# PTE Reading MCS #13: Ancient Economic Tools and...

Reading: Multiple Choice, Single Answer #13 - Level 2 - Feeds Reading

> Read the text and answer the question by choosing one option. Only one answer is correct.

It might seem illogical that the development of modern currency rests on scientific discovery, but the invention of the "touchstone" allowed ancient societies to create a standard by which valuable metals could be judged. In its most basic form, a touchstone is any dark, finely grained stone upon which soft metals leave a trace. When rubbed, a process known as "Probing" precious metal alloy cleaves to the stone leaving a strip. The color of the strip (which reveals the percentage of its content that is base metal) can then be compared to a stripe of a known grade of a standard alloy. Despite its primitiveness, this probing process allowed merchants to examine alloys quickly and with reasonable certainty. Though civilizations were using gold and silver currencies as early as 500 B.C., coins were easily forged or diluted with less valuable metals, such as tin or lead. The invention and popularization of the touchstone ensured that pure gold and silver could become a standard expression of value.

What is the primary purpose of this passage?

- Demonstrate that science can influence non-scientific progress.
- Underline the touchstone's importance in the history of currency.
- Explain how the touchstone is able to measure the purity of an alloy.
- Explore the etymology of the word a touchstone.

## Answer

Underline the touchstone's importance in the history of currency.

## Explanation

The passage highlights how the invention provided a reliable method for merchants to verify metal quality, directly enabling the stabilization of early currency systems.

What to watch: The first and last sentences frame the passage. The touchstone let societies "create a standard," and it made gold and silver "a standard expression of value." That is its role in currency history. The probing explanation is only a supporting detail. The passage never discusses the word's etymology.

## Hints

- Look at the final sentence of the passage; it often summarizes the author's main point.
- Ask yourself: Is the passage primarily about the science, the tool's history, or the tool's role in trade?

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