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Charles Dickens was a very popular and talented English novelist of the Victorian Era. He was born in 1812 in a poor English family. Charles had many brothers and sisters but he preferred reading to playing with children. His father had many books so young Dickens learned to read very early and spent most of his time reading them. (далее…)

Michelangelo Buonarroti was one of the greatist artists in history. He was extremely talented and was famous not only as a painter but also as a sculptor, an architect and even a poet. He created many masterpieces that are now presented in world-famous museums and galleries. (далее…)

Winston Churchill was one of the greatest politicians of the last century.  Apart from being a well-known public figure, Churchill was highly talented and even got a Noble prize in Literature in 1901.

Winston Churchill was born in 1874, Woodstick, in the aristocratic family of the Dukes. Young Churchill was taught at home firstly and then sent to St.George’s school.  The boy was rebellious and obviously was not a good student. He continued his study at Harrow School for boys and then entered the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. (далее…)

Vincent Van Gogh was one of the greatest painters of the XIX century. Van Gogh was born in 1853 in Holland; however, he spent most of his life in France.

Van Gogh’s life could hardly be considered the happy one. He was mentally ill and was aggressive from time to time. During one of his fits of nerves he cut a part of his ear off. Although Van Gogh went into a mental hospital several times, his state didn’t become any better. Furthermore, the great artist lived a rather short life. In 1890 he shot himself after pronouncing his last words: “The sadness will continue”. (далее…)

The Tower of London is one of the most famous and most interesting places in the city. The Tower was once a palace, a fortress, a prison and even a Zoo. Today it is known as a historical museum.

Despite being called “The Tower of London”, the place consists of 20 towers. The White Tower is the oldest of them. It was built at the time of William the Conqueror. The Tower of London used to be a place where many famous people lived their last days before execution. Anne Boleyn was beheaded there and future Queen Elizabeth was kept in the prison but later she was released and became Queen. (далее…)

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Spring is full of public holidays. Easter is followed by May Day. The 1^st day of May is also an official holiday. The celebration of this day comes originally from the Roman festivals of Flora, goddess of flowers. The time when it's getting warmer and warmer day by day and flowers and trees start to blossom. People commonly love to spend this day on their first picnics in parks and countrysides. (далее…)

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Good Friday, also known as Black Friday or Easter Friday, is an official public holiday. On this day Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and attend the special services in churches, which last much longer than usual. The main service starts at midday till 3 pm because According to the New Testament Jesus Christ died on the cross at 3pm. Traditionally people eat hot cross buns -  little buns marked with a white cross. Catholics prefer to eat fish instead of meat on Good Friday. (далее…)

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There are only 8 public holidays in Great Britain. The days when most of the offices, shops and banks are closed. These days are New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter with Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. All of these holidays, except New Year’s Day, Christmas and Boxing Day, are movable, it means they don't fall on the same day every year. (далее…)

Mark Zuckerberg is an American programmer who was the cofounder of a famous social networking website – Facebook. Nowadays, he is one of the World’s youngest billionaires.

Mark was born in 1984, in White Plains, New York. He is one of 4 children in the family. However, he wasn’t neglected by his parents and had an absolutely comfortable childhood. It was obvious that young Mark was extremely talented. He began to show an interest in computers very early and at the age of 12 he created a messaging program “Zucknet” which was used in his father’s dental office. The program helped his father to call new patients without yelling across the room. (далее…)

BBC Television is a part of the British Broadcasting Corporation that has operated in the UK since 1927. BBC has several TV stations and also produces its own programmes. It goes without saying that BBC is one of the world’s biggest TV production companies.

However, there was a period when the company stopped its work. During World War II, the broadcasting was stopped because the staff had to participate in war and the transmissions could act as a signal to the aircraft of the enemy. The last programme was trasmitted in 1933 and then the station started to work again only in 1946. (далее…)