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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."  
After the big gold discoveries in the late nineteenth century,
选项 A、the trading nations adopted the gold standard
B、the trading nations were unable to get enough gold
C、gold coins were used by most nations
D、gold was considered to be a kind of precious metal
答案A
解析 本题主要考查的是上下文转折的关系。解题句是第四段的“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．”(对于传统国家来说，直到19世纪下半叶发现金矿，1848年加利福尼亚开发的金矿，以及后来的澳大利亚，南非发现金矿之后，他们才有了足够的金子来把他们国家的货币和昂贵的金子联系起来，也就是接受了英国最初提出的黄金标准。)本句套用 not … until句型，“直到……才……”，本文要注意的是上下文的一个转折，通过but这个词转折了意思。故选A。
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