William Shakespeare

1. William Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in the English language, perhaps in any language. Though he lived more than 400 years ago, his plays are still performed and loved throughout the world and in many languages.

2. Shakespeare wrote more than 30 plays covering a variety of subjects and genres - tragedies, comedies, and histories. His plays are remembered mainly for three things - the beauty of the words he wrote, the excellence of his storytelling, and his inventiveness with words. He used a vocabulary of more than 20,000 different words (the King James Bible, in contrast, uses less than 10,000 different words), many of which he invented himself and which are still in use today.

3. There have been many arguments about whether Shakespeare really wrote the plays that are attributed to him. It has been argued that he did not have enough education or the background to use language the way he did or to have the insight into human nature, history, and the various issues that he treats in his plays. It has been proposed that another person or persons actually wrote the plays, using Shakespeare as a «front». This person might have been a member of the nobility who did not want to be openly associated with the theatre. However, these theories did not surface until long after Shakespeare’s death. The written record indicates that Shakespeare’s friends and contemporaries certainly accepted him as the author of the plays attributed to him. It seems unlikely that such a secret could have been kept by so many people, and in the absence of convincing evidence that he did not write the plays, or that someone else did, it is generally accepted now that Shakespeare wrote the plays attributed to him.

4. Shakespeare’s influence continues until this day. His plays are still staged all over the world, and they continue to influence playwrights, directors, theatre designers, and actors.

VII. Ответьте на следующие вопросы и будьте готовы к устной беседе с преподавателем о Вас, Вашей семье и работе.

1. What is your name?

2. Where are you from? / Where do you live?

3. When do you celebrate your birthday?

4. What are you? / What is your profession?

5. When did you make your professional choice?

6. What sports do you like?

7. Do you study by correspondence?

8. What do you need the university education for?

9. Is it easy for you to combine work with studies?

10. Have you got a family of your own? Describe your family.

ВАРИАНТ 2

I. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык. Определите по грамматическим признакам какой частью речи являются слова, оформленные окончанием -s и какую функцию это окончание выполняет, т.е. служит ли оно:

а) показателем 3-го лица единственного числа глагола в Present Indefinite (Simple);

б) признаком множественного числа имени существительного;