試題詳解

43. According to this article, how does China feel about foreign capital?

(A) aloof.

(B) indebted.

(C) mesmerized.

(D) conflicted.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, hundreds of people who had failed to flee the nearby
city of Pompeii were killed by toxic gases and volcanic debris. Now, an analysis of ancient coins
found with skeletons in Pompeii hints at the economic status of those who remained.

Kimberly Bowes at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia analysed more than 25,000
coins found either inside cash boxes or with the remains of Pompeiians who died during the
eruption. Most boxes were found in commercial spaces and 41% contained only small amounts
of cash, indicating that shopkeepers might have carried away most of their savings.

Of about 200 victims carrying coins, roughly half carried small sums in low-value currency. The
findings suggest that the richest fled Pompeii before the eruption, leaving behind people who
were either enslaved or lower-income. Another explanation for the small sums could be that,
rather than amassing money or valuables, most Pompeiians preferred to invest in property and
to spend their earnings on calorie-rich food and other consumer goods, the author says.