Learning Express Reading in 15 Minutes

PRACTICE #01: 

           MONEY  MATTERS

Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.

(1).Today we use two basic kinds of currency, or money: metal coins and paper bills. But once people bartered, or traded, for things they needed or wanted. In ancient Africa, salt was really valuable because people in many places didn’t have it, and they needed it to flavour and preserve their food. So people would trade abag of gold for a bag of salt!

 (2) Then, about 3,500 years ago, people started using seashells as money. The North American Indians used wampum, beads made of clamshells. In about 1,000 B.C., the Chinese minted the first metal coins. They had holes in the centres so they could be carried on a string, kind of like a key ring. Later, the Chinese invented paper money.

(3) Before long, people around the world used coins and paper money to buy goods. Most people kept their money at home, tucked under a mattress or a floorboard, or stuffed in a jar. But often the money was stolen or lost in a flood or fire. And sometimes people just forgot where they had hidden it! That’s why banks were built. The special buildings were equipped with vaults—rooms where everyone’s money was locked up and guarded. People who put their money in a bank felt that the cash was safe.

(4) The first bank in the United States opened in 1791. Today there are thou- sands. To open an account at a bank, a person must be at least 18 years old. That’s because only adults can legally sign papers needed to open the account. An account holder can deposit, or put in, more money from time to time. It’s added to the balance, or total already in the account. He or she can also withdraw, or take out, money that’s then subtracted from the balance.

(5) People can deposit or withdraw money at the bank or at an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine). Each account holder is given a plastic card that electronically holds information about the account. The machine scans the card, then allows the person to deposit or withdraw money, or check the current balance.