Bitcoin and other so called crypt currencies have been all over the news lately. Apparently, the idea of money that’s not tied to a specific bank—or a specific country—is appealing to many. But it’s worth remembering that the banking system that we now all live with is just that:A modern invention. Not so long ago, money was almost always created and used locally, and bartering was common.(In fact, it still is common among many online local networks, like the Buy Nothing Project.).
比特币和其他所谓的加密货币最近频繁出现在新闻中。显然，不受特定银行或特定国家约束的货币理念对许多人来说很有吸引力。但值得记住的是，我们现在所生活的银行系统只是一个现代发明。不久之前，货币几乎总是在本地创造和使用，而且物物交换很常见。（事实上，在许多在线本地网络中，如Buy Nothing Project，物物交换仍然很常见）。

In the past, money’s makeup varied from place to place, depending on what was considered valuable there. So while some of the world’s first coins were made from a naturally occurring hybrid of gold and silver called electrum, objects other than coins have served as currency, including beads, ivory, livestock, and cowrie shells. In West Africa, bracelets of bronze or copper
过去，货币的构成因地而异，取决于当地认为有价值的东西。所以，虽然世界上最早的硬币是由一种自然产生的金银混合物——琥珀金制成的，但除了硬币之外，珠子、象牙、家畜和贝壳等物品也曾作为货币使用。在西非，铜或青铜手镯

were used as cash, especially if the transaction was associated with the slave trade there. Throughout the colonial period, tobacco was used in lieu of coins or paper bills in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, even though it was used elsewhere in the colonies and extensively throughout Europe and the U. K.
被用作现金，尤其是与那里的奴隶贸易有关的交易。在殖民时期，尽管烟草在其他殖民地和整个欧洲及英国广泛使用，但在弗吉尼亚、马里兰和北卡罗来纳，烟草被用作代替硬币或纸币。

Today, on an island in the Pacific,a specific type of shell still serves as currency—and some people there are even hoarding it, just like Bitcoin moguls, convinced that one day, it will make them wealthy beyond imagination. On Malaita, the most-populated island that’s part of the Solomon Islands, shells are accepted at most places in “How much tuna you can get for your shells depends on their color and shape,”Mary Bruno, a shop owner from the small town of Auki, on Malaita, told Vice.“One strip of darker shells might get you about two cans of smaller tuna, but the red ones are worth more, For the red ones, one strip might get enough tuna to feed a big family for a long time.
如今，在太平洋的一个岛屿上，一种特定的贝壳仍然作为货币使用——那里的一些人甚至像比特币大亨一样囤积它，相信有一天它会让他们富得无法想象。在所罗门群岛人口最多的马莱塔岛，贝壳在大多数地方都被接受，“你的贝壳能换多少金枪鱼取决于它们的颜色和形状，”来自马莱塔小镇奥基的店主玛丽·布鲁诺告诉Vice。“一条深色贝壳可能换到大约两罐小金枪鱼，但红色的更有价值，对于红色的贝壳，一条可能足够一个大家庭长时间食用。”

Just like a mint that creates coins, there’s only one place on the island where the shells, which are polished and strung together to form 3-foot-long ropes, are made.(You can see how that works in the video above.) The strips of red, white, and black shells all come from Langa Langa Lagoon, where artificial islands were long-ago built by locals to escape from the island-dwelling cannibals. Once marooned out on their islands, locals needed a currency to use among themselves, and so the shell currency was born.
就像制造硬币的造币厂一样，岛上只有一个地方制作这些被打磨并串在一起形成3英尺长绳子的贝壳。（你可以在上面的视频中看到这个过程。）红色、白色和黑色贝壳条都来自兰加兰加泻湖，那里的人工岛屿是很久以前当地人为了逃离岛上的食人族而建造的。一旦被困在他们的岛屿上，当地人需要一种货币来相互交易，于是贝壳货币应运而生。

Using shells for money was common throughout the Pacific islands as late as the early 1900s, but Malaita is unique in that they are still used today. And just like crypto currencies, there are those who think the islanders are smart to invest in this type of money, which is reported to have risen in value over the last three decades. It might seem strange to hoard a bunch of processed, strung-together shells, but what is a pile of dollars? Just a specially printed piece of paper and hemp that we’ve assigned value to —and probably less durable over time than those shells.
在20世纪初，使用贝壳作为货币在太平洋岛屿上很常见，但马莱塔的独特之处在于它们至今仍在使用。就像加密货币一样，有人认为岛民投资这种货币是明智的，据报道，这种货币在过去三十年中价值上升。囤积一堆加工过的串在一起的贝壳可能看起来很奇怪，但一堆美元又是什么呢？只是一张我们赋予价值的特别印刷的纸张和麻，而且可能比那些贝壳更不耐用。

1. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
   A. Money was created and was widely used in the world.
   B. Tobacco was used as coins or paper bills in American in the past.
   C. The ingredients of world’s first coins may be the combination of gold and silver.
   D. Using shells for money has been out of date in the world.
   答案：C

2. The word“mint”in paragraph 4 is closest in the meaning to“_”.
   A. a kind of money that can exchange
   B. the leaves of a mint plant used fresh or candied
   C. a place to produce and polish shells
   D. a factory that produces currency
   答案：D

3. What’s opinion of the author towards shells for money?
   A. Reasonable. B. Imaginary.
   C. Convenient. D. Inventive.
   答案：A

   1. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
      A. The History of Bitcoin B. Shells Still Money
      C. The Currency Is of Great Use D. Some Shells
      答案：B