Culture Corner
文化广角
The Euro - the Second Biggest Currency in the World
欧元—世界第二大货币
On 1st January 2002, twelve European countries started using the new euro as their official currency.
2002年1月1日，12个欧洲国家开始使用欧元作为正式货币。
The euro soon became the second biggest currency in the world.
欧元很快成为世界第二大货币。
Introducing the euro was not a simple matter. There were many things to consider.
引入欧元可不是一件简单的事情。要考虑很多问题。
One problem was the design of the coins and notes.
一个问题就是硬币和纸币的设计。
Usually, a currency is associated with one country only
一般来说，一种货币只涉及一个国家，
so it is easier to find images and symbols to put on the coins and notes.
因此找到一种印制在硬币或纸币上的典型形象并不难。
However, for the euro, twelve different countries were involved,
然而，欧元涉及12个不同的国家，
and each country was as keen as the other to be represented.
每个国家又都像其他国家一样渴望出现在画面上。
The notes were designed by Robert Kalina of Austria and he developed an interesting solution to the problem.
纸币由奥地利人罗伯特·卡利纳设计，他提出一种解决此问题的有趣方法。
His designs show seven different periods in European architecture.
他的设计体现了七个不同时期的欧洲建筑。
However, instead of showing real, existing structures,
但他没有去展现真实存在的建筑结构，
