Money, Real and Counterfeit（真幣和偽幣）
1. Without looking, tell me whose picture is on a one dollar bill. What about a five dollar bill? If you know these, maybe you know the pictures on a ten, twenty or even a fifty dollar bill. If you're not sure, someone could give you a "phony" bill with the wrong picture and you'd never know the difference.
1、在不看的情況下，告訴我在一美元鈔票上是誰(shuí)的頭像？五美元鈔票呢?如果你知道這些的話，那你可能也知道十美元、二十美元甚至五十美元鈔票上的像。如果你不能確定的話，就有可能當(dāng)別人給你一張印錯(cuò)頭像的偽鈔時(shí)，而你卻不知道其中的差異。
2. Do you know where the pictures on money came from? In the early days people made payments by the weight of their silver or gold. (Just think how much time you save now by paying for things with a coin or bill. You don't have to weigh out so many ounces of gold. That would surely slow down the normal pace of business today.)
2、你知道在錢上印人頭像出自哪里嗎？在早期，人們通過(guò)他們的銀子或金子的重量來(lái)進(jìn)行支付。（想想看，你現(xiàn)在用硬幣或鈔票來(lái)購(gòu)買物品可以節(jié)省多少時(shí)間。你無(wú)需稱量那么多盎司的黃金。今天那樣做無(wú)疑會(huì)減慢正常交易的速度。）
3. However, the ancient Greeks and Romans used coins of a definite value like our dime or quarter. At that time, animals were pictured on the coins. You won't think that this is so unusual if you examine a nickel and see the buffalo on the back of it.
3、不過(guò)，古希臘人和古羅馬人也使用類似我們的一角硬幣或二角五分硬幣那樣有確實(shí)價(jià)值的硬幣。不過(guò)在那時(shí)，硬幣上畫著動(dòng)物圖案。如果你查看一個(gè)背面有牦牛像的五分鎳幣時(shí)，不要以為它非同尋常。
4. A little later, though, the Greeks and Romans began to put pictures of famous people on their coins. It took some time to develop a central money-making business. Because of this, people would sometimes put pictures of their own ancestors on their coins. Even though this may have been confusing at times, it's easier than trading animals for things that you need. Imagine receiving a cow as change for something you have just bought! It's much simpler to carry a purse or a wallet than to exchange one thing for another.
4、然而不久以后，希臘和羅馬人開始把名人像放在他們的硬幣上。這使得建立和發(fā)展中央貨幣制造業(yè)頗費(fèi)了一些時(shí)間。因?yàn)槿藗冇袝r(shí)會(huì)把他們自己祖先的像放在自己的錢上。盡管這樣做有時(shí)會(huì)引起迷惑，但這總比用動(dòng)物來(lái)?yè)Q取你想要的東西來(lái)得容易。設(shè)想一下，當(dāng)你買了什么東西后，找回的零錢竟是一頭母牛！帶個(gè)錢包或皮夾出門看來(lái)比用一件東西換另一件要簡(jiǎn)單許多了。
5. The use of coins and money grew just as civilization advanced. As time passed, civilization became much more complicated. Now a person works for a certain amount of money so that he can pay for food and clothing. He does not need to grow his own food. We're in an age of specialization. We don't have time to make our own clothes and shoes, so money is a way of trading today.
5、硬幣和貨幣的使用隨著人類文明的進(jìn)化而發(fā)展。隨著時(shí)間的流逝，人類文明變得十分復(fù)雜?，F(xiàn)在，人為了獲得一定數(shù)量錢而工作，因而他能夠買食物和衣服而不需要自己種植食物。我們正處在一個(gè)專業(yè)化的時(shí)代。我們沒(méi)有時(shí)間去制造自己的衣服和鞋，因此貨幣成為當(dāng)今交易的必須方式。
6. When we use money today, however, the actual value of the coin itself does not equal its face value. For example, a dime may not have ten cents' worth of silver in it. The paper in a dollar bill may not be worth a full dollar. Well, you might ask, how is it worth anything? The answer is that money is like a medal. It's not the money itself, but what it stands for, that gives it its value. An Olympic runner wins a medal. It is actually not worth very much, but it's the idea behind it that counts to him. It's like the half dollar in your pocket. It's what it will buy that counts, not its actual weight.
6、但是，當(dāng)我們今天使用貨幣的時(shí)候，硬幣本身的實(shí)際價(jià)值并不等同其面值。舉個(gè)例子，一角硬幣里也許沒(méi)有價(jià)值十美分的銀子。一美元鈔票所用的紙也并不值整整一個(gè)美元。這樣一來(lái)，你也許會(huì)問(wèn)：那它是怎么代表東西的價(jià)值的呢?答案是貨幣就像獎(jiǎng)?wù)?，不是貨幣本身，而是它代表什么，這就是它價(jià)值的來(lái)源。一位奧林匹克長(zhǎng)跑運(yùn)動(dòng)員獲得了一枚獎(jiǎng)?wù)?。?jiǎng)?wù)卤旧聿⒉恢刀嗌馘X，但是，獎(jiǎng)?wù)滤哂械囊饬x卻與運(yùn)動(dòng)員的價(jià)值相符。這一切就像一個(gè)沉掂掂的半美元硬幣在你口袋里，它所代表的是它所能購(gòu)買的東西，并非其實(shí)際的重量。
1. Without looking, tell me whose picture is on a one dollar bill. What about a five dollar bill? If you know these, maybe you know the pictures on a ten, twenty or even a fifty dollar bill. If you're not sure, someone could give you a "phony" bill with the wrong picture and you'd never know the difference.
1、在不看的情況下，告訴我在一美元鈔票上是誰(shuí)的頭像？五美元鈔票呢?如果你知道這些的話，那你可能也知道十美元、二十美元甚至五十美元鈔票上的像。如果你不能確定的話，就有可能當(dāng)別人給你一張印錯(cuò)頭像的偽鈔時(shí)，而你卻不知道其中的差異。
2. Do you know where the pictures on money came from? In the early days people made payments by the weight of their silver or gold. (Just think how much time you save now by paying for things with a coin or bill. You don't have to weigh out so many ounces of gold. That would surely slow down the normal pace of business today.)
2、你知道在錢上印人頭像出自哪里嗎？在早期，人們通過(guò)他們的銀子或金子的重量來(lái)進(jìn)行支付。（想想看，你現(xiàn)在用硬幣或鈔票來(lái)購(gòu)買物品可以節(jié)省多少時(shí)間。你無(wú)需稱量那么多盎司的黃金。今天那樣做無(wú)疑會(huì)減慢正常交易的速度。）
3. However, the ancient Greeks and Romans used coins of a definite value like our dime or quarter. At that time, animals were pictured on the coins. You won't think that this is so unusual if you examine a nickel and see the buffalo on the back of it.
3、不過(guò)，古希臘人和古羅馬人也使用類似我們的一角硬幣或二角五分硬幣那樣有確實(shí)價(jià)值的硬幣。不過(guò)在那時(shí)，硬幣上畫著動(dòng)物圖案。如果你查看一個(gè)背面有牦牛像的五分鎳幣時(shí)，不要以為它非同尋常。
4. A little later, though, the Greeks and Romans began to put pictures of famous people on their coins. It took some time to develop a central money-making business. Because of this, people would sometimes put pictures of their own ancestors on their coins. Even though this may have been confusing at times, it's easier than trading animals for things that you need. Imagine receiving a cow as change for something you have just bought! It's much simpler to carry a purse or a wallet than to exchange one thing for another.
4、然而不久以后，希臘和羅馬人開始把名人像放在他們的硬幣上。這使得建立和發(fā)展中央貨幣制造業(yè)頗費(fèi)了一些時(shí)間。因?yàn)槿藗冇袝r(shí)會(huì)把他們自己祖先的像放在自己的錢上。盡管這樣做有時(shí)會(huì)引起迷惑，但這總比用動(dòng)物來(lái)?yè)Q取你想要的東西來(lái)得容易。設(shè)想一下，當(dāng)你買了什么東西后，找回的零錢竟是一頭母牛！帶個(gè)錢包或皮夾出門看來(lái)比用一件東西換另一件要簡(jiǎn)單許多了。
5. The use of coins and money grew just as civilization advanced. As time passed, civilization became much more complicated. Now a person works for a certain amount of money so that he can pay for food and clothing. He does not need to grow his own food. We're in an age of specialization. We don't have time to make our own clothes and shoes, so money is a way of trading today.
5、硬幣和貨幣的使用隨著人類文明的進(jìn)化而發(fā)展。隨著時(shí)間的流逝，人類文明變得十分復(fù)雜?，F(xiàn)在，人為了獲得一定數(shù)量錢而工作，因而他能夠買食物和衣服而不需要自己種植食物。我們正處在一個(gè)專業(yè)化的時(shí)代。我們沒(méi)有時(shí)間去制造自己的衣服和鞋，因此貨幣成為當(dāng)今交易的必須方式。
6. When we use money today, however, the actual value of the coin itself does not equal its face value. For example, a dime may not have ten cents' worth of silver in it. The paper in a dollar bill may not be worth a full dollar. Well, you might ask, how is it worth anything? The answer is that money is like a medal. It's not the money itself, but what it stands for, that gives it its value. An Olympic runner wins a medal. It is actually not worth very much, but it's the idea behind it that counts to him. It's like the half dollar in your pocket. It's what it will buy that counts, not its actual weight.
6、但是，當(dāng)我們今天使用貨幣的時(shí)候，硬幣本身的實(shí)際價(jià)值并不等同其面值。舉個(gè)例子，一角硬幣里也許沒(méi)有價(jià)值十美分的銀子。一美元鈔票所用的紙也并不值整整一個(gè)美元。這樣一來(lái)，你也許會(huì)問(wèn)：那它是怎么代表東西的價(jià)值的呢?答案是貨幣就像獎(jiǎng)?wù)?，不是貨幣本身，而是它代表什么，這就是它價(jià)值的來(lái)源。一位奧林匹克長(zhǎng)跑運(yùn)動(dòng)員獲得了一枚獎(jiǎng)?wù)?。?jiǎng)?wù)卤旧聿⒉恢刀嗌馘X，但是，獎(jiǎng)?wù)滤哂械囊饬x卻與運(yùn)動(dòng)員的價(jià)值相符。這一切就像一個(gè)沉掂掂的半美元硬幣在你口袋里，它所代表的是它所能購(gòu)買的東西，并非其實(shí)際的重量。