It is interesting to know.

Student A

Did you know that …?

… Vincent van Gogh sold only two of his paintings while he was alive.

… the actress Shirley Temple was a millionaire before she was ten.

… Shakespeare spelled his name in eleven different ways.

… in 1979 it snowed in the Sahara Desert.

… King Louis XIV of France had a bath only three times in his life.

… the American President George Washington grew marijuana in his garden.

Student B

Did you know that …?

… it took 1,700 years to build the Great Wall of China.

… King Henry VIII of England had six wives.

… Walt Disney used his own voice for the character of Mickey Mouse.

… Shakespeare and the Spanish novelist Cervantes both died on the same day, 23 April 1616.

… King Francis I of France bought the painting The Mona Lisa to put in his bathroom.

… when Shakespeare was alive, yhere were no actresses, only male actors.

Van Gogh

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Sahara Desert

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Louis

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marijuana

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A. Did you know that Vincent van Gogh sold

C. Did you know that the actress Shirley

only two of his paintings while he was alive?

Temple was a millionaire before she was ten?

B. Really? He didn’t! I don’t believe it!

D. Really? She wasn’t! That’s Incredible!

A. Well, it’s true.

C. Well, it’s true.

2 Read the newspaper article about Dominic O'Leary, the man with the best memory in the world.

3 Answer the questions.

1 What are some of the things Dominic can remember?

2 How did he become world champion?

3 Was he good at school? Why not?

4 What did his teachers say about him?

5 When did he start to improve his memory? What did he see?

6 Why isn't he popular with casino managers?

7 How many clubs did he visit with the interviewers?

8 How many clubs did he play in? Why?

9 What do you think of Dominic's suggestions for a good memory?

Try his ideas to remember some words in English!

4 Here are the answers to some questions. Write in the questions.

1 _________________________________?

Wednesday.

2 _________________________________?

Last October.

3 _________________________________?

Eight hundred pounds a day.

4 _____________________:____________?

She's a clothes designer.

5 _________________________________?

Seven hundred and fifty pounds.

6 _________________________________?

He likes number games, crosswords, writing music, and playing the piano.

5 There are a lot of numbers in the article. What do these numbers refer to?

Example

1876 April 21,1876 was a Wednesday.

1 35 3 £1,000 5 £1,250

2 34 4 7 6 5

WORLD CHAMPION MEMORY MAN

This is Dominic O'Leary, the man with the best memory in the world. He can tell you the day of any date in any year. What day was April 21, 1876? 'Wednesday,' says Dominic. He can remember the teams and the scores of every football match in every World Cup. And he became world champion memory man when he remembered the order of thirty-five packs of playing cards!

At school, Dominic was a pupil who couldn't remember his lessons. 'My maths and English teachers said I was stupid because I could never remember what they taught me.' But four years ago he saw a programme on television which showed people how to improve their memory, and last October he became world champion. 'I remembered the order of thirty-five packs of cards,' said Dominic. 'It was quite easy.'

Dominic, 34, can earn £800 a day on European TV programmes. He lives with his wife, Alison, a clothes designer, in a small village near Bath, and he is the manager of an office cleaning company.

--------------------------- WINNING -----------------------------

Casino managers don't want Dominic to visit their casinos, because he can remember every card. 'I played as a professional gambler for a few months, and I won £1,000 a night, but then the managers asked me to leave.'

We went with Dominic to seven clubs in London and Brighton. He started with £500, and four hours later, he had £1,250 in his pocket. He won £750.

He played in just three clubs for four hours. The other four clubs knew his face and didn't want him to play.

In his free time, Dominic loves number games and crosswords, writing music, and playing the piano. He says children can learn to improve their memory from the age of five. 'Then they can do anything,' says Dominic.