Robert Burns, a famous and popular Scottish poet, was born in 1759.
Burns was born in a family of a poor farmer. Robert was the eldest of seven children, so he had to help his father on the farm. His father William Burns was a kind person who loved and understood people. So Robert learned to love and respect people from his father. His mother had a beautiful voice and often sang songs and told many folk-tales to her children. Robert remembered mother’s songs and stories all his life.
His father wanted Robert to be an educated person and sent him to school at the age of 6. Robert liked reading books. His favourite writer was Shakespeare.
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Isaac Newton
Newton, one of the greatest scientists of all times was born in 1642 in the little village in Lincolnshire, England. His father was a farmer and died before Newton was born. His mother was a clever woman whom he always loved.
After the school, Newton studied mathematics at Cambridge university and received his degree in 1665. Then the university was closed because of the danger of plague and Newton went home for eighteen months. It was most important period in his life when he made his three great discoveries — the discoveries of the differential calculuses, of the nature of white light, and of the law of gravitation.
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Jules Verne was born in 1828 in France. Young Jules was interested in machinery, sailing and writing. Together with his brother Paul, he explored the river near their home in an old sailboat.
Jules’ father was a lawyer and he wanted his son to continue his career. So Jules was sent to Paris to study law. Jules, however, decided soon that his main interest was writing. He joined the club of scientific writers. This group was interested in balloons so Jules soon wrote an adventure story called «Five Weeks in a Balloon». His favourite subject at school was geography, so he wanted to describe in his books as many parts of the world as possible.
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William Shakespeare was one of the greatest and famous writers of the world. Many people know and like his works but many facts of Shakespeare’s life are still unknown.
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on- Avon, a small English town. He studied at local grammar school because his father wanted his son to be an educated person. While studying at school, William didn’t have much free time but he liked to go to the forest and river Avon.
Young William liked to watch actors and actresses who visited Stratford-on-Avon. He was fond of actor’s profession and decided to become an actor. With this purpose he went to London. There he played and wrote plays as well. In his works he described the events of England’s contemporary life. His plays that were staged in many theatres and which were then translated into many languages made Shakespeare a very popular person.
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Mikhail Lomonosov was born in 1711 in Archangelsk province. His father was a fisher and young Mikhail liked to help him. He always strove for knowledge and liked reading books. As he was 19 years old, he decided to study in Moscow. He went there on foot. In Moscow he entered the Slavic- Greek- Latin Academy. After his graduation from Academy he was sent abroad to complete his knowledge in chemistry and mining. After he had returned from abroad, he became the first Russian professor of chemistry in 1745.
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Wolfgang Mozart is a famous Austrian composer.
Mozart was born in 1756 in Salchburg, Austria. His father, a violinist and a composer, noticed wonderful talent of his son and taught him how to play musical instruments and to compose.
Being 4 years old Mozart played the clavier. When he was 5 or 6 years old he started composing music. At the age of 8—9 Mozart created his first symphonies, and at the age of 10—11 his first creations for musical theatre.
When he was 6 years old his father decided to take him and her sister to the big cities of Europe. Two children gave concerts in Germany, Austria, France, England, Switzerland. The audience was delighted to see such a small boy playing the clavier.
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New Zealand is an island country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1 600 km southeast of Australia and about 10 500 km southwest of California. New Zealand belongs to a large island group called Polynesia. The country is situated on two main islands — the North Island and the South Island — and several dozen smaller islands. Most of the smaller islands are hundreds of kilometers from the main ones.
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and Auckland is the largest city. English is the official language of New Zealand and is spoken throughout the country. Many native people speak their own language, Maori, in addition to English.
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