文本选自：The Guardian（卫报）
作者：Geoff Iyatse and Adeyemi Adepetun
原文标题：Banks face angry customers as network glitches mar holidays
原文发布时间：30 Dec. 2022
Banks face angry customers as network glitches mar holidays
As early as 7:45 a. m. Wednesday, banking premises around Lagos, the financial hub of the country, were jam-packed with customers waiting impatiently to register complaints of sundry failed transactions during the Christmas holidays. The Guardian inquiries suggested the situation was the same across different states, where frustration over inefficient electronic payment system and failed Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions reached boiling point. Banks and other formal business shut their doors to customers at the weekend extending to Christmas and Boxing Day holidays, when financial transactions peaked across the country.
But depositors had a horrible experience withdrawing at ATMs and Point of Sale (POS) terminals or while making transfers, as the channels were overwhelmed with rising demand. As the situation, monitored by correspondents in Lagos, Abuja and other major cities, continued, some merchants, including popular eateries and filling stations, switched to 'cash only' transactions. As customers grappled with the frustration of being unable to access their savings, regular digital communication channels, such as email and social media, were lethargic, with response taking as much as 48 hours in many cases.
Most banks would not speak officially about the downtime. But staff, who are privy to the challenges, exonerated the banks, saying switching companies are not doing enough to improve their services. In recent months, the efficiency of e-payment channels has buckled. There are no accessible current official statistics but the frustration of customers has sparked trending posts on social media. Last year, complaints about poor and fraudulent practices by financial institutions rose from 1,973 to 2,483, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed in its Financial Stability Report.
网络故障影响假期，银行面临愤怒的客户
精听党背景导读
消费是最终需求，既关联着经济增长，也关联着人民群众对美好生活的向往。人民网“人民投诉”平台相关数据显示，2022年平台共收到投诉48048件，投诉量同比增加175%，可以看出消费者的维权意识持续提升，通过维权渠道进行投诉，依法依规、科学寻求消费权益保障的主动性增强。
文本选自：The Guardian（卫报）作者：Geoff Iyatse and Adeyemi Adepetun原文标题：Banks face angry customers as network glitches mar holidays原文发布时间：30 Dec. 2022关键词：银行 网络故障 假期
精听党带着问题听
1.“电子支付系统”用英语如何表达？2. 面对网络故障，一些商家选择了什么方式解决该问题？3. 如何理解第三段的“downtime”？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Banks face angry customers as network glitches mar holidays
网络故障影响假期，银行面临愤怒的客户
glitch n. 小故障；失灵；
mar vt. 破坏，损坏；
段一
As early as 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, banking premises around Lagos, the financial hub of the country, were jam-packed with customers waiting impatiently to register complaints of sundry failed transactions during the Christmas holidays. The Guardian inquiries suggested the situation was the same across different states, where frustration over inefficient electronic payment system and failed Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions reached boiling point. Banks and other formal business shut their doors to customers at the weekend extending to Christmas and Boxing Day holidays, when financial transactions peaked across the country.
banking premise 银行营业场所；1. premises n. 营业场所；(企业的)房屋建筑及附属场地；
Lagos n. 拉各斯（尼日利亚的首都）；
hub n. (某地或活动的)中心；1. the commercial hub of the city 城市的商业中心；2. the financial hub of the country 国家的财务中心；国家的金融中心；
jam-packed adj. 挤满的；拥挤的；
complaint n. 抱怨；投诉；控告；不满；
sundry adj. 杂项的；各式各样的；杂七杂八的；
inquiry n. 调查；查询；询问；
frustration n. 懊恼，沮丧；受阻，挫败；令人懊丧（或懊恼、沮丧）的事物；
inefficient adj. 效率低的；无效的；低效的；
electronic payment system 电子支付系统；
reach boiling point 达到沸点；达到顶点；
peak vi. 达到高峰，达到最大值；
参考译文
早在星期三早上7：45，尼日利亚金融中心拉各斯(Lagos)附近的银行网点就挤满了不耐烦地等待登记圣诞节期间各种交易失败投诉的客户。《卫报》的调查显示，不同州的情况都是一样的。人们对低效的电子支付系统和自动柜员机(ATM)交易失败的不满达到了极点。银行和其他正规企业在周末对客户关闭，一直延续到圣诞节和节礼日假期，当时全国各地的金融交易达到高峰。
段二
But depositors had a horrible experience withdrawing at ATMs and Point of Sale (POS) terminals or while making transfers, as the channels were overwhelmed with rising demand. As the situation, monitored by correspondents in Lagos, Abuja and other major cities, continued, some merchants, including popular eateries and filling stations, switched to ‘cash only’ transactions. As customers grappled with the frustration of being unable to access their savings, regular digital communication channels, such as email and social media, were lethargic, with response taking as much as 48 hours in many cases.
depositor n. 存款人，存放者；储户；
withdraw vi. 提，取（银行账户中的钱款）；
correspondent n. 记者，通讯员；
eatery n. 饭馆；饮食店；
filling station (汽车)加油站；1. gas station 加油站；
grapple with 努力克服；试图解决；
lethargic adj. 无精打采的，懒洋洋的；昏睡的；效率极低的；
参考译文
但储户在自动取款机和销售点（POS）终端取款或转账时的经历非常糟糕，因为渠道被不断增长的需求所淹没。随着记者在拉各斯、阿布贾和其他主要城市监测到的局势仍在继续，包括受欢迎的餐馆和加油站在内的一些商家开始转向“只收现金”交易。当客户因无法存取他们的储蓄而感到沮丧时，常规的数字通信渠道，如电子邮件和社交媒体，都是效率极低的，在许多情况下，回复时间长达48小时。
段三
Most banks would not speak officially about the downtime. But staff, who are privy to the challenges, exonerated the banks, saying switching companies are not doing enough to improve their services. In recent months, the efficiency of e-payment channels has buckled. There are no accessible current official statistics but the frustration of customers has sparked trending posts on social media. Last year, complaints about poor and fraudulent practices by financial institutions rose from 1,973 to 2,483, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed in its Financial Stability Report.
downtime n. （工厂等由于检修，待料等的）停工期；[电子] 故障停机时间；1. maintenance downtime 停机检修时间；
be privy to 对……知情；1. privy adj. 私人的；不公开的；秘密参与的；
exonerate vt. 使免罪；
buckle vi. 发软；屈服，让步；（人）精神崩溃；下降；
accessible adj. 可到达的，可进入的；易得到的，可使用的；
statistic n. 统计学；统计数字；
fraudulent adj. 欺诈的，诈骗的；
disclose vt. 公开；揭露；
参考译文
大多数银行不愿正式透露停工时间。但对这些挑战知情的员工为银行开脱，称转换公司在改善服务方面做得不够。最近几个月，电子支付渠道的效率有所下降。目前还没有官方统计数据，但客户的沮丧情绪在社交媒体上引发了热搜。尼日利亚中央银行（CBN）在其金融稳定报告中披露称，去年，对金融机构不良和欺诈行为的投诉从1973起上升到2483起。
精听党每日单词
glitch
/ɡlɪtʃ/ n. 小故障；失灵；
mar
/mɑːr/ vt. 破坏，损坏；
banking premise
银行营业场所；
Lagos
/ˈleɪgɔs/ n. 拉各斯（尼日利亚的首都）；
hub
/hʌb/ n. (某地或活动的)中心；
jam-packed
/ˌdʒæm ˈpækt/ adj. 挤满的；拥挤的；
complaint
/kəmˈpleɪnt/ n. 抱怨；投诉；控告；不满；
sundry
/ˈsʌndri/ adj. 杂项的；各式各样的；杂七杂八的；
inquiry
/ˈɪnkwəri/ n. 调查；查询；询问；
frustration
/frʌˈstreɪʃn/ n. 懊恼，沮丧；受阻，挫败；令人懊丧（或懊恼、沮丧）的事物；
inefficient
/ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃnt/ adj. 效率低的；无效的；低效的；
electronic payment system
电子支付系统；
reach boiling point
达到沸点；达到顶点；
peak
/piːk/ vi. 达到高峰，达到最大值；
depositor
/dɪˈpɑːzɪtər/ n. 存款人，存放者；储户；
withdraw
/wɪðˈdrɔː/ vi. 提，取（银行账户中的钱款）；
correspondent
/ˌkɔːrəˈspɑːndənt/ n. 记者，通讯员；
eatery
/ˈiːtəri/ n. 饭馆；饮食店；
filling station
(汽车)加油站；
grapple with
努力克服；试图解决；
lethargic
/ləˈθɑːrdʒɪk/ adj. 无精打采的，懒洋洋的；昏睡的；效率极低的；
downtime
/ˈdaʊntaɪm/ n. （工厂等由于检修，待料等的）停工期；[电子] 故障停机时间；
be privy to
对……知情；
exonerate
/ɪɡˈzɑːnəreɪt/ vt. 使免罪；
buckle
/ˈbʌkl/ vi. 发软；屈服，让步；（人）精神崩溃；下降；
accessible
/əkˈsesəbl/ adj. 可到达的，可进入的；易得到的，可使用的；
statistic
/stəˈtɪstɪk/ n. 统计学；统计数字；
fraudulent
/ˈfrɔːdʒələnt/ adj. 欺诈的，诈骗的；
disclose
/dɪsˈkloʊz/ vt. 公开；揭露；
精听党文化拓展
早在2019年，就有此类事件的发生。
据《每日电讯报》报道，澳洲最大的银行向其客户赔付740万澳元补偿金，对之前发生的全国性银行系统故障，导致客户无法按时办理业务表示歉意。拥有1590万客户的澳洲最大银行陷入崩溃，原因是网络中断影响了其互联网银行、移动应用程序、BPAY以及分行和呼叫中心服务。一些顾客被困在收银台，无法支付食品杂货和汽油等必需品的费用。愤怒的客户因工资没有按时打到他们的银行账号向银行抱怨不已。该银行在网上表示，“联邦银行已经向上周末因付款延迟导致无法获得资金的客户账户支付了一笔款项。”这笔小额现金赔付是在一周前因银行IT故障导致系统崩溃、无法处理客户付款近一周后执行的。澳洲联邦银行表示，现金信贷只发放给那些在上周末之前没有收到付款的客户。但许多没有收到50澳元补偿的客户被激怒了，他们在澳洲联邦银行的Facebook页面上发表了愤怒的评论。客户Yay Lisle写道，“我觉得每个客户都应该得到那50澳元的致歉赔偿，因为它是联邦银行导致的。”
精听党每日美句
Justice has long arms.
天网恢恢，疏而不漏。