Adjectives

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free cheap reasonable quite expensive very expensive incredibly expensive

Task 1. Before reading make sure you know the transcription, the translation and the pronunciation of the words:

Measure, value, economy, barter, equal, unsatisfactory, precise, coincide, cattle, grain, feathers, tusks, tobac­co, disc-shaped, copper, aluminium, issue, cheque, currency

Money is used for buying or selling goods, for measuring value and for storing wealth. Almost every society now has a money economy based on coins and paper notes of one kind or another. However, this has not al­ways been true. In primitive societies a system of barter was used. Barter was a system of direct exchange of goods. Somebody could exchange a sheep, for example, for anything in the market-place mat they considered to be of equal value. Barter, however, was a very unsatisfactory system be­cause people's precise needs seldom coincided. People needed a more practical system of exchange, and var­ious money systems developed based on goods which the members of a society recognized as having value. Cattle, grain, teeth, shells, feathers, skulls, salt, elephant tusks and tobac­co have all been used. Precious metals gradually took over because, when made into coins, they were portable, durable, recognizable and divisible into larger and smaller units of value.

A coin is a piece of metal, usually disc-shaped, which bears lettering, designs or numbers showing its value. Until die eighteenth and nineteenth centuries coins were given monetary worm based on die exact amount of metal contained in diem, but most modern coins are based on face value, the value that governments choose to give diem, irrespective of the actual metal content Coins have been made of gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), plastic, and in China even from pressed tea leaves. Most govern­ments now issue paper money in the form of notes, which are really 'prom­ises to pay'. Paper money is obviously easier to handle and much more convenient in the modem world. Cheques, bankers' cards, and credit cards are being used increasingly and it is possible to imagine a world where 'money' in the form of coins and paper currency will no longer be used. Even today, in the United States, many places - especially filling stations - will not accept cash at night for security reasons.

Exercise 1

Find expressions which mean:

1. A place to buy petrol. 2. A place where goods are bought and sold. 3. The period between 1801 and 1900.

4. The bony structure of me head. 5. Round and flat in shape. 6. An exchange of goods for other goods.

Exercise 2

Find words which mean:

1. Can be divided. 2. Lasts a long time. 3. Can be carried. 4. Can be recognized.

Exercise 3

Put these words in the correct places in the sentences below:

Coins cash currency money.

1. The... of Japan is the yen.

2. She has got a lot of... in her bank account.

3. It costs £10 if you're paying — It'll be more if you pay by cheque.

4. Can you change this pound note into... for the coffee machine?

Exercise 4

Money is used for buying things. Shampoo is used for washing your hair.

Make sentences with: knife/pen/key/camera/suitcase/saucepan/toothpaste/detergent/wallet/hair-dryer.

Exercise 5

A place where you can fill your petrol tank is a filling station. Complete these sentences.

1. A special room where you can wait is a ….2. A pill that can help you to sleep is a …. 3. A license which allows you to drive is a …4. A glove which boxers wear is a....5. Oil you can cook with is.... 6. A pool where you can swim is a … .7. Special liquid you can wash up with is....8. A boat with sails is a … .

Exercise 6. Discussion

1) “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”. (from 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare.)

Have you ever borrowed money from anyone?Who from? How much?

Have you ever lent money to anyone?Who to? How much?

2) “Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves”

Do you save money? Are you saving for anything at the moment? What?

Do you keep your money: a) in the hank? b) in a safe? c) in a money­box? d) under the bed?

Have you got a bank account? Do you get any interest? What's the rate of interest?

3) “Live now - pay later”

Have you bought anything on hire purchase? What?

Did you pay a de­posit? Do you think it's a good idea?

Have you got a credit card? Which one? (Visa? American Express? Diner's Club? Access?)

When you pay cash, do you ask for a discount? Do you usually get it?