STEP 41

Money

 

   Coins and paper are used for money.

   These are the chief units of The European Union currently: There are eight denominations of coins that vary in size, colour and thickness according to their values, which are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent or EUR 1 and EUR 2. One Euro is divided into 100 cent. Paper currency is in seven values: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 EUR.

(More) add links to main banks of other English-speaking countries

 

   These are the chief units of The United States and of Canada currency:

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Picture is less than half size.

 

The Metric system of weights and measures is used in most of the world. But it is uncommon in the USA.

 

 

WEIGHTS

 

MEASURES

 

 

    Measurements made up of different units are given in the form two feet, three inches, etc.

    Area is measured by square measure, that is, by the squares of the units of length, which are named a square inch (si.) or square foot (s.f.), etc.   For example: nine square feet make up 1 square yard.

    Land is measured in acres. An acre = 4840 square yards or 0◦4047 hectares and there are 640 acres in a square mile.

 

 

    NOTE. When asking what the size, amount, age, or distance of something is, the words deep, great, high, long, tall, wide, much, old, or far are used to indicate the nature of the measurement, without any suggestion of its degree. For example:

 

How high is the building? = What is the height of the building?

How long is the room? = What is the length of the room?

How much coal have you? = What amount of coal have you?

How old is he? = What is his age?

How far have we gone? = What distance have we gone?

How great a number is there? = How many are there?

 

   
Statements giving the size or age of something make a similar use of these words. Thus we say :

The building is fifty feet high.

The room is twelve feet long.

He is five feet, three inches tall.

The wound was two inches deep.

 

   Note, “however”, “that great”, “much”, and “far” are not used in a parallel way after words giving measurements.

In statements giving an amount per unit, a(n) is used in the sense of 'per'.

The fruit is a dollar a pound. ¹

He gets $400 a year.

The train goes fifty miles an hour.

Come and see me once a week.

 

 

Writing numbers:  Numbers less than ten are written as words in sentences; numbers over ten are written as figures. However, sentences should not begin with figures.

 

 

 

 Exercises of money, weights, and measures.

1. A man has in his pocket three pennies, two nickels, a dime, a quarter and a dollar coin. How much money has he?
A:

2. If I gave a dollar for goods costing 59¢, how much change would I get back?
A:

3. What is another way of saying two dimes and a nickel?
A:

4. What fraction of a foot is nine inches?
A:

5. If you were putting milk into glasses holding half a pint, how many glasses would be needed to take three-quarters of a gallon? If the price of a glass of milk was 50 cents, how much money would you get?
A:

6. What would be the price of a foot of cloth if the price of a yard was $3.00?
A:

7. Eight ounces of sugar are needed to make two pounds of cake. How much cake will half a pound of sugar make?
A:

8. What is the price of a ton of coal if I give $2.00 for a bag weighing 50 pounds?
A:

9. If lights are placed at intervals of 40 yards along a road a mile long,starting at the point where the road begins, how many lights will there be?
A:

10. A man owns half a square mile of land on which he is building houses. He gets three houses on an acre. How many will he be able to put up?
A:

11. Put the following questions into Basic and give possible answers to them in Basic:

(a)   What is the width of the window?
A:

(b)   What quantity of sugar is needed?
A:

(c)   What is the boy's height?
A:

(d)   What is the length of the cord?
A:

(e)   What is the age of the dog?
A:

(f)   What is the depth of the hole?
A:

 

 

 

MRS. JONES DOES HER MARKETING

 

    Almost any morning, at about half-past nine, you may see Mrs. Jones walking up High Street with the air of a woman who has important business to do. She does her marketing early because there is a better selection of goods then than later in the day. Some women give their orders on the telephone. Mrs. Jones doesn't do this because she is certain that the trades-nen take less trouble with telephone orders. She is a good housekeeper; she goes to the stores where the prices are lowest. Before starting, she makes a list of all the things she has to get. Then, taking this list, and a basket for the parcels, and an old black handbag in which she keeps her housekeeping money, she goes out.

    This morning Mrs. Jones was later than she generally is because she was looking after her son, who is ill in bed. She went first to get him a bit of fish. The storekeeper was writing with a chalk on a blackboard. When he saw Mrs. Jones, he gave a shake of his head, pointing to the board, which said 'NO FISH TILL 11.' "Haven't you got anything at all?" said Mrs. Jones. "Nothing but a little smoked fish," was the man's answer. "I had some boxes of fish but all of it was bad. Now I am waiting for some more to come from the market." "What am I going to do?" said Mrs. Jones. "My son has influenza and I have been ordered to give him some steamed fish in the middle of the day. But it's quite impossible for me to come again at 11. I have so much to do." The storekeeper kindly said that he would send her a bit when it came, so everything was all right.

    Going across to the opposite side of the street, Mrs. Jones went into an important-looking store which had food of every sort in its windows. A man who was cutting up meat came forward with a smile when he saw her and said "Good morning, Mrs. Jones. What may I do for you today?" Then, seeing that she was eyeing a bit of meat in front of her, he went on, "No, I wouldn't take that if I was you. I'll be straight with you. We've been sent some meat of very poor quality this week. Now this is what I would have myself. It's the best bit of meat I have in the store." The meat in question was a bit of rolled beef, dark red with a circle of white fat round it. "That will do very well," said Mrs. Jones. The man put it on the scales, placing some weights on the other side. "A little over three pounds," he said. "That'll be four and seven cents. Is that all right?" Mrs. Jones said she'd take it and was handed a ticket with the price on it. She gave this and two quarters to the girl who was taking the money. After stamping the ticket the girl gave it back to her with five cents change. Mrs. Jones took the ticket back to the man and he gave her the parcel of meat in exchange for it.

    When Mrs. Jones had put the meat safely in her basket, she went to another part of the building to get some things for her store-cupboard. There were two or three other persons in front of her, and while she was waiting for her turn she got into talk with a little girl who had a long pigtail down her beck. She was surprised that such a small girl had come to the store by herself. The girl said that her mother had a delicate chest and was in hospital, so she was looking after her father. "What are you going to give him when he comes back tonight?" said Mrs. Jones. "Sponge-cake and jelly" was the little girl's answer, and everyone gave a laugh. Two women who had been waiting longer than the little girl were kind enough to let her get in front of them. If an older person had done this, there would naturally have been an outcry.

    When Mrs. Jones's turn came to give her order, she took a look at her list. This is what she had put down:

2 lb. white sugar
2 lb. brown sugar
1 lb. rice
1/2 lb. coffee
1 tin of meat soup
6 boxes of matches
3 cakes of soap
6 oz soap powder

    While she was reading out the things the store-girl went and got them one by one from the shelves. "Are you interested in having some of this new cake powder?" said the girl when she had put everything together. "It's free this week. The maker is giving it away as an advertisement. You make a paste with it by the addition of a little milk and it is then ready to go into the oven." Mrs. Jones saw that it had the trademark of a good maker. "Yes, I'll take some," she said. "It seems very simple. And that is all for today." The girl quickly did the addition and gave her a ticket marked 54.

    A little way down the street was a store which had fruit and garden produce. Here Mrs. Jones gave an order for a hundredweight of potatoes to be sent later in the day and got some oranges for her son. When she came out, a small boy in the doorway, with a very dirty face and no shoes on, was unable to take his eyes off the oranges in her bag. It was clear that his mouth was watering, and, having a kind heart, she gave him one. She was rewarded by a smile of pleasure.

    The store where Mrs. Jones got her milk was a clean-looking place in a side street. It had white walls and a stone floor and the woman inside was dressed in a white overall. "I'll have to take another pint of milk this morning." Mrs. Jones said to the woman. "My son is ill and I didn't get enough from the milkman." The woman took a pint measure and with it she put the milk into a bottle. In addition to the milk, Mrs. Jones took six eggs and half a pound of butter. She didn't put the bag of eggs into her basket for fear that they might get broken. In answer to Mrs. Jones's question "much is that?" the woman said," Two and a penny," doing the addition in her head. When she saw Mrs. Jones taking a pound out of her bag, she said, "Haven't you got anything smaller? I've very little change today." Mrs. Jones was able to give her the right amount.

    On the way back. Mrs. Jones went to Mr. Huggett's store to have a look round. Mr. Huggett has a surprising selection of goods. You may get almost anything in his store, ranging from nails to a garden roller. "Are those the only pots you have?" said Mrs. Jones, pointing to some black iron pots on a shelf. "No," he said. "There are some made of aluminum which came in this morning." Mr. Huggett undid a box to let her see them. Mrs. Jones was uncertain about aluminum. "Isn't there a general belief that food cooked in aluminum has a bad effect on the digestion?" she said. "What is your view, Mr. Huggett?" Mr. Huggett said that his food had been cooked in aluminum pots or the last twenty years and there was nothing wrong with his digestion. He overcame Mrs. Jones's doubts and she took one of the smaller pots, priced at four and three. He then saw her looking at some buckets. "Here is a good strong bucket," he said, "made of the best zinc. Only three and nine and very cheap at the price. Will you have it? Good." Mrs. Jones said she was needing something to take out ink marks. Mr. Huggett took a bottle from one of his shelves, saying. "This chemical is the very thing for your purpose. It will take marks out of almost anything without causing damage."

    Mr. Huggett is an expert at pushing his goods. Before he let Mrs. Jones get out of the store he had got her to take some silver-plated fish-knives, an electric bulb which he said would give twice as much light as a normal bulb without using any more current, six yards of cord, and a gallon of paraffin. In addition, she took a patent tin-opener on condition that he would give her the money back if she wasn't pleased with it. "I don't generally let things, be taken on approval." said Mr. Huggett. "But I'll do it this time because I'm certain you'll keep it when you've given it a test." Mrs. Jones said she would have the things put down on her account and made a request for them to be sent as quickly as possible.

    "I haven't seen your son here for some time," said Mrs. Jones when she was on her way out. "What is he doing now?" "He has got a place with a house-painter," said Mr. Huggett. "It's a good trade and he is doing well. He never had much interest in business."

    By the time Mrs. Jones got away from Mr. Huggett she was quite tired. At first she hadn't been troubled by the weight of her basket, but now it was pulling the muscles of her arm and she still had to go half a mile to get back to her house. She said to herself that she might be wiser to give her orders by telephone as her friends did. But, no. The thought of the beautiful bit of beef which would be put on the table that night, gold and brown on the outside and still a little red in the middle, made her put the idea out of her head.

Notes:

        Read Carefully, this are some sentences of the text, and here is the explanation form them.

    The further international words which come into this Step are: aluminum, beef, influenza, paraffin, zinc.

Marketing: The sense here is 'getting goods at a market or from stores'. It is generally only used in this sense when one is getting food and so on. In addition, marketing goods is putting them on the market, offering them to the public for money. From the second sense comes marketed.

Tradesmen: Storekeepers (see lower) and their helpers.

Housekeeper: Person having the direction of a house, meals, and so on.

Handbag: Woman's bag for money and so on.

Housekeeping money: Housekeeping is the work of a housekeeper. Housekeeping money is the money used for the everyday needs of housekeeping.

Ill in bed: Take note of this a short way of saying 'ill and in bed'.

Storekeeper: Owner or manager of a store.

Writing with a chalk: A bit of chalk for writing with is a chalk.

Gave his head a shake: Giving one's head a shake is turning it from side to side as a sign of no'.

Haven’t you got anything?: When persons are talking, they very commonly say have got in place of ' have'.

Smoked fish: Smoking is the process of drying fish or meat by the use of smoke.

All the fish was bad: Food which is bad is food which has become chemically changed so that it has a bad or unpleasing smell and taste. Go bad: become bad (only in this sense).

Steamed fish: Steaming (cooking by steam).

I'll be straight with you: To be straight is to say what is true, put one's cards on the table, be without tricks.

Now this is what I would have: Now is one of those little words which are very freely slipped into talk without having any very clear sense, to get the hearers attention, give weight to what one is going to say, and so on.

The meat in question: The thing which is being talked about, which one has in mind, is the thing in question.

Scales: An apparatus (frequently with a scale on it) for measuring weight.

Some weights: A bit of metal of a fixed weight which is put on the scales for measuring the weight of another is a weight.

Stamping the ticket: The sense of stamping here is 'marking with a stamp'.

Five cents change: The money handed back to a person who has given an amount greater than the payment to be made, is change. In addition, change is used for 'smaller units of money', such as are generally needed for giving change.

Store-cupboard: Cupboard for keeping a store of goods in.

Waiting for her turn: When a number of persons are waiting to do or get something one after another, it is a person's turn when his time comes to do or get it.

Pigtail: A 'tail' of hair hanging down the back, formed by twisting three bits of hair ever and under one another in turn, is a pigtail.

A delicate chest: The sense of delicate here is 'not healthy, not strong'.

Sponge cake and jelly: Sponge-cake is a soft, sponge-like sort of cake. -- Jelly is specially used for a sweet made of jelly.

Outcry: loud cries, a protest.

Give her order: Order is used for a request for goods from a store and so on.

Cakes of soup: A bit of some solid substance fanned into a flat mass is a cake of it.

Soap powder: Soap in powder form used for-washing docking.

Reading out: Reading and saying.

One by one: One after another, one at a time in the same way, we may say two by two, step by step, and so on.

It’s free: By expansion, something which is given without payment is free.

The maker is giving it away: The maker is here the producer of the goods. -- One is said to give away when one gives it in the sensed making another person its owner without payment.

The addition of a little milk: Addition is here the act of making an addition to something.

Trade mark: Special design or picture put on goods as a sign that they have been produced by a certain maker, who has the copyright.

Did the addition: Take note that do is used with addition in this sense.

A ticket marked 54: The sense of marked here is 'having on it as a mark'.

A little way down the street: Here is an example of the use of way in place of distance which was noted in connection with away. It is used only in giving the position of something as a long (short, little) way from some other thing, or after come or go (for which use, - Step 43).

Doorway: Opening (as) for a door.

It was clear that his mouth was watering:  It was clear that he had a great desire for the oranges. A watering mouth (that is, one in which water is forming) is a sign of desire in connection with food.

A kind heart: The heart is talked of as if it was the place where one's feelings are.

Milkman: Trader in milk, man who takes milk round to houses.

A pint measure: The thing with which measuring is done is a measure.

How much is that?:  What is the price of that?

Doing the addition in her head: To do addition and so on in one's head is to do it without writing anything down.

Garden roller:  Iron roller of great weight for making grass or earth smooth.

Undid a box: To undo a box, parcel, knot, and so on is to get it open or free.

Has a bad effect on the digestion: On is used after effect as a pointer to that in which the effect takes place.

Pushing his goods: Pushing goods, ideas, and so on is pushing them forward, forcing persons to give attention to them, to be interested in them.

Silver-plated: A plate of metal and so on is a thin, flat bit of it. Silver plated = coated with silver.

Fish knives: Silver knives used at table for fish.

A patent tin-opener: A patent apparatus is one for which there is a patent.

On condition that: Making the condition that, if.

Taken on approval: Goods which are taken on approval are goods which may be sent back if they are not given approval.

Have the thing put down on her account: Take them without payment, letting the debt be recorded. The sense of put down here is 'put in writing, put down on paper'.

House-painter: Man whose work is painting houses and so on.

A good trade: A way of making a living, specially by working with one's hands, is a trade.

The sense of these complex words is clear without a note: important-looking, store-girl, clean-looking.

  Test

1. Give the word in your language for:

(a)   Pigtail
A:

(b)  Tradesman
A:  

(c)  Doorway
A:

Outcry
A:

(e)  Trade mark
A:

2. Make statements using these words in two senses:

(a)   Cake
A:

(b)   Measure   
A:

(c)   Stamping
A:

(d)  Addition
A:

(e)  Weight
A:

(f)  Straight
A:

3. Give an account in Basic of a man getting a shirt, some socks, and a hat at a store.

A:

4. Give a Basic word for:

(a)   Small units of money
A:

(b)   Weight- measuring apparatus
A:

(c)   Covered with a coat of silver
A:

(d)   Owner of a store
A:

(e)   Without payment
A:

5. In every group of statements there is one word which will make all the statements complete. Put in the right word.

(a) When I let the bird go, it was happy to be ________.
    Dick was given a ________ seat at the threatre.
    You are ________ to come here at any time.
A:

(b) Another ________ of the screw will make it tight enough.
    Jones was at the office on Saturday morning last week. this week, it's your ________.
A:

(c) The vessel is made of the most ________ glass.
    Though my brother is strong now, he was a ________ boy
    It is work needing ________ fingers.
A:

(d) You are a ________ boy to say something which isn't true.
    The meat has been kept so long that it was ________.
    This small print is ________ for one's eyes.
A:

(e) He was given the wrong ________ at the store.
    I haven't got ________ for a Euro.
    The sudden ________ in her behavior is surprising.
A:

6. Make these statements complete by putting words in the spaces:

(a) The two coats have been sent ________ approval.
A:

(b) My brother had not got influenza on the day _____ question.
A:

(c) This chemical _____ no effect _____ zinc.
A:

(d) She had to _____ the knot to get the parcel open.
A:

(e) He is _____ all the names _____ on a bit of paper.
A:

(f) You may take the book away _____ condition _____ you don't keep it for more than a week.
A:

7. Give the answers in Basic:

(a)   What did the man at the store do before saying what the weight of the meat was?
A:

(b)   What did the girl do after Mrs. Jones had given her two dollars for the meat?
A:

(c)   What sort of fish did the storekeeper have and why did he have no other fish?
A:

(d)   What was he writing with on the blackboard?
A:

(e)   Where does Mrs. Jones keep her housekeeping money?
A:

(f)   Why doesn't Mrs. Jones give her orders on the telephone?
A:

(g)   Why was the small girl with the pigtail doing the marketing?
A:

(h)   What did she say she would give her father for his meal?
A:

(i)   How much soap had Mrs. Jones put down on her list?
A:

(j)   Where was the boy who was unable to take his eyes off the oranges in Mrs. Jones's bag?
A:

(k)   Why did Mrs. Jones take the cake powder which was offered to her?
A:

(l)   What things did Mrs. Jones get in Mr. Huggett's store?
A:

(m)   Why was she uncertain if she would take the aluminum pot?
A:

(n)   Why was Mr. Huggett pleased about his son?
A:

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