Exercise 2. Insert articles. Retell the story. ... little girl was sitting on ... front porch when ... stranger came up to the gate. He tried to open it but ... gate wouldn’t open.
“Is your mother at home, little one?” asked ... stranger.
“Yes, sir, she’s always at home,” said ... child.
... stranger jumped over ... gate and rang ... doorbell. There was no answer. He rang it several times more, and waited. ... door remained closed. Somewhat angry, he turned to ... child and said:
“Didn’t you say your mother was at home?”
“Yes, and I’m sure she is,” replied ... girl.
“Then why doesn’t she answer my ring, I wonder.”
“I think she will, sir, when you reach our house,” replied ... girl. “We live four doors down ... street.”

Modern cities are full of various shops. There are clothes shops, antique shops, bookstores, beauty shops, pharmacies, gift shops, supermarkets, newspaper stands, stationery shops, etc. When I want to buy food and beverages, I go to the nearest supermarket. There is also one hypermarket not far from us, but to get there I need to take a mini-bus. To buy the rest of necessary products and household items, I go to the local mall. It’s a place where I can find all the shops I need. I can buy a new pair of shoes, a present for a friend, a new lipstick, medical supplies, a book or simply some pens and pencils there. When I want to buy some clothes and shoes I ask shop assistants for help. These qualified people are always there to give a wise advice. It has become easy to shop nowadays. I can even order all the necessary things online. It’s called online-shopping. But when it comes to clothes and shoes, I prefer to try them on at first, so online shopping is not for me. Things that I can order online include medical supplies, pizza and train tickets. Another reason, why I’d prefer to shop personally is the mere atmosphere of shopping. I like visiting the bakery round the corner and buying freshly-baked bread. I like going to the mall with my friends, because after some shopping we go to the cinema or to the cafeteria. Choosing a book or a present is almost a sacramental rite for me. I spend hours choosing such things, not because I’m indecisive, but simply because I like the atmosphere of bookstores and gift shops. I think that shops are useful and necessary in every city or town. And, for many people shopping is not just a need but a great pleasure.

Abay Kunanbayuly was born in the Chingiz meadows of the Semipalatinsk district of the West Siberian governor general (since 1845, the Semipalatinsk region) (in the current administrative division in the Abay district of the East Kazakhstan region) in the family of a large bai Kunanbay Oskenbaev (Uskenbaeva) of the Tobykta clan from the Kazakh Argyn tribe. The Abai family belonged to the local nobility; grandfather (Oskenbai) and great-grandfather (Irgizbai) dominated in their kind as rulers and biys.
Begun in childhood, home schooling at the mullah was continued in the madrasah at Mullah Ahmet-Riza in Semipalatinsk, where they taught Arabic, Persian and other Oriental languages. At the same time he attended the Russian school. By the end of the five-year study, he began to write poetry, first attributing their authorship to his friend Kokpay Dzhantasov. From the age of 13, Father Kunanbai begins to accustom Abai to the activities of the head of the clan. At the age of 28, Abai departs from it, taking up self-education entirely, but only by the age of 40 creates his first adult poems. A significant event for Abai was his communication with political exiles EP Michaelis, N. Dolgopolov, S. Gross.
The formation of the worldview of Abai was influenced by poets and scholars of the East, who adhered to humanistic ideas (Firdousi, Alisher Navoi, Nizami, Fizuli, Ibn Sina and others), as well as works by Russian classics, and through them European literature in general. He translated Krylov, Lermontov, Pushkin, Goethe and Byron.
The story of the poem "Karaңғy tдеnde tau қalғıp" ("The mountains are asleep in the dark night"), which became a folk song, is characteristic. Goethe wrote "Wanderers Nachtlied", Lermontov translated it into Russian ("Mountain peaks sleep in the dark at night ..."), and after another half a century Abai Kunanbayev conveyed its content in the Kazakh language.
Abai Kunanbayev promoted the spread of Russian and European culture among the Kazakhs.
For some time, Abai worked as a parish governor.