Passage 2      Around 9,500 years ago, ancient Sumerian accountants developed a method to keep a record offarmers' harvests and livestock by using small baked clay pieces, each with a different shapedenoting different commodities. Today, although we use banknotes and increasingly digitaltransactions, our modern methods of payment have their roots in these tokens. Over time, numerousitems have represented value, from stones to animal skins. Gold emerged as a universal currencydue to its durability and versatility. The first coins, manufactured around 2,700 years ago in Lydia(modern-day Turkey), didn't bear much resemblance to today's currency. They lacked a specifiedvalue, and the value of these coins was dictated by the metal within them. The creation of moneyfacilitated the development of large-scale trade networks. The ease of transacting with money led tothe establishment of the first foreign exchanges, like those in the ancient Greek city-state ofCorinth. Alongside exchanging money and goods, traders dispersed religious beliefs, knowledge,and innovations, thereby creating bonds between distant cultures. This international trade resulted incomplex economic organizations. In the 1600s, investors began to back traders and colonistsvoyaging to the New World, anticipating a share of the goods returned. This marked the dawn of aglobal economy where products and money crossed borders in search of profit. By the 1700s, theglobal economy had expanded to such a degree that dealing with massive quantities of coinsbecame troublesome. Consequently, societies started adopting paper currency, which originallyrepresented ownership of gold or silver coins. Bankers soon noticed that many people preferredusing notes rather than redeeming them for gold. This observation led to the concept of fiat money,where the value of money is determined by the government and not tied to a physical commodity.The shift towards virtual money has seen a further departure from tangible representations of value.The birth of the first universal credit card in 1950 by Diners Club International was a significantstep in this evolution. Today, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin exist solely as digital constructs, notissued or controlled by any government. Parag Khanna, a financial policy expert, highlights this asthe true future of money. This continuous evolution of money has not only simplified the trade ofgoods but also bridged connections globally, making money a universal language that affectseveryone.
【題組】41. What led to the rise of gold as a universal currency?
(A) Its durability and versatility
(B) Its attractiveness and rarity
(C) Its abundance and brightness
(D) Its malleability and weight