English and Russian Literature “Books and friends should be few but good” English proverb Objectives: 1. Improve our speech skills in listening, reading, speaking (O.Henry,Agatha Christie, William Shakespeare, A.Chekhov) 2. Learn new words 3. Grammar and Lexica (Change the Words ) O.Henry William Sydney Porter 1862—1910) O. Henry was born William Sydney Porter in Greenboro, North Carolina, where he lived nearly half of his life. His father, Algernon Sidney Porter, was a physician. When William was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his parental grandmother and paternal aunt. William was an avid reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and then worked in a drug store and on a Texas ranch. He continued to Houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank clerk. After moving in 1882 to Texas, he worked on a ranch in LaSalle County for two years. In 1887 he married Athol Estes Roach; they had one daughter and one son. Plot Young married couple Della and James "Jim" Dillingham Young are very much in love with each other but can barely afford their one-room apartment due to their very bad economic situation. For Christmas, Della decides to buy Jim a chain for his prized pocket watch given to him by his father's father. To raise the funds, she has her long, beautiful hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoiseshell and jewels for her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Although each is disappointed to find the gift they chose rendered useless, each is pleased with the gift that they received, because it represents their love for one another. Agatha Christie Agatha Christie is known all over the world as the Queen of Crime. She wrote 78 crime novels, 19 plays and 6 romantic novels under the name of Mary Westmacott. Her books have been translated into 103 foreign languages. She is the third best-selling author in the world (after Shakespeare and the Bible). Many of her novels and short stories have been filmed. William Shakespeare The last half of the 16-century and the beginning of the 17-century are known as the Golden Age of English literature. It was the time of the English Renaissance and sometimes it is even called "The age of Shakespeare". William Shakespeare, the greatest and the most famous of English writers and probably the greatest playwright, who has ever lived, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. In spite of his fame, we know very little about his life. The things that we know about Shakespeare's life begin with the date, where he was baptised in the church of Stratfordupon-Avon in 1564, when he was only few days old. So he believed he was born on the 23 of April 1564. Anton Chekhov Chekhov was born in 1860 in Taganrog. In 1879 he went to Moscow, where he studied medicine. Though he practised little as a doctor in his lifetime, he was prouder of his medical knowledge than of his writing talent. While in college, Chekhov wrote humorous sketches for comic papers to support his family. He collected the best ones into a volume, Motley Stories, in 1886. The book attracted the attention of the publisher of the Novoje Vremja, Russia's largest paper, and Chekhov was asked to contribute stories regularly. Chekhov, as an established writer, was able to develop a style of his own. Though he never gave up writing comic stories, he began working in a more serious vein. In 1887 Ivanov, his first play, established Chekhov as a dramatist. From then on, he concentrated on writing plays, as well as short stories. Chekhov was seriously ill. He had tuberculosis and knew what it meant. By 1892 his health was so bad that he was afraid to spend another winter in Moscow. He bought a small estate near a village Melikhovo, 50 miles from Moscow. He spent 5 years there, and those were happy years in spite of the illness. Conversation Bricks 1.I am keen on… 2.I like… 3. I’ m interested in .. . 4. It’s my cup of tea. 5.I recommend … 6. It is worth reading. Мне нравится… Мне нравится Меня интересует Это моё Я рекомендую Это стоит почитать Negative opinion It’s waste of time It’s not worth reading It is not everybody’s cup of tea It bored me to death I can’t stand… Это потеря времени Это не стоит читать Это не для всех Она мне смертельно наскучила Я не выношу Conversation Bricks It teaches you to … Она учит It has a lot of ideas / information about В ней много идей / информации о … It’s brilliant Она прекрасная It’s good fun Она доставляет много удовольствия It misleads Она вводит в заблуждение It makes you happy Она делает счастливым It makes you cry Она заставляет плакать It makes you laugh Она заставляет смеяться It makes you think Она заставляет думать It’s exciting Она волнует It’s scary Она пугает It thrills you Она вызывает трепет Characteristics of People A man of honour человек чести A bold fighter смелый борец A strong personality сильная личность A person of romantic and loving nature по природе романтичный и любящий человек easy – going беспечный, добродушный Devoted верный, преданный Selfless самоотверженный Simple – hearted добродушный Diligent воспитанный Courageous мужественный Faithful верный, преданный Open – hearted чистосердечный Mean подлый, скаредный Selfish эгоистичный Envious завистливый Unjust несправедливый Greedy жадный Key 1. newspaper 2. favourite 3. personalities 4. reporters 5. politicians 6. musicians 7. personal 8. celebrities 9. journalists 10. especially Homework Learn the new words Read and translate the dialogue p166 - 168