The government was not willing to let workers leave the country. It was feared this migration of workers would deplete (使空虚) the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might stop the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quality goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its qualified labor force moved to other countries.
6. According to the passage, the French workers were _____________.
○A. better paid than the workers in any other European country
○B. able to save more money with the increase in his wages
○C. anxious to work abroad
○D. often unable to find work in France
7. Which was not true in French?
○A. Food costs were low.
○B. Wages had increased.
○C. The state paid family allowances.
○D. There was overtime employment.
8. According to the passage, French production ___________.
○A. was inadequate to meet the needs of the French people
○B. was flooding the international market with inferior
○C. emphasized industrial production at the expense of agricultural production
○D. was enough for the local market
9. According to the passage, the French government _____________.
○A. prohibited French to work abroad
○B. reduced taxed to fight inflation
○C. paid family allowances and benefits
○D. prohibited the French workers to join labor unions
10. Which of the following is not true?
○A. Migration of workers would deplete the labor force.
○B. The lack of qualified workers might stop the improvement in the quality of products.
○C. Qualified workers work abroad would increase the quality of products in foreign countries.
○D. Qualified workers work abroad was good for France.
Passage 3
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, summed up the four chief qualities of money some 2,000 years ago. It must be lasting and easy to recognize, to divide, and to carry about.
When we think of money today, we picture it ……as round, flat pieces of metal which we call coins, or as printed paper notes. But there are still parts of the world today where coins and notes are of no use. They will buy nothing, and a traveler might starve if he had none of the particular local “money” to …… Among remote people, who are not often reached by traders from outside, commerce usually means barter (物物交换). There is a direct exchange of goods. Perhaps it is fish for vegetables, meat for grain, or various kinds of food in exchange for pots, baskets, or other manufactured goods. For this kind of simple trading, money is not needed, but there is often something that everyone wants and everybody can use, such as salt to flavor (给……调味) food, shells for ornaments(装饰), or iron and copper to make into tools and pots. These things-salt, shells or metals-are till used as money in out-of-the way parts of the world today.
Salt may rather a strange substance to use as money, but in countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an absolute necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their value, were used as money in Tibet until recent times, and cakes of salt will still buy goods in Berneo and parts of Africa.
Cowrie sea shells have been used as money at some time or another over the greater part of the Old World. These were collected mainly from the beaches of the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean, and were traded to India and China. In Africa, cowries were traded right across the continent from East to West. Four or five thousand went for one Maria Theresa dollar, an Austrian silver coin which was once accepted as money in many parts of Africa.