Long ago, people lived on wild animals, fruits and other plants and they didn't need to use money.
As time passed, families had more products(产品) than they needed, such as animals and crops. So they needed to trade(交易) with others. They began to use money to make it easier. However, it was not like the money we use today. They used shells, rice, salt or large stones.
During the 600s BC, people began using coins as money. Because they were easier to carry than goods(货物), countries began to make coins as their money.

The Chinese were the first to use paper money, probably in the 11th century. An Italian traveler, Marco Polo, saw the Chinese use paper money when he visited China in the 1200s. After his travel, he told the western people what he saw. But European countries didn't start using paper money till the1600s.
Today we have many ways to pay for things, such as coins, paper money and cards. Some prefer to pay by card. That's because paying with a card is easier and safer than carrying around a lot of “real” money.

    Christmas and the Spring Festival are two important festivals in the world.

    Christmas is the most important festival in western countries. It comes on 25th December. When Christmas comes，people have a long holiday. And there is Father Christmas! He comes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and gives presents to children so they love him very much.

    The Spring Festival is very important in China. It usually happens in January or February. On the New Year's Eve，people have a big family dinner and they watch TV together. Parents usually give their children a hongbao, which means lucky money.

    The Spring Festival is celebrated not only in China but also in other parts of the world. The traditional holiday is the most important to Chinese both home and abroad.

    American schools begin(开始) in September after a long summer holiday. There are two terms(学期) in a school year. The first term is from September to January, and the second term is from February to June. Most American children begin to go to school when they are five years old. Most children are seventeen or eighteen years old when they finish school.

    High school students take only five or six subjects each term. They usually go to the same class every day, and they have homework for every class. After class, they do interesting things.

    After high school, many students go to colleges (学院). They usually have to pay a lot of money. So many college students work after class to   ▲   .