Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, summed up the four brief qualities of money some 2 000 years ago. It must be lasting and easy

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问题     Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, summed up the four brief qualities of money some 2 000 years ago. It must be lasting and easy to recognize, to divide, and to carry about. When we think of money today, we picture it either as round, flat piece of metal which we call coins, or as printed paper notes. But there are still parts of the world today where coins and notes are of no use. They will buy nothing, and a traveler might starve if he had none of the particular local "money" to exchange for food.
    Among isolated peoples, who are not often reached by traders from outside, commerce usually means barter. There is direct exchange of goods. Perhaps it is fish for vegetables, or meat for grain. For this kind of simple trading money is not needed, but there is often something that everyone wants and everybody can use, such as salt to flavor food, shells for ornament, or iron and copper to make tools and vessels. These things—salt, shells or metals—are still used as money in out-of-the-way parts of the world today. Salt may seem rather a strange substance to use as money, but in countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an absolute necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, were used as money in Tibet until recent times, and cakes of salt will still buy goods in Borneo and parts of Africa. Sea shells have been used as money at some time or another over the greater part of the Old World. Metal, valued by weight, preceded coins in many parts of the world.
    Nowadays, coins and notes have replaced nearly all of the picturesque (独特的) form of money, and although in one or two of the remote countries people still store it for future use on ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals, examples of primitive money will soon be found in museums.
Barter usually takes the place of money transaction where______.

选项 A、there is only salt
B、metal tools are used
C、the people’s trading needs are fairly simple
D、money is unheard of

答案C

解析 本题仍是一道具体细节题。问易货贸易通常在哪里会取代货币交易。利用查阅式阅读法,我们可以在文章的第二段中找到相关信息。这段指出,与世隔绝的人们通常没有外来的商人与他们接触,他们之间的交易通常便意味着以货易货,也就是直接的货与货的交换。这可能是以鱼易菜,也可能是以肉换粮。对于这种简单的贸易来说,钱是没有用场的。因此,本题的正确答案应是C“在一些人们的贸易需要相当简单的地方”。
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