British and american money British Money

Before 1971 the British monetary system was rather complicated. Pounds, shillings and pence were used. Twelve pence made a shilling; twenty shillings made a pound sterling’s. There were also coins in circulation, such as the farthing (= ) 1/4 penny), the florin (= 2 shillings), the crown (- % shillings) and a few more. In 1971 decimal money was adopted in the UK. It was a rational reform which considerably simplified the monetary system. Now the British Government, issues the following banknotes:

One pound which is made up of 100 pence.

A five/ten/twenty-pound notes.

In informal speech they may be called a fiver or a tanner. There is a slang word for pound - a quid. Its plural form is the same as a singular: five quid, ten quid, etc.

Besides, there are the following coins in circulation in Great Britain:

1/2 penny - a halfpenny [heipni]

1 penny - in informal speech penny is usually pronounced p [pi:]: 5 p, 75 p etc.

2 p - a two penny piece [Toni]

5 p - a five penny piece

10 p - a ten penny piece

50 p - a fifty pence piece

Note that when we mean price, and not a coin, we say the plural pence' instead of 'penny': five penny is a coin, five pence is a price. British people in informal speech often drop the word 'pence' when they speak about sums of money with pounds and pence: ten pounds and eighty, two pounds and twelve, etc.

Remember that British people as well as the Americans always use the word 'money' in a singular form, and they always use singular verbs and pronouns even if the noun is plural:

eg. Twenty pounds isn’t enough (not агеn’t).

eg. Look, Tom, where is that ten dollars I lent you? (Not are/those).

eg. 1 can't find the money. I don't remember where I’ve put it (not them).

American Money

The monetary .unit in the US is the dollar. The Government of the USA issues the following bills: bills for one/five/ten/twenty/fifty/one hundred dollars. There are also bills for five hundred and ten thousand dollars but they are mainly used in inter-bank payments.

A two-dollar bill exists but it is practically impossible to see one in circulation. Only a small quantity of such bills was issued on a jubilee occasion. Almost all of them are in numismatists' collections now, and the price for them is rather high.

One dollar of the USA (1 $) has one hundred cents (c).

There are also metallic coins. Some of them have special names in informal speech:

15 с – a quarter

10 c- a dime

5 с - a nickel

The Americans name sums of money very much as British people: ten dollars and fifty seven, three dollars and eight, etc.

Сложный, усложненный; монета; в обращении; фартинг, флорин; крона; десятичный; рациональный; значительно упростить денежную систему; неформальный, разговорный язык; жаргонный; сленговое название фунта; сумма денег, одалживать; банкнота; межбанковский; существовать; нумизмат.

Learning in britain

There are at present over 9.5 million children attending about 38,000 schools in Britain. Some 12,270 schools have been built since 1945.

State Education Children must start at school when they are 5 and stay until they are at least 15. State education is free.

At first children go to primary schools and at 11 or 12 they move to secondary schools. These are usually secondary modem schools, where they receive a general and practical education until they are at least 15; or grammar schools, where they can stay until they are about 18, then transferring to places of higher education; or comprehensive schools, in which all types of secondary education are given and where the children's courses are chosen to suit them from

a wide range of subjects. In some areas there are middle schools for children of about 9 to 13 who then move to senior comprehensive schools.

The school day starts at about 9 o'clock, when the whole school meets for prayers before separating for lessons. Most children at day schools have their midday meal at school and go home about 4 o'clock. Country children are generally brought to and from home by school buses.

Independent schools. At these fees are charged, but a number have government help in providing free places. Many are boarding schools for boys and girls about 8 to 18 years of age.

Higher education There are 44 universities in Britain, over 700 technical colleges teaching everything from engineering to satellite communications; many other types of training colleges include art schools, colleges of education for-teacher training and commercial colleges.

Universities govern themselves, although they receive most of their money from the Government. Oxford and Cambridge and some others are made up of separate colleges where students live and work. Other universities, like Manchester or Bristol, do not have separate colleges; their students meet together for classes and live in hostels or lodgings.

Единая средняя школа; молитва; плата за обучение; назначать цену; пансионат; машиностроение; спутниковая связь; снимаемая комната.