Контрольная работа 4 Вариант 3

 Money – Functions, History, Value
People in various cultures think of money in different ways. A London banker and an African tribesman have different ideas of what money is. Many people think of money as a currency - metal coins and paper bill. We need it to buy the things we want. We also get money for the work that we do. So, money is a way of exchanging goods and services. In the course of time people searched for better ways of trading goods. They found out that metal, especially gold and silver, was very valuable. Some historians believe that the first coins were made at around 700 B.C. by the Lydians. But it was not until the late Middle Ages that coins became common throughout Europe. Metals were stamped and coins had to have a certain weight. People knew how many coins they needed to buy something because they had a fixed value.
Paper money came into use about 300 years ago. The idea came from goldsmiths who gave people pieces of paper in exchange for their gold. These bills could be exchanged for their gold later on. Until the middle of the 20th century governments all over the world had deposits of gold that was worth as much as the money they gave to their people. Paper money had many advantages. It was cheaper to make and easier to carry around.
But there were also dangers. Governments could produce as much paper money as they wanted. If they produced too many banknotes and gave them to the people, they would have too much money to spend. If there were not enough goods to buy, prices would go up. The money then would lose its value. We call this inflation.
Today, the amount of money in circulation is controlled by central banks. They make sure that paper money has a constant value. More and more people use credit cards to buy things. You don’t have to take real money with you.