Page 125 - Traveller_2nd_Pre-Interm_SB_SE

Module
Culture page 7

A. Discuss. B. Read the sentences and write T for True or F for False.
• Do you know which countries have Then read the text and check your answers.
the dollar as currency?
• What do you know about the dollar? 1. The word dollar comes from the USA.
2. All dollar banknotes are made of paper.
the dollar 3. An Australian dollar has a longer lifespan than a US dollar.

Australian and New Zealand dollar banknotes are made from a kind of
The dollar is the name of the currency used in plastic called polymer. The US dollar banknotes are made of 25% linen
several countries in the world, such as the USA, and 75% cotton. Red and blue synthetic fibres are found throughout the
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Here are some note. Before World War I these fibres were made of silk.
© MM Publications
interesting facts about the dollar...

The dollar sign ‘$’ first appeared in The name dollar has its roots in a The Canadian $1 coin is usually called
business documents between English- silver coin called a thaler which was the loonie, after the Canadian bird on it
Americans and Spanish-Americans in used in Europe for almost 400 years. and the $2 coin is called a toonie. Also,
the 1770s. There are many explanations Canadian and US dollars are often
for how the sign was formed. called bucks.

The average US one-dollar bill has
a lifespan of about 5,8 years. The
50-dollar bill can last up to 8,5 years
while the lifespan of the average
One of the most popular is that it 100-dollar is 15 years. The Australian
comes from a handwritten form of ps, and New Zealand dollar notes last
the abbreviation for the plural of peso. four times more.

The US $100 bill has many nicknames:
C-note, Hundo, Big one. Also, because
the portrait of the American statesman
Benjamin Franklin appears on the
banknote, it is often called a Franklin, a
Later, the dollar sign was found with Benjamin or a Benji.
two vertical lines. The most popular
theory for this sign is a combination of
the letters U and S, from United States. banknote or note (especially BrE) /
bill (especially AmE)

C. Read again and answer the 3. Which note has the shortest
questions. Choose a, b or c. lifespan? PROJECT
1. Where does the $ sign come a. a US $50 Write a fact file!
from? b. a US $1
a. ps c. an Australian $1 Search the Internet
and find information
b. US 4. What’s a toonie? about another
c. We don’t know. a. a Canadian $1 coin currency that is
commonly used in
2. What are US dollar banknotes b. a Canadian $2 coin many countries. Write
made of? c. a Canadian $2 bill a fact file including its
a. cotton and silk 5. What is a Benji? historical background
and other interesting
b. synthetic fibres a. a US $100 bill facts, and present it
c. linen and cotton b. a US $50 bill to the class.
c. a US $1 bill

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