__46 People use money to buy food, furniture，books，bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money． Most of the money today is made of metal or paper． 47 One of the first kinds of money was shells． Shells were not the only things used as money．In China，cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks，monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa． The first metal coins were made in China, They were round and had a square hole in the centre． 48 Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money． 49 Sweden and Russia used copper(铜) to make their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money．__ 50 The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than the paper money used today. Money has an interesting history from the days of shell money until today．
F. People strung(串连) them together and carried them from place to place． G．No one knows for certain when people began to use money． |