Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Gaston Leroux

             
      
.
                     
             Gaston Leroux was French . He was born in Paris on 6th May 1868 . His      mother and father owned a clothes shop in Paris . Leroux was a lively boy .  He like literature and the theatre . Sometimes , he was in trouble with his parents and with the  city officials .

          Leroux studied to be a lawyer but he did not enjoy this work .Then his father died and Leroux got one million francs . The yoyng man spent all the money in six months !

          In 1890 , Leroux became a reporter . He worked for the newspaper, L'Echo de Paris . He wrote about trials and criminals . He also wrote reports about plays in the theartres . His repots were clear and exciting . He became successful . Later , he was a jouynalist for the Paris newspaper,Le Matin .

          Leroux was a big , heavy man . He had a large black beard.He liked fine clothes and good food and drink . From 1894 to 1906,Gaston Leroux traveled to many countries.He wrote about wars and revolutions. He visited dangerous places .Many times,he had to put on unusual clothes and change his hiar . Then he left these countries safely .

           Leroux started to write a stories and plays in the 1900.In 1907, he stopped traveling.He did not work as a journatist . He did not write for newspapers . He wrote  plays,poems and stories . He wrote adventure stories , romances , detective stories and horror stories .

           Some of his stories are : The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1907), The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1911), The Man Who Came Back From the Dead (1916), The Secret of the Night (1914) and The Bride of the Sun (1915) .

          Leroux's most famous story,The Phantom of the Opere, was published in 1911.Leroux died in Nice , France on 16th  April 1927.He was 59 years old .


Prepared by : Lydia
Source : Heinemann Books

Monday, May 16, 2011

Charlotte Bronte



Charlotte Bronte was born on 21st Apirl 1816 . She lived in the village of Haworth , in west Yorkshire , in the north of England . Her father was  clergyman . he worked in the church at Howorth .

              Charlotte had four sisters . They were Maria , Elizabeth , Emily and Anne . Charlotte had one brother Branwell . Chalotte was not pretty andher eyes were weak . But Chalotte was clever and she had a strong character .

              In 1824 , Maria , Elizabeth , Charlotte and Emily were pupils at a school called Cowan Bridge . The school was figty miles from Hawworth . It was a bad school and many of the children because sick . In 1825 , Maria and Elizabeth died . Chalotte's father taught his children at home .

               In 1831, Charlotte was fifteen years old . She was a pupil 
 at a school called Roe Heard . Later , she was a teacher at this school .  

           In 1842 , Charlotte and Emily studied in Brussels in Belgium . Charlotte was a clever student . But she was unhappy . She fell in love with a married man . And she returned to England .

            Charlotte , Emily , Anne and Branwell wrote stories and they drew pictures . They also wrote poetry . branwell was going to be an artist  . But he become ill . He drank alcohol and he took drugs .

          The Bronte sisters sent their stories to a publisher . In the 1850 , women's stories were not often published . So Charlotte wrote her books with the name , Currer Bell . Emily wrote Wuthering Heights with the name , Ellis Bell . And Anne wrote Agnes Grey with the name , Acton Bell .  Their books were very popular . Soon people wanted to meed these authors . Then they were surpised . these good writers were women !

           Chalotte Brones's novels are : The Professor, Jane Eyer ( 1847 ), Shirley ( 1849 ) and Villette (1853 ) . Jane Eyre is one of the popular stories in English .

            In 1848, Emily and Branwell died . Anne died the next year . Charlotte lived with her old father . She was now a famous author . People wanted to meet her . Chalotte traveled to London and she met poets , artists and writers . She visted theatres , museums and art galleries . In 1854 , Charlotte married a clergyman , Arthur Nicholls . Om 31st  March 1855 , Charlotte Brnote died . She was 38 years old .

Prepared by : Lydia
Source : Heinemann Beginner Level Books . 



Jane Austen




          Jane Austen was born on 16th  Decmber 1775 . She lived in the village of Steventon . in Hampshire , in the south of England . Her father was the Clergyman of the church in Steventon . Jane had six brothetrs and one sister – Cassandra .

          From 1782 to 1784 Jane and Cassandra lived at a school . From 1785 , Jane learnt English literature , English language , Frensh , Ltalian and music . She read poetry and novels . Jane'sbrother , Edward , lived with Thomas and Catherine Knight . Mr and Mrs Knight had a large house – godmesham Park – in kent . Jane and her sister often visited Edward at Godmersham Park .

         From 1801 , the Austens lived in Bath , in the south-west of England . In Bath , Jane and Cassandra went to balls and to theaters . They enjoyed dancing and seeing plays . But Jane was not happy . Did she fall in love ? We do not know . But Jane Austen never got married .

         In 1805 , Jane's father died . Then , Mrs Austen , Jane and Casandra lived in Southamptom . Southampyon is on the south Coast ot England . It is a big port . Jane's brother , Frank , lived there .

        From 1810 , the three women lived in Chawton , inHampshire . Jane wrote   letters and books . Cassandra took care of the house . They visited their brothers and their families . Jane Austen was a kind , intelligent and amusing woman . She often laughted .

        In 1816 , Jane Austen become ill . Cassandra took care of her . Jane died on 18th  July 1817 . She was 41 years old . Jane Austen did not write many books .

        Her novels are :
Sense and Sensibility (1811) , Pride and Prejudice (1813) , Mansfield Park (1814) ,
Abbey and Persuasion (1818) were Publishied after Jane Austen had died .

        Milions of people have read her books . mamy films have been , made of her stories .  


Prepared by : Lydia
Source: Heinemann Beginner Level Books


 


Monday, May 2, 2011

Post-Reading Questions on "Jane Eyre" answered by Lydia




     1. Did you enjoy reading the book?

-         Yes it was exciting. The main character, Jane, knew how to solve the problems as they come.

  1. What is the story about?
-         The story is about Jane Eyre. She has no parents and money. She lives with her aunt and children but they are unkind to her. They send her to Lowood School (an exclusive school for girls). After eight years of staying at Lowood, Jane Eyre leaves and works as a governess at Thornfield Hall. Jane falls in love with Mr. Rochester, the owner of Thornfield Hall. Mr. Rochester has a mad wife but later she dies. Mr. Rochester and Jane marry in the end.


  1. What is the most interesting part of the story for you?
-         The most interesting part of the story for me is when Jane’s dream comes true after six months. Jane runs away. After six months she goes back to Thornfield Hall but she finds no one. The house has no roof and it was burned. Jane goes to Ferndean and sees Mr. Rochester. She finds him blind and has only one hand. Later they get marry and have a child. Mr. Rochester is able to see the face of his first child. And they live happily ever after.

-         I also like another part of the story. Before Jane’s Uncle, John, died he gave her all his money. It was twenty thousand pounds. Jane gave five thousand pounds for each of her cousins Diana, Mary and Jane Rivers.


  1. What lesson have you learned for the story?
-         From the story, I learned that we shouldn’t give up because everything happens for a reason. When life is hard we need to be hopeful and to be strong. We have to share and not be selfish.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Summary Questions On Reading




1. What is the title of the book you are reading?
The title of the book is "get a life".

2. Who is the main character of the story?
The main character is Florence Nightingale.

3. The main character is named after a city in where?
The main character is named after a city in Italy.

4. At what age did she say she believed God spoke to her?
She believed God spoke to her at the age of 16.

5. Who was her first patient?
The first patient was a dog with a broken leg.

6. When was the Crimean war?
The Crimean war was in 1854.

7. What countries were fighting and who were their allies?
The countries fighting were; Turkey and Russia. Their allies were England and France.

8. Why were they fighting?
They were fighting for a piece of land near the black sea.

9. Why do you think Stanley Herbert put Florence in charge of the Hospital?
Florence was putting in charge because she had administrative skills.

10. Why did Florence feel the patient were boring?
She felt that there were some people acting too sick just to get attention. She felt she couldn’t learn from their false pretense.

11. Why she was called the lady with the lamp?
She was called the lady with the lamp because she was walking always with a lamp

Questions asnwered by Mohamed Tarek

Friday, March 25, 2011

Reading Inspires Children [YouTube]


Description: A new Indigo (Chapters, Cole) book advertisement to promote child literacy.

[BBC] Why Reading Matters - YouTube





Description: Science writer Rita Carter tells the story of how modern neuroscience has revealed that reading, something most of us take for granted, unlocks remarkable powers.