In the earliest stages of man’s development he had no more need of money than animals have. He was content with very simple forms of shelter, made his own rough tools and weapons and could provide food and clothing for himself and his family from natural materials around him. As he became more civilized, however, he began to want better shelter, more efficient tools and weapons, and more comfortable and more lasting clothing than could be provided by his own neighborhood or by the work of his own unskilled hands. For these things he had to turn to the skilled people such as smiths, leather workers or carpenters. It was then that the question of payment arose.
At first he got what he wanted by a simple process of exchange. The smith who had not the time to look after land or cattle was glad to take meat or grain from the farmer in exchange for an axe or a plough (犁). But as more and more goods which had no fixed exchange value came on the market, exchange became too complicated to be satisfactory. Another problem arose when those who made things wanted to get stocks of wood or leather, or iron, but had nothing to offer in exchange until their finished goods were ready.
Thus the difficulties of exchange led by degree to the invention of money. In some countries easily handled things like seeds or shells were given a certain value and farmer, instead of paying the smith for a new axe by giving him some meat or grain, gave him so many shells. If the smith had any shells left when he had bought his food, he could get stocks of the raw materials of his trade. In some countries quite large things such as cows or camels or even big flat stones were used for trade. Later, pieces of metal, bearing values according to the rarity (稀有) of the metal and the size of the pieces, or coins were used. Money as we know it had arrived.What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?
A.Man needed little in the earliest stages of development. |
B.Man preferred to make tools by himself. |
C.How the simple process of exchange arose. |
D.What the early man needed from others. |
As men became more civilized they __________.
A.all learnt to make by themselves the things needed |
B.had to travel a lot to look for what they wanted |
C.wanted better things than those they themselves could provide |
D.no longer provided food and clothing for themselves |
Exchange of goods became difficult because __________.
A.man became more civilized |
B.there was not a marketplace for farmers and smiths to exchange their goods |
C.farmers hadn’t enough grain or meat to provide for skilled workers |
D.more and more goods which had no fixed exchange values appeared on the market. |
Money was not used until __________.
A.paper was invented |
B.nothing could be offered in exchange |
C.people practiced a simple process of exchange |
D.the exchange of one thing for another became too complicated |
What was used for trade according to the text?
A.Shells | B.Tea | C.Salt | D.Horses |
Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb, both your mind and your body can become stronger. The word workout underlined in the last paragraph most probably means________.
A.settlement | B.exercise | C.excitement | D.tiredness |
Remember that people on line may not be who they seem, because you can't see or even hear the person. It would be easy for someone to misrepresent himself/herself. Thus someone who says that “she is a 12-year-old girl.” could really be an old man.The underlin
ed word misrepresent means _____.
A.making a wrong judgment about | B.understanding somebody wrongly |
C.giving a wrong description of | D.forming a wrong opinion about |
The sun was shining as Kevin walked to the old bench(长凳) where he met Mike every aft
ernoon after school. They were good friends and loved to play football. They didn’t have enough money
to buy a real football, but Mike had made a ball out of old socks covered with a piece of plastic. It wasn’t beautiful, but it worked well. The two friends didn’t stop kicking and running until very late.
The next afternoon, Mike and Kevin met again at the old bench. Soon the home-made ball was spinning(旋转) across the grass as the boys laughed and shouted happily. The ball was stopped by a boy wearing a nice pair of sneakers(运动鞋). Kevin was upset when he saw it was Steven.
The next morning, Kevin’s mother gave him an envelope(信封). “Your uncle sent you a birthday present,” she smiled. Kevin’s eyes grew big when he saw the $100 bill. Later that day, a pair of new sneaker lay next to his chair, and in the corner, a real football.
The next afternoon, Steven invited Kevin to play football on the field next to the library. Steven did not want Mike to join them only because Mike’s sneakers were dirty and he was not good at football. When the game was over, Kevin and Steven walked past the old bench where Mike was sitting. Steven picked up a stone and threw it at him. Kevin, holding his new football in his hands, walked on and did not look back.
One afternoon, as Kevin walked past the old bench, he saw something lying under it. He looked closer and saw it was the home-made ball. Kevin was full of sorrow at the sight of his old home-made ball, and he let out a sad sigh(叹气). As his sadness turned to anger, he picked up his new football and kicked it into the air. Kevin kicked it so hard that it flew past the library and over the school gate. Then Kevin walked to the bench and picked up his home-made ball. Holding it in his hands, Kevin sat down and waited.The best title for this passage is ______.
A.A Home-Made Football | B.Playing Football |
C.Two Close Friends | D.A New Football |
Have you ever stayed up late? If so, you know that not getting enough sleep can make you tried and grumpy. Not sleeping enough sleep can also make it harder to think clearly the next day.
Sleep scientists have long known that getting a good night’s sleep is very important. It helps kids be able to do their best during the day.
A recent study shows that sleep helps improve problem-solving skills and creative(创造性的) thinking. For the study, two groups of students answered a math problem. The group that slept for eight hours solved the problem correctly more often than the group that did not get enough sleep.
While you sleep at night, your brain is busy doing its “homework”. It sorts out(整理) all the informa
tion that you get in the day. Getting enough sleep each night can improve your thinking ability. That will surely help you do your best at school. Experts say that, i
n return, can lead to better grades.
The underlined word grumpy in the first paragraph means_______.
A.excited and happy | B.active and creative |
C.impatient and angry | D.bored and weak |
Choose the best title for this pass
age.
A.Sleep to Success | B.A Recent Study |
C.Do Sleep Well | D.The More Sleep, the Better |
Mr.Clinton and his 13-year-old son Tony are basketball fans. Last October 10th was Tony’s birthday, so Mr.Clinton decided to drive him to New York, for the first game of the World Series. They had no ticket but hoped to buy a pair from scalpers.
It was a two hours’ ride. After they arrived, they walked in the street for two hours, carrying a sign(牌子) that read, “ We need two tickets.” There were many scalpers around, but the cheapest ticket was $200. They were about to leave when suddenly a man stopped them. He took out two tickets and handed them to Mr. Clinton.
“How much do you want?”
“Just a present,” said the man. “Enjoy the game.”
Mr. Clinton wouldn’t accept, so the man explained, “I’m Jackson. Hans is my boss. He and his wife haven’t missed a World Series in 18 years. But he is ill and can’t watch the game this time. So he told me to give the two tickets to people who I thought would actually enjoy the game. A lot of people looked as if they might just take the tickets and sell them. Then I saw you and I followed you for a while. You seemed very disappointed. You made me think of my dad and me when I was a child. I dreamed of going to a World Series game with my father. But my dream never came true.”
How do you suppose this made Mr. Clinton and his son feel? Here is what Mr. Clinton said: “This is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to us. My boy and I must have turned to each other over 30 times and said, ‘I can’t believe this.’ We still never forget Jackson and Hans.” The underlined word scalpers in the first paragraph means ____
__.
A.people who buy tickets at a reasonable price |
B.people who sell tickets at a reasonable price |
C.p![]() |
D.people who sell tickets at a high price |