背誦為王第四冊第47課
- 聽力原文
- 參考譯文
貨幣的歷史
今天，我們的貨幣包括硬幣和紙幣，但并不一直都是這樣的。在金屬硬幣和紙幣出現(xiàn)前，人們用許多稀奇的東西來購買他們需要的物品。例如，世界上有個地方的人用鯊魚牙齒作貨幣。在有些地方，艷麗多彩的羽毛和罕見的貝殼被當(dāng)做貨幣。
沒人確切的知道人們從何時起開始使用金屬硬幣作為貨幣。考古學(xué)家稱發(fā)現(xiàn)過可追溯到公元前600年的硬幣，我們因此知道這些貨幣已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)很長時間了。最初，人們用稀有金屬，如金子和銀子制造硬幣。
公元1200年，中國人使用鐵幣作貨幣。這種硬幣價值低，所以買東西時，人們不得不用很多貨幣。因?yàn)閿y帶大量沉重的鐵幣出行不方便，政府開始印制紙質(zhì)收據(jù)。人們帶這些收據(jù)到銀行，再把它們兌換成硬幣。這就是最早的紙幣。
當(dāng)今，大多數(shù)國家使用硬幣和紙幣兩種作為貨幣。美國紙幣的尺寸和顏色都一樣。例如，1美元紙幣的大小和色彩與100美元的一模一樣。在其他很多國家，紙幣的尺寸和色彩很不一樣。尺寸小一些的紙幣，幣值就小。這使人們一眼就能看出紙幣的面額。
Lesson47 The History of Money
Today, our currency is a mixture of coins and paper money, but it wasn't always that way. Before metal coins and paper bills existed, people used a lot of unusual things to buy what they needed. In one part of the world, for example, people used sharks' teeth for money. In some places, brightly collored feathers and rare seashells were money.
No one knows for sure when people started using metal coins for money. Archaeologists have found coins dating from 600 B.C., so we know they have been around for a long time. At first, people used precious metals, such as gold and silver, to make coins.
In the 1200s, people in China used iron coins for their currency. These coins weren't worth very much, so people had to use a lot of them to make their purchases. Because it was inconvenient to carry around a large number of heavy iron coins, the government started printing paper receipts. People took these receipts to banks and traded them in for coins.
This is the first example we have of paper money.
Today, most countries use a mixture of coins and paper bills for their currency. In the United States, the paper bills are all the same size and colour. For example, the one-dollar bill is the same size and colour as the one-hundred-dollar bill. In many other countries, the bills come in various sizes and colours. The smaller sized bills are worth less money. This makes it easier for people to tell the value of their money at a glance.
archaeologist 考古學(xué)家
Today, our currency is a mixture of coins and paper money, but it wasn't always that way. Before metal coins and paper bills existed, people used a lot of unusual things to buy what they needed. In one part of the world, for example, people used sharks' teeth for money. In some places, brightly collored feathers and rare seashells were money.
No one knows for sure when people started using metal coins for money. Archaeologists have found coins dating from 600 B.C., so we know they have been around for a long time. At first, people used precious metals, such as gold and silver, to make coins.
In the 1200s, people in China used iron coins for their currency. These coins weren't worth very much, so people had to use a lot of them to make their purchases. Because it was inconvenient to carry around a large number of heavy iron coins, the government started printing paper receipts. People took these receipts to banks and traded them in for coins.
This is the first example we have of paper money.
Today, most countries use a mixture of coins and paper bills for their currency. In the United States, the paper bills are all the same size and colour. For example, the one-dollar bill is the same size and colour as the one-hundred-dollar bill. In many other countries, the bills come in various sizes and colours. The smaller sized bills are worth less money. This makes it easier for people to tell the value of their money at a glance.
archaeologist 考古學(xué)家
