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A coin tradition 錢幣的傳統
Friday, Jun 30, 2006,Page 20
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A woman holds up a newly designed coin in Bulgaria.
保加利亞一名女子手持一枚新設計的硬幣。 (照片：歐新社)
PHOTO : EPA
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Have you ever wondered why some coins have rough edges? A long time ago, coins were made out of precious metals like gold and silver. People used to use knives to shave off the edges of the coins. After they had done this to a lot of coins, they had enough gold or silver to make jewelry. Then they could sell the jewelry and make more money.
It was hard to catch people because they only took a little bit of metal from each coin. To stop this, governments started making coins that had rough edges. Then if somebody shaved the edge off a coin, everybody would know because it would be smooth.
Today, coins aren't made with precious metals, so nobody bothers to shave them anymore. However, governments still make coins with rough edges because it is a tradition. (Marc Langer, Staff writer)
你可曾想過為何有些錢幣有粗糙的邊緣？很久以前，錢幣是以金或銀等貴重金屬製成，所以人們會用刀削落硬幣邊緣，削很多硬幣就能有足夠的金或銀製造珠寶，販賣圖利。
當時這種行為不易被查覺，因為人們一枚硬幣只削下一點金屬。為遏止這種情形，政府開始製造邊緣粗糙的硬幣，如此一來，當有人削下硬幣邊緣使其變為平滑，就會立即被發現。
今日的錢幣並非以貴重金屬製成，所以沒有人想再費力削錢幣，不過各國政府仍以傳統為由製造邊緣粗糙的硬幣。 （翻譯：鄭湘儀）
| Today's Words 今天單字 |
1. precious adj.
珍貴的 (zhen1 gui4 de5)
例：My parents say my sister and I are precious to them.
（我父母說妹妹和我對他們來說很珍貴。）
2. shave v.i./v.t
刮 (gua1)、剃 (ti4)
例：My brother hasn't shaved in three weeks, so he has a long beard now.
（我弟弟三星期沒刮鬍子了，所以他現在鬍子很長。）
3. bother v.t.
費心 (fei4 xin1)
例：Our teacher never collects our math homework, so I don't bother to do it.
（我們老師從來不收數學作業，所以我不想浪費精力去做。） |
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| Quick Quiz 複習測驗 |
1. Why did it use to be hard to catch people who shaved coins?
a. They only shaved off a little bit of metal.
b. The edges of the coins were rough.
c. The coins were very valuable.
d. They made jewelry out of the coins.
2. Why do coins have rough edges today?
a. They are made from precious metals.
b. It is a tradition.
c. So people can't shave them.
d. So people can't make jewelry. |
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