Braille Challenge
2012 Preliminary
Sophomore
Speed and Accuracy--Passage 1
The History of Money 4
Let's suppose that you would like to have a 9
new pair of shoes and there is no such 9
thing as money. You do, however, have a 8
field full of corn. You pick some 7
77 corn and take it to the person who makes 9
shoes. You offer to trade a pair of 8
shoes for the corn. The shoemaker 6
agrees, and you go home with a new pair 9
of shoes. You have just made a barter. 8
But suppose that the shoemaker has6
all the corn he needs right now. What 8
he really wants is some nails for 7
51 making shoes. So first you go to the nail 9
maker and trade your corn for nails. 7
You then take the nails to the shoemaker and 9
trade them for new shoes. 5
Time and Trouble This story shows how 7
barter works. It also shows that bartering for 8
38 everything you need could take a lot of time 9
and trouble. Yet that is how people once 8
traded for all goods and services. 6
Setting a Standard There had to be7
a better way. Why not have one kind of 9
thing to use for trading? People would know its 9
49 set value. It would be a standard item 8
that everyone could use to buy exactly what 8
they needed. Goods and services would have 7
prices. 1
The first "money" was cows. Tribes6
kept cows to trade for what they needed. 8
43 Around 3000 B.C., people started using 6
other things for money. Gold, silver, 6
honey, oil, wine, and wool were some of 8
them. Money made trading simple and 6
clear to everyone. 3
Gold and Silver Still, people needed6
yet a better way to buy and sell. 8
Some people used pieces of gold as money. 8
43 The gold's value was based on its 7
weight. But it was not always easy to weigh 9
the gold before spending it. 5
Coins were first used about 900 B.C. 7
The coins were made of gold and silver 8
mixed together. People who had something to sell 8
42 made the first coins. But it didn't 7
take long for governments to take over the 8
job of making money. 4
Around 700 A.D., a new way of 7
making money began. After coins were 6
struck in metal, they were stamped with a 8
39 picture or pattern. Later, a 5
machine called a punch "punched" the 6
picture on both sides of the coin. 7
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Braille Challenge
2012 Preliminary
Sophomore
Speed and Accuracy--Passage 2
Paper Money2
The first paper money came from China. 7
The money was made of bark from the 8
mulberry tree. The bills were large, 6
50 about the size of today's typing paper. 7
Different sizes stood for different 5
values. But the Chinese soon stopped 6
using paper money. It was too easy 7
to copy. 2
Modern Methods Back in4
Europe, some countries started making 5
paper "notes." These notes were not real 7
money; they only stood for money. A 7
47 goldsmith or a bank held the gold 7
or silver for which the paper stood. The 8
notes were much easier to carry around than 8
coins. 1
The early government in America5
made paper money, too. But these 6
bills were not backed by gold or silver. 8
And, as the Chinese had learned, paper 7
money was too easily copied. So the 7
government stopped making it. Paper 5
77 money did not come into common use in the 9
United States until the Civil 5
War, in the 1860s. Today, special 6
ink and special paper are used. People still 8
try to copy money, but now it's much 8
harder to do. 3
Money Today Today, only coins and6
paper are used as currency. And none of 8
it has real gold or silver behind it. 8
74 Checks, credit cards, and "money" 5
cards act as notes. They stand for the real 9
money being held in a bank or some kind 9
of account. We can buy and sell without ever 9
touching a coin or bill. That has its 8
problems, but it beats trading corn for a 8
new pair of shoes! 4
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