EigoPro 2級読解 — The History of Money

The History of Money It is hard to imagine modern life without money. We use it every day, often without thinking, yet money as we know it took thousands of years to develop. Long before coins or banknotes existed, people had to find other ways to get the things they needed. The earliest method was simple exchange, or "barter": you give me some of your grain, and I give you one of my sheep. This system worked in small communities, but it had a serious weakness. For a trade to happen, each person had to want exactly what the other was offering, at exactly the same time. A farmer with extra rice who needed shoes was out of luck if the shoemaker did not happen to want rice that day. To solve this problem, people began to use objects that almost everyone would accept — such as shells, salt, or pieces of metal. Eventually, societies started making coins from valuable metals like gold and silver, stamped to show their worth. Coins were easier to carry and count than sheep or sacks of grain. Much later, paper money appeared. At first, each note simply promised that it could be exchanged for a fixed amount of gold kept safely in a bank. Today, money is changing once again. Increasingly, people pay not with cash but with cards or phones, and "digital money" exists only as numbers on a screen. Some experts predict that physical cash may one day disappear entirely. Whatever form it takes, however, money continues to do the same basic job it has always done: it allows people to trade easily and to measure and store value across time.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

2級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

Money developed over thousands of years, but its basic job has stayed the same.
Coins made of gold are the only real form of money.
Barter is still the most common way to trade worldwide.
Money was invented very recently and is rarely used today.

Phrase

money as we know it took thousands of years to develop

今ある形の貨幣は数千年かけて発展した

2級読解経済史主旨

⚡ひとことで

記事の主旨は「貨幣は数千年かけて物々交換→貝・金属→硬貨→紙幣→デジタルと発展したが、役割は一貫して取引と価値の保存」。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Money developed over thousands of years, but its basic job has stayed the same.」

正解

第1段落 "money as we know it took thousands of years to develop" と結論 "money continues to do the same basic job" が主旨。記事は barter → 物品貨幣 → 硬貨 → 紙幣 → デジタルの発展史を辿る。as we know it = 「今ある形の」、take + 時間 + to V = 「〜するのに(時間)かかる」。

「Money was invented only very recently and is rarely used by anyone today.」
= ごく最近の発明で稀にしか使われない ━ 本文 "use it every day" "thousands of years" と矛盾。
「Barter is still the most common way of trading goods all over the world.」
= 物々交換が今も世界で最も一般的 ━ 本文は barter の弱点を述べ、貨幣へ発展、現代はデジタル。
「Coins made of gold and silver are the only real form of money there is.」
= 金貨だけが本物の貨幣 ━ 本文は紙幣・デジタルも貨幣として扱う。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
as we know it	今ある形の	money as we know it
take + 時間 + to V	〜に(時間)かかる	took thousands of years
without thinking	考えずに	often without thinking
do a job	役割を果たす	do the same basic job
store value	価値を蓄える	store value across time

❝例文

Money took thousands of years to develop.
貨幣は発展に数千年かかった。
It changed from barter to coins to digital.
物々交換から硬貨、デジタルへ変わった。
Its basic job has stayed the same.
その基本的役割は変わらない。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問の鉄則 ―― 第1段落 "took thousands of years to develop" + 結論 "the same basic job" が記事を貫く。誤答は本文と矛盾 (最近の発明 / barter が主流 / 金貨だけ) で誘導。発展史 + 役割の一貫性を含む選択肢が正解。

問 2

What was the main weakness of barter?

People had too many coins to count them easily.
Everyone always wanted exactly the same goods at once.
Both people had to want exactly what the other offered at the same time.
Grain and sheep were always exactly equal in value.

Phrase

each person had to want exactly what the other was offering, at exactly the same time

双方が相手の提供物を同時に欲しがる必要

2級読解経済史詳細 (物々交換の弱点)

⚡ひとことで

物々交換の弱点: 取引成立には双方が相手の提供物をちょうど同時に欲しがる必要があり、欲求が一致しないと取引できない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Both people had to want exactly what the other offered at the same time.」

正解

第2段落 "For a trade to happen, each person had to want exactly what the other was offering, at exactly the same time" より、barter の弱点 = 双方の欲求が同時に一致しないと取引不成立。米農家が靴を欲しくても靴屋が米を欲しくなければ取引できない例で説明。want exactly ~ = 「ちょうど〜を欲しがる」、be out of luck = 「運がない・どうしようもない」。

「People had far too many coins to be able to count them easily.」
= 硬貨が多すぎて数えにくい ━ barter に硬貨はない、硬貨は後の解決策。
「Grain and sheep were always taken to be exactly equal in value.」
= 穀物と羊は常に同価値 ━ 本文にそのような記述なし、創作。
「Everyone always wanted exactly the same goods at the same moment.」
= 皆が常に同じ物を同時に欲した ━ 本文は欲求が一致しない問題、逆。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
for ... to happen	〜が起こるには	for a trade to happen
want exactly ~	ちょうど〜を欲しがる	want exactly what ... offering
at the same time	同時に	at exactly the same time
be out of luck	運がない	was out of luck
happen to V	たまたま〜する	did not happen to want rice

❝例文

Barter needs both sides to want the goods.
物々交換は双方がその品を欲する必要がある。
A rice farmer needed someone who wanted rice.
米農家は米を欲しがる人を必要とした。
If not, he was out of luck.
そうでなければ取引できなかった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

弱点設問の鉄則 ―― "it had a serious weakness" 直後の説明 + 具体例 (farmer/shoemaker) を拾う。正解は『双方の欲求が同時に一致する必要』。誤答は後の解決策 (硬貨) を混ぜる / 本文と逆 (皆同じ物を欲す) で誘導。

問 3

How did money develop after barter?

Paper money was used long before any coins existed.
Coins were harder to carry than sacks of grain.
People used widely accepted objects, then metal coins, and later paper money.
People went straight from sheep to digital money.

Phrase

objects everyone would accept

/shells, salt, metal/

皆が受け入れる物→金銀の硬貨→金と交換約束の紙幣

2級読解経済史詳細 (貨幣の発展)

⚡ひとことで

解決策として皆が受け入れる物(貝・塩・金属)を使い、やがて金銀の硬貨(価値を刻印)、さらに後に金と交換できると約束する紙幣が登場した。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「People used widely accepted objects, then metal coins, and later paper money.」

正解

第3段落 "objects that almost everyone would accept — such as shells, salt, or pieces of metal" → "making coins from valuable metals like gold and silver" → "paper money appeared. At first, each note ... could be exchanged for a fixed amount of gold" より、発展 = 広く受容される物 → 金属硬貨 → 紙幣 (金と交換約束)。be exchanged for ~ = 「〜と交換される」、stamp to show worth = 「価値を示す刻印」。

「People went straight from trading sheep and grain to digital money.」
= 羊から直接デジタル貨幣へ ━ 本文は貝/金属→硬貨→紙幣→デジタルの段階、飛躍しない。
「Paper money was used for centuries before any metal coins appeared.」
= 硬貨より前に紙幣 ━ 本文 "Much later, paper money appeared" と逆順。
「Metal coins were much harder to carry around than heavy sacks of grain.」
= 硬貨は穀物袋より運びにくい ━ 本文 "easier to carry ... than sheep or sacks of grain" と逆。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
would accept	受け入れるであろう	everyone would accept
make coins from ~	〜から硬貨を作る	coins from ... metals
stamp to show ~	〜を示す刻印	stamped to show their worth
be exchanged for ~	〜と交換される	exchanged for ... gold
a fixed amount of ~	一定量の〜	a fixed amount of gold

❝例文

People used shells and salt as money.
人々は貝や塩を貨幣に使った。
Then came coins of gold and silver.
次に金銀の硬貨が来た。
Later, paper money appeared.
後に紙幣が登場した。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

発展段階設問の鉄則 ―― 時系列語 ("began to use ... Eventually ... Much later") の順を守る。正解は『受容される物→金属硬貨→紙幣』。誤答は順序の飛躍 (羊→デジタル) / 逆転 (紙幣が先 / 硬貨が運びにくい) で誘導。

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この単元の講義を見る 2級の単元一覧 2級の用語集

EigoPro 2級 読解 — The History of Money

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

money as we know it took thousands of years to develop

each person had to want exactly what the other was offering, at exactly the same time

objects everyone would accept

EigoPro 2級読解 — The History of Money