Unit 10 Money

Unit 10 Page 92 READING exercise 2 MONEY: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Thousands of years ago, people started using metal coins as money to buy and sell things. But the coins were heavy, so paper money was invented. Different payment systems evolved through time and now we also use credit and debit cards. These cards often have to be put into a machine and then a PIN has to be tapped in – but that practice is disappearing with contactless cards and smartphone apps becoming more and more popular. So, cash has mostly been replaced by alternative payment methods. And things don't stop there: it's possible that some countries will soon be completely cashless. For example, it's predicted that no one in Sweden will be using cash at all by about 2025. So, what is the future of money? Twenty years from now, will we still be using cash? The answer is undeniably no. And it's highly likely that bank cards are on their way out as well. This is happening already: the use of smartphones, smartwatches and electronic wristbands has allowed people, in many situations, to avoid using cash or cards. Some apps let us transfer money from phone to phone like a text message, which makes it a quick and easy way to repay a friend if you owe them money. Increasingly, people are making 'invisible' payments for things like car rides – you choose a car, you take the ride, the money automatically comes out of your registered card. You can even include a tip for your driver this way! Perhaps we will soon be doing this in places like supermarkets, too – you'll get your goods, a reader will record the details of what you've bought as you leave and the amount will be taken automatically from your account. And if you need a refund, the money is put back in your account as easily as it was taken out. Worry-free shopping. No machines or long check-out queues. No more heavy wallets or purses. This all sounds very positive, but there are possible disadvantages, too. Technological advancement, as we all know, brings many positives but also forces us to consider other matters. Will fraud, especially online, get easier? And as our money systems become more dependent on computers, how can we make sure that the computers don't fail? Security might get better as we increase our use of things like fingerprint and face identification, but will they be used to invade our privacy by gathering information about our movements? By far, that's the most important question. Questions like these won't go away easily. We are in a state of change, and there are many different future possibilities. Perhaps unimagined payment methods will be developed. It will be interesting to see how things move forward, but one thing is for sure – in 20 years' time, we won't be buying, selling and paying the same way that we do now.

Page 95 LISTENING exercise 9 Welcome back to Moneyspinners. And our next contestant is Cindy Jones. Hello, Cindy, here's your first question, good luck. Which country has coins with holes in the middle? Is it Britain, Iceland, Japan or South Africa? Oh, I know this! It's Japan. For sure. I was there last year. Yes, you're right. So you have £100 – well done. Just out of interest, which Japanese coins have holes? Erm, the five and the fifty yen coins, I think. Absolutely right, but you've still only got a hundred pounds. So, OK, here's your next question, for £250. Which day of the week is the one when most people use a cash machine? Is it Monday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday? Well, of course I don't know, but I'll guess. I think it's probably Friday. Why? Well, it's the start of the weekend, isn't it, so I think that's when people most want some money to spend. It's a good guess, Cindy, and it's correct! Around the world, more money is taken out of cash machines on Fridays than any other day of the week. OK, Cindy, you have £250, and here's your next question. We all know that most of the money in the world doesn't exist as actual coins and banknotes, it's just numbers, figures in computer records. But what percentage of all the money in the world is coins and notes? Is it eight percent, 12 percent, 20 percent or 50 percent? It can't be as high as 50, and I think 20 percent is very high, too. So, eight or 12? Well, I'm sure it's a low percentage, so I'll say ... eight percent. You say eight percent, and that is ... absolutely right! That puts you at £500. Well done! How do you feel? Actually, I'm pretty calm now! Great! OK, question four! For one thousand pounds. We often talk about paper money, but many banknotes are made of plastic. Which country was the first country to produce plastic banknotes? Is it Sweden, Germany, the US or Australia? I know this! I read it somewhere, ages ago. It's Australia. Sure? It's for one thousand pounds! I'm sure. Australia. And it's the right answer! And it's got you £1,000. OK, this is where it gets serious. A wrong answer now and you'll leave here with nothing. I know. OK, so here's your next question. Remember, you don't have to answer it. What's the name of the world's first known coin – in other words, the oldest coin in the world that we know of? Is it the Egyptian Lira, the Lydian Lion, the Ying Yuan or the Saxon Shilling? No idea at all. It's probably Ying Yuan, but no, I really don't know. I'll take the thousand pounds please. Fair enough. Cindy Jones, you have won £1,000! And Cindy, if you'd said Ying Yuan you would have ... lost your money! The correct answer is B, Lydian Lion. Applause please for Cindy Jones! Page 95 PRONUNCIATION exercise 1 We all need good self esteem. But what does it mean? Tim? It's a lot of things, Mrs Green. But it's really important to feel happy to be as we are. So, do you copy your favourite pop stars? Do you wear the same clothes, Rose? Mr Ross! I follow pop stars – but I don't wear the same clothes! I'm not a clone. Page 95 PRONUNCIATION exercise 3 We all need good self esteem. But what does it mean? Tim? It's a lot of things, Mrs Green. But it's really important to feel happy to be as we are. So, do you copy your favourite pop stars? Do you wear the same clothes, Rose? Mr Ross! I follow pop stars – but I don't wear the same clothes! I'm not a clone.

Page 96 READING exercise 3 MONEY MATTERS It's said that the easiest way to be really rich is to be born into a really rich family. That aside, undoubtedly the best way to become truly wealthy is to get a good idea for a product, make it and sell it, then sit back and watch the money come in. Throughout history, many people have become incredibly wealthy that way. There's nothing new in this – for centuries people have had ideas, made things and become very rich. But questions are increasingly being asked about the way we're going. How fair is it for one person to have a personal fortune of billions of dollars? Is it right for big company bosses to be paid huge salaries and often to receive large bonuses on top of that? (In just one year, the head of a building company in the UK received £75 million in bonuses: is that acceptable?) In 1978, bosses in the UK's biggest companies earned on average about 30 times an ordinary employee's salary – in 1988 it was 47 times, but by 2020, this had increased to 133 times. We'd like to hear your comments on this subject. A I left school with a guy I know and we went to work in a finance company. His father's one of the directors, so now he's got a very well-paid job, earning five times as much as me. By the time he's 30, he'll have earned millions – and he does everything he can not to pay tax. It's sickening. GBarker95 B I'm not sure what the problem is. It's just how the world is. Like the article says, there's nothing new here. Some people get lucky, some don't. Look at writers – lots of people get an idea and write a book, or books – and sometimes thousands of people buy the book and the writer gets rich. They re not even always the best writers. That's just how it is. Thatcherman C One time, I heard a politician say 'It's fine for people to be extremely rich – as long as they pay their taxes.' I agree. A top boss, after ten years of work or so, will have given millions of pounds back in taxes to help the country. And that benefits everyone, right? Arguer123 D My mum's a doctor and she'll be working until she's 60 – 35 years of work – and when she stops, she won't have made a tenth of what some of these people make in a year. And there are people who manage the hospitals she works in who earn five times what she does. Who contributes more to healthcare – a doctor or someone who works in management? It's disgraceful. Aliboy

Page 98 DEVELOPING SPEAKING exercise 3 That was a great cake. I wish I could buy another one – but I'm really strapped for cash, same as usual. Don't look at me. Sorry, but I've only got enough for my ice cream. Last week, I had to fix my bike. So I'm broke. What a pity. Never mind, though, you'll get some pocket money soon, won't you? I hate not having money to do the things I want. My grandparents have spent their whole lives like that. Not me. I'm determined to be seriously rich when I'm older. Your grandparents seem really happy to me. Maybe they never worried about material things. So I'm wrong to want to be rich? No, I'm saying not everyone wants to be, that's all. You can be happy without a lot of money. I'm just ambitious. It's not my fault. Hi, guys! All right? Not bad, Mark. We're talking about money – or rather, not having it. We're both broke, basically. That's a shame. But good news. I've had some luck. I sold my tablet online for £50. The food and drink are on me! What do you guys want? An ice cream please – and another cake for Josh? No, I'm fine thanks. You should keep your money. No, money's for spending as far as I'm concerned. OK, then: one ice cream for Tanya and two for me!

TOWARDS B2 First for Schools Page 100 LISTENING exercise 1 You will hear Conner talking about the Royal Mint, where coins are made. For questions 1 to 10, complete the sentences with a word or short phrase. I'd like to talk to you today about the Royal Mint. I should explain that I'm a numismatist, which means my hobby is collecting coins. That's why I'm so interested in the Royal Mint: it's where all the UK's coins are made. The headquarters of the Royal Mint is in South Wales in a town called Llantrisant. I've never been there, but I've seen photos and it looks amazing. It's massive – there's no bigger mint on the planet – and it uses the most amazing technology to produce the coins. One thing I should mention is that not all the UK's money is made here. The banknotes are made by the Bank of England, which is a different organisation altogether. The Royal Mint is also extremely old. It was started during the reign of King Alfred in 886. That's more than 1,100 years ago. At that time, there were several mints all over the country, but in 1279, all coins were made in one place – the Tower of London. The Mint stayed in London until 1968, when it moved to its current site in Wales. The new buildings were opened by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ. As I've already said, the Royal Mint is a really big place. It takes up 35 acres, which is about the size of 23 football pitches. It's also a huge employer, offering jobs to 900 people. As you can see, it's really important for employment in the area. Work at the site goes on for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year – it literally never stops. So it's not surprising that it has the potential to produce 90 million coins a week, which means its yearly output is around 5 billion coins. Of course, that's more coins than the UK needs each year. The Mint also makes coins for other countries – around 60 countries in all get their coins from the UK. So far, I've only talked about coins. But the Royal Mint makes other products as well. One of the things it produces is something called a blank. A blank is a metal disc which is the size of a coin but doesn't have anything printed on it. Blanks can be made into coins somewhere else at a later date. The Mint also produces medals and coins to celebrate special occasions. They're always limited editions and can become quite valuable. These are the coins that got me interested in the hobby. I started in 2012, which was a good year because the Mint made special coins to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and also the London Olympics. I've got them both. Talking of collecting, the Royal Mint has an amazing collection of its own, with examples of almost all the coins it's produced since the 16th century. It keeps them in the Royal Mint Museum and you can see most of them on its online pages. Unfortunately, you can't visit the museum in person to see the collection. In fact, you can't visit the Mint at all. Until a few years ago, you could have a guided tour around the museum, but they stopped them because they were worried about safety. It's a real shame because a trip to the Royal Mint would be my dream day out. .