Passage 3
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, summed up the four chief qualities
of money some 2,000 years ago. It must be lasting and easy to recognize, to
divide, and to carry about.
When we think of money today, we picture it ……as round, flat
pieces of metal which we call coins, or as printed paper notes. But there are
still parts of the world today where coins and notes are of no use. They will
buy nothing, and a traveler might starve if he had none of the particular
local "money" to …… Among remote people, who are not often reached by
traders from outside, commerce usually means barter (物物交换). There is a
direct exchange of goods. Perhaps it is fish for vegetables, meat for grain, or
various kinds of food in exchange for pots, baskets, or other manufactured
goods. For this kind of simple trading, money is not needed, but there is often
something that everyone wants and everybody can use, such as salt to flavor
(给……调味) food, shells for ornaments(装饰), or iron and copper to make into
tools and pots. These things-salt, shells or metals-are till used as money in
out-of-the way parts of the world today.
Salt may rather a strange substance to use as money, but in
countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an
absolute necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, were used as
money in Tibet until recent times, and cakes of salt will still buy goods in
Berneo and parts of Africa.
Cowrie sea shells have been used as money at some time or another
over the greater part of the Old World. These were collected mainly from the
beaches of the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean, and were traded to India
and China. In Africa, cowries were traded right across the continent from East
to West. Four or five thousand went for one Maria Theresa dollar, an Austrian
silver coin which was once accepted as money in many parts of Africa.
Metal, valued by weight, early coins in many parts of the world.
Iron, in lumps, bars or rings is still used in many countries instead of money.
It can either be exchanged for goods, or made into tools, weapons or
ornaments. The early money of China, apart from shells, was of bronze (青铜),
ten in flat, round pieces with a hole in the middle, called "cash". The
earliest of these are between three thousand and four thousand years old-older
than the earliest coins of the eastern Mediterranean.
Nowadays, coins and notes have taken place of nearly all the more
interesting forms of money, and although in one or two of the more remote
countries people still hold it for future use on ceremonial (仪式的) occasions
such as weddings and funerals (葬礼), examples of early money will soon be
found only in museums.
11. In some parts of the world a traveler might starve __________.
○A. even if his money was of the local kind
○B. even if the had no coins or notes
○C. if the did not know the local rate of exchange
○D. even if he had plenty of coins and notes
12. Barter usually takes the place of money transaction where __________.
○A. there is only salt
○B. the people’s trading needs are fairly simple
○C. metal tools are used
○D. only for ceremonial purposes
13. Salt is still used as money __________.
○A. in Tibet
○B. in the Maldive Islands
○C. in several countries
○D. only for ceremonial purposes
14. Four or five thousand cowrie shells used to be __________.
○A. as valuable as a Maria Theresa dollar
○B. valued because they were easy to carry
○C. useful currency in south America
○D. useful currency in south America
15. The earliest known coins from the eastern Mediterranean _________.
○A. are as old as the earliest known Chinese coins
○B. are old than the earliest known Chinese coins
○C. are not as old as the earliest known Chinese coins
○D. were much larger than their Chinese equivalents.
第二部分 完成句子 (25分)
根据短文内容完成句子，每个空格只能填一个单词。有的单词第一个字母已经给出，请将其余字母补全。
Once upon a time (not so very long ago, either!) industrial goods
were made to last forever. If you bought a car or a stove, it was a once-in-a-
life time investment. You paid good money for it, and you took good care of it.
Nowadays industry has persuaded us that products shouldn’t last a long time.
It’s cheaper to throw them away than it is to repair them. This has led
directly to the "throw away society" which is a tremendous (巨大的) waste of
the earth’s resources.
Just think of the cars that are traded daily, just because they are
out of style. Think of the expensive packaging material that is thrown away
every time a new object is bought. And we consumers (消费者) have to pay for
that material! Our industrial society has turned us into spoiled children. This
wastefulness (消费) has got into the mess we are in now. when we have no
resources left, then we’ll start to take care of what we have. But why can’t we
act before this happens? Why can’t we go back to being a society in which the
prevention (防止) of waste is a virtue (美德)?
16. Not long ago, products were made to last to _______ as you take care of
them.
17. People don’t repair many things nowadays because they spend ______ to buy a
new one.
18. The shoppers have to pay not only for the goods themselves but also for the
______ paper.
19. According to the author’s idea, we should take care of what we have when
there are ________ resources left.
20. "The mess" (in the 5th Line of 2nd Paragraph) means _________.
|
