3. Ireland

Ireland is the name of an island. It is next to the island of Britain. There are two parts of Ireland: Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, its capital is Belfast, and the Republic of Ireland is a different country, its capital is Dublin.

Everywhere in Ireland you will see green, in fact Ireland’s other name is “the Emerald Isle”.

Green is one of the symbols of Ireland and everybody wears green on Saint Patrick’s Day, the Irish national holiday.

The most famous symbol of Ireland is the shamrock. It became a symbol because it grows in many places – and it has 3 leaves. The number 3 is very special for Irish people – some even believe it is magic.

Another Irish symbol is the harp, and 2 other traditional instruments are the bagpipes and the fiddle (‘fiddle’ is another word for ‘violin’). The Irish are famous for their playing, singing and dancing.

Leprechauns are Irish fairies. They are shoemakers, and they are not very friendly. They also have secret pots of gold. If you find a leprechaun, you can look for his gold, but don’t look away from the leprechaun. If you do, he will disappear – and so will the gold! Of course, this is only a superstition.

If you sailed west from Ireland you would come to the USA. A hundred years ago, thousands of Irish families left Ireland to look for work. Many of them went to the USA. Today there are many people in the USA with Irish surnames and Irish relatives.

4. Wales

A red dragon is probably the oldest symbol of Wales. If you go to Wales, you will see red dragons everywhere - on signs, in souvenir shops and on flags. Another symbol of Wales is a vegetable called a leek. Welsh people wear them on their coats on St David's Day, the Welsh national holiday, although some people wear another symbol of Wales - the daffodil. There are two official languages in Wales, Welsh and English, although English is usually spoken. Children study Welsh at school and some people speak it all the time. Signs are usually in Welsh and English. The Welsh language has some very long place names. Holidaymakers love the beautiful Welsh beaches, and the mountains of Snowdonia are popular too. The ancient castles are also big tourist attractions. Welsh people are famous for their singing and their music festivals. A musical instrument, the harp, is one of the symbols of Wales. There is a fantastic new sports stadium in Cardiff. The Welsh are crazy about rugby. It's their national sport.

5. Bill Gates

William Henry Gates III or just Bill Gates was born in Seattle, the USA. He is a very interesting person. When he was 20 years old, he became interested in computers, and a few years later he changed the world! And he didn’t even finish his university course because in 1975 he left university early and formed his own company. He called it Microsoft. That was the beginning of the ‘personal computer’. Before that, most people didn’t have computers in their homes. And so he became a multi – billionaire! His company was incredibly successful. In 1998 he moved into his ‘dream house’. It’s fantastic. It cost ninety – seven million dollars and it’s got an underground theatre and a huge swimming pool. It’s even got heated paths in the gardens!

Of course, he gives a lot of money to charity. He’s very generous. A long time ago he promised ninety per cent of all his money to charity and he still keeps his promise. He’s a really fascinating person in our history.