2.10 David Beckham

David Beckham was born May 2, 1975. David Beckham says that he has always wanted to become a football player. He played football at school and in 1991 he signed for Manchester United because he had always supported them and had always dreamed to play for them. He played for the United Youth team at first and in 1995 he established himself in the first team and soon became a top-scoring player.

In spite of his fame David is an incredibly private person. He talks only when he wants to talk choosing exactly whom he would like to talk to. He tries to live as normal a life as he can “with my camera up my backside 24 hours a day.”

Victoria Adams, better known to the public as the style conscious, Posh Spice, married the England football captain David Beckham in 1999. But it is said that their love affair began long before they actually met!

In 1999 Victoria and David bought a house in Hertfordshire which the press nicknamed "Beckingham Palace". The papers say that Victoria rules the Beckham household with an iron rod. But when David was asked if he was under Victoria's thumb, he answered, "It's a nice thumb to be under. It's a very beautiful thumb". As for Victoria, she says about her husband, I had never loved anyone until I met him and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him". So they seem to be quite happy about their marriage.

They are both very busy, they continue their careers, but family life remains top of their agendas. They grow a son names Brooklyn.

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Задание 1 Найдите в тексте следующие слова и словосочетания: утвердился в первой команде, стал результативным игроком, несмотря на славу, невероятно замкнутый человек, с камерой за спиной, стильная, любовная история, прозвала, правит ... железной рукой, под ... каблуком, на первом месте в их расписании.

Задание 2 Завершите проедложения согласно содержанию текста:

1. David Beckham always dreamed ...

2. He tries to live ...

3. Victoria Adams married ...

4. The press nicknamed David and Victoria's house ...

5. They seem happy ...

2.11 Benjamin Franklin

(1706-1790)

One reason why the Declaration and the Constitution were written in Philadelphia is that in the late 1700s Philadelphia was America's most important city. Philadelphia's importance had much to do with one man - Benjamin Franklin.

In 1723, at the age of 17, Benjamin Franklin ran away to Philadelphia, looking for work as an apprentice printer. A few years later he had his own print shop and was publishing one of the most widely read newspapers in the colonies. Franklin did a lot for Philadelphia - for example, he started a library (the first in the colonies), a fire department, a city hospital, and a school that is now the University of Pennsylvania.

Franklin also did a lot for his country. He helped write the Declaration of Independence. During the war, he persuaded the French to aid the colonists; without French help, the colonists might not have won the war. When the Constitution was written, Franklin solved some serious disagreements; at 81, he was twice as old as most of the other men and was greatly respected. (884)

Найдите в тексте ответы на эти вопросы и переведите их:

1.Why were the Declaration and the Constitution written in Philadelphia?

2.What did Franklin do for Philadelphia?

3.What did Franklin do for his country?