Unit twenty one
The Bank of England
Text
After the session on Banking Sector Mr. Hill suggested that in the afternoon the participants should visit the museum of the Bank of England. It was one of the external visits of the Programme.
The museum of the Bank of England is located practically in the building of the Bank, in the City of London. The museum has a lot of exhibits showing the history of the Bank from its foundation in 1694 to its role today as the nation's central bank. Visitors can also see a video on the history of the Bank.
Here is a part of the text of the video:
To understand the role and importance of the Bank better we should learn first how it emerged.
During the seventeenth century banking in England was in the hands of goldsmiths who held deposits, made loans to the merchants and the Crown. But even the wealthiest goldsmiths could not carry on a deposit and lending business on the scale the Government required.
So in sixteen ninety four a joint stock company to raise money for the Government and finance wars was incorporated. It later got to be known under the title "Bank of England".
Although privately owned and financed, the Bank of England developed essentially as a government bank, raising money to finance the needs of the British Government, managing its national debt, printing banknotes and minting coins.
In 1946 the Bank was nationalized and it operates today as the UK's central bank executing monetary policy on behalf of the Government and supervising the markets in one of the world's largest and most sophisticated centres.
Besides the Bank has always been a repository of gold...
After seeing the video the participants of the Programme made a round of the museum and asked Mr. Hill a few questions.
Participant: Excuse me, Mr. Hill. May I ask you a question?
Mr. Hill: Why, certainly.
Participant: One day I heard the nickname of the Bank. Old Lady. Such a funny name! Where does it come from?
Mr. Hill: Nobody knows exactly. Different explanations are given. Many of us associate this nickname with an old cartoon. This cartoon shows the Prime Minister asking an old lady sitting on the money-chest marked "Bank of England" for gold coins.
Participant: So, that's it! Very fascinating indeed!
Words and expressions
| to suggest | [s@'³est] | |
| He suggests that they should visit the museum | . | |
| afternoon | ( 1200) | |
| in the afternoon | ||
| to be located | , | |
| the City (of London) | ||
| lot | ||
| a lot of... | ||
| exhibit | [Ig'zIbIt] | |
| to show (showed, shown) | ||
| foundation | ||
| sixteen ninety four | 1694 . | |
| nation | , | |
| central | ||
| visitor | ||
| importance | ||
| to emerge | [I'mý³] | , |
| century | ||
| the seventeenth century | ||
| goldsmith | ||
| to hold (held, held) | , | |
| to hold deposits | ||
| to make (made, made) loans to somebody | - | |
| crown | ||
| the Crown | , | |
| wealth | [welT] | |
| wealthy | ||
| wealthiest | ||
| to carry on | , | |
| to carry on business | ||
| to carry on a deposit business | ||
| to carry on i lending business | ||
| scale | ||
| on the scale | , | |
| on the scale the Government | , | |
| required | [rI'kwaI@d] | |
| joint stock company | ||
| to raise money | , | |
| war | [wþ] | |
| to incorporate | [In'kþp@reIt] | |
| The company was incorporated in 1694 | 1694 . | |
| It got to be known- | ||
| title | ||
| under the title | , | |
| although | [þl'Dou] | |
| essentially | ||
| to manage | , | |
| debt | [det] | |
| to manage debts | ||
| to print | ||
| banknote | ||
| to mint coins | ||
| to execute a policy | ||
| on behalf of somebody | [bI'h¸f] | - |
| to supervise something/ somebody | -/- | |
| large | ||
| market | ||
| largest | ||
| sophisticated | [s@'fIstIkeItId] | , |
| the most sophisticated martket | ||
| repository of gold | ||
| to make a round of... | ||
| nickname | ||
| old | ||
| funny | ||
| explanation | ||
| to associate | ||
| cartoon | [k¸'tün] | |
| prime minister | - | |
| money-chest | ||
| fascinating | ['f{sIneItIÎ] | , , |
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Exercises
1. Read the following:
| the Bank of England the nation's central bank | in the City of London one of the external visits |
| the museum of the Bank | on behalf of the Government |
| the history of the Bank | the session |
| the building of the Bank | the programme |
| the markets | |
| the nickname |
He suggested that the participants should go to the museum of the Bank.
2. Underline the answers true to the text:
| When did Mr. Hill suggest that the group should visit the museum of the Bank of England? | Before the session on Banking Sector. After the session on Banking Sector Diring the session on Banking Sector |
| Was this visit on the Programme? | Yes, it was No, it wasn't It isn't quite clear |
| Where is the museum of the Bank of England located? | In the very centre of the Bank of England. Rather far from the Bank of England. Practically in the building of the Bank of England. |
| When was the Bank founded? | In 1694. In 1794. In 1894. |
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| What video can visitors see at the museum of the Bank of England? | On the history of the City. On the history of London. On the history of the Bank. |
| What original material does the Unit quote? | The video. The audio recording. The lecture of Mr. Hill. |
| What did the participants do then? | They asked the lecturer a few questions. They asked Mr. Hill a few questions. They asked the Group Leader a few questions. |
3. Underline the verbs and translate the sentences into Russian:
To understand the role and importance of the Bank better we should learn first how it emerged.
In 1694 a joint stock company to laise money for the Government and finance wars was incorporated.
This Bank is privately owned and financed.
It raises money to finance the needs of the British Government.
It manages the national debt.
It prints banknotes and mints coins.
In 1946 the Bank was nationalized.
It operates today as the UK's central bank.
It executes monetary policy on behalf of the Government.
It supervises the markets in London.
Besides it has always been a repository of gold.
