课文原文
The Boy and the Bank Officer-- Philip Ross

I 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 bank's goods happen to be money, which is yours in the first place. If banks were require d 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 don't understand," he was saying to the officer. "I opened the account myself, so why can't I withdraw any money?"
"I've 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 doesn't seem fair," the boy said, his voice breaking. "It's my money, I put it in. It's my account."
"I know it is," the officer said, "but those are the rules. Now if you'll excuse me."
He turned to me with a smile. "May I help you, sir?"
I didn't think twice. "I was going to open a new account," I said, "but after seeing what's going on here, I think I've changed my mind."
"Excuse me?" he said.

"Look," I said. "If I understand what's going on here correctly, what you're saying is that this boy is old enough to deposit his money in your bank but he's not old enough to withdraw it. And since there doesn't seem to be any question as to whether it's his money or his account, the bank's so-called policy is clearly ridiculous."
"It may seem ridiculous to you," he replied in a voice rising slightly in irritation, "but that is the bank's policy and I have no other choice but to follow the rules".
The boy had stood hopefully next to me during this exchange, but now I was just as helpless. Suddenly I noticed that the open savings book he continued to grasp showed a balance of about $100. It also showed that there had been a series of small deposits and withdrawals.

I had my opening.
"Have you withdrawn money before by yourself?" I asked the boy.
"Yes," he said.
I moved in for the kill.

"How do you explain that?" I zeroed in on the officer. "Why did you let him withdraw money before, but not now?"
He looked annoyed. "Because the tellers were not aware of his age before and now they are. It's really very simple".
I turned to the boy with a shrug. "You're really getting cheated," I said. "You ought to get your parents to come in here and protest."

The boy looked destroyed. Silently, he put his savings book in a rear-pocket and walked out of the bank.
The officer turned to me. "You know," he said, "you really shouldn't have interfered."
"Shouldn't have interfered?" I shouted. "Well, it damn well seemed to me that he needed someone to represent his interests."
"Someone was representing his interests," he said softly.
"And who might that be?"
"The bank."

I couldn't believe what this idiot was saying. "Look," I concluded, "we're just wasting each other's time. But maybe you'd like to explain exactly how the bank was representing that boy's interests?"
"Certainly," he said. "We were informed this morning that some neighborhood bully has been shaking this boy down for more than a month. The other guy was forcing him to

take money out every week and hand it over. The poor kid was apparently too scared to tell anyone. That's the real reason he was so upset. He was afraid of what the other guy would do to him. Anyway, the police are on the case and they'll probably make an arrest today."
"You mean there is no rule about being too young to withdraw money from a savings account?"
"Not that I ever heard of. Now, sir, what can we do for you?"

参考译文

男孩和银行职员---菲利普.罗斯

我有个朋友，他对银行特别厌恶，“银行只不过和糖果店、杂货店差不多，”他说。“唯一的不同是，银行的商品碰巧是钱，关键是，这钱是你自己的。如果银行被要求出售皮夹和钱包，它们可能就不那么像教堂那样发号施令了。”

前几天，当我走进曼哈顿西区一个小却灯火辉煌的银行分店时，脑子里便开始想着朋友说的话。我想开个活期账户。

这是午餐时间，只有一个职员值班，这是一个四十多岁的黑人男子，留着短而整齐的头发、一子胡，身穿笔挺的棕色西装，一切都透露着谨慎、威严的形象。他站在小柜台后面，面前是一个白人小男孩，他身穿V领毛线衫、卡其裤，脚穿船鞋，头发稀松。他看起来不像是银行的顾客，更像是预科学校的学童，我想是这一点让我对他特别留意。

下面发生的事情进一步引起了我对男孩的注意。
他手里拿着一个打开的存折，脸上失望的神色表露无遗。“但是，我不明白，”他对这位职员说。“我开了这个帐户，为什么不能取钱呢？”
“我已经跟你解释了，”职员告诉他，“没有父母的许可信，十四岁的孩子是不能取款的。”

“但这好像不公平，”男孩说。“是我自己的钱，我存的，是我的帐户。”

"我知道，"职员说，"但这是规定，请原谅。"
他转向我，笑着说。"可以为您做些什么，先生？"
我不假思索地。"我本想开个新帐户，"我说，"但是看到刚才的事，我想我已经改变了主意。"
"对不起？"他问。

"听着，"我说，"如果刚才的事我没理解错的话，按你的意思，以这个男孩的年龄，已可以在您的银行存钱了，但是还不能取钱。既然他的钱和帐户似乎都没什么问题，那么银行所谓的政策显然很荒唐。"
"可能对您来说有些荒唐，"他回答说，口气里有几分愤怒，”但这是银行的政策，我必须遵守。“
在这场对话中，男孩满怀希望地挨着我站着，但是现在显然我很没用。突然，我留意到他手里仍拿着的那个打开的存折上，显示余额是一百元。这表明他以前多次存过小额积蓄，也取过很多次。

我开了户。
"你以前自己取过钱吗？"我问男孩。
"是的。"他说。
我猛地转过身。

"你怎么解释这个呢？"我直逼这位职员。"为什么以前可以取，现在就不能呢？"
他面有难色。"因为以前出纳员没意识到他的年龄，现在才想到。很简单，就是这样。"
我转过身，对男孩耸耸肩。"你真的受骗了，"我说。"你应该叫父母来，表示抗议。"

男孩看起来挺沮丧。他默默地把存折放到衣服后袋里，走出银行。
这位职员对我说。"你真的不该干涉此事。"
"我不该干涉？"我叫道。"在我看来，他真的需要有人来维护他的利益。"
"有人在维护他的利益。"他轻声说。
"是谁？"
'银行。"

我实在难以相信这个傻瓜说的话。"看，"我说，"我们只是在浪费彼此的时间，但是，或许你会愿意详细解释一下，银行是怎么代表这个孩子的利益的？"
"当然。"他说，"今天早上，我们得知，一个多月以来，附近的恶霸都在勒索这个男孩。另一个恶霸现在逼他每周都取钱给他。这个可怜的孩子显然很害怕，不敢告诉任何人。这就是他这么紧张的真正原因。他怕遭到别的恶霸的欺负。但是，警察已经在侦破此案，今天可能会逮捕归案。"
"你的意思是说，这里不限制过于年幼的孩子从存折取钱吗？"
"我从未听说这回事。好了，先生，我可以为您做些什么吗？"

词汇释义

1.checking account 经常帐户

例句：
I think I need a checking account so that I can pay my bill.
我想我需要开一个支票账户，这样我可以付账。

2.lunchtime n. 午餐时间

例句：
I've had nothing to eat since lunchtime.
从午饭时间到现在我什麽都没吃.

3.interfere v. 妨碍,冲突,干涉

例句：
Don't interfere with my business.
不要干涉我的事情。

4.mustache n. 髭

例句：
The name of Chaplin conjures up the image of a little tramp with a brush mustache.
卓别林的名字会使人在脑海中勾勒出一个身材矮小、蓄着一撇小胡子的流浪汉的形象。

5.rear adj. 后面的,背面的,后方的

例句：
Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance.
他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

6.shrug v. 耸肩

例句：
She gave a shrug of her shoulders.
她耸了耸肩膀.

7.withdrawal n. 撤退,退回,取消

例句：
He has made several withdrawals from his account recently.
最近他已经好几次从银行提取现款。

词组解释

1.happen to vt. 发生(碰巧,正巧,偶然)

例句：
We happen to hold the same view.
我们两人的想法不谋而合。

2.in the first place adv.首先

例句：
How did life arise in the first place?
生命最初是怎样起源的？

3.be old enough to 已经是...年龄了

例句：
He is old enough to be her father and rich enough to be her husband.
他老足以当伊之父、富足以当伊之夫。

4.have no choice but... 非...不可, 除...之外别无他法

例句：
Then we would have no choice but to intervene.
那就非干预不行。

5.zero in on (使)瞄准... (使)对准...对...集中火力

例句：
The plane zeroed in on the arms factory and destroyed it with one bomb.
飞机瞄准了兵工厂，一颗炸弹就把它炸毁了。

6.hand over v.移交

例句：
I should like to get rid of the responsibility for this job, but there doesn't seem to be anyone fit to hand over to.
我真想摆脱对这项工作的责任，但是看来没有合适的人可以交出去。