No one knows when and where people first wore glasses. Europeans probably began wearing them in the 1200s. Marco Polo, an Italian trader and traveler, reported that he saw people wearing glasses in China in 1275!
In the last century, shops sold new and used glasses. Customers simply tried on glasses until they found the ones that helped them see better — and fit their faces!
No one liked wearing glasses because they were unfashionable and often expensive.
Women who needed glasses tried to look as fashionable as possible by carrying lorgnettes, glass lenses attached to fancy handles. Sometimes women hid their eyepieces in jewelled fans.
By the 1900s, people’s eyes got more attention — and more glasses. Women’s glasses also became more popular. Some say it’s because cars were developed. If a woman with poor eyesight wanted to drive, she had no choice but to wear her glasses!
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The Big Secret of Dealing with People
(After D. Carnegie)

What do you want? Not many things, but the few things that you do wish, you crave with an insistence that will not be denied. Almost every normal adult wants:
1. Health and preservation of life.
2. Food.
3. Sleep.
4. Money and the things money will buy.
5. Life in the hereafter.
6. Sexual gratification.
7. The well-being of our children.
8. A feeling of importance.
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Have you seen Jaws, the famous film about the Great White Shark? For an hour and twenty minutes of the film the shark isn’t seen except for bits and pieces and shadows underwater. But when it suddenly appears above the water for the first time, even grown-up people scream and those who have a poor heart reach for their nitroglycerine pills.
Sharks are probably the most feared of all sea animals. There are more than 350 kinds of sharks in the waters of the world. But, scientists say, only 30 species are dangerous to man. Of these 30 five species are known as especially voracious man-eaters: the Great White, the Tiger Shark, the Hammerhead, the Bull Shark, and the Whitetip Shark.
Though shark attacks are rare, they are always sudden, deadly and dramatic. Sharks live in oceans throughout the world but are usually found in warm seas. Some species, however, prefer fresh water and can be met in rivers and lakes.
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I’d like to tell you about half human fabulous creatures. Creatures came from different cultures’ mythology and folk tales.
A sphinx is a creature with the body of a lion and a human head, sometimes with the wings of a great bird. They killed and ate those who couldn’t answer their riddle. The Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as a man, but the Greek sphinx is a woman. Both were guardians flanking the entrances to temples.
The most famous sphinx is the Great Sphinx of Giza, which is located to the east of and below the pyramids. It has become an emblem of Egypt, appearing on its stamps, coins, and official documents.
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No one knows exactly how many animals live on our planet. So far, scientists have described more than a million kinds of animals, they have identified about 850,000 insects alone. There are about 21,700 kinds of fishes, 9,700 kinds of birds, 6,000 kinds of reptiles, 3,200 kinds of amphibians, and 4,000 kinds of mammals.
Insects are the largest group of animals on earth. They outnumber all other sorts of animals by almost four to one. They can live in the harshest climates, eat whatever there is, and adapt quickly to any conditions. They are often called “the most successful branch of animal kingdom”.
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Christopher the Contrary Chameleon
Young Christopher Chameleon
was very, very small;
A scant three inches, nose to tail,
and less than one inch tall.
Now all chameleon children
who do as they are told,
Must learn to match their background,
and are never, never bold.
But Christopher Chameleon
in a most contrary way,
Refused to change his colour
and just stayed pink all day.
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Our ancestors believed that forests, meadows, mountains, rivers, marshes and moors all had strange inhabitants which sometimes showed themselves to humans, with good or evil results. The barrier between those supernatural creatures and human beings is particularly thin at nights and on very special occasions such as Halloween.
Try to guess the names of the creatures described below.
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