46. According to the article, how many pawn shops are there in the United States now?
(A) 1,000.
(B) 10,000.
(C) 100,000.
(D) 1,000,000.

possessions   所有物    財產

loan 貸款

individuals 個人  個別的

ratings 評分等級

approves 核准 贊同

 resale 經銷

antiques古董

security 安全

redeeming 補償

specialize 專攻

Pawn shops are businesses where people bring their possessions to sell or to get a short-term loan. The United States has about ten thousand of them. In the 

past few years, pawn shops have been doing business with more people than 

ever before. That is because many lenders now do business only with individuals having good credit ratings or a high-paying job. Often, the individuals most in 

need of a loan have poor credit ratings. But they do not need a good job or 

credit rating to get a loan from a pawnbroker. They only need something of value.

When a traditional lender approves a loan, it may be days or weeks before an individual receives the money. But pawnbrokers will give a loan in just a few 

minutes based on the resale value of an object and without asking about the 

person’s job or credit history.

     Many pawn shops specialize in jewelry. But most shops accept almost anything of value, including computers, musical instruments, guns, old coins and other antiques. The item itself acts as the security, or collateral, for the loan. If the loan is not repaid, the object can be sold. Customers can get the object 

back -- called redeeming it -- at any time by repaying the loan plus the interest 

and fees they agreed to pay. Or they can pay the interest and leave the item at 

the pawn shop for a while longer.

當舖是人們攜帶財產出售或獲得短期貸款的企業。美國大約有一萬個。在過去的幾年中，典當行與更多人

開展業務。這是因為現在許多貸方僅和信譽良好或高薪工作的個人進行業務往來。通常，大多數人

需要貸款的信用評級很差。但是他們不需要一份好工作或

信用等級以從典當行那裡獲得貸款。他們只需要有價值的東西。

當傳統的貸款人批准貸款時，個人可能需要幾天或幾週才能收到這筆錢。但是典當行將在短短的時間內提

供貸款, 基於對象資產的轉售價值，而無需詢問個人的工作或信用記錄。

     許多典當行專門經營珠寶。但是大多數商店接受幾乎任何有價值的東西，包括計算機，樂器，槍支，

舊硬幣和其他古董。該項目本身充當貸款的擔保或抵押。如果未償還貸款，則典當行可以出售該物品。客

戶可以隨時歸還-稱為贖回-通過償還貸款和利息和他們同意支付的費用。或者他們可以繼續支付利息並將

項目留在典當行。

https://www.apzomedia.com/pawnshops-in-melbourne/