•Read the article below about foreign exchange trading. •Choose the best sentence to fill in each of the gaps. •For each gap 8-1

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问题 •Read the article below about foreign exchange trading.
•Choose the best sentence to fill in each of the gaps.
•For each gap 8-12, mark one letter(A-G)on your Answer Sheet.
•Do not use any letter more than once.
                               Foreign Exchange Trading
      Without foreign exchange trading, international trade itself could not exist. In former times trade was based on bartering—goods were exchanged for other goods. The introduction of precious metals (i.e., gold and silver) to pay for goods can be considered the forerunner of the foreign exchange market. The Greeks and Romans commonly used gold as a medium of exchange. Most world trade continued to be based on gold until the nineteenth century. But then industrialization in Western Europe and the United States had boosted world trade to such an extent that gold reserver were no longer adequate to meet the requirements. Governments introduced a par value of their respective local currencies in gold. Thus, the currencies were related to one another through a system called the gold standard. The gold standard system determined the value of all currencies based on gold.  (8)  The system worked well until World War I, when trade was interrupted. After the war, currencies fluctuated widely in terms of gold and, thus, in relation to each other. The value of currencies was meant to be regulated by supply and demand (the market mechanism), but speculators often interfered with this mechanism. So in an effort to create more stable exchange markets, some countries, notably the United States, England, and France, returned to the gold standard.  (9)  By 1971 it was the only country whose currency remained convertible into gold, and se, by declaring the dollar inconvertible, the gold standard was finally abolished.
      In 1944 toward the end of World War Ⅱ, the Western industrialized nations realized that foreign trade would be necessary to quickly and effectively heal the wounds of war. To create a calm and stable foreign exchange market, the United States government called for a conference in the summer of 1944. It was held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.  (10)   
The Bretton Woods Agreement stipulated that all member countries would express the value of their currencies in gold. However, only the United States dollar was convertible into gold, at the price of $ 35 an ounce.
     Central banks of the member countries were required to intervene in the foreign exchange markets to keep the value of their currencies within 1 percent of the par value. This intervention was achieved by buying or selling foreign exchange or gold. A given currency could, therefore, never rise above nor fall below fixed points, which are called intervention points. These are the prices beyond which the central bank intervenes.  (11)  
     The system of fixed early 1970s. At that time a number of countries devalued their currencies. This meant that their currencies were now worth less in terms of gold. England in 1967, France in 1969, and the United States in 1971 and 1973, devalued their currencies, This caused an almost unprecedented turbulence in the foreign exchange markets. In addition, countries such as West Germany and Holland revalued their currencies (increased the par value of their currencies in terms of gold). Intervention by central banks became very costly. Foreign currency and gold reserves were drained.  (12)  
A  This meant the values of different currencies could be compared in terms of one another.
B  At this conference, both the International MONETARY Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development were established.
C  The Greeks and Romans commonly used gold as a medium of exchange.
D  It is not surprising, then, that the world saw a return to such payment.
E  Except for a brief period in the early 1930s, the United States stayed on the gold standard.
F  Countries had to buy their own currency with gold and foreign exchange in order to keep its value above the minimum intervention point, as agreed a Bretton Woods.
G  This is called the system of fixed exchange rates.

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答案F

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