(1564-1616)
William’s father, John Shakespeare, moved to Stratford-on-Avon about 1550 and became a tradesman. His wife, the writer’s mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a rich farmer.
John Shakespeare and his wife lived in a two-storey house in Hanley Street. Simple and ordinary looking, this house is still one of the most famous places in the world. For here, in a small room on the second floor, William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564.
Vasily Andreyevich Tropinin (1776-1857)
Visitors to the Tretyakov Art Gallery often stop to admire Vasily Tropinin’s remarkable picture “The Lace-maker”. Holding up her bobbins, a lovely young girl looks out of the frame with all the charm of youth and beauty, showing the graceful movements of her busy hands. This was the first Russian picture to depict the city working girl.
But the most popular picture ever created by Tropinin is probably his portrait of Alexander Pushkin for which the poet sat in 1827. The remarkable likeness was stressed by contemporaries. The portrait reflects the powerful mind and inspiration of the poet.
I believe that vacations should be a change. Most people like a change. Most people like a change of place; if they live in the country they like to go to a big town and spend their time looking at shop windows and visiting movie theatres, museums and art galleries; if they live in a city, they like a quiet vacation in the hills or by the sea, doing nothing but walking, swimming and lying in the sun.
When on vacation most people don’t like to do things they have to do all the year round.
The Geography of the British Isles
To the west of the continent of Europe lie two large islands called the British Isles. The larger of these is known as Great Britain, the smaller, Ireland. The North Sea and the English Channel separate the British Isles from the European continent.
The larger island of Great Britain consists of three parts: England, Scotland and Wales which were once separate kingdoms. After centuries of war at the beginning of the 18th century England, Wales and Scotland were united. In 1800 Ireland was included in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as it was called.
The Brontës
The story of the famous and talented Вrontë family is strange and unusual.
The Вrontë children — five girls and a boy — lived with their father and aunt in Yorkshire.
All the children were in poor health. Two of the girls died while they were still at school. Bramwell, the boy, was good at writing poetry. But he died at the age of 31. Anne, who wrote poetry and two novels, died at 29.
Emily who became world famous as the author of “Wuthering Heights” died a year after the book was published in 1847.
The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. 
The city was named after the first American President George Washington.
The city is filled with important buildings. The largest library in the world is in Washington, D.C. It is called the Library of Congress. It has one copy of every single book copyrighted in the United States.
The Congress meets in the Capitol Building. Government lawyers work in the Justice Department.
Читать далее Some Facts from the History of Washington, D.C.
Do you know what a hobby is? A hobby is what you like to do in your spare time. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character and taste, you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting and exciting. 
Hobbies differ like tastes. The most popular hobbies are philately, collecting post-cards, coins and books.
Some people are interested in music. They collect records and tape recordings. And others are keen on photography.
In the United States, secondary school is called high school; students begin high school in ninth grade, when they have completed eight years of school. 
An average day for a high school student begins with a brief “homeroom” period, when the roll is taken and announcements are made. The rest of the day is divided into eight or nine “periods” of equal length, usually 45-50 minutes.
At the beginning of each period, when the bell rings, students go into a classroom to begin class. Every period they have a different class, with a different teacher, in a different room. Some of their fellow students move with them from class to class, but many have very different class schedules.
(1759-1796)
R.Burns was the greatest poet of the 18th century. He is famous all over Scotland. One has only to speak to Scotchmen to feel the deep love and admiration for their outstanding countryman.
R.Burns was born in the picturesque village of Alloway. His father was a poor farmer, but it was from his father that Robert received his learning and his love for books. His mother had a beautiful voice and taught him old Scottish songs and ballads, which he later turned into his best poems. At the age of 13 Robert began to work on the farm together with his father. Robert was a handsome young man, but he often suffered from illnesses because of the hard work and bad food.
(1815-1852)
Pavel Andreyevich Fedotov, an eminent artist, was a pioneer of critical realism in Russian art.
Fedotov began to draw and paint while he was an officer in a guards’ regiment, from which he retired in 1843 in order to devote himself to art.
He is at his best in genre painting. His great sympathy for “small people”, his bitter irony, the indignation he showed at times in the presentation of the privileged strata of Russian society are combined in his work with keen observation, depth of psychological characterization and exactitude in the detail of surroundings.