(1859-1927)
In the history of English literature Jerome K. Jerome occupies a modest place. He cannot be compared with such literary figures as Dickens, Thackeray or Bernard Shaw, but he is well known as a writer-humorist not only in his country but in other countries too.
Jerome Klapka Jerome was born in England, on May 2, 1859 in the family of a ruined businessman. Читать далее Jerome K. Jerome
Jack London’s (1876-1916) life was the life of hard work.
He began working at the age of eight. In the years that followed, he did a man’s work, though he was only a boy.
By the time he was twenty-two, he had lived more than most people do in fifty years. He had worked on ships and in factories; he had travelled across the ocean as a sailor, he had tramped from San Francisco to New York with an army of unemployed and back through Canada to Vancouver.
I.N. Kramskoi (1837-1887), the famous painter, was also a publicist, art critic and theorist, the ideologist of the progressive artists of the latter half of the 19th century in Russia.
He was also one of the organizers of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions, to which the best of the realistic artists belonged.
Kramskoi was born in Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh Gubernia. As he was the son of a scribe, he had to start working early, and found employment as a retouched in a photographer’s studio. In 1857 he was accepted in the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Читать далее Kramskoi Ivan Nikolayevich
If I had time to do all the things I want to, I would begin with reading. I would read a lot.
First of all, I would read detective stories. After that I would read books about travelling. Perhaps it would be better to travel and to see everything with my own eyes instead of reading about it in books. Читать далее If I Had Time
In our country the most popular summer sports and games are football, volley-ball, tennis, swimming, badminton, cycling; the most popular winter sports and games are hockey, skating, skiing, figure-skating.
Many boys enjoy playing football. Some boys and girls are fond of playing volley-ball, basket-ball and tennis. Читать далее I Enjoy Sports and Games
There are a lot of problems facing people on the planet Earth nowadays. 
The problems that demand world action are: the growth of world population, economic crises, ethnic conflicts.
But the most urgent problem concerning the people of the whole world is an ecological one.
What is ecology? Ecology is the science that studies the conditions of the habitat of man, animals and plants for the benefit of present and future generations. Читать далее Human Beings and Their Environment
How the First Computer Was Developed
The first suggestion that the machine for mathematical computation could be built was made more than a hundred years ago by the mathematician Charles Babbage. We now realize that he understood clearly all the fundamental principles of modern computers.
Babbage was born in Devonshire, England, in 1792. He did not receive a good education, but he taught himself mathematics so well that when he went to Cambridge, he found that he knew more algebra than his tutor. Читать далее How the First Computer Was Developed
I’d like to tell some words why I’ve decided to base my future profession on chemistry.
When I got acquainted with the simplest chemicals and reactions for the first time, I didn’t realize entirely how interesting chemistry is and how complicated it is, too.
In the 8th grade “chemistry” appeared in my school time-table and due to books, due to my teacher I was getting more and more absorbed by the marvelous world of chemistry. Читать далее How I’ve made up my mind about my future profession
Christopher Columbus was an Italian, the son of a poor weaver. He was born in 1451 in Genoa, an Italian seaport.
From his early childhood he was interested in the big ships and would sit out-of-doors watching them for hours. Читать далее How America Was Discovered
Household Chores
Mу family consists of six members: my mother, my father, my grandmother, my grandfather, my little brother and me. 
Each member of the family has his own chores. My father goes shopping. He buys bread, milk, meat, vegetables, fruits, eggs and other products. My mother prepares dinner and supper. We like Mother’s cooking. She is especially good at cooking fried fish.
My chore is to wash up dishes. I also have to dust the furniture and to sweep the floor in my room every day. My younger brother’s chores are to carry out the garbage and to put his things in their right places.
My grandmother knits socks, makes cakes and cooks jam. My grandfather goes for a walk with our dog twice a day.
On Saturday all the families are busy with their chores. We make our flat neat. My father cleans the carpets with a vacuum-cleaner. My mother washes linen in a washing-machine. I wash the floor. My brother cleans shoes. My grandma and grandpa cook Saturday dinner. After all that we lay the table and have dinner. Then we have tea with wonderful cakes made by my grandma. We thank our grandma and grandpa and Father cheerfully says: “Business before pleasure”. We enjoy the rest of the day doing things we like to do.
Chores are very important in the life of the family. Our family is very friendly because everybody treats his chores very seriously.
Vocabulary
household chores — домашние обязанности
garbage — мусор
to knit — вязать
a vacuum-cleaner — пылесос
to wash linen — стирать белье
to treat one’s chores seriously — относиться к своим домашним обязанностям серьезно
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