Exercise 1.Write down the questions for these answers

EXERCISES

1. Money is used for buying or selling goods, for measuring value and for storing wealth.

2. In primitive societies a system of barter was used.

3. Barter is a system of direct exchange of goods.

4. Barter was not a very practical system.

5. Cattle, grain, teeth, shells, feath­er, salt, tobacco were used instead of money.

6. People started to make coins from precious metals because they were portable and durable.

7. A coin is a disc-shaped piece of metal.

8. Coins have been made of gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), plastic and in China even from pressed leaves.

9. Gold is a symbol of power and wealth.

10. 'Gold fever' is the need to search for gold.

11. Paper money is more convenient then coins.

12. Cheques, bank­ers' cards, and credit cards are becoming very popular.

13. It is possible that one day 'money' in the form of coins and paper currency will no longer be used.

Exercise 2. Explain the meaning:

1. money econo­my

2. system of barter

3. precious metals are portable

4. precious metals are durable

5. precious metals are recog­nizable

6. precious metals are divisible into larger and smaller units of value

AMERICAN MONEY

American dollar is subdivided into one hundred cents. The dollars are issued by the Federal Reserve System, es­tablished by Congress in 1913. All the banknotes bear the words: In Cod We Trust.

On the face of American dollars one can 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 war 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.

· Alexander Hamilton (1755—1804), a famous American statesman, who fought in the Independence War together with gen­eral 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 famous buildings are a lured, 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.

Дата добавления: 2014-10-22