Simple facts about the British currency

The British currency has two units—the pound and the penny. 100 pennies make £1.

Currency paper notes are   £5，£ 10，£ 20 and £ 50. The different notes are quite similar in size and appearance，so be careful! £50 notes are not common，and many shops will not accept them, because of the danger of false money.

Coins are £2. £1.50p. 20p. 10p. 5p. 2p and 1p.

In Scotland. Scottish banks issue their own bank notes of various values. British and Scottish notes and coins are interchangeable. However, you might find some unwillingness in the South of England to accept Scottish notes even though areas near Scotland will happily accept them. We therefore recommend that you exchange or spend any Scottish currency before leaving Scotland.

In conversation and shops, people often do not say "pounds". Something which costs £ 6.50 would usually be described as "six fifty". For things which cost less than one pound, people may say "pence", but often they say "pee", meaning "p". For instance. "That is ninety-nine pee". The larger coins will often be called, for example, "a fifty pee", or "a fifty pee piece".

Best ways of obtaining British money

You can change cash and traveller's cheques at British Banks, building societies (these are similar to banks). larger Post Offices, larger Travel Agents, some larger Tourist Information Centres. American Express, and Bureaux de Change.

Be careful, as some cost more than others! You will probably pay much more at Bureaux de Change at airports and in the centre of London.

Banks, building societies and travel agents will usually charge a fixed percentage fee, about 3%, with a minimum of fee of £2.50. Or it might be 2%, with a minimum fee of £3. Some, such as the Halifax Building Society, may charge a £2 handing charge, plus 1% fee. It is worth looking around. Larger post offices charge only a 1% fee, minimum £2.50, so they can be a good place to go.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a New Year address in Beijing at 19:30 on December 31, 2022. This is part of his New Year’s Day message:

Greetings to you all! The year 2023 is approaching! From Beijing, I send my best New Year wishes to all of you.【小题1】An ambition has been drawn for building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation (复兴) of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization (现代化).

Since COVID-19 struck, we have put the people first and put life first all along. Following a science-based and targeted approach, we have adapted our COVID response in light of (按照) the evolving situation to protect the health of people to the greatest extent possible. Officials and the general public, particularly medical professionals and community workers, have bravely stuck to their posts through it all. With great efforts, we have prevailed over unprecedented difficulties and challenges, and it has not been an easy journey for anyone. We have now entered a new phase of COVID response where tough challenges remain. Everyone is holding on with great fortitude, and the light of hope is right in front of us. 【小题2】

【小题3】The Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games ended with a complete success. Chinese winter sports athletes gave their all and achieved extraordinary (非凡的) results. Shenzhou-13, 14 and 15 soared into the heavens. China’s space station was fully completed and our “home in space” is roving in the deep-blue sky. The people’s army marked the 95th birthday and all service members are marching confidently on the great journey of building a strong military. China’s third aircraft carrier Fujian was launched. C919, China’s first large passenger aircraft, was delivered. And the Baihetan hydropower station went into full operation... 【小题4】Countless working people are coming together and becoming the strength of China!

To the many people who are still busy working at this very moment, I salute (致敬) you all! We are about to ring in the New Year. Let us welcome the first ray of sunshine of 2023 with the best wishes for a brighter future.

May our country enjoy prosperity and our people live in harmony. 【小题5】I wish you all a happy New Year and may all your wishes come true.

Thank you!

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750，000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage(短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.