MAKING MONEY

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 982.

It was so quick and easy. A fourteen-year-old boy in Scottsdale, Arizona, pulled out his $50 bill and put it onto his school's new computer scanner. Then he printed ten copies of his $50 into $550, and he was ready to shop.

Twenty years ago only a few people had the skills or equipment to make counterfeit money. Today computer, copier, and printer technology is so good that almost anyone can ‘make' money. With the new technology there is a new kind of counterfeiters: casual counterfeiters. These counterfeiters are called casual because they don't have special skills and because they don't need to plan much.

The number of bills made by casual counterfeiters on their home or office computer is growing fast. In fact, this number has doubled every year since 1989! There is no way to stop counterfeiting 100 percent. But the government has recently found a few ways to make casual counterfeiting very difficult.

One way is to put very, very small words, called microprint, in hidden places on the bill. These words are only 6/1000 inch. No one can read them without a magnifying glass, a special glass that makes things look bigger. And they are too small to come out clearly on a copier. If someone copies a bill that has microprint and you look at the copy through a magnifying glass, instead of micro-printed words, you will see only black lines.

Another way to stop people from making counterfeit money on their home computers is to use special color-changing ink. Money printed with color-changing ink will look green from one angle and yellow from another. Home computers cannot use color-changing ink. So any copies from a home will have normal ink and can be noticed quite easily.

Additionally, money is made on special paper with very small pieces of red and blue silk mixed in. And on each bill there is a special line that runs from the top to the bottom of the bill. Suppose, for example, that you hold a $20 bill up to the light. If you do this, you can see the line has the words ‘USA twenty.' The line turns red if you put it under a special (ultraviolet) light. This line and the special paper with red and blue silk are not easy for home computers to copy.

The government must try many different ways to stop counterfeiting. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing needs to keep changing the way money is made because counterfeiters can learn to copy the changes. Today copiers can't copy micro-printed words or color-changing ink. But, in a few years, who knows?

4.Reading for main ideas.

1) The following sentences tell the main ideas of the seven paragraphs in ‘Making Money.' Read the sentences. For each, write the correct paragraph number.

a. Casual counterfeiting is becoming a big problem, and the government is fighting the problem.

b. Color-changing ink is a way to stop counterfeiters.

c. A child can easily copy paper money.

d. The government must always keep changing the bills to stop people from counterfeiting.

e. Microprint is a way to stop counterfeiters.

f. New technology makes casual counterfeiting possible.

g. Special paper and a special line are two ways to stop counterfeiters.

2) Check the sentence that best describes the main idea of the whole article.

_____ a. It's easier to counterfeit money today than it was twenty years ago.

_____b. The government has several ways to try to stop counterfeiters.

_____c. New technology makes counterfeiting easier, but the government has changed bills to make counterfeiting more difficult.

5.Reading for details. Complete the sentences with information from the text.

1. Twenty years ago, only a few people had the ________ or _______ to make fake money.

2. One way to stop counterfeiters from making fake money on a _______ is to use micro-printed words.

3. Bills are printed on special paper that has pieces of __________ and _____ silk.

4. Bills have a ________ that you can see if you hold them up to the light.

5. A boy in Scottsdale, Arizona, used his school's scanner to make ______ copies of a $ _________ bill.

6. Money printed with color-changing ink looks green from one angle and ________ from another.

6.Reading between the lines. Based on the information in the text, which of the following statements do you think are true?

___1. Some casual counterfeiters counterfeit a lot of money, but others counterfeit only a few bills.

___ 2. Casual counterfeiters are bad people.

___ 3. Casual counterfeiters are easy to catch.

___ 4. Today most counterfeit money is made by casual counterfeiters.

___ 5. The government changes the way it makes money every few years.

___ 6. Copiers will be able to copy microprint in just a few years.

7.Expanding the topic.

Before computers and copiers, counterfeiting was not easy. You needed a large printing press, the skill to use the press, and the artistic skill to copy a bill. Counterfeiting often took a lot of time, planning, and hard work. But the results were excellent. The counterfeit money looked and felt like the real thing. Today, professional counterfeiters still make fake money the old way – on printing presses.

Read the story of Michael Landress, who was once a professional counterfeiter. Then answer the questions that follow.