People value money desperately because they value one another desperately; thus the cause of panic in the stock-market plunge is not that people will lose their dollars but that they will lose their sense of community. For the past couple of weeks, the nation has watched itself roll toward ruin because people were losing their money in bales. If one were tasteless enough to ask a big loser what exactly he was losing, he would sputter, "What am I losing? My car! My beautiful home! My children's education! My clothes! My dinner! My dollars!" They are all true. People have been mourning the passing of their money for all the things that money can do, and what money can do is impressive. Money can build cities, cure diseases, and win wars. The sudden acquisition of the stuff can toss our spirits into the air like a hat.
Money can do considerably more. It offers power, an almost unique form. of power, not simply because it allows us to acquire and possess things but because it is we who determine its worth; we who say a ruby costs more than an apple~ we who decide that a tennis court is more valuable than a book. Paradoxically, money creates a deep sense of powerlessness as well, since technically we cannot provide money for ourselves; someone or something else must do that for us—our employers or, until recently, our stocks. All that, money can do. and when such essential, familiar functions are snatched from one's life, small wonder that people may grow wild, frantic, and even murderous.
What money can do, however, is not the same as what money is. Let's return for a moment to the theory, people value money because they value one another. In other words, the usefulness of money is directly related to and established by continuous mutual need. People work for money to buy things that other people make or do, things that they cannot or will not make or do for themselves but that they deem necessary for some definition of self-improvement.
Abstractly, money is one of the ways, indeed a universally accepted way, by which we make connections. Cash is cold. So the connections may feel cold, but real blood flows through them. These connections constitute one of the central means by which societies coheres by which they sustain and characterize themselves.
When the coin begins to wobble, as it has in the past weeks, a fear seizes the mind that is disorienting. The fear is not merely that of the loss of possessions but of self-possession, which in some sense is bought and sold from person to person in infinite daily bargains. To lose money is frightening. To lose touch with others is more frightening still. Losing touch may cause the panic of the times.
This passage mainly discusses ______.
A.the functions of money
B.the stock-market plunge
C.a new theory of investment
D.a cold characteristic of cash
According to the author, what can be a regular source of money provided for us?
A.Possessions.
B.Bargains.
C.Stocks.
D.Employers.
If the company paid $250 for one category, how much would be for the other?
A.$120
B.$125
C.$150
D.$250
According to the sales representative, the motion sensor ______.
A.is pet resistant
B.is set to cover the room floor
C.could be set off by a pet if it was near
D.could be set off by a pet if it jumped high enough
What can we know about the Equipment Magaline from the letter?
A.It's a professional software magazine.
B.Its directory is the only one available in UK.
C.It mainly serves customers in Europe.
D.It has never printed similar directory before.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your business. You are currently represented in our directory. This is the only directory of its kind which reaches all companies in the building and construction industry in the UK. Advertising in our directory was a wise move on your part. We are currently compiling a new edition of the directory which will be published in May 2010. The new edition will be expanded to include major manufacturers of plumbing equipment in the European Community. For proper coverage in the directory, you ought to appear in more than one category. If you do opt for a multiple listing, you will be able to buy space in additional categories at half price. You can be assured that the new edition will be on the desks of all the major decision makers in the building and hardware trades. Please complete the enclosed form. and return it with the appropriate fee. We assure you of our best services at all times. Enclosure; Forms to finish
Yours Sincerely,
Equipment Magazine
Why does the Equipment Magazine write the letter?
A.To make an advertisement on the new edition
B.To search for further cooperation
C.To ask for the fee
D.To make sure the fulfillment of the form