Credit Is Important

王秀凤

信用既是无形的力量，也是无形的财富。要尊重你的朋友，并且要跟人家讲信用。信则立，不信则废。无论对于国家、集体还是个人，信用都是立身之本。守信于己，取信于人，才能走得长远。

Would you like to hang out with your friends？ Do you often go out for dinner with your friends？ When you enjoy a meal with your friends， how do you pay the bill？ Does one person pay for everything？ Or do you prefer to split the bill evenly instead？ With mobile payments， many young people prefer the latter.

In fact this can cause（引起）problems sometimes. Lets say the bill for your lunch is 63 yuan. You and two friends decide to pay it evenly three ways—this means each person should pay 21 yuan.

One of your friends says hell pay the full bill first. You and your other friend can give him what you owe （欠）. Its easy to pay the bill this way. You send your friend a WeChat red packet（微信红包）with the exact （确切的）amount. Your other friend just gives him 20 yuan because he doesnt have enough money in his account. Your friend who pays the bill might say there is no need to give him the rest， and so the other doesnt.

Guess what？ The friend who paid for lunch probably thinks more highly of you than your other friend. Why is this？

Its because you agreed to split the bill evenly. Everyone should pay the same amount. Your friend who didnt pay enough and didnt stick to（堅持）your agreement （约定）. This might make his credit （信用） drop， if only just a little bit.

Actually， it is not money， but credit and face （面子） that matter sometimes.

跟踪练习：

1. What does the phrase “split the bill evenly” mean in Chinese？

A. 全额支付        B. 分期付款       C. 平均分摊        D. 信用消费

2. How much did the friend who paid the bill actually spend？

A. 63 yuan.           B. 20 yuan.         C. 21 yuan.          D. 22 yuan.

答案： 1-2 CD