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1、FinancialEnglishReading49Unit1Money“Ifyoucanactuallycountyourmoney,thenyouarenotreallyarichman.”J.PaulGetty,anAmericanoilbillionaire.I.WhatisMoney?Asthewordmoneyisusedineverydayconversation,itcanmeanmanythings,buttoeconomistsithasaveryspecificmeaning.Toavoidconfusion,wemustclarifyhoweconomists'u
2、seofthewordmoneydiffersfromconventionalusage.Economistsdefinemoneyasanythingthatisgenerallyacceptedinpaymentforgoodsorservicesorintherepaymentofdebts.Currency,consistingofdollarbillsandcoins,isonetypeofmoney.Whenmostpeopletalkaboutmoney,they'retalkingaboutcurrency.However,todefinemoneymerelyascu
3、rrencyismuchtoonarrowforeconomists.Becausechecksarealsoacceptedaspaymentforpurchases,checkingaccountdepositsareconsideredmoneyaswell.Anevenbroaderdefinitionofmoneyisoftenneeded.Asyoucansee,thereisnosingle,precisedefinitionofmoneyorthemoneysupply,evenforeconomists.Tocomplicatemattersfurther,thewo
4、rdmoneyisfrequentlyusedsynonymouslywithwealth.Whenpeoplesay,"Joeisrich—hehasanawfullotofmoney,"theyprobablymeanthatJoenotonlyhasalotofcurrencyandahighbalanceinhischeckingaccountbutalsohasstocks,bonds,fourcars,threehouses,andayacht.Economistsmakeadistinctionbetweenmoneyandwealth.Wealthincludesnot
5、onlymoneybutalsootherassetssuchasbonds,commonstock,art,land,furniture,cars,andhouses.Peoplealsousethewordmoneytodescribewhateconomistscallincome,asinthesentence"Susanwouldbeawonderfulcatch;shehasagoodjobandearnsalotofmoney."Incomeisaflowofearningsperunitoftime.Money,bycontrast,isastock:Itisacert
6、ainamountatagivenpointintime.Ifsomeonetellsyouthathehasanincomeof$1000,youcannottellwhetherheearnedalotoralittlewithoutknowingwhetherthis$1000isearnedperyear,permonth,orevenperday.Butifsomeonetellsyouthatshehas$1000inherpocket,youknowexactlyhowmuchthisis.Keepinmindthatthemoneydiscussedreferstoan
7、ythingthatisgenerallyacceptedinpaymentforgoodsandservicesorintherepaymentofdebtsandisdistinctfromincomeandwealth.II.Whatdoesmoneydo?Whethermoneyisshellsorrocksorgoldorpaper,ithasthreeprimaryfunctionsinanyeconomy:asamediumofe
