20. Reading Skills Comprehension: A Timeless Investment

A TIMELESS INVESTMENT

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1. Since time immemorial, gold has been prized for its rarity, beauty and above all, its ability to be seen as a measure of value. Nations may rise and fall, currencies come and go, but gold has always endured.

2. Termed as a “currency without borders”, many investors turn to gold especially in times of economic uncertainty. Being an important and secure asset, the yellow metal can be tapped anytime, under virtually any circumstances. Studies show that a modest allocation of gold can significantly improve the consistency of portfolio performance, during both stable and unstable financial periods, thus meeting an investor’s expectations.

3. It is also the ultimate currency by which one nation settles its debts with another. Believers in the metal point out that gold continues to perform its role as the last resort. The list of achievements worldwide prove the point—the South-east Asian crisis saw South Korea and Indonesia mobilise 293 tonnes and 144 tonnes of gold, respectively, from private holdings to tide over a difficult phase. India, too, benefited during the BoP crisis in 1991 by swapping 40 tonnes of gold. Even the current gold bond scheme is an effort to effectively utilise the country’s vast gold resources to boost the economy.

4. The metal also plays a key role in a wide range of rapidly developing technologies that are important to a nation’s economic health. Billions of gold-coated electrical connectors are widely used in the computer, telecommunications and home appliance industries. While in space weather and communications satellites depend on gold-plated shields and reflective apparatus for protection from solar heat and electrical interference. Advanced laser technology used in a variety of industrial and medical applications employs interior gold-coated contacts for sensors that activate automobile airbag systems. Modern medicine relies on gold in a wide variety of procedures ranging from the monitoring of heart functions to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, viral and bacterial diseases and allergies.

5. Gold can be readily bought or sold 24 hours a day—something that cannot be said of most other investments, including stocks. In fact, it proved to be the most effective means of raising cash. Obviously, investing in gold can be invaluable in moments when cash is essential, whether for margin calls or other needs.

6. The important purchasing areas include Dubai, the major Indian cities, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. India, incidentally, is the world’s largest consumer of gold but does not produce much gold of its own. In fact, the ever-increasing domestic demand for the precious yellow metal has fuelled a multi-million-dollar gold smuggling racket. Major manufacturing countries include Italy. the United States and Turkey. —

1 Complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheets against the correct blank numbers.

(a) Gold has retained its importance through ages because ………………………

(b) Gold meets an investor’s expectations ……………………………………..

(d) Gold has been considered “The most effective means of raising cash” because ………………..

(e) Gold plays a key role in many ………………………………….

(f) Gold smuggling racket has prospered in India because ……………………………………

2 Besides being a means of exchange and secure reserve, gold plays a key role in certain other areas. Complete the table showing the role of gold in other areas. Write the answers in my our answer sheets against the correct blank number.

KEY ROLE OF GOLD

Area Used as/in

Computers/telecommunication Home Appliances Industry

(a)…………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………..

(b)…………………………………………………………………

Gold plated shields and reflective apparatus

Advanced Laser Technology (Industrial & Medical Applications)

(c)……………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………

(d)…………………………………………………………..

Variety of procedures regarding monitoring/diagnosis & treatment

3 Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following. Write the answers in your answer sheets against the correct blank number.

(a) Firmness or solidity (para 2) (b) Time of difficulty/danger (para 3)