Do you know the numbers 0—9 well? They are numbers in Arabic numbers. People use them to mark numbers now. But it’s not the only number system that people use.
About 2,500 years ago, people in Rome used their hands to count. In Roman numerals, one finger means 1, two fingers means 2, three fingers means 3, four fingers means 4. If you want to say five, you can keep your four fingers close on one side and your thumb on the other side. Make each of your hands be five, then you’ll have ten. So in Rome, the numbers are “I, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, IV, V, VI, VⅡ, VⅢ, IX, X”. Also, “L” means fifty, “C”means one hundred. “D” means five hundred and “M”means one thousand. But there is no zero in Roman numerals. Today, few people use them because they are difficult to write and count. But we can still see them on some watches and clocks.
Today, most people use the Arabic numerals. They are easy to remember and write. They help people to count things every day. In fact, Indians first created and used the Arabic numerals. In the late 8th century, people in Arabic countries learned about them. Then the Arabic people took them into Europe. So people in Europe called them Arabic numerals. Today, people around the world use Arabic numerals and they help a lot.
【小题1】Which of the following means five in Roman numerals?| A．5. | B．IV. | C．V. | D．X. |
| A．Arabic numerals. | B．Watches and clocks. |
| C．Zero. | D．Roman numerals. |
| A．People in Rome didn’t use them. |
| B．Arabic people taught the Indians about them. |
| C．Only Arabic people use them today. |
| D．“0” means “zero” in Arabic numerals. |
| A．Because they are not easy to write and count. |
| B．Because there are no Romans any more. |
| C．Because the numbers look stupid. |
| D．Because they are hard to remember. |
a. Arabic people learned about Arabic numerals.
b. Indians created Arabic numerals.
c. Arabic people took Arabic numerals into Europe.
d. People all over the world use Arabic numerals.
| A．b-c-a-d | B．b-a-c-d | C．d-b-a-c | D．d-c-b-a |
