Paper money is an invention of the Song Dynasty in China in the 11th century CE, nearly 20 centuries after the 1._________(early) known use of metal coins. 2._________ paper money was certainly easier to carry in large amounts, using paper money had its risks: counterfeiting and inflation.
At the beginning of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), the government licensed specific deposit shops 3._________ people could leave their coins and receive notes. In the 1100s, Song authorities decided 4._________(take) direct control of this system, 5._________(issue) the world's first proper, government-produced paper money. This money was called jiaozi.
The Song established factories to print paper money with woodblocks, 6._________(use) six colors of ink. The factories were located 7._________ Chengdu, Hangzhou, Huizhou, and each used different fiber mixes in their paper 8._________(discourage) counterfeiting. Early notes expired after three years, and could only be used in particular regions of the Song Empire.
In 1265, the Song government introduced a 9._________ (true) national
currency, printed to a single standard, usable across the empire, and backed by silver or gold. It was available in denominations between one and one hundred strings of coins. This currency lasted only nine 10.________(year), however, because the Song Dynasty tottered, falling to the Mongols in 1279. 答案
1.earliest 2.While 3.where 4.to take 5.issuing 6. using 7.in 8.to discourage 9.truly 10.years 翻译
纸币出现在十一世纪的宋朝，比最早使用金属币晚了近20个世纪。虽然纸币更容易大量携带，但使用纸币也有风险——假币和通货膨胀。 在宋朝的初期，政府开设了专门的存款行，人们在那里可以把金属货币换成纸币。在11世纪，宋朝朝廷决定直接管控这个行业，发行了世界上第一个政府正式发行的纸币，这种纸币被称为“交子”。 宋朝建立了用木板印刷钞票的工厂，用六种颜色的墨水印刷钞票。这些工厂分别位于成都、杭州、惠州，每家工厂都在纸张中使用了不同的纤维，以防止造假。早期的纸币使用期限为三年，而且只能在宋朝的特定地区使用。
1265年，宋朝政府推出了一种真正的全国性货币，用单一标准印刷，在全国范围内使用，以金银为背书。它的面额在一到一百串铜钱之间。然而，这种货币只持续了九年，因为宋朝风雨飘摇，1279年宋朝被蒙古人推翻。
词汇解析
counterfeiting / ka nt f t /假币
inflation / n fle n /n. 通货膨胀，通胀率 例：
Inflation is in double figures. 通货膨胀率达两位数。
Rising unemployment and high inflation. 上涨的失业率和高通胀。
license / la sns /vy. 许可；特许；发许可证给 deposit / d p z t /v. 储蓄；存放，寄存
discourage / d s k r d /v. 使泄气，使灰心；使打消念头，劝阻；阻碍 expire / k spa (r) /v. 到期，失效 例：
He had lived illegally in the United States for five years after his visitor's visa expired.
访问签证到期后他在美国非法居住了5年。 When does your driving licence expire 你的驾照什么时候到期？ denomination / d n m ne n /n. 面额 中国传统文化：语法填空2 02. 火药
Experimenting with life-lengthening elixirs around A.D. 850, Chinese alchemists instead discovered gunpowder. Their explosive
1._________(invent) would become the basis for almost every weapon used in war from that point on, from fiery arrows 2._________ rifles, cannons and grenades. Gunpowder made warfare all over the world very different, 3._________(affect) the way battles were fought and borders were drawn throughout the Middle Ages.
Gunpowder somehow remained a monopoly of the Chinese until the 13th century, 4._________ the science was passed along the ancient silk trade route to Europe, where it became 5.________ deciding factor in many Middle Age skirmishes.
By 1350, rudimentary gunpowder cannons were commonplace in the English and French militaries, 6._________ used the technology against each other during the Hundred Years' War. The Ottoman Turks also 7._________(employ) gunpowder cannons with abandon during their successful siege of Constantinople in 1453. The 8._________(power) new weapon essentially rendered the traditional walled fortification of Europe, impregnable for centuries, weak and defenseless.
During the Age of Exploration, Europeans used 9._________(gun) and cannons to expand their vast trade networks and powerful empires. Gunpowder would be taken all across the globe as Europeans used this powerful advantage 10._________(conquer) and enslave many in places
like The Americas and Africa. 答案
1.invention 2.to 3.affecting 4.when 5.a 6.which 7.employed 8.powerful 9.guns 10.to conquer 翻译
公元850年左右，中国古代炼丹师在炼制长生不老的仙丹过程中发现了火药。从那时起，火药的发明成为战争中几乎所有武器的基础，从火箭到步枪、大炮和手榴弹。火药使世界各地的战争变得非常不同，影响了整个中世纪战争的方式和国家边界的划定。
之前一直是中国人掌握火药的技术，直到13世纪，火药才由于古丝绸之路贸易传到欧洲，成为许多中世纪冲突的决定性因素。 1350年之前，初级的火炮在英法两国军队中已是常规武器了，并在百年战争中使用。1453年，奥斯曼土耳其人成功围攻君士坦丁堡时，他们也大胆地使用了火药大炮。这种强大的新型武器使几个世纪以来坚不可摧的欧洲传统的城墙防御工事不堪一击，毫无防御能力。 在海外扩张的时代，欧洲人用枪和大炮来扩大他们庞大的贸易网络和强大的帝国。当欧洲人利用这一优势征服和奴役美洲和非洲的许多地方时，火药被带到全球各地。 词汇解析
elixir / l ks (r) /n. 灵丹妙药；炼金药；长生不老药 border / b d (r) /n. 国境，边界 monop
oly / m n p li /n. 垄断，垄断权；垄断企业，专卖者 例：
Had he succeeded, he would have acquired a monopoly. 如果他那时成功了，他就会获得垄断地位。
The company has a virtual monopoly in this area of trade. 这家公司实质上已经垄断了这种贸易。 trade route / tre d ru t /商队的路线；贸易航路 rudimentary / ru d mentri /adj. 基本的，初步的 例：
He had only a rudimentary knowledge of French. 他只有最基本的法语知识。
Some dinosaurs had only rudimentary teeth. 有些恐龙只有未充分长成的牙齿。
commonplace / k m nple s /adj. 平凡的，不足为奇的；平庸的，陈腐的
render / rend (r) /v. 使成为，使处于某种状态；给予，提供 impregnable / m preɡn b( )l /adj.（要塞）坚固的，无法攻取的 exploration / ekspl re ( )n /n. 勘探，勘察；研究，探究 conquer / k k (r) /v. 占领，攻克，征服；击败，战胜 enslave / n sle v /vt. 束缚；征服；使某人成为奴隶 中国传统文化：语法填空3 03.
毕昇与活字印刷术
Every 1._________(educate) Chinese knows the name of Bi Sheng, 2.________ invented movable-type printing, one of the four important inventions that ancient China contributed to world civilization. Bi Sheng lived in Bianliang (today's Kaifeng City), then capital of China in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
Bi Sheng carved individual3._________(character)
on identical pieces of fine clay. 4._________ the block had been hardened by fire, the type became durable and could be used anytime and anywhere. The movable type pieces could be glued to an iron plate and 5.________(easy) detached from the plate. Characters could be assembled to print a page and then broken up and redistributed as 6.________(need). When the printing was finished, the pieces could be put away for future use.
Contrary 7.________ many claims, Bi Sheng's clay types were not fragile but in fact, \"hard and tough as horn\".
Bi Sheng's invention 8._________(record) Shen Kuo (1031-1095), the Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman, in 9.________(he) book The Dream Pool Essays' in 1088 AD.
Movable type printing developed very fast and spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and finally to Europe, while based on the clay type, the type made of wood, lead, tin, and copper 10.________ (gradual) appeared.
答案
1.educated 2.who 3.characters 4.After 5.easily 6. needed 7.to 8.was recorded 9.his 10.gradually 翻译
每个受过教育的中国人都知道毕昇，因为他发明了活字印刷——这是中国古代为世界文明做出贡献的四个重要发明之一。毕昇住在汴梁（今天的开封），当时北宋的都城。
毕昇的活字印刷是这样制作的：先用胶泥做成一个个规格统一的单字，用火烧硬后，字块儿会变得经久耐用。字块儿粘在铁板上，很容易从铁板上拆下来。它们可以组装起来打印，然后根据需要拆分和重新搭配。当印刷完成后，这些活字可以放在一边以备将来再次使用。 许多人认为毕昇发明的胶泥活字非常易碎，其实正好相反，事实上这些字块儿“像牛角一样坚硬”。
古代博学家、科学家、政治家沈括在他的《梦溪笔谈》中记载了毕昇的发明。
活字印刷术发展很快，先后传到了韩国、日本、越南，最后传到了欧洲。在胶泥字的基础上，逐渐出现了由木头、铅、锡、铜做成的活字。 词汇解析
movable-type printing活字印刷
contribute to / k n tr bju t tu /有助于；捐献 identical / a dent k( )l /adj. 完全相同的；同一的 durable / dj r b( )l /adj. 持久的，耐用的
例：
The durable high-impact plastic case is water resistant to 100 feet. 这种耐久的高强度塑料盒在100英尺水深以内是防水的。 This is because these are more affordable and some are even more durable.
这是因为它们更加的价廉物美，更加经久耐用。 detach / d t t /v. 拆下，使分离；脱离，摆脱
fragile / fr d a l /adj. 易碎的，易损的；不牢固的，易被摧毁的 例：
He leaned back in his fragile chair. 他向后靠在他那把不结实的椅子上。
The fragile economies of several southern African nations could be irreparably damaged.
几个南部非洲国家脆弱的经济可能会无可挽救地被摧垮。 中国传统文化：语法填空4 04.
蔡伦与造纸术
Cai Lun was born to a poor family in Guiyang, China, during the Eastern Han dynasty around 50 AD. He was a smart and 1._________ (ambition) man. He became a clerical official in a palace at 2.________ young age and was much trusted by the emperor He of Han.
There is a story told about his journey to discovering paper. It all started
one day when he was given a stack of documents to process at home by the emperor since he served 3._________ a court eunuch. These documents were carved on bamboo strips, 4._______ were given to several men to carry on a bull-drawn cart. On the way, the bull slipped and fell under the wheels halfway through the journey, making the bamboo strips fall to the ground as well. While trying to get another bull to carry the strips, Lun had time to think, and he 5.________(conclude) that the strips were just too heavy and difficult 6.________ carry and use. They were indeed a burden to the scholars.
There must be another way out So much energy and effort had gone into handling the cumbersome bamboo strips. What about something lighter With what Lun had no 7.________(solve). As he was walking, he passed a hemp stalk, and looked at the hemp fiber and thought, “ maybe that could be useful.” He 8.________(careful) removed one layer after another from its fibers, wondering if they could somehow be written on. But they were just too rough and loose. He then thought of the wool from the remains of silk cocoons that might be useful, and that’s when he had it. He ran around seeking help for his experiment. The servants gathered bark, hemp, old silk cocoons, fishing nets, and cloth. They chopped the 9._________(ingredient) finely before cooking them. The result was then pounded to a starchy mixture and dissolved in water before adding another type of starch. When this new mixture was lifted
out of the water, it had separated into many fine layers of fabric. Once 10.________(dry), they became sheets of paper. 答案
1.ambitious 2.a 3.as 4.which 5.concluded 6.to 7.solution 8.carefully 9.ingredients 10.dried 翻译
蔡伦出生在东汉时期桂阳的一个贫穷的家庭。他聪明而有抱负，年纪轻轻就在宫中做官，深受皇帝的信任。
这里有一个关于蔡伦造纸的故事——要从他担任宦官、皇帝让他在家处理一堆文件开始。当时的文件都写在竹简上，需要几个人用牛车搬运。在搬运途中，牛滑了一跤，竹简散落了一地。蔡伦觉得，竹简太重了，很难搬运和使用，沉重的竹简文件已经成为了大家的负担。 一定还会有办法！使用这些笨重的竹简太费精力了，有没有轻一点的材料？用什么去做？当时蔡伦也没有好的办法。他看到路边植物杆上的纤维，觉得也许能用得上。于是，他小心翼翼地把它们一层一层地剥掉，想试试在上面能不能写字，但这些纤维太过粗糙松散。随后，他想到了蚕茧里的毛，也许能派上用场。于是，他赶紧派人去准备实验。仆人们收集了树皮、麻、蚕茧、渔网和布。在煮之前把这些材料切碎，然后捣碎成粉状的混合物并溶在水中，再加入淀粉。从水里拿出来时，它们变成了一层一层的网状物。干燥后，就变成了纸。 词汇解析
ambitious / m b s /adj. 有抱负的，野心勃勃的
bamboo strips / b m bu str p /竹片；竹简 fiber / fa b (r) / n. 纤维 chop / t p /v. 剁，砍，劈 dissolve / d z lv /v. （使）溶解
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