IELTS Reading 練習貨幣的起源（含題目+詳解）

The Origins of Money

IELTS · 雅思備考 · 11 min read · 2026-04-25

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主題: The origins of money
文章重點: Money did not begin with simple barter; people first used commodity items such as cowrie shells, then standardised coins, and only much later paper notes — and each step depended on shared belief that the token would be accepted.
難度: 中等 · Intermediate
建議時間: 18 分鐘

重要單字

kin-based — based on family relationships / 以親族為基礎的
barter — exchanging goods directly without money / 以物易物
commodity — a basic good used as money or trade / 商品
forge — to make a fake copy / 偽造
minted — manufactured (of coins) / 鑄造
banknotes — paper money issued by a government / 紙幣

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

For most of history people did not use money: goods were shared or gifted in small kin-based societies, and direct barter is largely a myth. Many regions then adopted commodity money — cowrie shells were used for over 3,000 years. True coinage appeared in Lydia around 600 BC, made from electrum. Paper money came much later: the Song dynasty issued the first widely circulating banknotes in the eleventh century AD.

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — Before money: sharing, not barter

For most of human history, people obtained the goods they needed without using money. In the small, kin-based societies that dominated the prehistoric world, food and tools were typically shared, gifted or exchanged through long-running social obligations. The familiar idea that early humans practised straightforward barter — swapping a basket of fish directly for a clay pot, for example — is largely a myth invented by later economists. Anthropological studies of small-scale societies show no clear evidence of such markets in the absence of states.

本段重要單字 (3)

kin-based — based on family relationships / 以親族為基礎
barter — direct exchange of goods without money / 以物易物
obligations — duties one is bound to fulfil / 義務

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What does the writer claim about early barter?

A. It was the main way every prehistoric society exchanged goods.
B. It is largely a myth invented by later economists.
C. It was only practised in modern industrial states.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. It is largely a myth invented by later economists.

The paragraph says the idea of straightforward barter "is largely a myth invented by later economists" and that anthropology shows "no clear evidence of such markets".

2 段落 2 — Commodity money and cowrie shells

What did precede coinage in many regions was the use of "commodity money": a few highly valued items that could stand in for almost anything else. Cattle, salt, cocoa beans, lengths of cloth and large stone discs have all served this role. The most famous example is probably the cowrie shell, used across parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific for over three thousand years. Cowries were durable, hard to forge and small enough to carry in quantity. Their value depended on a shared belief that others would accept them — exactly the same psychological foundation on which modern banknotes rest.

本段重要單字 (3)

commodity — a basic good used in trade / 商品
durable — able to last a long time / 耐久的
forge — to make a fake copy / 偽造

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

According to the writer, the value of cowrie shells came mainly from:

A. their religious significance.
B. shared belief that other people would accept them.
C. the metal they were polished with.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. shared belief that other people would accept them.

The text states explicitly: "Their value depended on a shared belief that others would accept them — exactly the same psychological foundation on which modern banknotes rest."

3 段落 3 — The arrival of stamped coinage

True coinage — standardised pieces of metal stamped with an authority's mark — appears in the archaeological record around 600 BC. The earliest examples come from Lydia, in what is now western Turkey, where coins were minted from electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver. Within a century, coins had spread across the Greek city-states, Persia and northern India. The advantages were obvious: a stamped weight removed the need to test purity at every transaction, and a king's image on the metal advertised political authority over distance.

本段重要單字 (3)

standardised — made the same according to a rule / 標準化的
minted — manufactured, of coins / 鑄造
alloy — a mixture of two or more metals / 合金

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What were the earliest known coins made of?

A. Pure gold.
B. Electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver.
C. Iron stamped with a king's image.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. Electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver.

The text says the earliest examples from Lydia "were minted from electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver" — not pure gold.

4 段落 4 — Paper money came much later

Paper money came much later. Although the Tang Chinese experimented with paper notes from the ninth century AD, it was not until the Song dynasty in the eleventh century that government-issued banknotes circulated widely. Marco Polo's amazed reports of paper currency in thirteenth-century China helped seed the idea in Europe, but European states did not issue their own paper money for several more centuries.

本段重要單字 (3)

experimented — tried something new to see if it works / 嘗試、實驗
banknotes — paper money issued by a government / 紙幣
currency — a system of money in use / 貨幣

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Under which dynasty did government-issued banknotes first circulate widely?

A. The Tang dynasty in the ninth century.
B. The Song dynasty in the eleventh century.
C. The Yuan dynasty after Marco Polo's visit.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. The Song dynasty in the eleventh century.

The paragraph says "it was not until the Song dynasty in the eleventh century that government-issued banknotes circulated widely". The Tang only experimented; Marco Polo merely reported.

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閱讀前先看 Before you read

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — Before money: sharing, not barter

2 段落 2 — Commodity money and cowrie shells

3 段落 3 — The arrival of stamped coinage

4 段落 4 — Paper money came much later

每天 5 分鐘的系統練習

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