Ejercicio A.3 · Inglés PAU Madrid Ordinaria (2ª lengua) 2023

TEXTO A

Coins Treasure Hidden in Kitchen

While renovating their kitchen in July 2019, residents discovered a cup hidden underneath the concrete and floorboards of their home, according to the auction house Spink & Son press release sent to CNN. The cup, described as being no larger than a soft-drink can, contained over 260 gold coins dating from 1610 to 1727. The coins have an estimated value of £100,000 in today's spending power and could be easily sold to collectors for £250,000.

Gregory Edmund, from Spink & Son, said the remarkable treasure is unlike any find in British archaeology or any coin auction in living memory. “It is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from such a modest location. This coin treasure is also one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain, and definitely for the 18th century period.”

“The coins almost certainly belonged to Joseph and Sarah Maisters, who married in 1694”, reads the press release. According to Spink & Son, the Maisters were an influential mercantile family from the 16th century to the 18th century. They traded iron, timber and coal from the Baltic states and several generations took up posts as lawmakers in the early 1700s. Their family line disappeared soon after the couple died, and the coins were never retrieved.

Edmund said the findings reflect the standard £50 and £100 coins that were used at the time of the English Civil War. Joseph and Sarah chose to keep the money at home because they clearly distrusted the newly-formed Bank of England, the “banknote” and even the gold coinage of their day. Why nobody ever retrieved the coins when they were really easy to find just beneath the original 18th century floorboards is an even bigger mystery.

Adapted from “Coins worth up to $290,000 found under kitchen floorboards,” CNN, September 2, 2022. <https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/gold-coins-england-kitchen-intl-scli/index.html>

A.3.- Find the words in the text that mean:

(Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)

a)

b)

c)

d)