Nearly everyone agrees that money doesn't buy as much as it used to, no matter when you want to spend it. This is certainly true of the paper money that passes so quickly through one's hands. But what about coins that seem to do very little except stay in purses and pockets? Unlike notes, metal money becomes more valuable the longer it is held, especially if it is put away where it won't get scratched or worn. Why is this? One reason is that coins, being more durable, fall more readily into a category for collectors. Naturally, the rarer gold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up. But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint   struck 19570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to reach the auction   market. So what happened to some 19564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American land then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down -- since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich. What really happened to some 19564 large silver coins? A) They were melted down. B) They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico. C) It is still a mystery. D) They were stolen by pirates.
C

Switzerland is famous for its watches. However, this country didn't invent the watch. It was the British who did it. Here is a story of how the watch was brought to Switzerland. Many years ago, an Englishman was traveling to Italy, on his way he stopped in a small town in south Switzerland. This Englishman traveled in a carriage inside which there was a carriage watch. This was the earliest kind of watch. A native shop assistant happened to see the watch. He wondered what it was and asked the Englishman about it, "it is a carriage watch," said the man. "This machine tells the time but now it isn't working." At once the shop assistant offered to try to repair it. So the traveler handed him the watch. The assistant was a very wise man. So it was not very surprising that he managed to repair it. He even remembered how it was made. As soon as the traveler had gone on his journey, he made a watch exactly the same type. Thus the watch-making was started in Switzerland. Today Swiss watches are sold in stores all over the world. The earliest watches were made in   _   . A) Switzerland B) England C) Italy D) a small town
B

Around the World in Eighty Daysis a classic Adventure novel by Jules Verne. The story starts in London in 1872. One day in the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg, a wealthy gentleman, accepts a wager  for PS20,000, which he will receive if he travels around the world in 80 days. Phileas Fogg sets off immediately, with his servant Passepartout. They reach Suez  quickly. While landing in Egypt, he is watched by a British detective named Fix, who is in search of a bank robber. Because Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal, he follows secretly, as they are getting on a ship to Bombay. After more than 20-days of travelling, they arrive in San Francisco, and then get on the train to New York. During that trip, the train is attacked by Indians, who take Passepartout away. With some soldiers' help, Fogg succeeds in freeing his companion. To make up for the lost time, Fogg and his companion hasten on to New York, and catch the steamer for the crossing of the Atlantics. They arrive in Ireland in time to reach London before the deadline. However, once on British soil again, Fix arrests Fogg. Although the misunderstanding is quickly cleared up--the actual bank robber had been caught several days earlier. Fogg has missed the train and returns to London five minutes late, sure that he has lost the wager. However, the next day Fogg learns from the priest that he is mistaken in the date, which he thinks Sunday but which actually is Saturday, due to the fact that they gained a full day on their journey around the globe, by crossing the International Date Line. Fogg immediately sets off for the Reform Club, where he arrives just in time to win the wager. Does Phileas Fogg win the wager at last? Why? A) No. Because he doesn't get to the Reform Club before the deadline. B) Yes. Because he is not the bank robber; it's a misunderstanding. C) No. Because he wastes too much time during his trip. D) Yes. Because he arrives at the Reform Club before the deadline.

D