English banknotes and coins

     Theofficial currency of the Unites Kingdom is the poundsterling which 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 promiseto pay the bearer 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.

    The one pound banknote, for example, features Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) a well-known English scientist who made a few very important discoveries including gravitation law.

    The back of the five pound note portrays the Duke of Wellington (1769 - 1852), a famous Irish general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, Belgium in 1815.

    On the back of the ten pound note one can see Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910), 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.

     And the back of the twenty pound banknote features William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), the greatest playwright of all time.

 

Exercises:

№ 1. Find the answer to the following questions in the text:

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?

 

№ 2. Sum up what the text says about:

         English banknotes

    English coins

 

№ 3. Write words in the sentences and translate:

         On the face of English banknotes one can read the denomination given both in

    … and in words.

      On the back of the ten pound note one can sea Florence Nightingale, … of the

    nursing profession.

 

№ 4. Imagine you are speaking with an Englishman about money. Compare two banknotes (coins) of the two countries. Act out this dialogue.

Тема : “Из  истории  денег”.

Words:

glimpse glimpses of history commodity to serve to serve as smth./ smb. to come into existence to weigh to weigh out above-mentioned goldsmith to supersed portable to underline durable

быстрый взгляд немного об истории   предмет потребления   служить служить как что-либо/ кто-либо   возникнуть, появиться   нагружать   взвешивать   вышеуказанный   ювелир   замещать   портативный, компактный   подчёркивать, выделять   надёжный, длительного пользования

to divide leather quality precious cattle sheep fur fish shell piece receipt fairly

делиться   кожа   качество, свойство   драгоценный   крупный рогатый скот   овца/ы   мех   рыба   ракушка   кусок   квитанция, расписка   довольно

Text:

GLIMPSES OF HISTORY  OF MONEY

     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. None of the above-mentioned commodities possessed all these qualities, and in time they were superseded by precious metals.

     First they were superseded by silver and later by gold.

     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.

     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.

 

Exercises:

№ 1. Find the answer in the text:

1.   What commodities served as money in the past?

2.  What are the requirements of a commodity to serve as money?

3.  Why did precious metals start to serve as money?

4.  What precious metal was used first to serve as money?

5.  What precious metal was used then?

6.  How did coins come into existence?

7.  How did paper banknotes come into existence?

8.  What coins are called silver?

9.  What are coppers?

      

№ 2. Translate into Russian:

          face value, legal tender, a new issue, cutting of the metal into pieces, paper money, in

     exchange for deposits, bigger denominations coins.

 

№ 3. Sum up what the text says about:

         the money in the past

    the way banknotes appeared

    the metals of which coins were and are made

    the silver coins and coppers

 

№ 4. Fill in the words used in text Underline them:

         When a payment was made the metal was fist … out.

    But later token coins of limited value as … … were issued.

    Now smaller denomination … are made from bronze.

    In time they were superseded by precious ….

    First they were … by silver and later by gold.

 

№ 5. Read the text and discuss it in Russian:

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 you will eat candy, and that he never will be able to get it back from you. He also knows that he can eat neither the coin nor the note you gave him. Why does he accept the coin or note in trade for 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.

 

     Новые слова; A coin - монета.
     A candy bar - коробка конфет.

     Tangible properties - осязаемые свойства.

“Компании и деньги”.

Тема: “Выплата заработной платы в компании”.

Words:

device                to stamp stamp to collect timekeeper to check to pass overtime to calculate advice earnings deduction health contribution

приспособление, механизм    штемпелевать штемпель, печать   собирать табельщик проверять передавать сверхурочное время подсчитывать извещение заработок удержание, вычитание здоровье вклад, взнос

payroll to employ      employee staff to divide to pay salary wages bonus job card to insert literal

платёжная ведомость держать на службе, нанимать служащий штат, персонал делить(ся), подразделять(ся) платить жалование, оклад зарплата премия работа, труд карточка вставлять буквальный

 

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