Supplementary Reading.

Outstanding People of Great Britain.

Margaret Thatcher

Great people has always been rich in outstanding people: writers and poets, inventors and travelers, singers and musicians. Who doesn't know the names of W. Shakespeare, R.Bums, G.Wells, M.Faraday, D.Livingstone, J.Cook, P. McCartney?

Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, is also an outstanding person. Let's see why. While studying at school, Margaret showed her interest in the Conservative Party. She was very capable of logic and analyses and decided to become a scientist, to be more exact, a chemist. She entered the chemistry department of Oxford University and studied willingly. At the same time she studied the works of ancient people and the speeches of modem lawyers. Juridical preparation helped her very much in her political career.

Like for any other girl, marriage was an important event in Margaret's life. A famous businessman Dennis Thatcher became her husband. It was a happy marriage. In spite of the fact that she was very busy, Margaret paid great attention to her family: her husband and her twins - a daughter, now a TV journalist, and her son, who tried many professions but in the end became a businessman, like his father.

Having brought up her children, Margaret devoted her life to politics. In 1976 she was elected the Prime Minister, the 1-st lady of the country. She was elected Prime Minister 3 times and it was a kind of a record.

What was the reason of such success? Margaret was a very clever, industrious, confident and serious woman. She had a strong will, and she always made wonderful speeches and was very skilful in discussions. She had a nickname «The Iron Lady", which had a positive meaning. The country had a lot of difficulties when Margaret became the Prime Minister. She managed to improve the condition of the economy and to make the life of people better.

More than a thousand bunches of flowers were brought to her house when she announced her resignation. Now she is a member of the House of Lords.

References: выдающийся, former - бывший, willingly - с желанием, ancient -древний, juridical - юридический, bring up - растить, industrious -трудолюбивый, will - воля, желание, skilful - умелый, positive meaning -положительное значение, resignation - отставка, nickname - прозвище.

Answer the questions

1. Is M. Thatcher an outstanding person?

2. When did she become interested in the Conservative Party?

3. Where did she study after school?

4. What helped her much in her political Career?

5. How many times was she elected the Prime Minister?

6. What is her nickname?

7. What did she do for her country?

8. Do English people love her?

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, in 1859. His father was an architect. He died when Arthur was a schoolboy and the family was poor.

As a boy, Arthur enjoyed reading detectives. He liked to listen to his mother's fantastic stories. He was a good storyteller himself and often told his school friends long interesting stories.

After finishing school be entered the medical faculty at the University of Edinburgh and became a doctor. He began his medical practice in a small English town Southsea. In 1886, as a twenty seven-year-old Dr. Doyle sat in his new office hoping for patients, he decided to try writing a detective story. And so, Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were born.

Over the years, Doyle himself came to be recognised as an expert in crime. He solved many real-life criminal cases and proved the innocence of men who had been imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

Doyle interrupted his writing career to serve as a doctor with the British Army during the War in Africa. Afterwards, he wrote two books explaining why the British had to fight the war. For these efforts Doyle was knighted by King Edward VII and he became Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

During a visit to the moor country in western England, Doyle became so interested in a legend about a hound, that he used it as a plot for a new book. This book became the greatest of all of Holmes's adventures, "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

Many of the sixty Sherlock Holmes stories, such as "A Scandal in Bo­hemia", "A Study in Scarlet", "The Blue Carbuncle" and others have been translated into other languages and have been made even more popular in plays, films, radio and TV.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930 at the age of seventy-one. But with each day the number of his readers increases and someone discovers, for the first time, the amazing Mr. Holmes.

References:

architect - архитектор, a storyteller- рассказчик, a patient – пациент, оvеr the years - с годами, (he) came to be recognized - его признали, an expert -специалист, эксперт, a crime - преступление, правонарушение, to solve - решать, распутывать, раскрывать, criminal case – уголовное криминальное дело.

Answer the questions:

1. When and where was Arthur Conan Doyle born?

2. What was he by profession?

3. How did he begin to write stories?

4. Why was he made Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

5. Who are his most famous characters?

7. Аrе his stories still popular?

Agatha Christie.

I like to read detective stories. Thus my favourite English writer is Agatha Christie. She is known all over the world as the Queen of crime. She wrote 77 detective novels and books of stories and they are translated into many foreign languages. The most popular other books are: "The Oriental Express", "The Murder in the Vicar's House", "Black Brothers" and others. Those are books you could spend hours with. They are easy and interesting to read. I advise everybody to read A.Christie's novels and stories. .

A. Christie was born in 1890 in England. Her father was an American but he lived in England for long years. He died when Agatha was 12, then she couldn't get a good education. She was very pensive and not talkative when she was a small girl. She always tried to get away from other people. Perhaps, as she was not talkative she began to write and she was better in writing than in speaking.

She began to write at the end of • World War 1 and created Hercule Poirot - the most popular detective after Sherlock Holmes. Poirot, Miss Marple and her other detectives appeared in many films, radio programmes and stage plays based on her novels.

In 1958 A. Christie became a president of the club of detectives. And she ran this club till her death in 1976. She died but her books will never die. To my mind, they will be popular for many, many years.

Answer the questions:

1. Who is known as the Queen of Crime?

2. Did she write many novels?

3. Are her novels read in many countries?

4. What are her most popular works?

5-Would you advise your friend to read them? Why?

6. Was A. Christie an English or American writer?

7. What education did she get?

8. Why did she begin to write?

9. Who was her most popular detective?

10. Do A. Christie’s heroes appear in many films and plays?