单选题
Salt, shells or metals are still used as money in out-of-the-way parts of the world today. Salt may seem rather a strange (1) to use as money, (2) in countries where the food of the people is mainly vegetable, it is often an (3) necessity. Cakes of salt, stamped to show their (4) , were used as money in some countries until recent (5) , and cakes of salt (6) buy goods in Borneo and Darts of Africa. Sea shells (7) as money at some time (8) another over the greater part of the Old World. These were (9) mainly from the beaches of the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean, and were traded to India and China. In Africa, shells were traded fight across the (10) from East to West. Metal, valued by weight, (11) coins in many parts of the world. Iron, in lumps, bars or rings, is still used in many countries (12) paper money. It can either be exchanged (13) goods, or made into tools, weapons, or ornaments. The early money of China, apart from shells, was of bronze, (14) in flat, round pieces with a hole in the middle, called "cash". The (15) of these are between three thousand and four thousand years old-older than the earliest coins of the eastern Mediterranean. Nowadays, coins and notes have (16) nearly all the more picturesque (17) of money, and (18) in one or two of the more remote countries people still keep it for future use on ceremonial (19) such as weddings and funerals, examples of (20) money will soon be found only in museums.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】词汇线索题。substance意思“物质”，可数名词。object意思是“物体”，表示一个有形状的实体；article表示“物件，物品”，犹指一套物品中的一个，例如articles of clothing; category表示“类别”。因此选项[C]为正确答案。
【答案解析】语义线索题。根据句意，标上重量的金属是在硬币出现之前使用的金属货币形式，因此precede“在(某事)之前；先于”为正确答案。process意思是“对进行加工，处理”，例如：to process leather加工皮革；produce“生产，制造”；proceed表示“继续前进，继续进行”。
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】语义线索题。根据上下文，“条状、块状、或网环状的钢铁在今天仍然和纸币一起被使用”，因此，此空应使用along with“除某事以外；与某事物一起”。其他三个词组意思分别为：in spite of“尽管，不管”；instead of“作为替换”；in line with“与某事物类似或一致”。