Nearly everyone agrees that money doesn't buy as much as it used to, no matter where you want to spend it. This is certainly true of the paper money that passes so quickly through one's hands. Inflation (通货膨胀) eats away at its buying power just as the steady appetite of waves chews at sand cliffs. But what about coins that seem to do very little except make purses and pockets untidy? Unlike notes, metal money becomes more valuable the longer it is held, especially if it is put away where it won't get scratched or worn. Why is this? One reason is that coins, being more durable (耐用的), fall more readily into a category for collections. Naturally, the rarer gold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up.

    But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint struck 19, 570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to the auction market. So what happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down—since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What .is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.

   1. It can be inferred from the passage that——.

      A. money buys as much as it did before

      B. money does not buy as much as it did before

      C. paper money buys more than metal money

      D. metal money buys more than paper money

   2. Which of the following is true of a coin?

      A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.

      B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.

      C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.

      D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.

   3. Coins becomes more valuable because

      A. they make purses and pockets untidy

      B. the price of metal goes up

      C. they fall more readily into a category for collections due to their duration

      D. both B and C

   4. What really happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins?

      A. They were melted down.     B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

      C. It is still mystery.             D. They were stolen by pirates.

 

The Elysee Palace in France enjoys equal popularity in the world with the Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, the Kremlin in Russia as well as the White House in the U. S. It is the residence of the president of the French Republic and the symbol of the supreme authority in France.
The Elysee palace, with an area of 11,000 square metres, is at the eastern end of the Champs Elysee in the city of Paris proper and backed by a large and peaceful garden of more than twenty thousand square metres. Its main building, quite handsome and graceful, is a two-story classical stone architecture of European style, and beside it are two side buildings facing each other and with an extensive rectangular courtyard in the middle. There are altogether 369 halls and rooms of different sizes.
The Elysee Palace, built in 1718, has a ling history of close to300 years to date. This house was at first a private residence of a count named d’Evreau, so it was called Hotel d’Evreau. It had later gone through many changes and its owners had been changed for many times, but all the residents in it were distinguished persons and high officials. The house was renamed Bonaparte Mansion when it was owned by Louis X V and Louis X VI successively when they acted as emperors. Napoleon I signed his act of abdication here when he had suffered defeat in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Nopoleon III moved in the   Mansion in 1848 when he was elected president, and the house became a Royal Palace when he declared himself as emperor. The Third French Republic issued a decree in 1873, appointing officially the Elysee Palace as the residence president of the French Republic. Over the hundred years since then, almost all the president of the French Republic worked and lived there. Starting from 1989, the Elysee Palace is open to the public every year in September on the French Castles Day.
【小题1】The number of the buildings of the Elysee Palace is ______.

A.3B.4C.5D.6
【小题2】 Why does the writer mention the Buckingham Palace?
A.To tell us it’s very famous in the world
B.To tell us the Elysee Palace is as large as it.
C.To show that the Elysee Palace is also a symbolic building.
D.To show that it is also the living place of the president.
【小题3】What’s the purpose of the passage?
A.To tell us the long history of the Elyseee Palace.
B.To make an introduction of the Elysee Palace.
C.To show the political importance of the Elysee Palace.
D.To explain how the Elysee Palace became the residence of presidents.
【小题4】 Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A.The time when the Elyusee Palace is open to the public.
B.The reason why Napoleon I signed his act of abdication.
C.The time when the Elysee Palace became the residence of president of the French Republic.
D.The reason why there’s the French Castles Day.

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