Nearlyeveryoneagreesthatmoneydoesn'tbuyasmuchasitusedto,nomatterwhereyouwanttospendit.Thisiscertainlytrueofthepapermoneythatpassessoquicklythroughone'shands.Inflation(通货膨胀)eatsawayatitsbuyingpowerjustasthesteadyappetiteofwaveschewsatsandcliffs.Butwhataboutcoinsthatseemtodoverylittleexceptwearoutyourpursesandpockets?Unlikenotes,metalmoneybecomesmorevaluablethelongeritisheld,especiallyifitisputawaywhereitwon'tgetscratchedorworn.Whyisthis?Onereasonisthatcoins,beingmoredurable,fallmorereadilyintoacategoryforcollectors.Naturally,therarergoldpiecesmustbecomemorevaluableasthepriceofthismetalgoesup.
But,curiously,oneoftherarestcoinsintheworldisnotmadeofgold,butoftherelativelycheapersilver.In1804,theUnitedStatesmint(造币厂)struck19,570silverdollars.Thatiswhatitsrecordsshow.Todayonlysixofthisoriginalnumberremainandtheseareunlikelyevertoreachtheauctionmarket.Sowhathappenedtosome19,564largesilvercoins,nottheeasiestsortofthingstolose?OneofthemoreromantictheoriesisthattheywerepartofthepaymenttoNapoleonfortheAmericanterritorythenknownasLouisiana.ButtheyneverreachedFrance.SomewhereintheGulfofMexico,theshiptransportingthemwassunk,eitherbyastormorbypirates(#£&).Theprobableanswertothemysteryisthattheyweremelteddown—sincethesilvervaluewasgreaterthantheactualvalueofthecoin.Whatreallyhappenedtotherestwillprobablyalwaysremainamystery.Whatisknownisthatwhoevercancomeupwithonewillfindhimselfinstantlyrich.
26.Itcanbeinferredfrompassagethat_______.
A.moneybuysasmuchasitdidbefore
B.moneydoesnotbuyasmuchasitdidbefore
C.papermoneybuysmorethanmetalmoney
D.metalmoneybuysmorethanpapermoney
27.WhichofthefollowingisTRUEofacoin?
A.Thelongeritisheld,thelessvaluableitbecomes.
B.Themoreitwearsout,themorevaluableitbecomes.
C.Thelessitgetsscratched,thelessitvalues.
D.Thelongeritlasts,themoreitvalues.
28.Accordingtothispassage,oneoftherarestcoinsintheworldismadeofA.silverB.gold
29.Coinsbecomemorevaluablebecause_______.
A.theywearoutyourpursesandpockets
C.theyfallmorereadilyintoacategoryforcollectorsduetotheirduration
30.Whatreallyhappenedtosome19,564largesilvercoins?
A.Theyweremelteddown.B.TheyweresunkintheGulfofMexico.
C.Itisstillamystery.D.Theywerestolenbypirates.
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