Dear Anna
In your last letter you asked me to tell you about my pets. OK, I can talk for hours on this topic. I have a dog; his name is La boule. That’s a French word which means a ball. He is a pug and he is very funny. I also have a hamster. His name is Masha. Not a usual name for a hamster, you say, but he is very curious and smart enough. I would also like to have a cat, but perhaps not now.
I’m fine, no changes since the last time. I’m passing my exams next week. After that, I’m looking forward to going abroad. I like traveling a lot. I’ve visited just a few European countries but I fell in love with the Old world. My dream is to go to Paris. This is the city of love, croissants and haut-couture. I think every person should see it and not necessarily die after it!
You told me that you had been to many countries. Tell me about your greatest trip! Have you been to Paris, did you like it? What are you going to do this summer? Where would you like to go?
I’m so happy that your sister married! Wish her and her husband a very good luck! Hope the wedding was as gorgeous as the bride was!
Could you send me some photos?
Sorry, I have to go, my parents are leaving on holidays, I need to see them off.
Waiting for your letter,
Yours truly,
Masha
William Shakespeare was one of the world’s greatest 1)__playwrights___. He lived in England during the second half of the 16th century and the early part of the 17th century. William grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon, a town where his father had been 2)___mayor___. His family was 3)_middle class___ and young William attended a grammar school in Stratford. Later on Shakespeare went to London to find a job as an actor and 4)__ writer___. It was very difficult because only the best were able to work there. Between 1592 and 1594, Shakespeare wrote mainly 5)__sonnets__ and poems. All theatres were closed because of the Black Death, which killed millions of people. When theatres opened up again he became a 6)___member___ of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the best acting company in the country. The plays were performed in the Globe, a round theatre without a roof. The actors and writers owned the theatre. They bought the costumes and wrote their own 7)_scripts__ . They also shared their 8)__profits__. Plays started in the early afternoon. People who didn’t have money to buy a seat were allowed to stand in the front. Sometimes there were special 9)__performances__ for kings and queens. Shakespeare wrote three types of plays. 10)_tragedies__ show the downfall of one of the characters. 11)__Comedies__ are funny plays that have happy endings and historical plays are 12)__dramas__ about the lives of famous English kings. In 1610 William retired from the theatre and went back to his home town Stratford. He died there in 1616.