英语听力文章材料-英语听力文章：TheHistoryofMoney

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Katy Blake.

Voice 2

And I’m Christy VanArragon. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

Small, shiny shells. Round metal coins. Colourful paper. Square pieces of plastic. What do these things have in common? They are all different kinds of money!

Voice 2

How do you get the things you need? Do you trade with a friend? Do you use paper money, or coins? Or do you use credit? Throughout history, people have used all of these different kinds of money. Today’s Spotlight is on the history of money.

Voice 1

Trading is one of the first ways that people have gotten what they need. For example, in the past, salt was very important to people. People needed salt to keep food fresh. So people would trade salt for other things they needed. People traded salt for shoes, tools, weapons and food. This method of trading is called bartering. Instead of buying things, people bartered, or traded, for them.

Voice 2

But bartering does not always work well. For example, a man who makes shoes may need some rice. He may try to trade the shoes he makes for the rice. But the person who grows rice may not need new shoes. If the man who grows rice is not willing to trade, the man who makes shoes is not able to get what he needs.

Voice 1

So over time, people developed a new system. Instead of bartering, people would trade for particular objects. These objects were often rare or beautiful. But sometimes the objects were even common things.

本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/yevx.html