FAMOUS PEOPLE From sport and music to technology and film, there are many great stars out there. In this article,
we’re looking at some of those greats.
a Shakira was born in 1977 in Colombia, South America. She started singing at a very early
age and soon became well-known as a singer, songwriter and model. She sells millions of
albums worldwide and her song for the 2010
football World Cup, This T ime for Africa, became the best -selling World Cup song of all time.
b Michael Phelps was born in 1985 in the United States of America. Before he stopped
swimming in competitions, he won 22 Olympic medals
for swimming, more than any other swimmer. People ca lled him ‘Flying Fish’. After the Beijing
Olympics in 2008, he started his foundation to promote swimming and healthier lifestyles.
c How many people have a Twitter account? In 2013 there were over 200 million users,
but how many of them know who created t his amazing phenomenon that people use to put their
opinions on the Internet? Jack Dorsey was one of the people that started a Twitter account in
2006 while he was a student at New York University.
d Daniel Radcliffe is an English actor. He was born in 1989. When he was only 11 years
old, he got the main part in the first of the Harry Potter films and he played Harry Potter for ten
years until the last film in 2011. In 2007, he started to act in the theatre, both in the UK and in
the United States.
e Do you write documents on your computer?
You use a Microsoft product – made by a company started by Bill Gates and his partner Paul
Allen.
Gates is now one of the world’s richest people, and
also supports charities and science through the foundation he started in 2000.
f JK Rowling also writes under the name of Robert Galbraith. She’s the creator of the
Harry Potter series of books about a boy wizard. They have sold over 400 million copies
worldwide – not bad for an idea that first came to Rowling on a train w hen she was travelling!
Task. Answer the questions. Choose the correct answer: a, b or c.
0 Shakira
a began singing quite late.
b wasn’t famous for a long time.
c sang a popular song at a sports event.
1. Michael Phelps
a still has a career as a swimmer.
b got another name because of his swimming.
c won more medals than any other swimmer
2. Jack Dorsey
a had a brilliant idea for starting a Twitter account before he left university.
b is well-known by the people who use Twitter.
c often shares his own opinions on the Internet.
3. Daniel Radcliffe
a prefers acting in films to the theatre.
b made a Harry Potter film every year.
c played Harry Potter when he was 11 years old.
4. Bill Gates
a made a computer
b has his name on the product he created.
c Doesn’t give some of his money away to people who need it.
5. JK Rowling
a first thought of her stories when she was travelling on a train.
b has sold more books worldwide than any other writer.
c has a lot of different writers’ names.
2. He said to the girl next to him that he had never been to Kyiv before.
3. She said that one of those men was her husband.
4. He said to me that he had come there to meet Jane.
5. They told me that they could not help me as they were too busy.
6. She said to me that she would come to visit me two days later.
7. He said he had been tired so he had come home after party.
8. Mike said they were at the little hotel near the station.
9. She said she was trying to listen to music and told me to go out.
10. Stephen said to her he hadn't been waiting long.
11. He said that they were getting married the next day.
12. She thought she would do it on Sunday.
13. They said to me that they were meeting them at four o'cock that day.
14. She said to me she was going to the cinema.
15. Mary said to us that he could not speak any foreign languages.