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  3. Mankind’s fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians esteemed gold, which had religious signi

Mankind’s fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians esteemed gold, which had religious signi

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问题     Mankind’s fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians esteemed gold, which had religious significance to them, and King Tutankhamen was buried in a solid-gold coffin 3300 years ago.
    People have always longed to possess gold. Unfortunately, this longing has also brought out the worst in the human character. The Spanish conquistadores robbed palaces, temples and graves, and killed thousands of Indians in their ruthless search for gold. Often the only rule in young California during the days of the gold rush was exercised by the mob with a rope. Even today, the economic running of South Africa’s gold mines depends largely on the employment of black labourens who are paid about 40 a month, plus room and board, and who must work in conditions that can only be described as cruel. About 400 miners are killed in mine accidents in South Africa each year, or one for every two tons of gold produced.
    Much of gold’s value lies in its scarcity. Only about 80,000 tons have been mined in the history of the world. All of it could be stored in a vault 60 feet square, or a supertanker.
    Great Britain was the first country to adopt the gold standard, when the Master of Mint, Sir Isaac Newton, established a fixed price for gold in 1717. But until the big discoveries of gold in the last half of the nineteenth century — starting in California in 1848 and later in Australia and South Africa — there simply wasn’t enough gold around for all the trading nations to link their currencies to the precious metal.
    An out-of-work prospector named George Harrison launched South Africa into the gold age in 1886 when he discovered the metal on a farm near what is now Johannesburg. Harrison was given a 12 reward by the farmer. He then disappeared and reportedly was eaten by a lion.
    Historically, the desire to hoard gold at home has been primarily an occupation of the working and peasant classes, who have no faith in paper money. George Bernard Shaw defended their instincts eloquently: "You have to choose between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the government", he said, "and with due respect to these gentlemen, I advise you to vote for gold."  
One of the problems with gold is that ______ .
选项 A、it loses its shape too easily
B、it changes the human characters
C、it entails danger to miners
D、it costs money to produce
答案C
解析 这是道细节题。混淆选项为B，从“People have always longed to poses gold．Unfortunately，this longing has also brought out the worst in the human character．”的理解中可以看出，人们总是希望能拥有金子，而这种渴求也总是把人性格中最丑恶的一面带出来，但并非是B所说的改变了人性。因此选C，为矿工带来了危险。
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