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READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on the following pages.

Coins - the first form of money

Question 14 (A):

A Few people pay much attention to coins; we take them for granted. Since the advent of paper currency and the abandonment of a monetary system based on intrinsic or actual value, they have been demoted to the status of change: what is left when you have paid for something with 'paper' money. There is even a belief that they will one day be obsolete, as will paper or plastic notes, and money will at last have achieved the pure status of a mathematical formulation, a system of electronic credits and debits.

Question 15 (B):

B In the modern media environment, the sheer number of visual images is overwhelming, but it makes one stop to think that coins are among the most durable of our artefacts, and future archaeologists will scrutinise coins in order to learn about their distant ancestors. This is exactly the way ancient coins have informed us for over four millennia. There are thousands of different coins, each designed to carry meaning as well as value, tiny but rich sources of documentary evidence about events and cultural attitudes, frequently produced with exquisite craftsmanship.

Question 16 (C):

C Coins in Europe date from 2,500 to 2,700 years ago, and seem to have originated in the ancient kingdom of Lydia, in what is now Turkey. Before coins, trade was based on barter: the direct trade of commodities. Barter required the physical presence of both commodities that were being traded. Metal coins were far more portable, and not subject to the same spoilage on long sea journeys as a commodity like grain might be if it became wet. However, they could also be accumulated, and these hoards could be stolen. Coins were therefore a temptation to criminals. The Greeks, however, were the first to realise the full potential of the new invention. They were a trading people of seafarers. Their civilisation, which was composed of dozens of city-states, was highly decentralised. Despite the potential for theft, the Greeks realised that they could benefit enormously from a system that used coins, because it meant that they no longer had to carry goods with them to barter.

Question 17 (D):

D The value of coins was generally based on the intrinsic value of the metal they were made of. At first this was mostly silver, and this meant that the discovery of silver mines on Greek territory actually increased the quantity of money they could produce. Had the Greek mining been on a larger scale, it could have caused problems similar to those faced by the Spanish centuries later, when so much gold from the New World was brought into their economy that it resulted in serious inflation. One advantage of intrinsic value was that coins could be weighed to determine the amount of metal they contained, so that the only thing an issuing state had to guarantee was the purity of the metal to prevent accusations of fraud and cheating, which could cause fighting and unrest. This was quite difficult to do, especially with coins made of gold, until Archimedes realised that different metals have different weight-volume ratios, and that by measuring the amount of displacement when coins were immersed in water, it was possible to establish whether gold was alloyed with silver.

Question 18 (E):

E All ancient coins were made by hand using engraved metal moulds. Many hundreds of coins were made, and as a result the moulds often cracked and new ones had to be engraved. This explains the endless variety encountered in coins with the same designs because the moulds had to be remade repeatedly, by many different artisans. One of the distinctive features of coins, in fact, is that they are the work of anonymous craftsmen, and yet each coin is an intimate reflection of the character of its city of origin. It was the Greeks who realised that coins could have a double function, as a unit of value and as a symbol of the identity of the city that issued them. The Greek view of life was deeply motivated by a spirit of competition, and coins, which circulated around the trading world, were a way of advertising the qualities of each particular city-state.

Question 19 (F):

F Interestingly, Greek coins from the city of Athens, which was the home of the greatest sculptors of the classical period, seem to have been completely disconnected from the high sculptural tradition. The beautiful features of the city's patron, Athena (with her owl on the reverse of the coin), seem to have been repeated virtually unaltered for many years. Perhaps this was because the Athenian currency had grown increasingly to be the international standard and, like the US dollar today, a uniform design implied integrity.

Question 20 (G):

G One side of a coin was always occupied by the head of a divinity, so it was a relatively small step, at around 323 BC, for Greek coins to replace that head with the portrait of the reigning monarch, a tradition that has continued in monarchies to the present day. Republics may have either symbolic heads going back to the older tradition of divinities or the features of a distinguished past head of state. The Romans adopted the Greek practice of coin design and as a result, the features of many great Romans have survived and are known to modern generations, despite the fact that the art of portrait painting was completely lost for more than a millennium following the fall of the Roman Empire.

22:T50b,

Questions 14-20

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

List of Headings

i. Training coin makers

ii. A form of regional promotion

iii. More gold than silver in Greece

iv. Calculating what a coin was worth

v. A simpler, more efficient way of trading

vi. Putting a face to famous historical names

vii. An uncertain future

viii. Careless workmanship caused breakages

ix. Unchanging coins signalled trustworthiness

x. Reading the writing on coins

xi. Significant records of past societies

23:T438,

Questions 21 and 22

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO of these comments about ancient coins are made by the writer of the text?

A There is no record of the names of the coin makers. B Coins were not popular as payment for traded objects. C Coins with the same design often looked quite different. D Greek coins were more beautiful in design than Roman coins. E At times, too many coins were produced in Greece.

24:T513,

Questions 23-26

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Greek traders and coins

The ancient Greek 23 was made up of many city-states which were spread over a large area. Many Greeks were seafarers who travelled the seas trading. Before coins, they had to do this through 24 . This meant that, whenever they set out, they had to carry a lot of goods, which could get damaged on the voyages. The Greeks liked coins; they were made of metal, and the weather and sea had little effect on them. The Greeks had a plentiful supply of 25 which they mined themselves, but were able to avoid the problem of 26 which the Spanish encountered much later, after they allowed too much gold from the New World to enter their economy.

25:T4b7,(1) Câu 23: The ancient Greek ________ was made up of many city-states which were spread over a large area. Many Greeks were seafarers who travelled the seas trading. Before coins, they had to do this through ________. This meant that, whenever they set out, they had to carry a lot of goods, which could get damaged on the voyages. The Greeks liked coins; they were made of metal, and the weather and sea had little effect on them. The Greeks had a plentiful supply of ________ which they mined themselves, but were able to avoid the problem of ________ which the Spanish encountered much later, after they allowed too much gold from the New World to enter their economy. Dịch đề: Cái gì ở Hy Lạp cổ gồm nhiều thành bang phân bố trên khu vực rộng? Đáp án: civilisation Định vị: bài chính Paragraph C Bản gốc: Their civilisation, which was composed of dozens of city-states, was highly decentralised. Bản dịch: Nền văn minh của họ gồm hàng chục thành bang, quyền lực phân tán cao. Giải thích: was made up of many city-states trong đề tương ứng was composed of dozens of city-states trong bài, danh từ trung tâm là civilisation.26:T48e,(2) Câu 24: The ancient Greek ________ was made up of many city-states which were spread over a large area. Many Greeks were seafarers who travelled the seas trading. Before coins, they had to do this through ________. This meant that, whenever they set out, they had to carry a lot of goods, which could get damaged on the voyages. The Greeks liked coins; they were made of metal, and the weather and sea had little effect on them. The Greeks had a plentiful supply of ________ which they mined themselves, but were able to avoid the problem of ________ which the Spanish encountered much later, after they allowed too much gold from the New World to enter their economy. Dịch đề: Trước khi có đồng xu, người Hy Lạp buôn bán bằng cách nào? Đáp án: barter Định vị: bài chính Paragraph C Bản gốc: Before coins, trade was based on barter: the direct trade of commodities. Bản dịch: Trước khi có đồng xu, thương mại dựa trên đổi chác, tức trao đổi trực tiếp hàng hóa. Giải thích: through ___ trong đề chỉ trading trước đó; bài nói rõ trade was based on barter, nên điền barter.27:T533,(3) Câu 25: The ancient Greek ________ was made up of many city-states which were spread over a large area. Many Greeks were seafarers who travelled the seas trading. Before coins, they had to do this through ________. This meant that, whenever they set out, they had to carry a lot of goods, which could get damaged on the voyages. The Greeks liked coins; they were made of metal, and the weather and sea had little effect on them. The Greeks had a plentiful supply of ________ which they mined themselves, but were able to avoid the problem of ________ which the Spanish encountered much later, after they allowed too much gold from the New World to enter their economy. Dịch đề: Người Hy Lạp tự khai thác và có nguồn cung dồi dào thứ gì? Đáp án: silver Định vị: bài chính Paragraph D Bản gốc: At first this was mostly silver, and this meant that the discovery of silver mines on Greek territory actually increased the quantity of money they could produce. Bản dịch: Ban đầu đồng xu chủ yếu làm bằng bạc; việc phát hiện mỏ bạc trên lãnh thổ Hy Lạp thực sự giúp họ sản xuất nhiều tiền hơn. Giải thích: Bài nhắc rõ phát hiện silver mines trên Greek territory, nên thứ họ tự khai thác và nguồn cung dồi dào là silver.28:T511,(4) Câu 26: The ancient Greek ________ was made up of many city-states which were spread over a large area. Many Greeks were seafarers who travelled the seas trading. Before coins, they had to do this through ________. This meant that, whenever they set out, they had to carry a lot of goods, which could get damaged on the voyages. The Greeks liked coins; they were made of metal, and the weather and sea had little effect on them. The Greeks had a plentiful supply of ________ which they mined themselves, but were able to avoid the problem of ________ which the Spanish encountered much later, after they allowed too much gold from the New World to enter their economy. Dịch đề: Người Hy Lạp tránh được vấn đề gì mà Tây Ban Nha sau này gặp phải? Đáp án: inflation Định vị: bài chính Paragraph D Bản gốc: when so much gold from the New World was brought into their economy that it resulted in serious inflation. Bản dịch: Khi lượng lớn vàng từ Tân Thế giới đưa vào nền kinh tế của họ, dẫn đến lạm phát nghiêm trọng. Giải thích: Đề diễn đạt lại after too much gold entered the economy thành nguyên nhân, kết quả bài nêu là serious inflation; giới hạn một từ, nên điền inflation.17:["$","$L20",null,{"exam":{"id":"p2-low-240","title":"Coins - the first form of money","titleVi":"Nguồn gốc đồng tiền xu","part":"P2","frequency":"low","questionCount":13,"kinds":["Ghép tiêu đề","Trắc nghiệm","Điền tóm tắt"],"hasExplanation":true,"questionOrder":["q1","q2","q3","q4","q5","q6","q7","q8","q9","q10","q11","q12","q13"],"displayMap":{"q1":"14","q2":"15","q3":"16","q4":"17","q5":"18","q6":"19","q7":"20","q8":"21","q9":"22","q10":"23","q11":"24","q12":"25","q13":"26"},"answerKey":{"q1":"vii","q2":"xi","q3":"v","q4":"iv","q5":"ii","q6":"ix","q7":"vi","q8":"A","q9":"C","q10":"civilisation","q11":"barter","q12":"silver","q13":"inflation"},"questionIntroHtml":"","passageHtml":"$21","groups":[{"id":"group-1","kind":"matching","questionIds":["q1","q2","q3","q4","q5","q6","q7"],"leadHtml":"","html":"$22","allowOptionReuse":false},{"id":"group-2","kind":"multiple_choice","questionIds":["q8","q9"],"leadHtml":"","html":"$23","allowOptionReuse":false},{"id":"group-3","kind":"summary_completion","questionIds":["q10","q11","q12","q13"],"leadHtml":"","html":"$24","allowOptionReuse":false}],"explanations":{"passageNotes":[],"questionExplanations":[{"sectionTitle":"Lời giải từng câu","items":[{"questionNumber":14,"text":"(1) Câu 14: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: vii（An uncertain future）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph A\nBản gốc: There is even a belief that they will one day be obsolete, as will paper or plastic notes, and money will at last have achieved the pure status of a mathematical formulation, a system of electronic credits and debits.\nBản dịch: Thậm chí có người cho rằng đồng xu một ngày nào đó sẽ bị đào thải như tiền giấy hay tiền nhựa, và tiền tệ cuối cùng sẽ trở thành hệ thống toán học thuần túy gồm ghi có và ghi nợ điện tử.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn A từ việc đồng xu nay bị hạ xuống địa vị “tiền lẻ” viết đến khả năng tương lai hoàn toàn rút lui, nên ý chính cả đoạn là tương lai đồng xu chưa chắc chắn, tiêu đề phù hợp nhất là “An uncertain future”."},{"questionNumber":15,"text":"(2) Câu 15: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: xi（Significant records of past societies）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph B\nBản gốc: There are thousands of different coins, each designed to carry meaning as well as value, tiny but rich sources of documentary evidence about events and cultural attitudes, frequently produced with exquisite craftsmanship.\nBản dịch: Có hàng nghìn loại đồng xu, không chỉ mang giá trị mà còn mang ý nghĩa; chúng tuy nhỏ nhưng là nguồn bằng chứng tư liệu phong phú về sự kiện và thái độ văn hóa.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn B nhấn mạnh đồng xu bền, có thể được nhà khảo cổ tương lai nghiên cứu, và lưu giữ sự kiện và thái độ văn hóa, nên chúng là ghi chép quan trọng về xã hội quá khứ."},{"questionNumber":16,"text":"(3) Câu 16: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: v（A simpler, more efficient way of trading）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph C\nBản gốc: Despite the potential for theft, the Greeks realised that they could benefit enormously from a system that used coins, because it meant that they no longer had to carry goods with them to barter.\nBản dịch: Dù đồng xu có thể bị trộm, người Hy Lạp vẫn nhận ra hệ thống tiền xu mang lại lợi ích to lớn, vì họ không cần mang hàng đi đổi chác nữa.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn C đối chiếu trao đổi hàng đổi hàng với đồng xu kim loại dễ mang và ít bị ẩm hỏng, trọng tâm là đồng xu khiến thương mại đơn giản hiệu quả hơn."},{"questionNumber":17,"text":"(4) Câu 17: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: iv（Calculating what a coin was worth）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph D\nBản gốc: One advantage of intrinsic value was that coins could be weighed to determine the amount of metal they contained, so that the only thing an issuing state had to guarantee was the purity of the metal\nBản dịch: Một lợi ích của giá trị nội tại là có thể cân đồng xu để xác định lượng kim loại chứa trong đó, nước phát hành chỉ cần bảo đảm độ tinh khiết kim loại.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn D giải thích giá trị đồng xu đến từ chính kim loại, và giới thiệu cân và phương pháp đẩy nước của Archimedes để phán đoán thành phần, trọng tâm là cách xác định giá trị đồng xu."},{"questionNumber":18,"text":"(5) Câu 18: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: ii（A form of regional promotion）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph E\nBản gốc: coins, which circulated around the trading world, were a way of advertising the qualities of each particular city-state.\nBản dịch: Đồng xu lưu hành trong thế giới thương mại là một cách quảng bá đặc tính của từng thành bang.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn E trước hết nói đồng xu thể hiện thân phận thành phố phát hành, cuối cùng nói rõ chúng dùng để quảng bá đặc tính từng thành bang, nên tiêu đề là quảng bá khu vực."},{"questionNumber":19,"text":"(6) Câu 19: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: ix（Unchanging coins signalled trustworthiness）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph F\nBản gốc: Perhaps this was because the Athenian currency had grown increasingly to be the international standard and, like the US dollar today, a uniform design implied integrity.\nBản dịch: Có lẽ vì tiền Athens ngày càng thành chuẩn quốc tế; như đô la Mỹ ngày nay, thiết kế thống nhất ngụ ý sự đáng tin.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn F nói đồng xu Athens lâu dài hầu như không đổi, và liên hệ uniform design với integrity, nên thiết kế không đổi truyền đạt độ đáng tin."},{"questionNumber":20,"text":"(7) Câu 20: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nĐáp án: vi（Putting a face to famous historical names）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph G\nBản gốc: The Romans adopted the Greek practice of coin design and as a result, the features of many great Romans have survived and are known to modern generations\nBản dịch: Người La Mã tiếp nhận cách thiết kế đồng xu của Hy Lạp, nhờ vậy dung mạo nhiều người La Mã vĩ đại được lưu giữ, và thế hệ hiện đại biết đến.\n\nGiải thích: Đoạn G viết hình đầu trên đồng xu chuyển từ thần sang vua hoặc nhân vật lịch sử, và cho đời sau biết dung mạo người La Mã vĩ đại, đúng là “khiến nhân vật lịch sử nổi tiếng có gương mặt cụ thể”."},{"questionNumber":21,"text":"(1) Câu 21: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nDịch đề: Tác giả đưa ra hai nhận xét nào sau đây về đồng xu cổ?\nĐáp án: A（There is no record of the names of the coin makers.）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph E\nBản gốc: One of the distinctive features of coins, in fact, is that they are the work of anonymous craftsmen, and yet each coin is an intimate reflection of the character of its city of origin.\nBản dịch: Thực tế, một đặc điểm nổi bật của đồng xu là chúng do thợ vô danh làm ra, nhưng mỗi đồng xu lại phản ánh sát sao đặc tính của thành phố nguồn gốc.\n\nGiải thích: coin makers tương ứng craftsmen, anonymous cho thấy tên những người thợ này không được ghi lại, nên A đúng."},{"questionNumber":22,"text":"(2) Câu 22: (Đề bài xem ở phần đề)\nDịch đề: Tác giả đưa ra hai nhận xét nào sau đây về đồng xu cổ?\nĐáp án: C（Coins with the same design often looked quite different.）\nĐịnh vị: bài chính Paragraph E\nBản gốc: This explains the endless variety encountered in coins with the same designs because the moulds had to be remade repeatedly, by many different artisans.\nBản dịch: Điều này giải thích vì sao đồng xu cùng thiết kế vẫn có vô số khác biệt: khuôn phải được nhiều thợ khác nhau làm lại nhiều lần.\n\nGiải thích: Bài nói thẳng đồng xu cùng thiết kế có endless variety, nguyên nhân là khuôn bị nhiều thợ làm lại nhiều lần, nên đồng xu cùng thiết kế thường có vẻ ngoài khác nhau, C đúng."},{"questionNumber":23,"text":"$25"},{"questionNumber":24,"text":"$26"},{"questionNumber":25,"text":"$27"},{"questionNumber":26,"text":"$28"}]}]}}}]