Text 5.
Прочтите текст о деньгах и выполните задания после текста.
WHAT IS MONEY?
Money is one of the most important inventions of humankind. Without it a complex, modern economy based on the division of labor, and the exchange of goods and services, would be impossible.
When you buy a candy bar, you may pay for it with a coin or paper note. The storekeeper knows that he can eat neither the coin nor the note you gave him. Why does he accept the coin or note instead of candy? It is because the coin is money.
At first sight, answering the question what money is seems obvious; the man or woman in the street would agree on coins and bank notes, but would they accept them from any country? What about checks? They would probably be less willing to accept them than their country's coins and notes. What about credit cards and gold? The gold standard belongs to history but even today many rich people in different parts of the world rather keep some of their wealth in the form of gold than in official, inflation-prone currencies. The attractiveness of gold, from aesthetic point of view, and its resistance to corrosion are two of the properties which led to its use for monetary transactions years. In complete contrast, a form of money with virtually no tangible properties - electronic money -seems to gain in popularity.
1. Дайте русские эквиваленты терминам:
Coin, paper note, checks,inflation-prone currencies, monetary transactions
2. Перечислите, какие типы денег упомянуты в тексте.
Text 6.
Прочтите Tекст 6 и выполните задания после текста.
GLIMPSES OF HISTORY OF MONEY
There are numerous myths about the origins of money. The concept of money is often confused with coinage. Coins are a relatively modern form of money. Their first appearance was probably in Asia in the 7th century BC.
At different periods of time and in different parts of the world many different commodities have served as money. These commodities were: cattle, sheep, furs, leather, fish, tobacco, tea, salt, shells etc. The experts underline that to serve effectively as money, a commodity should be fairly durable, easily divisible, and portable.
Early Stone Age man began the use of precious metals as money. Until the invention of coins, metals were weighed to determine their value. First they were superseded by silver and later by gold ingots.
When a payment was made the metal was first weighed out. The next stage was the cutting of the metal into pieces of definite weight and so coins came into use.
The first printed money appeared in China, around 800 AD. Paper money first came into use in the form of receipts given by goldsmiths in exchange for deposits of silver and gold coins. After goldsmiths became bankers their receipts became banknotes. That's how the first banknotes came into existence. At first coins were worth their face value as metal. But later token coins of limited value as legal tender were issued. Now smaller denomination coins are made from bronze and are often referred to as coppers. Bigger denomination coins are made from cupronickel and are usually called silver.
The first severe inflation was in the 11th century AD. The Mongols adapted the bank note system in the 13th century.
1. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:
1. What commodities served as money in the past?
2. What are the requirements of a commodity to serve as money?
3. What precious metal was used first to serve as money?
4. How did coins come into existence?
5. How did paper banknotes come into existence?
2. Найдите в тексте эквиваленты слов и выражений профессионально-ориентированной лексики:
Происхождение денег, монеты, различные товары, скот, меха, кожа, износостойкий, драгоценные металлы, заменить серебром, золотые слитки, отвесить металл, разрубить металл на части, печатные деньги, златокузнец (ювелир), номинальная стоимость, деноминация, медяки, сильная инфляция.
3. Расскажите, используя профессионально-орентированную лексику, что говорится в тексте о:
· the money in the past
· the way banknotes appeared
· the metals of which coins were and are made
· the silver coins and coppers
Text 7.
Прочтите Tекст 7 и выполните задания после текста.
ENGLISH BANKNOTES AND COINS
The official currency of the Unites Kingdom is the pound sterling that is equal to one hundred pence.
English banknotes are issued by the Bank of England. As to coins they are minted also by this state bank. There are banknotes of the following denominations: £ 1, £ 5, £ 10, £ 20, £ 50 and £ 100. The following coins are in circulation: halfpenny, one penny, two pence, five pence, ten pence, fifty pence.
On the face of English banknotes one can read the denomination given both in figures and in words. Then the inscription on the face of the banknote reads: I promise to pay the bearer (предъявитель) on demand the sum of …And then there are two signatures. The first signature is that of the person authorized by the Government and the Bank of England. The second signature is that of the Chief Cashier.
The back of English banknotes, like many other banknotes, feature portraits of different famous people: William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) a well-known English scientist who made a few very important discoveries including gravitation law, the Duke of Wellington, a famous Irish general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, Belgium in 1815, Florence Nightingale, founder of the nursing profession. She volunteered as a nurse to Turkey to take care of he wounded soldiers from Crimean War, war of England and France versus Russia.
Дополнительная информация о британский фунтах
A British pound is subdivided into 100 pence. The word "A British Pound” or "Pound of Sterling” dates back to Anglo-Saxon times (12 century) when coins called sterlings were minted from silver; 240 of these sterlings weighed one pound. Before 1971 1 pound was equal to 240 pence.
Дополнительная информация о соотношении денежных единиц до 1971 года
1 гинея (guinea) =21 шиллинг (schillings)
1 фунт стерлингов (pound sterling) = 20 шиллингов
1 крона (crown piece) =5 шиллингов
1 полукрона =2,5 шиллинга
1 флорин (florin) =2 шиллинга
1 шиллинг=12 пенсов
1 гроут=4 пенса
1 пенни=2 полпенни или 4 фартинга
1. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:
1. What is the official currency of the U.K.?
2. What is the smallest unit?
3. How many pence are there in one pound?
4. What banknotes and coins are in circulation in the U.K. now?
5. What famous people are featured on the back of various English banknotes?
Text 8.
Прочтите Tекст 8 и выполните задания после текста.
AMERICAN MONEY
The American dollar is subdivided into one hundred cents.
The dollars are issued by the Federal Reserve System, established by Congress in 1913.
Here is the text on the face of an American dollar banknote:
· dollars
· Federal Reserve Note
· The United States of America
· this note is legal tender (платежное средство) for all debts public and private
· Washington, D.C.
· Treasurer of the United States
· Secretary of the Treasury.
On the face of American dollars one can also see the portraits of the following famous persons:
· George Washington (1732-1799), the first President of the United States of America, who gave his name to the capital of the country. George Washington became the first President after the successful was of 13 British colonies for independence. After they won the war, they formed 13 states and united to make the United States of America. Thus, Independence was proclaimed on July 4, 1776.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) who was President from 1861 to 1865 after the war between the northern and southern states. It was he who proclaimed freedom of slaves of the south.
· There are also portraits of Alexander Hamilton (1755 – 1804), a famous American statesman, who fought in the Independence War together with George Washington. Later he became the first Secretary of the Treasury;
· Andrew Jackson (1767 -1845) who was President of the USA from 1829 to 1837, when Texas won independence from Mexico.
· Ulysses Grant (1822 – 1885) who was President of the USA from 1869 to 1877 when the Centennial Exposition was held in Philadelphia.
· Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) a very popular public figure, writer, diplomat and scientist. It was he who invented bifocal spectacles among many other things.
On the back of banknotes various buildings are features, such as:
· Lincoln Monument, one of the monuments in Washington
· US Treasury Building, in Washington
· White House, house of every President, except George Washington, who only planned the capital of the USA
· US Capitol, which houses the Senate and the House of Representatives
· Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, where Independence of the 13 British colonies was proclaimed.
All the banknotes bear the words: In God We Trust
1. Заполните пропуски по содержанию текстов 7 и 8.
The official ______________of the United Kingdom is the ____________which is ______________to one hundred pence.
Bank of England ___________banknotes and ____________coins.
On the face of English banknotes one can read the _______________________
The ______________________is given both in figures and in _____________
The _____________________on the face of the ______________reads: I promise to pay the ____________________on demand fifty Pounds.
The first _______________is that of the person authorized by the Government and the ________________.
The second signature is that of the _____________________.
Isaac Newton is a well-know English __________________.
Florence Nightingale is the founder of the ________________profession. She ___________ as a nurse to Turkey to take care of the wounded soldiers.
Alexander Hamilton was a famous American __________________who fought in the Independence War.
The _____________________issues dollars.
2. Расскажите, что вам известно об английских банкнотах и английских монетах.
3. Расскажите о русских денежных единицах по плану:
· its denomination
· its issuer
· inscriptions, if any
· portraits, if any
· flags, if any.