenient. |
2. Which is right about the physical plastic credit card?
| A．It has already disappeared. | B．It will still exist as a payment way. |
| C．It was invented by Barclaycard 55 years ago. | D．It has been replaced by the new payment way. |
3. What’s the main idea of paragraph 3?
| A．The necessity of a plastic card. | B．The procedure of doing shopping. |
| C．The function of the wearable items. | D．The new kind of clothing with a clip. |
4. What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．The future of the credit card. | B．The convenience of the future life. |
| C．The more popular shopping market. | D．The development of the payment way. |
