6.3.8.1) Listen and complete the gaps. 2
Name: Toktar Aubakirov
When/Where born: 1946 in the 1
region of Kazakhstan
Early years: he left school at age
; started working in a
3
Achievements: joined the Armavir Military Aviation Institute in
4
; flew as a 5
in the
Soviet Air Force, tested over 6
types of
aircrafts, became the first Kazakh to go into 7
Later years: became the director of the National Aerospace Agency
of Kazakhstan (KazCosmos) in 8​

My favourite singer is Michael Jackson. I like his songs very much because they are full of energy and very melodic. I also like the way he dances.

There were nine children in Michael's family. They lived in a small fourroom house. Later he lived in a house which has seventeen rooms downstairs and sixteen rooms upstaires. It stands in 2,700 acres of ground. Besides the house there are guest houses, a golf course, a swimming pool, tennis courts, stables, gardens, lakes, forests and a zoo.

A lot of strange stories are told about Jackson. It's difficult to decide whether they are true or not. Michael never gave interviews and was rarely seen in public, except on stage. Certainly his behaviour may seem eccentric. In public he often wore a face mask to protect himself from germs, he slept inside an oxygen capsule, which he believed would help him to live longer. But his manager says that Jackson wasn't eccentric. He was just shy. Michael sang in public for the first time when he was five. Since that time he had always been in the public eye. And since that time he had been working like a grown-up.

There were times when he came home from school and he only had time to put his books and get ready for the studio. He often sang until late at night, even if it was past his bedtime. There was a park across the street from the studio, and Michael looked at the kids playing games. And he just stared at them in wonder — he couldn't imagine such freedom, such a carefree life.

It was the last week of summer holidays. Mike had returned from the country two days before. He had visited his grandparents. Mike’s life in the country had been really exciting that summer. He had learned to do a lot of useful things. His uncle had taught Mike to drive a car. Mike’s grandfather had taken Mike hunting. Mike was very happy because he had never held the hunting rifle before. Mike even had taken part in the horse-racing competition and had won the third place. Mike’s friend Pete had made a photo of Mike holding the prize on the horse back. It was a pleasure to remember all the events that had happened in the village. Now Mike wanted to tell his classmates about the summer holidays.