Lesson 12 Banks and their customers

第十二课银行和顾客

by GORDON BARRIE and AUBREY L. DLAMOND

from The Consumer Society and the Law

12-1. When anyone opens a current account at a bank, he is lending the bank money, repayment of which he may demand at any time, either in cash or by drawing a cheque in favour of another person.

【译文】任何人在银行开活期账户就等于把钱借给了银行。这笔钱他可以随时提取，方式可以是取现金，也可以是开张以他人为收款人的支票。

【讲解】repayment of which…another person为非限制性定语从句，which代表money。repayment of which在定语从句中作demand的宾语。

【单词和短语】

repayment：偿还，付还（when you pay back money that you have borrowed），

例如：

bonds due for repayment到期应偿还的债券

demand repayment of the stolen money 要求归还被窃钱款

repayment的动词形式为repay。

12-2. Primarily, the banker-customer relationship is that of debtor and creditor—who is which depending on whether the customer's account is in credit or is overdrawn.

【译文】银行与储户主要是债务人和债权人关系。究竟谁是债务人谁是债权人要看储户是有结余还是透支。

【讲解】that替代relationship，以避免重复。who is which depending on…overdrawn乃独立主格结构，进一步说明破折号之前的句子。who is which是现在分词短语depending on…overdrawn的逻辑主语。which代表debtor或creditor，意为“谁是债务人，谁是债权人”。whether…is overdrawn作on的宾语。

【单词和短语】

overdrawn：透支的（if you or your account is overdrawn, you have spent more than you had in your account and so you own the bank money），

例如：

interest charged on overdrawn accounts对透支账户所收的利息。

overdrawn的动词形式为overdrawn。

12-3. But, in addition to that basically simple concept, the bank and its customer owe a large number of obligations to one another.

【译文】除了这一基本的简单概念外，银行和储户彼此还需承担大量义务。

【单词和短语】

owe：应给予；应该（或有必要）做（to feel that you should do sth. for sb. or give sb. sth. , because they have done sth. for you or given sth. to you），

例如：

owe sb. thanks 应向某人致谢

I owe him a letter. 我应该给他写一封信。

You owe yourself a subscription. 你该给自己订阅一份。

注意比较第二课第4句中own的含义。

obligation：（法律上或道义上的）责任，义务（a moral or legal duty to do something），

例如：

a legal obligation to serve in the armed forces 服兵役的法律责任

the obligations of a citizen 公民的义务

fulfill every obligation 尽到每一责任

undertake new obligations 承担新的责任

feel an obligation to do sb. 感到对某人有责任

obligation的动词形式为obligate，形容词形式为obligatory。

12-4. Many of these obligations can give rise to problems and complications but a bank customer, unlike, say, a buyer of goods, cannot complain that the law is loaded against him.

【译文】其中许多义务往往引起问题和纠纷。但储户不能像货物的买主那样抱怨法律于己不利。

【讲解】unlike是介词，所构成的介词短语作customer的非限制性定语。say是插入语，意为“例如，比方说”。

【单词和短语】

give rise to sth：引起；导致；为……的原因（to be the reason why something happens, especially something bad or unpleasant），

例如：

It would give rise to a great deal of conflict.

这将引起频繁冲突。

These bad conditions have given rise to a lot of crime.

这种恶劣的环境是犯罪增多的原因。

complication：纠纷；混乱；复杂情况（a problem or situation that makes something more difficult to understand or deal with），

例如：

a legal complication 法律纠纷

complication另一常见意为“【医】并发症”。

sth. is loaded against sb./sth.：对……不利（used to say that a system, situation, or organization is unfair and some people have a disadvantage）。

12-5. The bank must obey its customer's instructions, and not those of anyone else.

【译文】银行必须遵照储户的嘱托办事，而不能听从他人的指令。

【讲解】those指instructions。

12-6. When, for example, a customer first opens an account, he instructs the bank to debit his account only in respect of cheques drawn by himself.

【译文】例如，储户首次在银行开户时叮嘱银行他的存款只能凭本人签字的支票来提取。

【讲解】for example作插入语。

【单词和短语】

debit：把……记入账户的借方（to record in financial accounts the money that has been spent or that is owed），

例如：

The store debited the purchase to/against her account。

商店把购货金额记入她账户的借方。

Debit Mr. Smith（Mr. Smith’s account）with $1000.

在史密斯先生账户的借方记上1000美元。

in respect of/to：（concerning or in relation to something），

例如：

A fine of $1 will be imposed in respect of each day that a book is overdue.

图书每过期一天，罚款1美元。

In respect to your request, 2000 dollars is being credited to your account.

关于你所要求之事，当将2000美元记入你贷方的账户。

It’s going to raise a lot of problems in respect of atmosphere pollution.

这将在大气污染方面引起诸多问题。

in respect of/to亦可换用with respect to。

12-7. He gives the bank specimens of his signature, and there is a very firm rule that the bank has no right or authority to pay out a customer's money on a cheque on which its customer's signature has been forged.

【译文】他把自己的签名样本交给银行，对此有条非常严格的规定：银行无任何权利或理由把储户的钱被人凭伪造储户签名的支票取走。

【讲解】that the bank…been forged为同位语从句，进一步说明rule。to pay out…has been forged为动词不定式短语，作定语，修饰right or authority。on which its customer's signature has been forged 为定语从句，修饰cheque。pay out a customer's money on a cheque中的on意为“依据”。

【单词和短语】

forge：伪造（货币、文件等）；假冒（签名）；仿造（真品）（someone who illegally copies documents, money, paintings etc and tries to make people think they are real），名词形式为forgery。

12-8. It makes no difference that the forgery may have been a very skilful one: the bank must recognize its customer's signature.

【译文】即使伪造得再巧妙也不起作用，因为银行有责任辨认储户签名。

【讲解】it是形式主语，that the forgery…skilful one才是真正的主语。may have been结构表示推测，可参见第一课第10句的讲解。one后面的冒号引出说明性内容。重点掌握It makes no difference that…句型。

12-9. For this reason there is no risk to the customer in the practice, adopted by banks, of printing the customer's name on his cheques.

【译文】某些银行已采用把储户姓名印在支票上的作法。由于上述原因，这种做法于储户毫无风险。

【讲解】adopted by banks和 of printing…cheques都作practice的定语，adopted by banks提到of printing…cheques前是为了使句子更加紧凑。

12-10. If this facilitates forgery, it is the bank which will lose, not the customer.

【译文】如果因这种作法而出现了伪造，受损失的是银行而非储户。

【讲解】it is the bank which will lose, not the customer系强调句，被强调的内容是the bank。该句也可写成it is the bank, not the customer which will lose或者the bank, not the customer，will lose。

【单词和短语】

facilitate：使变得（更）容易（to make it easier for a process or activity to happen），

例如：

Such a port would facilitate the passage of oil from the Middle East to China.

这样一个港口将会使中东至中国的石油运输变得便捷

facilitate the sharing of resources 有利于资源共享

facilitate的名词形式为facilitation。

参考译文

    任何人在银行开一个活期账户，就等于把钱借给了银行。这笔钱他可以随时提取，提取的方式可以是取现金，也可以是开一张以他人为收款人的支票。银行与储户的关系主要是债务人和债权人的关系。究竟谁是债务人谁是债权人，要看储户是有结余还是透支。除了这一基本的简单的概念外，银行和储户彼此还需承担大量义务。其中许多义务往往引起问题和纠纷。但是储户不能像货物的买主那样来抱怨法律对自己不利。

    银行必须遵照储户的嘱托办事，不能听从其他人的指令。比如，储户首次在银行开户时，嘱咐银行他的存款只能凭本世人签字的支票来提取。他把自己签名的样本交给银行，对此有一条非常严格的规定：银行没有任何权利或理由把储户的钱让伪造储户的支票取走。即使伪造得很巧妙，也不能付款，因为银行有责任辨认出其储户的签名。因此，某些银行已采用把储户印在支票上的作法。这种做法对储户毫无风险。如果因这种作法出现了伪造的话，受损失的将不是储户，而是银行。