2015-10-22
803
I. 1). Early people had no system of money as we know it. To get the things they wanted, people used the barter system. People learned that almost everyone would accept certain goods in exchange for any product or service. These goods included animal hides, cattle, cloth, salt, shells, and pieces of gold or silver. People began to use such things as mediums of exchange as we use money now.
2). Many people still barter, especially in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. People in industrial countries also turn to barter if money becomes scarce or worthless. For example, barter became widespread in Germany after the country’s defeat in World War II (1939 – 1945).
3). The first coins may have been made during the 600s B.C. in Lydia (now western Turkey). The coins were a natural mixture of gold and silver. The king of Lydia was on the coin. Traders accepted these coins instead of cattle, cloth, gold dust, or other goods as a medium of exchange.
4). Many historians believe that coins were also invented independently in ancient China and in India. At first, the Chinese used knives, spades, and other metal tools as mediums of exchange. As early as 1100 B.C., they began to use miniature bronze tools instead of real ones.
5). The development of paper money began in China during the 600s A.D. The Italian trader Marco Polo travelled to China in the 1200s and saw that the Chinese were using paper money instead of coins.
Прочтите и устно переведите текст. Перепишите и переведите письменно абзацы 2), 4), 5).
Ответьте письменно на вопросы по тексту.
1) What is the barter system?
2) What things were used as mediums of exchange?
3) Is the barter system still used nowadays? Give examples.
4) When and where were the first coins made?
5) What was on the coins?
6) How did the coins in China develop?
7) When and where did the development of paper money begin?
Напишите пять типов вопросов к следующему предложению.
Coins were invented independently in ancient China and in India.
