今日のテキスト UK ISSUES FIRST PLASTIC BANKNOTE

Britain has introduced the country's first plastic banknote. The Bank of England says it's harder to forge and stronger than paper ones.
The new, polymer five-pound note began circulating on Tuesday. It's made of thin, flexible plastic. The note, worth about 6.6 dollars, has a portrait of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the reverse side. It's about 15 percent smaller than its predecessor.
The central bank says the note has security features that make it harder to counterfeit. It says the strength of the material means the new notes are expected to last for about five years. That's two-and-a-half times longer than the paper type. The bank also says the plastic notes can survive a spin in the washing machine, and that their longer life will reduce production costs.
The Bank of England plans to introduce a polymer 10-pound note in mid-2017 and a 20-pound note by 2020.