MONEY

M O N E Y

Although China was the first country to use recognizable coins, the first minted coins were created not too far away in Lydia (now western Turkey).
In 600 B.C., Lydia's King Alyattes minted the first official currency. The coins were made from electrum, a mixture of silver and gold that occurs naturally, and stamped with pictures that acted as denominations. In the streets of Sardis, circa 600 B.C., a clay jar might cost you two owls and a snake. Lydia's currency helped the country increase both its internal and external trade, making it one of the richest empires in Asia Minor. It is interesting that when someone says, "as rich as Croesus", they are referring to the last Lydian king who minted the first gold coin. Unfortunately, minting the first coins and developing a strong trading economy couldn't protect Lydia from the swords of the Persian army.
Just when it looked like Lydia was taking the lead in currency developments, in 600 B.C., the Chinese moved from coins to paper money. By the time Marco Polo visited in 1,200 A.D., the emperor had a good handle on both money supply and various denominations. In the place of where the American bills say, "In God We Trust," the Chinese inscription warned, "All counterfeiters will be decapitated."

Europeans were still using coins all the way up to 1,600, helped along by acquisitions of precious metals from colonies to keep minting more and more cash. Eventually, the banks started using bank notes for depositors and borrowers to carry around instead of coins. These notes could be taken to the bank at any time and exchanged for their face values in silver or gold coins. This paper money could be used to buy goods and operated much like currency today, but it was issued by banks and private institutions, not the government, which is now responsible for issuing currency in most countries.

The first paper currency issued by European governments was actually issued by colonial governments in North America. Because shipments between Europe and the colonies took so long, the colonists often ran out of cash as operations expanded. Instead of going back to a barter system, the colonial governments used IOUs that traded as a currency. The first instance was in Canada, then a French colony. In 1685, soldiers were issued playing cards denominated and signed by the governor to use as cash instead of coins from France.

T E X T C O M P R E H E N S I O N

01-The first minted coin developed in _________________.

a)Turkey b)China c)France d)Japan e)Canada

02-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Sardis lies in China

b)paper money originated in Italy

c)Alyattes minted the first gold coins

d)Electrum was the name of the first coins

e)Croesus was the king of Lydia

03-Choose the synonym of the underlined word:

* Eventually, the banks started using banknotes

a)presently b)nowadays c)incredibly d)finally e)originally

04-The first official currency originated in _________________.

a)USA b)Japan c)France d)Canada e)Turkey

05-Choose the correct word to complete each sentence:

Turkey

China

lion

king

I- The first gold coin was minted in _____________.

II- The paper money was first developed in ___________.

III- The first official currency was minted by ___________Alyettes

IV- The first coin ever minted featured a _____________.

*The correct sequence of words is:

a)king, lion, Turkey, China

b)king, lion, China, Turkey

c)Turkey, China, king, lion

d)Turkey, China, lion, king

e)China, Turkey, king, lion

DOLLAR

DOLLAR

On 15 January 1520, the Czech Kingdom of Bohemia began minting coins from silver mined locally in Joachimsthal (Czech Jáchymov) and marked on reverse with the Czech lion. The coins were called joachimsthaler, which became shortened in common usage to thaler or taler. The German name "Joachimsthal" literally means "Joachim's valley" or "Joachim's dale".

Dollar is also the name of a small town in Scotland with a population of 2,860. The name of the town has nothing to do with the name of the currency.

Dollar (often represented by the dollar sign $) is the name of more than twenty currencies, including (ordered by population) those of the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Liberia, Jamaica and Namibia. The U.S. dollar is the official currency of East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, the Caribbean Netherlands, and for banknotes, Panama. Generally, one dollar is divided into one hundred cents.

TEXT COMPREHENSION

01-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Dollar is the name of twenty currencies

b)The U.S. Dollar is the official currency of Canada

c)Dollar is a huge city in Scotland

d)Dollar is the currency of the Czech Republic

e)Joachimsthal lies in the Czech Republic

02-The word “dale” means:

a)money b)coin c)valley d)country e)dollar

03-Joachimsthal is a _____________________.

a)city b)river c)mountain d)state e)square

04-The U.S. Dollar is the official currency of _________________.

a)Ecuador b)Namibia c)Jamaica d)Liberia e)Taiwan

05-In “Dollar is the name of a small town in Scotland”, the underlined word means:

a)large b)wide c)little d)narrow e)poor

CHANTILLY

    C H A N T I L L Y

Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 11,000 inhabitants falls within the metropolitan area of Paris. It lies 38.4 km (23.9 miles) north-northeast from the centre of Paris and together with six neighbouring communes forms an urban area of 36,474 inhabitants (1999 census).

Chantilly is also known for its horse racing track, the Chantilly Racecourse, where prestigious races are held for the prix du Jockey Club and the prix de Diane. Chantilly and the surrounding communities are home to the largest racehorse-training community in France. Chantilly gave its name to Chantilly cream and to Chantilly lace. The city was the base for the England National Football Team during the Euro 2016 Championship.

François Vatel was born either in Switzerland or in Paris in 1625, 1631, or 1635. He is widely but incorrectly credited with creating crème Chantilly (Chantilly cream), a sweet, vanilla-flavoured whipped cream, but there is no contemporary documentation for this claim, and whipped, flavored cream was known at least a century earlier.

Vatel was responsible for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people hosted in honour of Louis XIV by Louis, the great Condé in April 1671 at the Château de Chantilly, where he died. According to a letter by Madame de Sévigné, Vatel was so distraught about the lateness of the seafood delivery and about other mishaps that he committed suicide by running himself through with his sword, and his body was discovered when someone came to tell him of the arrival of the fish. His story was depicted in the 2000 film Vatel by Roland Joffé, with Gérard Depardieu playing the role of Vatel. According to the film, Vatel committed suicide when he realized he was nothing more than property in the eyes of the nobility, his social superiors.

T E X T C O M P R E H E N S I O N

01-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Chantilly has 36,474 inhabitants b)François Vatel died in Paris

c)Chantilly lies far away from Paris d)François Vatel was born in Switzerland

e)The England National Football Team was hosted in Chantilly

02-The banquet took place

a)in Switzerland b)in Paris c)at the Château de Chantilly

d)at the Chantilly Racecourse e)at the prix Du Jockey Club

03-The Prix du Jockey Club is a ______________.

a)derby b)street c)lake d)river e)square

04-François Vatel...

a)created Chantilly cream b)bred many horses

c)built the Chantilly racecourse d)invented Chantilly lace

e)passed away in Chantilly

05-Choose the synonym of the underlined word:

Vatel was responsible for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people.

a)wasteful, profuse in expendure b)great c)big d)popular e)huge