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  3. Mankind’s fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians es-teemed gold, which had religious sign

Mankind’s fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians es-teemed gold, which had religious sign

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问题     Mankind’s fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians es-teemed gold, which had religious significance to them, and King Tutankhamun was buried in a solid-gold coffin 3 300 years ago. The wandering Israelites worshipped a golden calf, and the legendary King Midas asked that everything he touched be turned into gold.
    Not only is gold beautiful, but it is virtually indestructible. It will not rust or corrode (受腐 蚀，侵蚀); gold coins and products fabricated from the metal have survived undamaged for centuries. Gold is extremely easy to work with; one ounce, which is about the size of a cube of sugar, can be beaten into a sheet nearly 100 square feet in size, and becomes so thin that light passes through it. An ounce of gold can also be stretched into a wire 50 miles long. Gold conducts electricity better than any other substance except copper and silver, and it is particularly important in the modern electronics industry.
    People have always longed to possess gold. Unfortunately, this longing has also brought out the worst in the human character. The Spanish conquistadors (征服者) 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 (暴民, 乌合之众) with a rope. Even today, the economic running of South Africa’s gold mines depends largely on the employment of black laborers who are paid about 40 pounds 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 (地窖, 底下贮藏室) 60 feet square, or a supertanker.
    Great Britain was the first country to adopt the gold standard, when the Master of the 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.
Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?
选项 A、As far as conductivity of electricity is concerned, gold is placed third.
B、People usually think highly of gold because of its scarcity.
C、The author thinks that gold is the source of all evils.
D、All the trading nations began to adopt the gold standard during 1850 and 1899.
答案C
解析 本题是一道判断是非题。问下面哪个选项文章中没有提到。作者提到人们对占有黄金的渴望暴露出的品性中的劣根性，但并没有说黄金是一切罪恶之源。因此，本题的正确答案应是C。A“就导电性来说，黄金排行第三”。文章第二段指出，除了铜和银以外，黄金比任何其他物质的导电性能都好。B“人们通常非常重视黄金因为它非常稀有”。参见题解2。D“所有的贸易国在19世纪50年代至19世纪末开始采用金本位制”。文章第五段指出，1717年，当造币厂的老板艾萨克·牛顿爵士制定了固定的黄金价格时，英国成了第一个采用金本位制的国家。但直到19世纪下半叶，发现大量黄金后，所有的贸易国才有了足够的黄金将其货币与这种贵重金属联系起来，即也开始采用金本位制。
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