Banks are not ordinarily prepared to pay out all accounts; they rely on depositors not to demand payment all at the same time. If depositors should come to fear that a bank couldn’t pay off all its depositors, then that fear might cause all the depositors to appear on the same day. If they did, the bank could not pay all accounts. However, if they did not all appear at once, then there would always be funds to pay those who wanted their money when they wanted it. Mrs. Elsie Vaught has told us of a terrifying bank run (挤兑) that she experienced. One day, in December of 1925 several banks failed to open in a city where she lived. The other banks anticipated a run the next day, and so the officers of the bank in which Mrs. Vaught worked as a teller (出纳员) had enough funds on hand to pay off as many depositors as might apply. The officers simply instructed the tellers to pay on demand. Next morning a crowd gathered in the bank and on the sidewalk outside. The length of the line convinced many that the bank could not possibly pay off everyone. People began to push and then to fight for places near the teller’s windows. Clothing was torn and limbs broken, but the jam continued for hours. The power of the panic atmosphere is evident in the fact that two tellers, though they knew that the bank was sound and could pay out all depositors, nevertheless withdrew the funds in their own accounts. Mrs. Vaught says that she had difficulty restraining herself from doing the same.
11. A bank run occurs when ______.
12. What happened to some of the customers of the bank where Mrs. Vaught worked?
13. The essential cause of a run on a bank is ______.
14. The crowds gathered in Mrs. Vaught’s bank and on the sidewalk because of ______.
15. According to the passage, the actions of the customers of Mrs. Vaught’s bank were influenced chiefly by ______.
问题1选项
A.a bank is closed for one or more day
B.employees of a bank take their own funds out of the bank
C.too many depositors attempt to draw out their money at one time
D.there appear long lines in front of the tellers’ windows
问题2选项
A.They lost their money.
B.They got injured.
C.They had to leave part of their money in the bank.
D.They were forced to put their money into other banks.
问题3选项
A.lack of sufficient funds
B.too many depositors
C.inefficient tellers
D.loss of confidence
问题4选项
A.doubt
B.greed
C.anger
D.curiosity
问题5选项
A.the failure of the bank to pay off everyone
B.the failure of several banks to open
C.the actions of the two tellers in the bank
D.the difficulty with which they obtain their money
第1题:C
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:A
第5题:B
11.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】客观细节题。由题干可以定位到文章前三句Banks are not ordinarily prepared to pay out all accounts; they rely on depositors not to demand payment all at the same time. If depositors should come to fear that a bank couldn’t pay off all its depositors, then that fear might cause all the depositors to appear on the same day. If they did, the bank could not pay all accounts.（银行通常不会准备支付所有储户的款项；它们依赖储户不会全部同时要求取款。如果储户担心银行无法支付所有存款人，那么这种担心可能会导致所有储户在同一天出现来取款。如果他们这样做了，银行就不能支付所有的储户。），说明在所有储户同时来取款的时候，会发生银行挤兑。因此C选项“有太多的储户试图同时取款”正确。A选项“银行停业一天或一天以上时”，B选项“银行的员工将自己的存款从银行取出来”，D选项“柜员窗口前出现了长长的队伍”均不符合题意，所以A，B，D错误。
12.【试题答案】B
【试题解析】客观细节题。由题干可以定位到文章倒数第三、四句People began to push and then to fight for places near the teller’s windows. Clothing was torn and limbs broken, but the jam continued for hours.（人们开始推挤，然后争夺靠近出纳员窗口的位置。衣服被撕破，四肢被打断，但拥堵仍持续了几个小时。），沃特夫人工作的银行一些顾客因为推搡而受伤。因此B选项“他们受伤了”正确。A选项“他们的钱丢了”，C选项“他们不得不把一部分钱留在银行里”，D选项“他们被迫把钱存入其他银行”在文中均没有提及，所以A，C，D错误。
13.【试题答案】D
【试题解析】推理判断题。由题干可以定位到文章第二句If depositors should come to fear that a bank couldn’t pay off all its depositors, then that fear might cause all the depositors to appear on the same day.（如果储户担心银行无法支付所有存款人，那么这种担心可能会导致所有储户在同一天出现来取款。），说明银行挤兑本质上是因为储户担心银行的支付能力，也就是对银行失去了信心。因此D选项“失去信心”正确。A选项“缺乏足够的资金”，由原文可知银行有足够的资金，所以A错误。B选项“储户太多”，C选项“柜员效率低下”在文中均没有提及，所以B，C错误。
14.【试题答案】A
【试题解析】推理判断题。由题干可以定位到文章倒数第五、六句Next morning a crowd gathered in the bank and on the sidewalk outside. The length of the line convinced many that the bank could not possibly pay off everyone.（第二天早上，一群人聚集在银行和外面的人行道上。队伍的长度让许多人相信，银行不可能支付所有人的款项。），说明众人聚集在银行是因为他们对银行的支付能力有所怀疑。因此A选项“怀疑”正确。B选项“贪婪”，C选项“愤怒”，D选项“好奇”在文中均没有提及，所以B，C，D错误。
15.【试题答案】B
【试题解析】推理判断题。由原文可知，因为储户担心银行的支付能力，害怕自己不能取出存款，所以才会做出在银行聚集、拥堵推挤等行为。根源在于several banks failed to open“几家银行倒闭”，导致所有人都在这家银行排长队，进而引起大家的恐慌，所以B选项“几家银行的倒闭”是主要原因。原文也说明the banks…had enough funds on hand to pay off as many depositors as might apply，可知这家银行是有支付能力的，也不存在取钱困难，所以A和D选项可排除；C选项“两名出纳的行为”其实源自于储户的行为，所以并不是储户行为的原因，也可以排除。
