SuperEnglish with Veronika: 8th grade. Unit 3. Lesson 10. Culture corner. Currencies of the world

👉Communicative area: speaking and reading about money in different countries.

Do the quiz about money around the world.

Read the texts about currencies of the world and check your answers.

The US dollar

The official currency of the United States of America is the US dollar. The symbol for the American dollar is the dollar sign ($). The American one-dollar bill has a picture of George Washington. There are currently paper bills of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars. All US dollar currency has been the same size since 1928, unlike some countries where banknotes, or pieces of paper money, with different values have different sizes. All coins and paper bills have the faces of famous Americans on the front side.

The US also has dollar coins. There are several different coins with different cent values: the penny (1¢ or $0.01), nickel (5¢ or $0.05), dime (10¢ or $0.10), quarter (25¢ or $0.25), and the much rarer half-dollar (50¢ or $0.50). Although a nickel is worth half a dime, the five-cent coin is more expensive to manufacture – it costs the US Mint 11.18 cents to produce a nickel and just 5.65 cents to mint a dime. While coins can stay in

circulation for up to 30 years or longer, US banknotes have a much shorter lifespan (жизненный цикл), from just 18 months for the average $1 bill, to nine years for $50 and $100 banknotes. US paper money is not made of paper at all: it’s 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen. On Ben Franklin’s Day, people repaired torn bills with a needle and thread.

The pound sterling

The pound sterling (£), Great Britain’s Pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom. The pound sterling is the world’s oldest currency still in use. The British coins have the following value: £2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, and 1p; notes: £50, £20, £10 and £5. The image of the reigning monarch (правящий монарх) of the United Kingdom has appeared on coins for at least 1000 years ago (and was quite often the only way a person living in the country would know what their monarch looked like).

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on all Bank of England banknotes since 1960. On the opposite side of Bank of England notes are images of famous British people, for example, currently, Sir Winston Churchill is on the back of £5 notes, Jane Austen is on the back of £10 notes.

The Bank of England produces notes named “giant” and “titan”. A giant is a one-million-pound note, and a titan is one hundred-million-pound banknote, of which there are about 40. Giants and titans are used only within the banking system.

The Australian dollar

The Australian dollar (AUD) is the official currency of Australia. It has been used since 14 February, 1966, when it replaced the Australian pound. In Australia, the dollar symbol $ is usually used. The signs A$ or AU$ are often used to show that it is the Australian dollar.

From 1966, coins were made in amounts of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, one and two dollars. The one- and two-cent coins were not made after 1991 and are no longer used. All coins have the image of the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, on the back. They are made by the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Australia has made special five-dollar coins, of aluminium / bronze and bi-metal. These are not normally used, but must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt.

Australia was the first country to introduce plastic money because paper money gets damaged and needs to be replaced all the time. Australian dollar notes now last 4 times longer than paper banknotes. They also survive machine washing which destroys currency world-wide. By the way, plastic notes can be ironed – but only at a mild temperature. Australian money is the property of the Australian government so any intent to destroy it can be punished by law and carries a fine of up to $10,000 or 2 years in prison.

Quiz created by Veronika Bebekh with GoConqr