Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, summed up the four chief qualities of money 2,000 ye
ars ago. It must be lasting and easy to recognize, to divide, and to carry about. When we think of money today, we picture it either 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 .A traveler there might starve if he had none of the particular ‘ local money ’.
Among isolated peoples ,who are not often reached by traders from outside ,commerce usually means barter ,which is a direct exchange of goods .Perhaps it is fish for vegetables or meat for baskets .For this kind of simple trading, money is not needed ,but there is often something that everyone wants ,such as salt to flavor food, shells for necklaces ,or iron and copper to make into tools. These things — salt ,shells or metals — are still used as money in out-of-the-way parts of the world today.
Salt may seem rather a strange material to use as money ,but in countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetables ,it is often an absolute necessity .Cakes of salt ,stamped to show their value ,were used as money in Tibet until recent times, and they can still buy goods in parts of Africa.
Cowrie seashells 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 Australian silver coin which was once accepted as currency (货币) in many parts of Africa.
Metal was used as money 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 or weapons. The early money of China ,apart from shells ,was of bronze ,often 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 supplanted nearly all the more picturesque forms of money ,and although in one or two of the more remote countries people still store it for future use ,primitive money will soon be found only in museums.
1.Nowadays we think of money as() .
A.pieces of metal or metallic paper
B.made of either metal or paper
C.some printed notes and papers
D.round and flat sheets of paper
2.In some parts of the world a traveler might go hungry() .
A.even if his money was of the local kind
B.even if he had no coins or notes
C.if he did not know the local rate of exchange
D.even if he had plenty of ready money
3.What can we infer from the passage？
A.Isolated peoples exchange goods by means of barter.
B.Salt cakes are taking the place of picturesque forms.
C.Seashells could be traded with Maria Theresa dollars.
D.The Chinese were among the earliest users of metal ‘ cash ’.
4.Primitive types of money will be used ().
A.to replace more picturesque forms
B.as exhibits to be shown in public
C.at local country markets and shops
D.as entrance tickets in museums
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