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为了让生活更方便更轻松，人们不断研究开发先进的机器来代替人类。然而就在人类尽情享受便利的时候，也不得不付出相应的“代价”——为便利买单。“嬉笑怒骂皆是文章”，本文作者是位幽默大师，他用诙谐有趣的语言给我们讲述了银行ATM收取高额跨行取款服务费给他造成的诸多不便，并对此表示强烈抗议！不知道诸位读者读后，会不会有所共鸣呢？^o^
——Maisie
Withdrawing money from the bank used to be so convenient. You could visit a money machine almost anywhere. Without paying a cent, you could get enough cash to buy a television or put a large 2)down payment on some basketball shoes.
But a couple of years ago some banks started charging a fee. If you didn’t have an account with them, you had to pay at least a dollar to withdraw money at their 3)ATM (4)Automated Theft Machine).
Other banks 5)followed suit and now the majority charge a fee. Some even charge as much as $3! For many people who withdraw money from ATMs daily, that’s more than many would actually save in a year.
That’s a 6)steep fee, especially when you’re trying to withdraw $5.
7)To their credit, banks have tried to make ATMs much safer for us. They’ve installed bright lights and security cameras. They don’t want anyone else robbing us.
Some lawmakers, bless their hearts, are trying to put a limit on the 8)surcharges. They don’t want bankers to get 9)carried away and use ATMs to pay for their 10)BMWs. They don’t want the ATMs to display this message: “Please withdraw only half as much as you can afford, because we’re taking the other half.”
Banks say they have to charge a fee because ATMs are expensive. They cost as much as $80,000 and that doesn’t even include the money inside.
It would be cheaper to put a human in a 11)box. But there’s probably a law against that. And humans, unlike machines, 12)are prone to making mistakes. They’re also prone to running off to Mexico with the money.
The surcharge also allows banks to install ATMs in many convenient places, such as parks, 13)plazas and prisons. But in their haste to make ATMs more convenient, banks have made them less convenient for people like me. I’d rather have one free ATM in my neighborhood, than a dozen that want to 14)swindle me. A couple of dollars may not seem like much to a banker, but to me, it means a feast at 15)Taco Bell.
Besides, it’s against my principles to pay a bank to give me MY money. I 16)just won’t do it, unless I’m stuck somewhere with no money and no 17)Visa.
What 18)irks many people, including me, is that we got used to free ATMs over many years. Banks got us 19)hooked to them and then decided to 20)reel in our money.
For some reason, in the 1970s and ‘80s, bankers didn’t complain much about the cost of installing ATMs. Perhaps they were too busy explaining to shareholders how the machines would replace 21)tellers and save money.
At the unveiling of the first ATM, a banker probably said, “Here’s a revolutionary machine that dispenses cash without wasting time on 22)chitchat and without requiring minimum wage. It has no bad habits like smoking, swearing, or asking for 23)raises. It cannot be threatened with a gun and will never sue us for discrimination. One day, this machine will be able to greet people through the 24)video display, process their transactions quickly and 25)take them to the cleaners.”
过去从银行取款常常很方便。你几乎可以在任何地方使用自动柜员机取款。不需要花1美分，你就能拿到足够的现金去买一台电视机，或者拿到一大笔购买一些篮球鞋的预付定金。
但几年前，一些银行开始收费。如果你没有在它们那里开户，那么你在它们的自动柜员机（自动偷窃机）上取款时就不得不支付至少1美元的服务费。
其他银行纷纷仿效。现在，大多数银行都要收跨行取款服务费。有些银行收取该项费用甚至高达3美元。对于许多每天都从自动柜员机取钱的人来说，银行全年收取的跨行取款服务费总额比许多人全年实际存进银行里的钱还要多。
那是一笔不合理的费用，特别是当你试图从自动柜员机里取出5美元时。
值得称赞的是，银行在努力确保我们使用自动柜员机时更安全。它们已经安装了明亮的灯盏和安全摄像头。它们不希望其他任何人打劫我们。
一些立法者正在努力限制银行的这种过高的收费行为，感谢他们的这份心意。他们不希望银行家们得意忘形，并利用自动柜员机榨取的服务费来支付自己的宝马车。他们不希望自动柜员机显示出这样的信息：“请只取出你可以负担的一半钱，因为另一半归我们。”
银行说它们不得不收费，因为自动柜员机很昂贵。它们价值高达8万美元，而且这笔费用甚至还不包括放进柜员机里的钱。
把一个人放进机器套壳里负责取款业务，成本也许会便宜些。但这很可能是违法的。而且人不像机器，他们容易犯错误，也可能携款潜逃到墨西哥去。
银行收取过高服务费的行为也保证了银行可以在许多便利的地方安装自动柜员机，比如公园、购物中心和监狱。然而，就在银行急于使自动柜员机变得更便利的同时，他们也使自动柜员机对于像我这样的人变得越来越不方便了。我宁愿在我家附近只有一台免费的自动柜员机，也不愿意有十几台想要诈取我钱财的机器。几美元对于一个银行家来说可能并不算很多，但对于我，它意味着可以在塔可钟餐厅饱餐一顿。
另外，付钱给银行从而取出我自己的钱，这违背了我的原则。我是完全不会那样做的，除非我困在了某个地方，身上没有钱，也没有威世信用卡。
让包括我在内的很多人气愤的是，多年来我们用惯了免费的自动柜员机。银行先引我们上钩，然后趁机卷走我们的钱。
耐人寻味的是，因为某个原因，在上世纪70年代和80年代，银行家们并没有过多地抱怨安装自动柜员机的费用过高。也许他们那时正忙于向股东们解释自动柜员机将如何取代银行出纳员，如何省钱。
当第一台自动柜员机揭幕时，或许有银行家说过：“这是一台革命性的机器，它能分发现金而无须把任何时间浪费在交谈上，也无须付给最低工资。它没有任何例如抽烟、咒骂或者要求加薪等坏习惯。它不会被持枪的劫匪所威胁，也决不会控告我们歧视它。将来有一天，这台机器将能够通过视频显示器问候人们、快速地处理他们的交易，并让他们血本无归。”
——Maisie
Withdrawing money from the bank used to be so convenient. You could visit a money machine almost anywhere. Without paying a cent, you could get enough cash to buy a television or put a large 2)down payment on some basketball shoes.
But a couple of years ago some banks started charging a fee. If you didn’t have an account with them, you had to pay at least a dollar to withdraw money at their 3)ATM (4)Automated Theft Machine).
Other banks 5)followed suit and now the majority charge a fee. Some even charge as much as $3! For many people who withdraw money from ATMs daily, that’s more than many would actually save in a year.
That’s a 6)steep fee, especially when you’re trying to withdraw $5.
7)To their credit, banks have tried to make ATMs much safer for us. They’ve installed bright lights and security cameras. They don’t want anyone else robbing us.
Some lawmakers, bless their hearts, are trying to put a limit on the 8)surcharges. They don’t want bankers to get 9)carried away and use ATMs to pay for their 10)BMWs. They don’t want the ATMs to display this message: “Please withdraw only half as much as you can afford, because we’re taking the other half.”
Banks say they have to charge a fee because ATMs are expensive. They cost as much as $80,000 and that doesn’t even include the money inside.
It would be cheaper to put a human in a 11)box. But there’s probably a law against that. And humans, unlike machines, 12)are prone to making mistakes. They’re also prone to running off to Mexico with the money.
The surcharge also allows banks to install ATMs in many convenient places, such as parks, 13)plazas and prisons. But in their haste to make ATMs more convenient, banks have made them less convenient for people like me. I’d rather have one free ATM in my neighborhood, than a dozen that want to 14)swindle me. A couple of dollars may not seem like much to a banker, but to me, it means a feast at 15)Taco Bell.
Besides, it’s against my principles to pay a bank to give me MY money. I 16)just won’t do it, unless I’m stuck somewhere with no money and no 17)Visa.
What 18)irks many people, including me, is that we got used to free ATMs over many years. Banks got us 19)hooked to them and then decided to 20)reel in our money.
For some reason, in the 1970s and ‘80s, bankers didn’t complain much about the cost of installing ATMs. Perhaps they were too busy explaining to shareholders how the machines would replace 21)tellers and save money.
At the unveiling of the first ATM, a banker probably said, “Here’s a revolutionary machine that dispenses cash without wasting time on 22)chitchat and without requiring minimum wage. It has no bad habits like smoking, swearing, or asking for 23)raises. It cannot be threatened with a gun and will never sue us for discrimination. One day, this machine will be able to greet people through the 24)video display, process their transactions quickly and 25)take them to the cleaners.”
过去从银行取款常常很方便。你几乎可以在任何地方使用自动柜员机取款。不需要花1美分，你就能拿到足够的现金去买一台电视机，或者拿到一大笔购买一些篮球鞋的预付定金。
但几年前，一些银行开始收费。如果你没有在它们那里开户，那么你在它们的自动柜员机（自动偷窃机）上取款时就不得不支付至少1美元的服务费。
其他银行纷纷仿效。现在，大多数银行都要收跨行取款服务费。有些银行收取该项费用甚至高达3美元。对于许多每天都从自动柜员机取钱的人来说，银行全年收取的跨行取款服务费总额比许多人全年实际存进银行里的钱还要多。
那是一笔不合理的费用，特别是当你试图从自动柜员机里取出5美元时。
值得称赞的是，银行在努力确保我们使用自动柜员机时更安全。它们已经安装了明亮的灯盏和安全摄像头。它们不希望其他任何人打劫我们。
一些立法者正在努力限制银行的这种过高的收费行为，感谢他们的这份心意。他们不希望银行家们得意忘形，并利用自动柜员机榨取的服务费来支付自己的宝马车。他们不希望自动柜员机显示出这样的信息：“请只取出你可以负担的一半钱，因为另一半归我们。”
银行说它们不得不收费，因为自动柜员机很昂贵。它们价值高达8万美元，而且这笔费用甚至还不包括放进柜员机里的钱。
把一个人放进机器套壳里负责取款业务，成本也许会便宜些。但这很可能是违法的。而且人不像机器，他们容易犯错误，也可能携款潜逃到墨西哥去。
银行收取过高服务费的行为也保证了银行可以在许多便利的地方安装自动柜员机，比如公园、购物中心和监狱。然而，就在银行急于使自动柜员机变得更便利的同时，他们也使自动柜员机对于像我这样的人变得越来越不方便了。我宁愿在我家附近只有一台免费的自动柜员机，也不愿意有十几台想要诈取我钱财的机器。几美元对于一个银行家来说可能并不算很多，但对于我，它意味着可以在塔可钟餐厅饱餐一顿。
另外，付钱给银行从而取出我自己的钱，这违背了我的原则。我是完全不会那样做的，除非我困在了某个地方，身上没有钱，也没有威世信用卡。
让包括我在内的很多人气愤的是，多年来我们用惯了免费的自动柜员机。银行先引我们上钩，然后趁机卷走我们的钱。
耐人寻味的是，因为某个原因，在上世纪70年代和80年代，银行家们并没有过多地抱怨安装自动柜员机的费用过高。也许他们那时正忙于向股东们解释自动柜员机将如何取代银行出纳员，如何省钱。
当第一台自动柜员机揭幕时，或许有银行家说过：“这是一台革命性的机器，它能分发现金而无须把任何时间浪费在交谈上，也无须付给最低工资。它没有任何例如抽烟、咒骂或者要求加薪等坏习惯。它不会被持枪的劫匪所威胁，也决不会控告我们歧视它。将来有一天，这台机器将能够通过视频显示器问候人们、快速地处理他们的交易，并让他们血本无归。”