Passage 2
A silver dollar is not worth a dollar — nor is any other silver coin really worth its face value． Silver coins are made of any alloy — a mixture of 10 per cent copper and 90 per cent silver — which lasts much longer in circulation than pure silver would． A silver dollar contains 90 cents worth of silver and a dime has 9 cents worth． It takes only a penny worth of silver to make a nickel．
This was not the case in 1792, when the United States began minting coins of pure gold and silver． Citizens were welcome to stop anytime with gold or silver in any form — cups, vases, or even gold fillings from their teeth — and have it melted down for spending money．
Today the mints in Philadelphia and Denver earn a yearly profit of about $40 million． Most of this comes from using alloys rather than pure silver in the production of the $2.5 billion worth of coins circulating in the United States． The Philadelphia plant also produces coins for foreign countries． In a recent year almost 130 million coins were made for the use of foreign governments．
61．According to the selection, silver coins today are not worth face value because ______．
A． their value has been raised since they were made
B． they contain less silver than coins used to
C． they contain more silver than coins used to
D． the metal wears down in use
62．U.S. silver coins are made of ______．
A． 90% copper and 10% silver
B． 90% silver and 10% copper
C． pure gold and silver
D． none of these
63．The first U. S. coins were made of ______．
A． an alloy of copper and silver
B． pure silver or pure gold
C． pure copper
D． an alloy of gold and silver
64．When the U.S. mint first began operating, it ______．
A． made coins for individual citizens
B． made all coins of pure metal
C． melted down cups and gold fillings
D． all of the above
65．The use of alloys in making coins ______．
A． costs the mint about Ｓ40 million a year
B． helps the mint earn a profit of Ｓ40 million a year
C． cost the same as the use of pure silver
D． results in a small loss
A silver dollar is not worth a dollar — nor is any other silver coin really worth its face value． Silver coins are made of any alloy — a mixture of 10 per cent copper and 90 per cent silver — which lasts much longer in circulation than pure silver would． A silver dollar contains 90 cents worth of silver and a dime has 9 cents worth． It takes only a penny worth of silver to make a nickel．
This was not the case in 1792, when the United States began minting coins of pure gold and silver． Citizens were welcome to stop anytime with gold or silver in any form — cups, vases, or even gold fillings from their teeth — and have it melted down for spending money．
Today the mints in Philadelphia and Denver earn a yearly profit of about $40 million． Most of this comes from using alloys rather than pure silver in the production of the $2.5 billion worth of coins circulating in the United States． The Philadelphia plant also produces coins for foreign countries． In a recent year almost 130 million coins were made for the use of foreign governments．
61．According to the selection, silver coins today are not worth face value because ______．
A． their value has been raised since they were made
B． they contain less silver than coins used to
C． they contain more silver than coins used to
D． the metal wears down in use
62．U.S. silver coins are made of ______．
A． 90% copper and 10% silver
B． 90% silver and 10% copper
C． pure gold and silver
D． none of these
63．The first U. S. coins were made of ______．
A． an alloy of copper and silver
B． pure silver or pure gold
C． pure copper
D． an alloy of gold and silver
64．When the U.S. mint first began operating, it ______．
A． made coins for individual citizens
B． made all coins of pure metal
C． melted down cups and gold fillings
D． all of the above
65．The use of alloys in making coins ______．
A． costs the mint about Ｓ40 million a year
B． helps the mint earn a profit of Ｓ40 million a year
C． cost the same as the use of pure silver
D． results in a small loss