The History of Money

周玉琪

In modern society， people use money every day. It seems that it is very important in our life. Thats because without money you cant buy any goods you want. But I think few people know the history of money.

Long ago， people did not need money. They lived on wild animals， fruits and other plants. As time passed， people learned to raise animals and crops. Sometimes， families produced more than they needed， so they started to trade with other families. Later， people began to use money as a means of exchange①. However， it was not the kind of money we use today. They used shells， rice， salt， large stones， etc.

During the 600s BC， people began using coins② as money. They soon found that coins were easier to carry than goods and lasted a long time. Later， countries began to make their own coins.

The Chinese were the first to use paper money， probably as early as the 11th century. The Italian traveler Marco Polo saw the Chinese using money when he visited China in the 1200s. However， European countries did not start using paper money until 1600s.

Today， we have many ways to pay for things. We do not use coins or paper money. Often， people prefer to pay for things by card. Paying with a card is easier and safer than carrying around a lot of “real” money.

Choose the best answer.

1. Long ago， people lived on ____.

A. wild animals and plants?? ???????????????? B. animals and crops

C. fruits and plants??? ???????????????????????? D. rice and vegetables

2. People used ____ as a means of exchange before the 7th century BC.

A. paper money???? ???? B. card????? ????????? C. large stone???????? ? D. coins

3. From the passage， we know that European countries used paper money in the ____.

A. 11th century??? ??????? B. 12th century??? ? C. 16th century?????? ?? D. 17th century

4. Which of the following is TRUE in this article？

A. Marco Polo was from Canada.

B. Chinese used paper money earlier than Italy.

C. Today people often prefer to pay for things by salt.

D. Carrying around much “real” money is easier and safer than paying with a card.