When rock meets classical music

Honesty lesson

Josh Ferrin worked as an artist for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah. The newspaper has the longest history in the state and the biggest Sunday circulation. Fresh and original images are definitely an important part of the newspaper’s policy. So, Josh had a lot of work and hoped that in several years he could save up for a house of his own.

Josh adored his wife and two children. They spent holidays together travelling in their old car that broke down regularly. At weekends in winter, they watched their favourite movies in a rented flat that seemed smaller and smaller as the children were growing. But neither the tiny flat nor the old car could ruin their happiness and mutual understanding.

Once Josh and his wife were watching a TV program about children who lived in an orphanage and needed parents. They were so deeply moved by the children’s sad life stories that they decided to adopt a child. The only thing that could stop them was the small flat. That was the moment Josh started looking for a new house.

Finding a proper house was not an easy thing to do. They wanted it to be not very expensive, big enough and have some history. Finally, Josh brought his wife to look at an outdated two-storey house with a large attic. Though the house needed repair, there was something about it that made Josh and his wife like it. The real estate agent told them the story of the previous owner. He had six children but lived a lonely life in that house and died several years ago. His children decided to sell the old house and share the money.

When they moved in, they went on exploring the house. The massive staircases, cosy bedrooms, a large kitchen and an airy living-room were all they could dream of. The children were running about the house crying out with joy. The only door that was closed led to the attic below the roof. The next day when his wife and children were away, Josh managed to unlock the door and decided to inspect the attic.

The dark space was empty, with spiders’ webs hanging in the corners. Josh turned on the light and noticed a pile of boxes and tins in one of the corners. A small, broken bike lay nearby. Josh thought the room would be ideal for his art studio and started cleaning it up. He threw away several empty boxes when he suddenly found out that all the rest were stuffed with old books.

Josh drew out several books from one of the boxes and found a thick pile of banknotes at the bottom. When the family returned, Josh called his wife and told her about the treasure he had found. He also showed her a short notice he had found in the same box. The message, ‘to my children’, was written on a piece of yellowish paper.

The sum was enough to buy a new car and repair the house for their own growing family and the child the Ferrins wanted to adopt. The temptation to keep the money was great, but Josh and his wife understood it was not their money.

The next week Josh found the previous owner’s family and handed them the money and the note.

Childhood memories

Amazingly, I’ve recently published my third book. I started writing all of a sudden. Once when I was babysitting for my sister, my nephew asked me to tell him a story. I told him about some adventures with my friend, Johnny Price. My nephew got interested in my childhood memories and, later, these stories turned into my first book for children. The main heroes of the book were Johnny Price and me. My childhood friend, Johnny Price, lived three doors down the street. Our friendship lasted for only about three or four years, but it was a very important part of my childhood. That’s why I still feel like calling Johnny ‘my best friend’.

Like every kid on our street, Johnny and I had bikes. We used them to get to the Grants', a family who owned a convenience store one street over from ours. We would go with some of our weekly pocket money and buy ourselves some candies, bubble gum, a bag of chips and a Coke or Pepsi. Most small candies were one cent each, so fifty cents seemed like a lot of money. We quite often walked out of the store with a bagful of fifty candies. We thought it would be great to get a job at the store one day. But we never tried to get one.

Another thing that comes to mind is how we used to sit in my parents' car and listen to music on a cassette on the car stereo. One thing that I clearly remember listening to is the main theme from the film ‘Superman’. For some reason this memory is very powerful. Even today when I hear the ‘Superman’ soundtrack it takes me back to being a little kid eating chips and sour candies in the car.

I’ll never forget how one day Johnny found a frog and decided to keep it, as some sort of pet. It didn't take long for his parents to explain to him that it wasn't such a good idea, so Johnny decided to let the frog go free. So we walked down to the bridge and let him go into the stream. We then stood on the bridge and watched him float downstream, wishing him the best of luck.

Johnny and I had fun doing a lot of things together, but we sometimes had our differences. I can't name any of the things we had disagreements about, but whenever we did, and whatever they were about, it often resulted in both of us walking away from each other in anger and saying we would never talk to each other again. Of course, almost always, the next day one of us would call the other up as if nothing had happened.

However, after one serious disagreement we never called each other back. Whatever it was, it ended our friendship. I've often wondered what made us part ways forever. It was probably something silly that only thirteen-year-old boys could get so annoyed about.

Cirque du Soleil

Guy Laliberté was born in Quebec, Canada, in 1959. From childhood he dreamt of doing something risky in his life. He got out of his parents’ control very early and started earning money as a street performer. To amuse people, Guy played the accordion, danced and did fire eating. After several years of being on the road at the age of twenty three he decided to settle down.

In 1982 Guy Laliberté started a serious business that made him one of the richest Canadians. He began learning world circus techniques professionally. Additionally, his travel experience and his friends’ support helped him arrange the first national circus in Quebec. For the first time, Guy Laliberté managed to combine circus arts with street performance, which finally made his circus extremely popular.

When it was time to decide on a name, Guy Laliberté didn’t discuss it with anybody. He called his project Cirque du Soleil or Circus of the Sun. The decision was not made by chance, because the image of the sun reminded him of the youth and energy his artists personified.

Montreal authorities let Laliberté rent a piece of land far from the city centre. In 1984 the district was a waste land that needed major reconstruction. In spite of the high cost, the first Cirque du Soleil hall for eight hundred people was built in that area. The main office never changed its location and has become a new cultural centre in Quebec.

The main office is located in an unusual building that consists of the Studio and the Parlour, painted blue and yellow. The Studio is the place for training and the artists’ offices, while the Parlour is the home for set and costume designers. They always have a lot of work to do, because all the cloth bought for performances is initially white. To make the costumes bright, different colours are printed according to designers' sketches.

Initially the company had about seventy employees. Today it has more than four thousand artists, acrobats, divers, dancers and singers from about forty countries, speaking about twenty languages. It enables Cirque du Soleil to perform in different parts of the world at the same time. Its offices are also located in London, New York, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Singapore, Moscow and several other cities.

Since its foundation, Cirque du Soleil has visited more than one hundred and thirty cities and welcomed more than forty million spectators. The company offers a series of thematic shows. For example, Saltimbanco invites the audience on a city tour, Love tells the story of the Beatles, and Alegria creates an optimistic mood.

However, performing is not the only priority of the company. It has initiated an international program for teenagers who are at risk. The company also organizes training courses to support circus schools in Canada. This is how Guy Laliberté keeps the right balance between business, art and philanthropy.

Scouts

On January 24, 1908, the Boy Scout movement started in England with the publication of Robert Baden-Powell's handbook Scouting for Boys. The name Baden-Powell was already well-known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought the handbook. By the end of April, numerous Boy Scout troops had appeared across Britain.

In 1900, General Baden-Powell became a national hero in Britain for his 217-day defence of Mafeking in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Soon after, his military field manual, Aids to Scouting, written for British soldiers in 1899, became popular with a younger audience. Boys loved the lessons on tracking and observation and organized outdoor games using the book. Hearing this, Baden-Powell decided to write a non-military field manual for teenagers that would also emphasize the importance of morality and good deeds.

First, however, he decided to try out some of his ideas on an actual group of boys. On July 25, 1907, he took a diverse group of 21 boys to Brownsea Island in Dorset, where they set up camp for two weeks. With the aid of other instructors, he taught the boys about camping, observation, deduction, woodcraft, boating, life saving, and good manners. Many of these lessons were learned through original games that were very popular with the boys. The first Boy Scout meeting was a great success. Soon the handbook Scouting for Boys appeared.

With the success of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell set up a central Boy Scouts' office, which registered new Scouts and designed a uniform. By the end of 1908, there were 60,000 Boy Scouts, and troops began to appear in British Commonwealth countries across the globe. The Scout movement supported the boys in their physical, mental and spiritual development. The boys learned to work together to achieve goals, they also gave a promise to live by certain rules, and to help others when they could.

In September 1909, the first national Boy Scout meeting was held at the Crystal Palace in London. Ten thousand Scouts showed up, including a group of uniformed girls who called themselves the Girl Scouts. A year later, Baden-Powell organized the Girl Guides as a separate organization.

The American version of the Boy Scouts has its origins in an event that occurred in London in 1909. Chicago publisher William Boyce lost his way in the fog. So he stopped under a street light to read his map when he was approached by a young British boy. The boy asked the man if he could help and William Boyce explained that he had got lost. After guiding Boyce to his destination, the boy refused a tip, explaining that as a Boy Scout he would not accept payment for doing a good deed. This anonymous gesture inspired Boyce to organize several regional U.S. youth organizations. The Scouts movement soon spread throughout the country. In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of America in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1920 the first international Boy Scout Jamboree was held in London, and Robert Baden-Powell was acclaimed Chief Scout of the World. The founder of the Scout organization died in 1941.

Nowadays, the Scouts Movement exists in 216 different countries all over the world, there are more than 28 million boy scouts and over 10 million girl scouts.

A very special breakfast

I opened my eyes on a warm Sunday morning in June to the sound of a crowd running in the direction of the hall and back to the kitchen. I opened the bedroom door and bumped into my sons dressed like Indians and holding up wooden arrows that nearly hurt me. “Good morning, Daddy!” they shouted and ran away.

I slowly went to the kitchen dreaming of a cup of hot coffee. “Daddy, Mummy said you can spend Father’s Day with us. She won’t be home from shopping until late”, said Ian. That was a very special present from my wife! I thought I should also plan something extraordinary for Mother’s Day.

The boys were dragging me by my arms to the kitchen table covered with all sorts of plates. “Daddy, we’ve made breakfast for you!” they cried. I decided to start with the chocolate dessert with honey syrup. When I had a small piece I forgot about chocolate and the syrup altogether as it was all sugar. “Tasty”, I murmured with a forced smile.

The boys smiled and moved a plate with pieces of toast closer to me. I tried the one with the stuff that looked like peanut butter. “Is it all right?” wondered Trevor, “We’ve used the peanut butter from the fridge but we’ve added some additional ingredients.” I could hardly manage to say the single word, “good” in return. The bread was really good, but the unidentified stuff stuck to my mouth like glue. To try another dish I had to clear out my mouth first.

The boys did not notice my inconvenience as they were busy getting the next dish ready. My first attempt to identify the dark brown object on the plate was not successful. “Carrot?” I tried, shyly. “No, Daddy, bacon!” said Ian proudly. “Mother did not let us use the gas stove, so we cooked it in the microwave. Five minutes only.” All I could do was to nod when the piece of coal fell down into my stomach.

“Did she say you can't use the coffee maker either?” I added enthusiastically. “Sure! We made you instant coffee!” they cried and produced a cup. It was filled with warm brown liquid with coffee granules on its surface. That was the only time in my life I'd had coffee made from hot water from the sink.

The meal came to an end. I said it was the best breakfast I had ever had. The boys smiled and promised to find new recipes next Father’s Day. I smiled in return and looked round the kitchen which was a complete mess. Trying to make the day even more special for me they wanted to clean it up. Luckily, at that moment, I mentioned the new cartoon and they rushed away into the living room immediately.

I made myself a cup of coffee in the coffee machine, cleaned the kitchen and sat peacefully for half an hour. The boys’ cheerful cries could clearly be heard from the living room. When I looked in, they were so absorbed with Tom and Jerry that they did not notice me. “Boys!” I cried, “We are going to McDonald’s for lunch”. “Cool!” came the answer.

A trip of her life

The story happened in New York. Max, a taxi driver, was doing his last trip that day. He arrived at the place exactly on time and beeped the horn. Nobody came out of the house. Max waited a couple of minutes and beeped again. He was never late himself and he didn’t like the clients who kept him waiting. He was thinking of driving home, but something made him park the car and check the door.

He came up to the front door and knocked. “Just a minute”, an old weak voice answered. After a long pause a small lady of about ninety opened the door. She was wearing an expensive but old-fashioned dress and a veiled hat. Indeed, she looked like a film star of the forties. She asked Max to help her with the heavy suitcase that was inside. He agreed without hesitation.

He came in and noticed that the room looked like people had never lived there. All the furniture was covered with cloth. There were no statuettes and tea sets on the shelves or an old clock on the wall. In the corner of the room he noticed a large box filled with old photos and books. “A deserted room”, he thought.

They moved slowly to the car and the lady kept thanking Max for his help and being so patient. He said it was his job to treat every passenger like he would treat his mother. “Oh, you are such a good boy!” she said. She took the back seat and named the address. Max understood that she was going to hospital.

She asked Max to drive through the city centre though it involved extra time. She did not mind the distance and the time. She said she was not in a hurry. She told Max her family had left long before and the doctor said that her chances were not good. Her eyes filled with tears.

Max switched off the counter and asked the lady which route she preferred. The next two hours they were driving through the city. She showed Max the building she had worked in and the dance hall she had visited as a little girl. They went to the district she had lived in with her husband after their marriage.

Finally she said she was tired and they drove in silence, directly to the hospital. It was a low building that looked more like a small holiday centre. Two nurses came up quickly to them as if they were waiting. They carefully helped her out of the taxi into the wheelchair. “How much do I owe you?” she said looking at Max. “Nothing”, he answered.

“You need to earn your living”, she added, opening her bag. “There are other passengers”, answered Max. He bent down and embraced the old lady. She hugged in return. “Thank you for the little happiness you gave me”, she whispered. On his way home Max did not switch on the radio. He drove in silence. He had an impression that it was the most important trip of his life.

Doughnuts

Doughnuts, a delicious snack, need no special occasion to eat them; they are the side order to coffee, tea or milk and can easily make you popular around the office. They are consumed all over the world – the USA alone makes more than 10 billion doughnuts a year.

The origin of the doughnut is heavily debated. The idea of fried dough does not belong to one country or culture. The exact place, time and person responsible for creating the doughnut is also unknown. However, the two countries generally associated with this sweet snack are the United States and Holland.

Records show that the Dutch were making olykoeks, or ‘oil cakes’, as early as the mid-19th century. These early doughnuts were simply balls of cake fried in pork fat until golden brown. However, there was a problem with doughnuts. The centre of the doughnuts did not cook as fast as the outside and remained mostly uncooked. That was the reason why the cakes were stuffed with fruit, nuts, or other fillings that did not take long to cook.

The doughnuts got a hole inside only after their arrival in America. There is a very popular half-true story about a sea captain and his mother, which explains how it happened. As legend has it, Mrs. Gregory sent her son, Captain Hanson Gregory, on one of his sea voyages with several doughnuts and her recipe to make more. But Hanson didn't like nuts, so he took them out and ordered the ship's cook to prepare all doughnuts with holes in the centre.

We may never know if Captain Gregory really invented the first doughnut hole. However, we can be sure that this hole was a very positive change. Now it was much easier to get well-done and cooked-through doughnuts.

By the 1920s, doughnuts were being mass-produced in America. Their association with breakfast was only the beginning and the doughnut was very popular as a snack in theatres. To satisfy the growing need for doughnuts in one New York neighborhood, a Russian immigrant named Adolph Levitt created the first doughnut machine. In 1934 the doughnut was declared ‘the hit food of the Century Of Progress’. Levitt made twenty-five million dollars annually from the sale of his doughnut machines to bakeries.

The 1940s and 50s, saw the arrival of doughnut chains such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Dunkin' Donuts. They say it was the Dunkin Donuts chain that popularized the 'donut' spelling of the word ‘doughnut’ by making it part of its name! Today, most writers outside the USA still prefer ‘doughnut’. ‘Donut’ appears about a third of the time in published American writing. However, as ‘donut’ is a simpler spelling it will certainly become more commonly used.

The Americans are so fond of doughnuts that they celebrate National Doughnut Day. It is on the first Friday in June and honours the ‘Doughnut Girls’. These were the female volunteers who made doughnuts and served them to American soldiers fighting in France during World War I. The French women wanted to bring comfort and optimism into soldiers’ life by giving them a taste of the food they had back home.

David Beckham

David Beckham – is there a more famous and lovable celebrity? The footballer who played for such famous teams as Manchester United and Real Madrid is also a fashion model and a successful businessman.

David Beckham was born on May 2, 1975, in London, England. His father Ted Beckham was a kitchen fitter and his mother Sandra, a hair stylist. David Beckham was the family's only son. A middle child between two sisters, David grew up with parents and relatives who were great fans of Manchester United, England's legendary football club. From childhood, David was a promising footballer. At 11 he won the prestigious Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools National Skills Competition. David was noticed by Manchester United team officials, who asked him to try out for the club's youth league. By the age of 16, Beckham had to drop out of school. He left home to play for his favourite team. Two years later he became a full-time player for Manchester United and one of its leading figures.

From 1992 to 2003, playing for Manchester United, David Beckham scored 85 goals. Every time he had a game, he wore different football boots – it was a sort of ritual for good luck. In 2003, David unexpectedly left his beloved team for Real Madrid. The reason was the growing conflict between David Beckham and Manchester's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Once Sir Alex Ferguson fined David for babysitting with his sick child, while his wife Victoria, a designer, was at a London Fashion Week Event. The fine was really large. The incident caused a serious personal tension between the two men and ended in Beckham moving to the other club.

In Real Madrid, David Beckham was not allowed to wear his favourite number seven, because the right to wear it was written into the contract of another player. Instead, David decided to wear a shirt with number 23, which was the number of his favourite basketball player Michael Jordan. Though David Beckham immediately became very popular with the Real Madrid fans and his shirt sales made a lot of money for the football club, the team didn’t win any serious tournaments. Perhaps, it was one of the reasons why in 2007 Beckham signed a five-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy and moved to America. However, his career in America was a rocky one – numerous injuries affected him. In May 2013, David Beckham announced his plans to retire.

It’s important to say that David Beckham has always been a devoted husband and a loving father. David and his wife Victoria have three sons and a daughter. They say the boys are being trained as ‘bodyguards’ for their little sister Harper. The youngest, Cruz, has been practicing Taekwondo, Brooklyn is interested in boxing, and the oldest, Romeo, does karate. They are preparing early so that when Harper is older, “they will all be ready to protect her from noisy fans,” David says.

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A trip of her life

The story happened in New York. Max, a taxi driver, was doing his last trip that day. He arrived at the place exactly on time and beeped the horn. Nobody came out of the house. Max waited a couple of minutes and beeped again. He was never late himself and he didn’t like the clients who kept him waiting. He was thinking of driving home, but something made him park the car and check the door.

He came up to the front door and knocked. “Just a minute”, an old weak voice answered. After a long pause a small lady of about ninety opened the door. She was wearing an expensive but old-fashioned dress and a veiled hat. Indeed, she looked like a film star of the forties. She asked Max to help her with the heavy suitcase that was inside. He agreed without hesitation.

He came in and noticed that the room looked like people had never lived there. All the furniture was covered with cloth. There were no statuettes and tea sets on the shelves or an old clock on the wall. In the corner of the room he noticed a large box filled with old photos and books. “A deserted room”, he thought.

They moved slowly to the car and the lady kept thanking Max for his help and being so patient. He said it was his job to treat every passenger like he would treat his mother. “Oh, you are such a good boy!” she said. She took the back seat and named the address. Max understood that she was going to hospital.

She asked Max to drive through the city centre though it involved extra time. She did not mind the distance and the time. She said she was not in a hurry. She told Max her family had left long before and the doctor said that her chances were not good. Her eyes filled with tears.

Max switched off the counter and asked the lady which route she preferred. The next two hours they were driving through the city. She showed Max the building she had worked in and the dance hall she had visited as a little girl. They went to the district she had lived in with her husband after their marriage.

Finally she said she was tired and they drove in silence, directly to the hospital. It was a low building that looked more like a small holiday centre. Two nurses came up quickly to them as if they were waiting. They carefully helped her out of the taxi into the wheelchair. “How much do I owe you?” she said looking at Max. “Nothing”, he answered.

“You need to earn your living”, she added, opening her bag. “There are other passengers”, answered Max. He bent down and embraced the old lady. She hugged in return. “Thank you for the little happiness you gave me”, she whispered. On his way home Max did not switch on the radio. He drove in silence. He had an impression that it was the most important trip of his life.

A coffee town

Adjuntas is a small coffee town in the Valley of the Sleeping Giant high in the mountains of Puerto Rico. It is about two hours by car westward from the capital of the country, San Juan.

A deep love of the land and its customs fills Adjuntas. Local people say their families have lived in this town ‘since forever’. Time flows slowly and peacefully. The citizens do not like changes, they value a simple and steady life and observe traditions.

To save their traditional lifestyle, several years ago, the local people had to fight their own government in order to prevent a destructive business initiative. The thing is that the mountains surrounding Adjuntas are rich with gold, silver and zinc and the Puerto Rican government wanted to start mining for these mineral resources. It meant that large areas of green woods and lots of freshwater lakes would disappear.

People fought to keep their land untouched despite the promise of new jobs and high salaries. The citizens of the town preferred making money from their traditional business – growing coffee and selling it all around Puerto Rico and even abroad. The government agreed to meet their demands and transformed the mining project into a national park, El Bosque del Pueblo. Opened in 1998, the park runs a special eco programme where the young and old people of Adjuntas plant trees and take care of them. ‘Learning to manage the forest has been a wonderful new experience for us,’ said Tinti Deya, a 67-year-old local resident. ‘It’s another world where we’re like children doing everything for the first time, we forget that we’re already grandmothers.’

Grandmothers are everywhere in Adjuntas and they’re all respectfully addressed as Dofia. Lala Echevarria, an 85-year-old great-great-grandmother, was born on the oldest street, where she still lives in a small, clean and tidy home. Dofia Lala grew up before there was electricity and running water, and remembers when the first car arrived in Adjuntas. ‘As a child, I used to spend all my time carrying water, looking for firewood, looking after the chickens and the cows,’ she said. ‘There were sixteen of us. We would wash our clothes in the river and we used to cook on an open fire. At meal times, we kids would sit on the floor to eat.’ Dofia Lala was working as a cleaning lady when she met and married the love of her life, Mariano, the mechanic. They had thirteen children and shared 44 years of happiness before he died in 1983. Such life stories are common in Adjuntas.

Fish and chips

Long before the Big Mac was invented, Britain had its own national form of fast food – fish and chips (or fish’n’chips for short). Fish'n'chips was a relatively balanced and healthy meal that people could eat in the street on the way home from work, or during their lunch-break. Wrapped in newspaper, it would keep warm even on the coldest days of the year. Besides, serving fish'n'chips in newspaper helped to keep prices low.

No British town is more than 150 km from a sea port, and most are much closer. So when railways were built in the 19th century, fresh sea fish could easily be bought in all British towns. Cheaper than meat, sea fish became a popular source of protein. By 1870, fish and chip shops were opening all over the country and soon every town in Britain had its fish’n’chip shops. For a hundred years, they were a popular British style restaurant.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, things changed. "Fish and chips are not so popular with young people these days," says Lizzie, a teenager."Most of the time, if young people want to eat out, they'll go to a Burger King or a Chinese take-away. Fish 'n' chips is a bit old-fashioned. But there are still cheap chip shops around. We sometimes have it at home, and we go and get it from the chip shop. It saves cooking!"

Thousands of chip shops have closed in the last twenty-five years. Some have been turned into Chinese or Indian take-aways, others have just closed. They have survived best in seaside towns, where the fish is really fresh, and people visit them more as a tradition than for any other reason.

Yet nothing, perhaps, can save the classic fish'n'chip shop from disappearance. Fish'n'chips wrapped in newspaper is already just a memory. European hygiene rules don’t allow food to be wrapped in old newspapers, so today's chip shops use cardboard boxes. Of course, you can still eat fish and chips with your fingers if you want, but there are now plastic throw-away forks for people who do not want to get greasy fingers!

In spite of these changes, the classic fish'n'chip shop could disappear in a few years' time for another reason – lack of fish. For over ten years European agriculture ministers have been trying to solve the fish problem but with little success. As a result of industrial fishing, some types of fish are disappearing. Overfishing in the North Sea has reached crisis levels. Limits on the number of fish that can be caught have been introduced, but fishermen in Britain and other countries protest against them because jobs are lost. At some point, thousands of European fishermen could lose their jobs anyway, as there will be few fish left to catch. Soon sea fish will become rarer and, as a result, more expensive.

The traditional fish’n’chips shops will certainly continue to reduce in number. Most probably cheap fish’n’chip shops will be gone completely. Fish and chips, however, will survive as a high-priced specialty in expensive restaurants. In the years to come, they may become the only place where you can try this traditional English dish.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway is seen as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. He was born in 1899 into a doctor’s family, in the state of Illinois, USA. Young Ernest spent most of his summer holidays in Michigan, a north central state. It was there that the future writer learned to hunt, fish, and appreciate the outdoors. Later, some of his short stories were set in Michigan. Because of this, Ernest Hemingway is often, mistakenly, thought to be a native of Michigan.

In high school, Hemingway worked on his school newspaper, writing primarily about sports. Immediately after graduation, the young journalist went to work for the Kansas City Star, gaining experience that would later influence his prose style.

In 1918, Hemingway went overseas to serve in World War I as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army. For his service, he was awarded the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery. Later, he would describe his military experience in his famous novel A Farewell to Arms. After a serious wound, at the age of 20, Hemingway returned to the United States.

The beginning of his literary triumph was a book of stories that were based on his childhood memories. His objective manner and laconic, ironic style were highly praised by critics.

Hemingway’s traditional photo is that of a bearded man, dressed in a sweater with the famous pipe in his mouth. This man seems to be calm and steady. In fact, he was the greatest adventurer ever known. He adored travelling, hunting and fishing. His life was full of danger that he always overcame with courage.

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Hemingway served as a correspondent and witnessed some of the war's key moments, which he wrote about in his articles. For his actions in the war, Hemingway was given a Bronze Star for bravery.

In 1951, Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea, which would become perhaps his most famous book, finally winning him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. The plot was based on Hemingway's personal fishing experience. Once he watched how a hundred kilo shark was caught and decided to record the event on paper. The story became so popular with Cuban fishermen that some of them even pretended to be the ‘old men’ from the book.

Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea, in 1952, Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in two plane crashes that left him in pain for much of the rest of his life. In 1954, Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Ernest Hemingway died in 1961. He published seven novels, six short story collections and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories and three non-fiction works were published after his death. Many of these are considered classics of American literature.

Thanksgiving dinner

The sisters lived in a little house with apple trees. After their parents’ death, Aunt Susanna looked after them. Their income was enough to keep them going but they couldn’t afford too much. Their aunt was a conservative woman who believed that the most important thing for any girl was to be a good housekeeper. Her nieces meanwhile had other interests. Laura and Agnes liked painting, Kate played the violin, and Maggie was keen on Latin and dreamt of further education.

The girls were good at housework as well, but definitely preferred their hobbies to their housekeeping chores. So, every time Aunt Susanna came to their house, they hid the paints, the musical instrument, and the books and started sewing or reading a thick cookery book. Aunt Susanna, in turn, never missed a chance to make a sarcastic remark about the dust on the violin or paint on Laura’s nose. She made it quite obvious that she would prefer her nieces to do something useful about the house instead of their silly hobbies.

One day, Aunt Susanna read a newspaper article that promoted the idea of higher education for women. The article impressed her and even made her consider the opportunity of college education for Maggie. During one of her visits to the girls, she announced she could send Maggie to college.

Then she mentioned that she had to leave the town for a while and she would not be home until Thanksgiving. The problem was that she expected some guests for Thanksgiving dinner. She asked the girls for help and the sisters enthusiastically agreed to help her cook dinner for the guests.

With a determined look Aunt Susanna gave them all the instructions. She had made a list of dishes and told the girls to stick to it. She left the girls the key to the kitchen door in her house where they would find the turkey and ready-made meat pies. The girls had to warm up the pies and cook the turkey by twelve sharp the day she arrived.

When aunt Susanna left, the girls sighed sadly. They had another plan for Thanksgiving day – they wanted to have their dinner at home. But they realized that if they upset their aunt, she could easily change her mind about the college for Margaret, and Maggie would never have a second chance.

It was Kate who saved the situation: “Let me and Agnes go to Aunt Susanna’s house and cook dinner there. Maggie and Laura stay here cooking dinner for us. This way we won’t miss our own Thanksgiving.”

So, in the morning on Thanksgiving Day Agnes and Kate got up early and headed to Aunt Susanna’s house to have enough time to cook.

They weighed the turkey to find out the cooking time, and put the pies in the oven in advance. When the dinner was done, they carefully set and decorated the dining-room table. Suddenly there was a loud cry from the yard. Tony, the neighbours’ little boy, had fallen into the well. The girls rushed to help him out and forgot to lock the door. When they were back, they found out that the dinner had been ruined by the neighbours’ dog.

‘What shall we do?” Agnes cried desperately. Unlike her sister, resourceful Kate never lost control. She decided to borrow the girls’ dinner from home. Agnes and Kate had to run all the way because they had only twenty minutes left before the aunt’s train arrived. They burst into the kitchen, where Maggie and Laura had just served the dinner, grabbed it and ran away.

Just as the train’s whistle blew, Thanksgiving dinner in Aunt Susanna’s house was arranged so that she would not notice any change. When she came in, the dinner was on the table. Aunt Susanna was satisfied that everything was cooked and served the way she wanted it to be.

Two days later, Maggie was sent to college.

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is one of the most popular writers today. She was born into the family of an engineer in 1965. Her childhood was happy, although she does remember getting teased in primary school because of her surname ‘Rowling’. She was often called ‘Rolling pin’ by her schoolmates. The writer says that she never really liked her own surname, she liked the surname of her friends Ian and Vikki Potter who lived nearby. Later she would give their surname to the hero of her popular books.

From an early age, Joanna Rowling had an ambition to become a writer. She often tried her hand at writing fantasy stories. Aged six, she wrote a book about a rabbit who got measles. After, she understood that her parents enjoyed her story, Joanna suggested with confidence ‘well, get it published then.’

After finishing school, her parents encouraged Joanna to study French. She slightly regretted choosing French, saying she would have preferred to focus on English and English literature. However, it was her parents’ wish that she should study something ‘more useful’ than just English. After graduating from university Joanna Rowling took various jobs in London.

It was in 1990, that she first got the idea for Harry Potter, a boy attending a school for wizards. As she recalls, it was on a long train journey from Manchester to London, when she began forming in her mind the characters for the book. On arriving at her flat, she started writing the book immediately, although, it would take her several years to finish it. In the meantime, she went to teach in Portugal, married a Portuguese journalist, had a daughter, Jessica, divorced her husband, and returned to Britain, to Edinburgh.

Eventually, she finished her first copy of The Philosopher’s Stone, but her agent spent over a year trying hard to get a publisher. It was rejected by 12 major publishing houses. But, finally, quite a small publisher, Bloomsbury, agreed to take the book on. The decision to take on the book was, in large part, due to the publisher’s daughters who read and liked the first chapter of the book.

When the first ‘Harry Potter’ novel was published, the publisher asked Joanna to use initials rather than her first name. The publisher was afraid that boys would be against a book written by a woman. Since Joanna had only one given name, she took ‘K.’ from her favorite grandmother, Kathleen.

Within a few weeks of publication, book sales started to take off. A number of other novels about Harry Potter followed. In 1998, Warner Bros secured the film rights for the books. The films have increased the success of the books, making Harry Potter into one of the most recognisable media products. Under the close guidance of J.K.Rowling, all the films were shot close to the original plot; also at J.K.Rowling’s request the filming took place in Britain.

The final book of the Harry Potter Series – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in 2007. J.K.Rowling said that the book was her favorite and she would continue writing, but there was little chance of continuing the Harry Potter Series.

Hershey's chocolate

People from all over the world like the taste of chocolate. It’s the most popular dessert and snack. You may like dark or light chocolate, you may prefer it plain or with nuts, but whatever your tastes are, you will certainly enjoy the chocolate produced by the Hershey Company.

Hershey chocolate became famous all over the world thanks to a quiet but very hard-working and generous person – Milton Hershey, the founder of the company.

Milton Hershey grew up in Pennsylvania, USA. His mother wanted him to learn practical skills. She believed practice is more important than college education. So when Milton finished the fourth grade, she arranged for him to become a printer’s assistant. But Milton didn’t like the job and left it soon after. In a while he became an assistant in a candy factory. He helped to make candy and became very successful at it.

After a few years of training, Milton understood that he wanted to start his own business. He borrowed some money from his aunt and set up a small candy shop. For five long years Milton Hershey worked extremely hard but had no success. He invested in the business more money than he made from it. Finally, he closed the shop and found work with a candy maker again. It was there that he discovered caramel and how fresh milk could be used to make it.

In 1883 Milton Hershey got back to the idea of his own business. He bought the equipment and started the Lancaster Caramel Company. Success soon followed. Within a few years, Milton Hershey had a growing business and was selling his caramels all over the country. At that time he became focused on milk chocolate, which in those days was an expensive dessert imported from Switzerland. Milton Hershey was determined to find a new formula for the product that could allow him to manufacture milk chocolate in large amounts and sell it countrywide.

So, in 1900 Milton Hershey sold his caramel company for $1,000,000 dollars and started up a chocolate factory. In fact it was more than a factory. Milton Hershey built a whole town around the factory – with houses, schools, churches, and stores. He wanted the people who worked in his factory to live nearby and feel comfortable. The factory was focused on producing the Nickel Bar, a relatively cheap chocolate bar that everyone could afford. Later, Hershey Kisses were added. These delicious, bite-sized pieces of chocolate were named after Milton Hershey himself.

As success and profits rose, Milton Hershey invested more money in the infrastructure of his town and added a sports arena, a stadium, and a school for orphaned children.

Milton Hershey died in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 1945, one year after his retirement as chairman of the board. He was 88 years old. By the end of his life Hershey had donated most of his money to his town and the school for orphans. His chocolate factory remains the largest in the world. The town of Hershey is still home to about 12,000 people and draws more than 30 million visitors each year. They come to see the famous Hershey Park, which boasts a roller coaster, Ferris wheel and other rides. The factory tours draw more visitors annually than the White House. Guests can take a tour through a mock chocolate factory that includes a ride through a simulated roasting oven, and eating samples of Hershey chocolate.

Jeans

Jeans – a clothing item that is common in every wardrobe today. One of the most comfortable and most stylish pieces of clothing, it is liked by one and all, regardless of age, size, sex, economic background, and so on.

The history of jeans goes as far back as the 16th century when sailors in Genoa (Italy) wore a material that eventually became the material used in jeans. The word ‘jean’ derives from the name of the Italian port city Genoa, as it was a custom to name a material after its place of origin. By the late 16th century, jean material was already produced in Lancashire, England.

It was the California Gold Rush of 1849 that started the evolution of American trousers that would one day become blue jeans. The gold miners wanted clothes that were strong and did not tear easily. The person who suggested an appropriate type of clothing was a German businessman Levi Strauss, who had moved to America. Levi Strauss sold many different things, but his main product was a tough canvas material used for tents and wagon covers. Understanding the urgent need of the gold miners Levi Strauss decided to make trousers out of the tough canvas he was selling. The miners liked the new ‘working’ trousers, though they were uncomfortable to wear as the material was too rough.

To improve the trousers for miners, Levi Strauss began looking for a different material and soon he found a suitable one in France. The material was called ‘serge de Nimes’. American just called it ‘de Nimes’, and this name soon became its short form ‘denim’. Denim was a bit lighter and softer than the material Levi Strauss used for his working trousers. It was very strong and did not wear out quickly, even after many washes. The trousers made of denim became quite popular among the miners.

The only problem was that original denim was almost white and the trousers got dirty as soon as the miners started working! For that reason Levi Strauss decided to use coloured denim, and he chose dark blue. In 1873 he began to make dark blue denim trousers with metal fasteners to make them stronger. This was a radical new idea and ‘Blue jeans’ had arrived!

Levi's jeans were so popular, that his company got bigger and bigger. Other firms were making blue jeans too. Miners liked them, but so did cowboys and other working men.

Levi’s jeans were work trousers. Male workers wore them all the time but a gentleman would not even think of wearing jeans. Things changed when western movies became popular. All the cowboys wore jeans and people thought they looked heroic, attractive and cool. Also jeans were greatly popularized in Europe by American off-duty soldiers who wore them during World War II. They made jeans seem like casual American trousers, a symbol of the American lifestyle.

In the 2000's, the sale of classic blue jeans stopped growing. Young people were not particularly interested in traditional jeans styles, mainly because of their parents, who adored jeans. Since no teenager would wear the clothes their parents were wearing, the latest generation of youth turned to other fabrics and styles. They still wear denim, but it had to be in new cuts, shapes and styles.

Hermitage cats

Hermitage cats have been officially kept in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, since its foundation. The cats prevented intensive breeding of rats and mice in the State Hermitage Museum. The director of the Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, said, “cats have become a very important part of our Hermitage lives and a significant part of Hermitage Legends.”

It is believed that the history of the Hermitage cats started with a cat that was brought from Holland by Peter the Great. In the XVIII century there were lots of rats in the Old Winter Palace. The history of cats continued due to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. Visiting Kazan she noticed that there were no rats and mice in the city because of the large number of cats. The Empress ordered to bring some Kazan cats to St Petersburg, to the old Winter Palace. The cats had done their job, and almost all the rats disappeared from the palace. After the construction of the Winter Palace, the cats settled down in the new building too. The founder of the Hermitage, Empress Catherine II gave the cats the status of ‘gallery guards’.

Cats in the Hermitage existed for a long time, during the war with Napoleon, and after the revolution, under the Soviet regime. In 1941, when the Great Patriotic War began, the works of art were evacuated to the Urals, in Sverdlovsk.

After the war, two cars brought new cats to the Hermitage. The rats, that had invaded the building during the war, stepped back. However, in the 1960s it was decided that the cats were not needed any more. Employees of the museum caught the cats and took them away. But, soon after, rats invaded the building. Since then, the museum has never got rid of its cats.

Today, about seventy cats live in the Hermitage to protect it from mice and rats. Each cat has its own passport and a veterinary card. They live comfortably in the basement. The place where they live is always warm and dry, and all the rooms of the basement are equipped with small holes, to let the cats move freely.

The Hermitage employees regularly buy food for cats. They try to make their meals healthy and diverse. Each cat has its own bowl, tray and basket to sleep. In summer, cats are more often outside on the lawns and courtyards than in their basement.

To control the number of cats in the Hermitage, employees sometimes give away their cats to residents of the city. The new owner has to present their passport and leave their contact details. The adopted animals are accompanied by a certificate from the Hermitage.

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David Beckham

David Beckham – is there a more famous and lovable celebrity? The footballer who played for such famous teams as Manchester United and Real Madrid is also a fashion model and a successful businessman.

David Beckham was born on May 2, 1975, in London, England. His father Ted Beckham was a kitchen fitter and his mother Sandra, a hair stylist. David Beckham was the family's only son. A middle child between two sisters, David grew up with parents and relatives who were great fans of Manchester United, England's legendary football club. From childhood, David was a promising footballer. At 11 he won the prestigious Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools National Skills Competition. David was noticed by Manchester United team officials, who asked him to try out for the club's youth league. By the age of 16, Beckham had to drop out of school. He left home to play for his favourite team. Two years later he became a full-time player for Manchester United and one of its leading figures.

From 1992 to 2003, playing for Manchester United, David Beckham scored 85 goals. Every time he had a game, he wore different football boots – it was a sort of ritual for good luck. In 2003, David unexpectedly left his beloved team for Real Madrid. The reason was the growing conflict between David Beckham and Manchester's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Once Sir Alex Ferguson fined David for babysitting with his sick child, while his wife Victoria, a designer, was at a London Fashion Week Event. The fine was really large. The incident caused a serious personal tension between the two men and ended in Beckham moving to the other club.

In Real Madrid, David Beckham was not allowed to wear his favourite number seven, because the right to wear it was written into the contract of another player. Instead, David decided to wear a shirt with number 23, which was the number of his favourite basketball player Michael Jordan. Though David Beckham immediately became very popular with the Real Madrid fans and his shirt sales made a lot of money for the football club, the team didn’t win any serious tournaments. Perhaps, it was one of the reasons why in 2007 Beckham signed a five-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy and moved to America. However, his career in America was a rocky one – numerous injuries affected him. In May 2013, David Beckham announced his plans to retire.

It’s important to say that David Beckham has always been a devoted husband and a loving father. David and his wife Victoria have three sons and a daughter. They say the boys are being trained as ‘bodyguards’ for their little sister Harper. The youngest, Cruz, has been practicing Taekwondo, Brooklyn is interested in boxing, and the oldest, Romeo, does karate. They are preparing early so that when Harper is older, “they will all be ready to protect her from noisy fans,” David says.

Harrow School

Harrow School, commonly known simply as Harrow, is an English boarding school for boys. It is situated in Harrow, in North West London, England. Harrow School was officially founded by John Lyon, under a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I, in 1572.

Harrow School has always been famous for its exclusive education. Many famous British people, including Sir Winston Churchill, studied there. Among other notable graduates are poets and writers such as Byron, Sheridan and Richard Curtis.

The school currently has approximately 850 pupils spread across 12 houses, all of them are full-time boarders. The houses each have their own gardens and necessary facilities. Each house holds around 70 boys who live and study at Harrow.

Every new boy who enters the school is given a two week period of time called ‘grace’ to get acquainted with the school rules and traditions. A student in a year above called a ‘Shepherd’ helps him. When this period of time ends the boy takes the ‘new boys' test’ which checks general knowledge of the school’s traditions. Some time later all new boys sing a solo in front of their house. This ritual officially ends their time as a new boy.

Harrow has many traditions, which include wearing school uniform. Everyday uniform includes the Harrow hat which is made of varnished straw with a dark blue strip. All boys are required to wear their hats when going to or from lessons and to ‘cap’ all teachers who pass them. The student has to raise his forefinger to the edge of his hat. Those who do not follow these rules are punished.

Sport is important at Harrow. Through sports games the students learn how to work in team situations. Harrow has two major sporting traditions, the first is Harrow Football. It is played with a large leather ball and is something of a cross between rugby and football. The game can be violent, as there are no restrictions as in rugby. As a result, injuries often occur, despite the game being played on the muddiest and softest pitches. No other British schools play this unique game. The competitions are held between Harrow school teams. Additionally, teams of Old Harrovians often return to play a game of unique football.

The second famous sport tradition is the annual Eton versus Harrow cricket match. The first match between the two famous English schools for boys was played in 1805. It should be mentioned that more often the cricket match has been won by Eton. Though some years were fortunate for Harrow players too.

Harrow School is also known for its custom of singing School Songs. Some of the songs were written by school teachers about Harrow life in the 19th century. New songs are occasionally written, but most students, teachers and graduates think that ‘the old ones are the best’! The School celebrates Songs once or twice a term, and Songs are sung with a similar frequency at a house level.

The University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews is located in the small town of St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. It is the oldest university in Scotland, and the third oldest university in the United Kingdom after Oxford and Cambridge.

In the middle ages, there were no universities in Scotland and young Scottish people had to go abroad to study. Many of them went to study in France, to Paris University. In May 1410 a group of academics, mainly graduates of Paris University and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, started a school of higher learning in St Andrews, which offered courses of lectures in logic, philosophy, and law. Later the school turned into a university.

The town of St Andrews had not been chosen as the place for the first university of Scotland by chance. It was located not far from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. In the 15^th century, the town of St Andrews was already an important religious centre of the country. It had a monastery, a cathedral and several churches. The town was well-known in Europe.

By the middle of the 16^th century, St Andrews was quite a big university and had three colleges. Even today some of the university buildings date back to this period and they are still in use. In the 17^th to 19^th centuries, St Andrews University went through a period of decline. It had serious financial problems, and the number of students got very low. It was recorded that in 1773, the university had only 100 students.

However, in the 19^th century the town of St Andrews became a trendy holiday destination. The railway arrived in the town, the population increased, and a lot of new streets and houses were built. The University of St Andrews got back its fame as one of the best universities: the number of students and professors increased.

Today St Andrews University has a world-class reputation in teaching and research. It is considered to be one of the best in the United Kingdom. The University population (staff and students) numbers nearly 9,000. They come from more than 100 countries. St Andrews’ graduates include statesmen, inventors, authors, political leaders and journalists.

No wonder the university has many traditions. One of them is the red academic gown which is usually worn at formal university occasions (several times a year). First-year-students wear their gowns on the shoulders, then, in the second year, off the shoulders. Third-year-students wear the gown off the left shoulder or on the right shoulder. A fourth-year-student will wear the gown off both shoulders, across the elbow.

Another famous tradition that many students choose to take part in is the May Dip. They get into a freezing North Sea at sunrise on the first of May. The students believe that this ritual will bring them good luck in exams. If you do not like a cold swim, you can just look after your friends’ clothes on the beach. It will also help you to have good luck!

Esperanto

Esperanto is an artificial language which was invented at the end of the 19^th century. Esperanto Day is celebrated on 15^th December. The date for the birthday of the language was not chosen by chance. It is the birthday of its creator – the Polish doctor and linguist L. L. Zamenhof.

L. L. Zamenhof wanted to create a politically neutral language that would promote peace and international understanding between people who speak different languages. He hoped that his new language would be an international language, that is, many people's second language. L. L. Zamenhof didn’t want to replace any national tongue.

Thinking up a new language L. L. Zamenhof tried to make it simple, so that any person can learn it. Esperanto is based on Latin and modern European languages like French, English and Polish. However, Zamenhof’s language has none of the complicated grammar rules of many existing languages. As for the vocabulary of the language, L.L. Zamenhof chose word roots which a lot of people could recognize. In this way, anyone who speaks a European language already knows a large number of words in Esperanto. All words are spelled as pronounced. The language is easy to read and speak.

Nowadays, Esperanto is the most widely spoken artificial language in the world. Up to 2 million people worldwide speak Esperanto. It is particularly popular in Europe, East Asia, and South America. The World Esperanto Association has members in 120 countries.

Most people learn Esperanto on their own. They use teach-yourself books or email courses. Most learners gain impressive skills in this language and can use it in real life.

Through Esperanto they make contacts with people from around the world. They read books and magazines from other countries and listen to international radio broadcasts. There are over 25,000 original and translated books in Esperanto and over a hundred Esperanto magazines.

There are also many websites, blogs, podcasts, videos and television and radio stations in Esperanto. You can find lots of online discussions in Esperanto about different topics on the Internet. People can use Esperanto versions of the social network Facebook and other websites. Several computer programmes have an Esperanto version.

Learning a logical language can be a great way to exercise the brain and prepare for learning other languages. Several studies were carried out in Europe, United States, and Australia. In one study, a group of European secondary school students studied Esperanto for one year, then French for three years. The test showed that they had a better command of French than the students who studied only French for all four years. Similar results have been found in other studies.

Tove Jansson

The Moominland series of books and cartoons are very popular with children. They have been translated into several languages, filmed and staged. Moomins, the funny fictional animal characters, were invented by the Finnish fairy tale writer, Tove Jansson. These characters lived in the imaginary country of Moominland. The author not only wrote the story but also made professional illustrations for every book in the series.

When she was a child, Tove Jansson never planned to be a writer. Born into the family of a sculptor and an artist, Tove enjoyed a relaxed and creative atmosphere in her home, open to many people. She spent a lot of time painting and staging fairy tales with her brothers. Since her early years, Tove was impressed by Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. In her imagination she lived the characters’ lives and imagined their adventures in her colourful dreams.

The family often went on sea trips, the memories of which Tove kept for years. She admired the Finnish landscapes with beautiful sunsets and sunrises, she watched the sea constantly changing its colour and the cosy bays. All the magic appeared later in the pictures of the Moomin valley with the blue house standing in the middle of it.

At about fourteen, Tove realized she wanted to go into painting professionally. At first, she worked for a local children’s magazine together with her mother. When Tove completed her school course, she studied fine arts in colleges in Finland and abroad. Tove’s excellent education, talent, and magnificent artistic skills allowed her to illustrate the books of the famous English writers J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll. She made some successful wall paintings in Helsinki as well.

At the age of thirty, Tove still had the character of a child who suffered from the injustice and cruelty of life. At that time, she thought of creating an alternative honest and fair world for people like herself. She created it in her imagination. Once Tove recalled a small white hippo she had drawn on the wall to tease her little brother. This is how a new character of Finnish literature, the Moomin, appeared.

Her first book was published in 1946. The fantasy characters were something new for a children’s book of that time. That is why they made Tove Jansson famous overnight. Images of Moomins made in wood, china, soap and plastic spread all over the world. The first book was followed by eleven more tales of Moominland. Each new story reflected an important event in Tove’s life.

In the 1970s, Janssen started to write stories and novels for adult readers. Apart from the illustrations of children's books Tove Jansson returned to serious painting. The critics praised her pictures a lot for their colours and harmony. Tove Jansson’s most well-known works are a self-portrait and a portrait of her friend. However, she used to say that people would remember her only as the author of the Moomins, not as a painter. This made Tove Jansson feel sad.

All the Moomins tales had a happy ending. Just like her characters, Tove Jansson made her dream come true. At the end of her life she bought a small island in Finland to settle there with her mother. She arranged children’s festivals on the island and read her tales for the young audience. Her house, like the one in the Moominland, was always open to her numerous friends and readers, who often came to her island.

Fyodor Konyukhov

Fyodor Konyukhov is a Russian traveller, a yacht captain, a balloon pilot, an artist and a writer. He has completed over 40 unique expeditions. He is the first and only person in the world, so far, to have reached the five extreme points on the earth: the North Pole (three times), the South Pole, the Pole of Inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean, the top of Mount Everest (twice), and sailing around the world via Cape Horn (four times).

Fyodor Konyukhov was born in 1951 into an ordinary family. There were 5 children in the family: three boys and two girls. From his childhood, Fyodor was dreaming about travels to different parts of the world. Fyodor’s father, a fisherman, often took his sons to the Azov Sea for the fishing season. Since that time, the sea has always attracted Fyodor. When he was just 15 he went on his first expedition. Fyodor crossed the Azov Sea in a fisherman’s boat. Later he studied and graduated from the Odessa Naval College and the Leningrad Polar College, becoming a professional navigator and marine engineer.

It is difficult to mention all of Konyukhov’s achievements in a brief text. Here are some of them. In 1977, Fyodor Konyukhov organized a research sailing expedition on yachts in the Northern part of the Pacific Ocean. He followed the routes of Vitus Bering and other Russian explorers of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Fyodor was curious to know how those people, sailing in small light boats, managed to discover new islands, gulfs and bays. The expedition lasted for 4 months. Then there were numerous other sailing expeditions.

Fyodor Konyukhov also travelled by bike, dog sled and horse and on foot, skis and camel back. He crossed the ocean on boats and yachts, and flew in a hot air balloon. Though Konyukhov gladly participated in collective travel, he undertook most of his expeditions alone.

In 1990, Fyodor Konyukhov set out on a unique solo trip to the North Pole. In spite of all the difficulties, in 72 days he reached the North Pole. Five years later he set out to conquer the Antarctic, again alone. For navigation in the extreme conditions he used a special system. It helped him to reach the South Pole on the 59^th day of his trip. For research reasons, he kept a diary. There, he observed his own physical and psychological condition under the effect of height, low temperature and strong winds. He also did some research for the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institutions.

In 2016, at the age of 65, Fyodor Konyukhov set a new record – for a solo nonstop round the world flight in a hot air balloon. He never stepped on the ground during the whole flight. It was the fastest flight – in 11 days the traveller covered 35 168 kilometres.

Fyodor Konyukhov’s expeditions are very important for Russian science and sport. They show what a person, who is well prepared physically and morally, can accomplish. Besides travelling, Fyodor Konyukhov writes poetry and fiction, paints pictures and composes music. His first three books were published in 1999. Though they are mainly travel journals, they are read like exciting adventure novels.

The Moscow metro

The Moscow metro is very important as a means of transport in the Russian capital, in particular during rush hours. It has more metro visitors than the New York subway and London underground put together! The Moscow metro works efficiently and the trains run very frequently and very fast. The Moscow metro is one of the most beautiful subways in the world. 44 of the stations are listed as cultural heritage sites.

The first plans for a metro system in Moscow date back to the times of the Russian Empire. One such project was actively discussed in 1902, but at that time the local government declined it in favor of trams. Indeed trams in those days were very popular and brought lots of money into the city’s budget.

Then the plans for the construction of a metro system in Moscow were postponed by World War I and the October Revolution. As a result, the construction of the metro was only started in 1931 after the Soviet Union was established. The first 13 stations opened on May 15^th, 1935. They were wonders of engineering and design.

Now, the Moscow Metro has 13 lines and more than 200 stations. Each line has a name, a number and a colour that identifies it. The Moscow metro has a circular line that links all metro lines. There is a legend concerning the appearance of the circle line, which had not been planned in the original project. The legend says that at a meeting devoted to metro construction Joseph Stalin put his cup of coffee on the metro map. It left a brown circle around the city centre. Joseph Stalin showed the circle to the builders and ordered the construction of such a line. It was how the circle line appeared and it explains why it has a brown colour on the metro map.

While travelling on the radial lines of the Moscow Metro to the centre, the stations are announced by men’s voices and while going from the centre, women announce them. On the circle line men’s voices announce the stations when going in the clockwise direction, while women’s voices are used when going counterclockwise. This is done to make navigation simpler for blind people in the metro.

The Moscow metro carries almost seven million people daily. The people who work there use every effort to ensure the comfort of the passengers. All trains have free wireless internet access, so that the passengers can read their emails or chat with their friends on their way to work.

Recently the ‘Music in the Metro’ project has started. 30 talented and well-trained musicians give different concerts to the metro passengers. All concerts are held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (apart from rush hours) absolutely free. There is no special stage –the musicians perform in different stations of the metro. Muscovites really like the concerts, and ‘Music in the Metro’ has become a regular event in the Moscow metro. Sometimes, walking through the metro, you can listen to a top-quality concert.

The Winter Olympic Games

Originated by the ancient Greeks, the Olympic Games are the leading international sporting event. The games were revived by Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, and the first modern Olympics were held in 1896.

The Winter Olympic Games were not a part of the modern Olympics when they started. They were played separately as the Nordic Games. The Nordic Games were the first international sporting event that focused primarily on sports played in winter. A person called Victor Balck, a close friend of Pierre de Coubertin, organised the first Nordic Games. It was Victor’s idea to include winter games in the Olympics.

However, only in 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games were held as a separate event in Chamonix, France. Athletes competed in 16 events in six different sports. The Games were held from 1924 until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II. The Olympics resumed in 1948 and were arranged every four years.

In 1994, it was decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in different years. So in fact, we can watch the Olympic Games once every two years. First, the Summer Games, then, in two years, the Winter Games, and two years after the Summer Games again. So one set of Olympic Games, summer or winter, is held every two years.

As time went on more sports were introduced to the Winter Olympiad. Nowadays there are fifteen sport disciplines, four of them are indoor sports: curling, figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey.

The Winter Olympics have been hosted in 19 cities in different countries. Some cities have arranged the main international winter sporting event several times: Lake Placid (the USA), Innsbruck (Austria), St Moritz (Switzerland). But the Winter Olympic Games have never been held in Africa, Australia, South America or Antarctica.

In 2014, Sochi, Russia was the host of the XXII Winter Olympic Games. A total of 98 events in 15 winter sport disciplines were held during the Games. Lots of sporting records and unique results were recorded at the Olympic Games. However, there were several records which were set during the preparation and Olympiad organization. Sochi was the first sub-tropical city that has ever organized the Winter Olympic Games. Before the start of the XXII Games in Sochi, the Olympic torch travelled the longest distance in history to some amazing places, including the North Pole, the bottom of Lake Baikal (the world’s deepest lake), the top of Mount Elbrus (Europe's highest mountain), and even into outer space. For the first time in Olympic history, a public vote was held to decide the mascots, symbols that bring good luck to the event, for the Olympics. It was decided that the mascots of the Olympic Games, would be a Leopard, a Polar Bear, and a Hare. They looked very cute and contributed to the success of the Games.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was the most famous personality of the 15^th and 16^th centuries. He is widely known as a brilliant artist and scientist. Fewer people know that he was also an engineer, an inventor, a toymaker, a machine designer, an architect, a singer, a theatre costume designer and an animal lover!

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Italy. The name Leonardo da Vinci can be interpreted as Leonard from the Italian town of Vinci. His father was from a rich family.

From his childhood, Leonardo was a brilliant painter. He took painting very seriously and studied it regularly. He even created his own paints to be used for his pictures. Seeing this, Leonardo’s father took him to a famous painter, Andrea del Verrocchio, who helped Leonardo to develop his extraordinary painting abilities. Leonardo spent several years learning art in his studio. Once Leonardo was asked to draw a painting of an angel. His drawing was so good that his teacher decided to never paint again.

By the age of 25, Leonardo had started his own workshop and had become a famous painter. He was one of the first Italians to use oil paints. According to art experts, his Mona Lisa is considered to be the best known, the most visited, and the most written about work of art in the world. Nowadays this portrait of a woman hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris. People don’t know for sure who the Mona Lisa was. But there have been lots of ideas like it was the real-life wife of a merchant, or even a self-portrait of Leonardo as a woman.

Even though he was a great artist, Leonardo had trouble finishing his work. There were so many interesting things to learn and to do. His remarks and inventions were recorded in 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. There were designs for the first parachute, the first helicopter, the first aeroplane, the first tank, the first bicycle, the first swing bridge, and the first motorcar in his diaries. Since Leonardo’s inventions were way ahead of their time, they were never realized during his lifetime. Leonardo also never published any of his notes and drawings. He simply kept personal diaries in which he recorded them.

Leonardo da Vinci wrote most of his notes from right to left. The result of this writing was a mirror script, which was not easy to read. Maybe it was due to the fact that he wanted to keep his writing secret. According to his pupils, Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.

Another interesting fact about Leonardo da Vinci was that he was a strict vegetarian! This was an unusual thing for a person who lived in the Middle Ages. Leonardo did this not for any health reasons but because he loved animals and was against killing animals for food. He was also against keeping animals in cages. He used to buy caged animals and birds and set them free.

Leonardo Da Vinci died in France, in 1519 at the age of 67. His diaries were discovered much later after his death. He is known as, without a doubt, one of the greatest painters of all time and, quite possibly, the most talented person that has ever lived.

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The Open Window

Mr. Nuttel, a young gentleman, came to live in the country. The doctors said a quiet place like that and complete rest could help cure his nerves. He didn’t know anyone round there. That’s why his sister gave him letters of introduction to some nice people she knew.

One of the letters was to Mrs. Sappleton. When Mr. Nuttel visited her, Mrs Sappleton was busy and he was asked to wait for several minutes. The servant invited Mr. Nuttel into a room. There Mr. Nuttel met Mrs. Sappleton’s niece, a very self-confident young lady of fifteen. The young lady asked him what he knew about her aunt. Mr. Nuttel knew nothing except Mrs. Sappleton’s name and address.

Mr. Nuttel looked around. There was something about the room that told him there were other people living in the house. So he was wondering if Mrs. Sappleton was married. Suddenly the girl got sad and told a story of Mrs. Sappleton’s tragedy. Mr. Nuttel was greatly surprised because his sister hadn’t told him anything about it. The tragedy was very unusual for that peaceful place.

The girl pointed at the French window, which opened on to the lawn and said that Mrs. Sappleton always kept it open. Mr. Nuttel stated that it was natural to keep the window open because the weather was quite warm. But the girl sighed and explained that her poor aunt always kept the window open in the evenings because she was waiting for her husband and sons to return. Three years ago they had gone hunting and never came back. The story caught Mr. Nuttel’s imagination deeply. He felt very upset.

He felt a little better only when Mrs. Sappleton finally appeared in the room. She apologized for being late and asked if he minded the open window. She said her husband and sons would soon be home from hunting. They always came in that way. Then, she continued talking cheerfully about hunting ducks. But Mr. Nuttel felt terrible.

He made an attempt to change the topic and told her about the reasons why he had come to the country. But Mrs. Sappleton didn’t seem to notice. She was constantly looking at the open window. Mr. Nuttel felt uncomfortable. He understood that he had chosen the wrong moment to visit her. Suddenly Mrs. Sappleton cried happily pointing at the window, “Here they are at last, just in time for tea!” Three male figures were walking across the lawn towards the window. They carried guns and a dog followed them.

Shocked and afraid, Mr. Nuttel grabbed his stick and hat and rushed out of the house. Mrs. Sappleton was extremely surprised at the extraordinary man who had left the house so quickly without a word. Her niece suggested that it was because of the dog. She said that Mr. Nuttel had been afraid of them since childhood – once, a dog had seriously bitten him. This was enough to make the young man lose his nerve. The young lady was so good at making up stories!

Anne Frank

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who became famous after her death when her wartime diary was published.

Anne was born on June 12th, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany to Otto Frank and Edith Frank. Anne was the youngest of two sisters. When the Nazis gained control of Germany and the danger to Jewish people increased, her family emigrated to the Netherlands. Anne was four at that time.

On May 10th, 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, German armies invaded the Netherlands. The danger was getting very close to the Jewish family. Soon Anne's older sister, Margot, got a note from the new authorities. She had to go to a German work camp. However, Margot did not obey. Instead, the Franks went to a secret hiding place which they had prepared beforehand.

They hid in a small annex, an extra building added to a house. Later Anne called it the Secret Annex. Together with the Franks, there were eight people in the Secret Annex. The entrance to the annex was hidden behind a moveable bookcase. While hiding, the Franks could not go outside. They had to stay quiet so that the neighbours did not guess that there was anybody in the annex. The Franks lived in constant fear of what would happen if they were discovered.

Anne started writing her diary on her thirteenth birthday. The diary would later be published as The Diary of Anne Frank. In her diary, Anne wrote about her thoughts, and about her life in the Secret Annex. Most of her diary was written in the form of letters to a person named Kitty. Anne also wrote short stories and collected quotes from other writers in her notebook. The girl had dreams of becoming a journalist or a writer.

The Franks spent 2 years in the Secret Annex. When Anne was 15 years old, the Secret Annex where they had been hiding was discovered. It is believed that someone betrayed them. On 4^th August 1944, all those in the Secret Annex were arrested.

They were sent to Auschwitz, a concentration camp. It was a death camp. Anne was sent to the same barracks as her sister and her mother. Their father, Otto, was separated from his family, and never saw his daughters or his wife again. Anne and her sister survived several months in difficult conditions, working hard.

Later, Anne and her sister were sent to another concentration camp. Anne died there in March, 1945. She was only 15 years old. It is believed that she died of typhoid.

All the inhabitants of the Secret Annex, except Otto Frank, died in the concentration camps. He returned to Amsterdam and found the diary of his daughter. Two years later, in 1947, he published Anne's diary.

The book, The Diary of Anne Frank, impressed people a lot. There have been more than 30 million copies sold. It was translated into 67 languages and it was adapted for both the theatre and the cinema.

The address where Anne Frank and her family hid was Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Now there is a museum (the Anne Frank House) where people can see the actual house she lived in while in hiding. Approximately one million people visit the Anne Frank House each year.

The picture

Arthur started painting when he was 10. He loved painting so much that he decided to become an artist. Arthur studied painting seriously and mastered his technical skills to reach a professional standard. At 25 he arranged his first exhibition. Art critics wrote nice reviews of the exhibition and most of his paintings were sold. Arthur was happy. He married Tina, the girl he had loved since his school days, and rented a room to build his workshop there. Soon, to complete his education, Arthur went to Italy. He lived and painted there for almost half a year. When his money was spent, Arthur returned home.

Time passed but Arthur’s other exhibitions were less successful than the first one. In fact Arthur painted much better than before his visit to Italy. But the art critics said that his paintings were too academic and there was nothing new in them. Arthur worked hard to improve his style. Sometimes he managed to sell some of his paintings but soon the money ran out and he felt very unhappy.

One morning Arthur came to his workshop earlier than usual. He tried to finish one of his pictures but he felt that he wasn’t able to work. Arthur got angry and threw down his brush. A bright orange spot appeared on the board which lay below to protect the floor. The board was covered with green, blue and yellow paint from previous work. It was a real mixture of bright colours. Arthur ran out of the workshop.

An hour later, Tina came to the workshop to clean it. She picked up the board and put it against the wall to clean the floor. At that moment, Mr Harrison, the owner of an art gallery, came in. Two days before Arthur had invited him to come and look at the pictures. Arthur went around the workshop looking at the pictures. There was a blank and bored expression on his face. He sighed, “Nothing interesting”. Suddenly the board against the wall attracted his attention. He went closer.

“Tina, my dear,” he said. “What an interesting picture! Is it Arthur’s new work? Why is he keeping it from us?”

Tina kept silent, she didn’t know what to answer. Mr Harrison continued admiring the picture with an orange spot. “I’m happy that he has changed his style. This really is something special. I’ll ring Arthur this evening. Tell him that I’m ready to buy this picture myself. And any other pictures in this style.” Then he left the workshop.

When Arthur came back, Tina told him about Mr Harrison’s visit. She was very nervous and Arthur couldn’t understand her at first. Tina repeated the story and Arthur started to laugh. Then he asked, “Why didn’t you explain the whole thing about the board to Mr Harrison?”

“I don’t know,” answered Tina. “I knew that I should. But at first I thought he was playing jokes. Then I was afraid to look silly. I just said I didn’t think you would sell it.”

“I see,” said Arthur. “But what shall we do now?”