特别广播英语第 47 课：What Is Money and What Are Its Functions?
金钱及金钱的功用是什么？-2

For example, if a baker wants meat, he must search for a person who sells meat and wants bread under a barter system. 例如，用物物交换的交易方式，如果一个卖面包的想要得到肉，那他就必须找一个想得到面包的卖肉的人才能交易。

Because money is generally accepted as payment for may purchase, a baker who sells bread for money can use the money to buy meat or anything else he wants. 因为钱是一般人都能接受的一种购买任何商品的支付手段，所以一个卖面包的，卖了面包得到了钱，就可以用钱去买肉或者去买他所想买的任何别的东西。

A Standard of Value. Money provides a unit of account that serves as a standard to measure value. 价值标准。钱是一种计算单位，用这个计算单位可作为衡量价值的标准。

The value of an item is a measure of what a person will sacrifice to obtain it. 一件商品的价值要由一个人为得到该商品应付多少钱来衡量。

How much is a two-week vacation in Hawaii worth to you? 一个人到美国夏威夷州去度假两周该花多少钱？

If you're like most people, you'll probably respond to such a question by valuing the vacation in dollars - way $2,000 - rather than in terms of other things (like your car). 如果你像大多数人一样，也许你若回答度这一次假的价值的问题，你会用钱数来回答，比如你回答说$2000，而不会用其他东西的（例如汽车）的数字来回答。

Whether or not you're conscious of it, you're constantly valuing items in dollars. 不管你意识到没有，反正你总是用美元来衡量某些开支项目的价值。

As a standard of value, money allows the addition of values of many different items as automobiles, repairs, and all other goods and services. 金钱，作为价值标准，能把许多不同的开支项目，比如各种汽车、大修理费和所买的其他所有的商品和劳务费用，加到一起，总共花了多少钱。

The concept of GNP is useless without a standard of value such as the dollar. 如果没有像美元之类的价值标准，那么国民生产总值这类概念就毫无用处。

A standard of Deferred Payment. Many contracts involve promises to pay sums of money in the future. 赊账标准。许多合同里都有保证将来分几次付款的诺言。