The_Boy_and_the_Bank_Officer综合英语1_课文原文.docx

The Boy and the Bank Officer-- Philip RossI have a friend who hates banks with a special passion. A bank is just a store like a candy store or a grocery store, he says . The only difference is that a banks goods happen to be money, which is yours in the first place. If banks were required to sell wallets and money belts, they might act less like churches. I began thinking about my friend the other day as I walked into a small, over lighted branch office on the West Side. I had come to open a checking account. It was lunchtime and the only officer on duty was a fortyish black man with short, pressed hair, a pencil mustache, and a neatly pressed brown suit. Everything about him suggested a carefully dressed authority. This officer was standing across a small counter from a young white boy who was wearing a V-necked sweater, khakis, and loafers. He had sandy hair, and I think I was especially aware of him because he looked more like a kid from a prep school than a customer in a West Side bank. The boy continued to hold my attention because of what happened next. He was holding an open savings-account book and wearing an expression of open dismay. But I dont understand, he was saying to the officer. I opened the account myself, so why cant I withdraw any money? Ive already explained to you, the officer told him, that a fourteen-year-old is not allowed to withdraw money without a letter from his parents. But that doesnt seem fair, the boy said, his voice breaking. Its my money, I put it in. Its my account. I know it is, the officer said, but those are the rules. Now if youll excuse me. He turned to me with a smile. May I help you, sir? I didnt think twice. I was going to open a new account, I said, but after seeing whats going on here, I think Ive changed my mind. Excuse me? he said. Look, I said. If I understand whats going on here correctly, what youre saying is that this boy is old enough to deposit his money in your bank but hes not old enough to withdraw it. And sin