【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells. Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money. In parts of Africa, cattle were one of the earliest money. Other animals were used as money too.The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the center. People strung them together and carried them from place to place. Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. The first coins in England were made of tin. Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money. Later, other countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than paper money used today.Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.1. Which of the following can be cited as an example of the use of money in exchange for services?A. To sell a bicycle for $20.B. To get some money for old books at a garage sale.C. To buy things you need or want.D. To get paid for your work.2. Where were shells used as money in history?A. In the Philippines. B. In China.C. In Africa. D. We don’t know.3. Why did ancient Chinese coins have a square hole in the center?A. Because it would be easier to put them together and carry them around.B. Because it would be lighter for people to carry from place to place.C. Because people wanted to make it look nicer.D. Because people wanted to save the expensive metal they were made from.4. Why does the author say that even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive?A. Because they are difficult for people to obtain.B. Because they themselves are expensive, too.C. Because they are not easy to carry around.D. Because they are easy to steal.5. Which do you choose as the best title for this passage?A. Money and Its UseB. Different Things Used as MoneyC. Different Countries, Different MoneyD. The History of MoneyPassage 7In Denmark, parents are allowed to set up a new school if they are dissatisfied with the school in the area where they are living. Although these schools have to follow the national course, they are allowed a lot of choices in deciding what to teach.Some of these new schools are called “small schools” because usually the number of pupils in them is only sixty, but a school has to have at least twentyseven pupils. Cooleenbridge School in Ireland, is a small school similar to the ones in Denmark, it was set up by parents who came from Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England and other parts of Ireland. They came because they wanted to live in the countryside and to grow their own food. In June 1986, they decided to start a school. They managed to get an old, disused primary school building and started with twentyfour children aged from four to twelve.The teachers say, “The important thing in school is doing, not sitting.” And so the courses include yoga, cooking, knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, as well as reading, writing, maths and science.1. What are the rules for setting up a new school in Denmark?A. Parents are allowed to set up their own school.B. The school has to follow the national courses.C. The school has to have at least 27 students.D. All of the above.2. The writer tells about the Cooleenbridge School in the Ireland because ________.A. it was set up by parents who are not people of DenmarkB. it was taken as an example of this kind of “small school” C. there are only twentyfour childrenD. the pupils there were aged from 4 to 123. What makes this kind of school special?A. It is set up by parents not by government.B. It is free to decide what to teach.C. The number of pupils in it is only sixty.D. It has to have at least 27 pupils.4. “The important thing in school is doing, not sitting.” What the teachers say actually means _______.A. what we should do is teaching in the classroom, not sitting in the officeB. children should do more homework at home, not just sit in class to listen to the teachersC. children should learn by themselves not rely on teachersD. children should learn through practice not just from books5. The courses include _________.A. yoga, cooking, knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, except writing, maths and scienceB. either yoga, cooking, knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, or reading, writing, maths and scienceC. not only reading, writing, maths and science，but also yoga, cooking, knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studiesD. mainly yoga, cooking, knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, and supplemental (補(bǔ)充的) writing, maths and sciencePassage 8In the United States, 30 percent of the adult population has a weight problem. To many people, the cause is obvious: they eat too much. But scientific evidence does little to support the idea.Going back to the America of the 1910s, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used machines much less and didn’t watch television.Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people do not eat more on average than thinner people. In fact, some investigations, such as the 1979 study of 3,545 London office workers, report that, on balance, fat people eat less than slimmer people.Studies show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University School of Medicine found the following interest