Unlike millions of Britons, who will not know how much the Christmas turkey, child’s bicycle and the January sales have __(1)__ them until the credit card bill arrives, the Japanese __(2)__ to settle up before they’ve even __(3)__ their shopping list. The Japanese like to improve on every idea, even if the idea is cash. So they have been __(4)__ about the pre-paid card. It __(5)__ the bother of banknotes and it saves the Japanese __(6)__ the fear of being in __(7)__ to someone else. It __(8)__ with the convenient pre-paid telephone card and has __(9)__ through train ticket cards, taxi cards, and supermarket cards all the way to McDonald’s hamburgers cards. Few Westerners can understand why anyone __(10)__ want to give money to a supermarket or a department store __(11)__ by buying a pre-paid card. But credit companies are held in some suspicion in Japan. People have traditionally preferred cash and will happily stroll the streets with quite large __(12)__ of money in their pockets. The fact that street crime is fairly __(13)__ helps. Pre-paid cards are now as __(14)__ as chopsticks and twice as convenient. About 500 million cards were sold in the first five years after they became __(15)__.
1. A) lost B) cost C) charged D) priced
2. A) prefer B) desire C) enjoy D) select
3. A) written about B) written off C) written out D) written up
4. A) keen B) enthusiastic C) exciting D) eager
5. A) does away with B) does out of C) does without D) does out
6. A) of B) from C) for D) by
7. A) payment B) bill C) debt D) interest
8. A) opened B) invented C) introduced D) started
9. A) followed B) developed C) changed D) turned
10. A) would B) will C) may D) must
11. A) in time B) in front C) in future D) in advance
12. A) savings B) sums C) deposits D) masses
13. A) seldom B) slight C) rare D) slow
14. A) common B) usual C) regular D) often
15. A) prepared B) possible C) ready D) available
