英語四級基礎(chǔ)閱讀訓(xùn)練 Text 10

Text 10

Less than 40 years ago in the United States, it was common to change a one-dollar bill for a dollar's worth of silver. That is because the coins were actually made of silver. But those days are gone. There is no silver in today's coins. When the price of the precious metal rises above its face value as money, the metal will become more valuable in other uses. Silver coins are no longer in circulation because the silver in coins is worth much more than their face value. A silver firm could find that it is cheaper to obtain silver by melting down coins than by buying it on the commodity markets. Coins today are made of an alloy of cheaper metals.

Gresham's Law, named after Sir Thomas Gresham, argues that "good money" is driven out of circulation by "bad money". Good money differs from bad money because it has higher commodity value.

Gresham lived in the 16th century in England where it was common for gold and silver coins to be debased. Governments did this by mixing cheaper metals with gold and silver. The governments could thus make a profit in coinage by issuing coins that had less precious metal than the face value indicated. Because different mixings of coins had different amounts of gold and silver, even though they bore the same face value, some coins were worth more than others as commodities. People who dealt with gold and silver could easily see the difference between the "good" and the "bad" money. Gresham observed that coins with a higher content of gold and silver were kept rather than being used in exchange, or were melted down for their precious metal. In the mid-1960s when the U.S. issued new coins to replace silver coins, Gresham's law went right in action.

1.Why was it possible for Americans to use a one-dollar bill for a dollar's worth of silver?

A.Because there was a lot of silver in the United States.

B.Because money was the medium of payment.

C.Because coins were made of silver.

D.Because silver was considered worthless.

2.Today's coins in the United States are made of_______.

A.some precious metals　　B.silver and some precious metals

C.various expensive metals　D.some inexpensive metals

3.What is the difference between "good money" and "bad money"?

A.They are circulated in different markets.

B.They are issued in different face values.

C.They are made of different amounts of gold and silver.

D.They have different uses.

4.What was the purpose of the governments issuing new coins by mixing cheaper metals with gold and silver in the 16th century?

A.They wanted to reserve some gold and, silver for themselves.

B.There was neither enough gold nor enough silver.

C.New coins were easier to be made.

D.They could make money.

5.Which of the following statements is correct according to this article?

A."Good money" refers to the gold or silver coins while the "bad money" metallic coins.

B."Good money" refers to the gold or silver coins while the "bad money" alloy coins.

C.Issuance of coin to replace the silver coins intended to save money.

D.Present coins are cheaper than its face value.

長難例句分析

［長難例句］A silver firm could find that it is cheaper to obtain silver by melting down coins than by buying it on the commodity markets.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句中，主語是A silver firm，謂語動詞是find，that引導(dǎo)的從句作賓語。在賓語從句中應(yīng)用了比較級，方式狀語by... 是比較的部分。

［參考譯文］銀制品公司會發(fā)現(xiàn)通過熔化銀幣獲得銀比從市場上購買要便宜。

［長難例句］Gresham's Law，named after Sir Thomas Gresham，argues that "good money" is driven out of circulation by "bad money".

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句中，主干是Gresham's Law...argues that...。過去分詞named after... 作主語的后置定語，謂語動詞argue后面接的是一個由that引導(dǎo)的賓語從句。

［參考譯文］以托馬斯·格雷欣爵士的名字命名的格雷欣法則，認(rèn)為“良幣”被“劣幣”驅(qū)逐出流通領(lǐng)域。

［長難例句］Because different mixings of coins had different amounts of gold and silver, even though they bore the same face value, some coins were worth more than others as commodities.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］該句是一個主從復(fù)合句。主句是some... commodities，從句是由because引導(dǎo)的原因狀語從句，even though引導(dǎo)的是讓步狀語從句。

［參考譯文］因為混合方法不同而不同，因此即使錢幣上標(biāo)識的面值一樣，有些錢幣也比其他的商品價值高。

全文參考譯文

三十多年前，在美國，把1美元鈔票換成價值1美元的銀幣是很平常的事情。因為當(dāng)時的錢幣確實是銀制的。不過這種日子一去不復(fù)返了?，F(xiàn)在銀幣中已經(jīng)不含銀了。當(dāng)這種珍貴金屬的價值升到高于它作為貨幣的面值后，它作為其他用途就更有價值了。因為錢幣中的銀比它的面值值錢得多，所以銀幣不再出現(xiàn)在流通領(lǐng)域。銀制品公司會發(fā)現(xiàn)通過熔化銀幣獲得銀比從市場上購買要便宜?，F(xiàn)在錢幣都是用更便宜的金屬合金鑄造的。

以托馬斯·格雷欣爵士的名字命名的格雷欣法則，認(rèn)為“良幣”被“劣幣”驅(qū)逐出流通領(lǐng)域。良幣有更高的商品價值是良幣與劣幣的區(qū)別。

格雷欣生活在16世紀(jì)的英格蘭。當(dāng)時降低金幣或銀幣的成色是很普通的。政府將廉價的金屬和金銀混合在一起降低錢幣成色。這樣，政府就可以通過發(fā)行珍貴金屬含量低于面值的硬幣獲取利益。金銀含量因為混合方法不同而不同，因此即便錢幣上標(biāo)識的面值一樣，有些錢幣也比其他的商品價值高。用金銀做交易的人很容易看出來“良幣”和“劣幣”的差異。格雷欣觀察到了金銀含量高的錢幣更多地被保存了下來，而不是用來交換，或者被熔化提取貴重金屬。20世紀(jì)60年代中期，美國發(fā)行新的錢幣取代銀幣，格雷欣法則正式開始實施。

題目答案與解析

1.美國人可以用1美元兌換成價值1美元的銀幣的原因是什么？

A.因為美國當(dāng)時有大量的銀?！.因為錢是付款的中介物。

C.因為硬幣是由銀制成的?！　.因為銀被認(rèn)為是沒有價值的。

【答案】C

【解析】本題可參照文章第一段，從中可知，以前用1美金兌換1美金的銀幣是很平常的，后面緊接著作者就給出了原因——銀幣在當(dāng)時的確是由銀制作的。因此C項是正確答案。

2.美國現(xiàn)在的硬幣是由_________ 制作的。

A.一些珍貴的金屬　　B.銀和一些珍貴的金屬

C.各種昂貴的金屬　　D.一些便宜的金屬

【答案】D

【解析】本題的依據(jù)是文章第一段的最后一句話Coins today are made of an alloy of cheaper metals，因此D項為正確答案。

3.“良幣”和“劣幣”之間有什么區(qū)別？

A.它們在不同的市場流通?！.它們發(fā)行的面值不同。

C.它們金銀含量不同?！　　.它們有不同的用途。

【答案】C

【解析】本題可參照文章第二段的第二句，從中可知良幣和劣幣的差別在于它們有不同的商品價值，而第三段中又提到政府使用便宜的金屬和金銀混合以降低貨幣的實際價值，而且做金銀交易的人可以分別出兩種貨幣的不同。因此C項為正確答案。

4.16世紀(jì)政府發(fā)行用廉價金屬和金銀混制成的新型硬幣的目的何在？

A.他們想自己把金銀保存起來?！.沒有足夠的金和銀。

C.新硬幣容易制作。　　　　　　D.他們可以賺錢。

【答案】D

【解析】本題的依據(jù)是文章最后一段的第三句話The governments could thus make a profit in coinage by issuing coins that had less precious metal than the face value indicated，從中可知D項為正確答案。

5.依照本文意思，下面的哪個說法是正確的？

A.好錢是指銀幣，壞錢是指金屬硬幣?！.好錢是指銀幣，壞錢是指合金硬幣。

C.發(fā)行硬幣取代銀幣是為了省錢。　　　D.現(xiàn)在的硬幣比其面值價格低。

【答案】D

【解析】正確答案可以從第一段的后半部分里得出。選項A和選項B較牽強。