Агата Кристи.
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку (8 класс) по теме

Who was Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

With her 78 crime novels, Agatha Christie has the distinction of being the world's best-selling writer, and "The Mousetrap", one of her 19 plays, has run longer than any other production in the history of the British theatre.

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay, a fashionable coastal resort in southwest England, in September 1890. Her father, Frederic Miller, was an American keen on amateur theatricals.

Despite her mother's view that no child should be allowed to read until the age of eight, so as not to damage eyes or brain, Agatha managed to find books to read, including Jules Verne's science fiction. She liked devising word and number puzzles. Her formal schooling did not start until she was 13, and two years later she went to France to study history, art, and dancing. When Mr. Miller died, Agatha's mother fell ill. Advised to seek a warmer climate, she chose Egypt and left for Cairo with Agatha, who was then 20.

By the 1970s she was regarded as the queen of mystery writers. She died in 1976 at the age of 85.

It is impossible to say exactly how many of her books have been sold, but it is more than a billion copies in English and another billion in 63 foreign languages. In 1995 her sales were still running at three million a year. She is the most widely published author of any time in any language, being outsold only by The Bible.

Questions:

1. What was Agatha Christie's nationality?
2. Where was Agatha Christie born?
3. What kind of books did Agatha Christie write?
4. What novels by Agatha Christie do you know?
5. What novels by Agatha Christie have you read?
6. What is your favourite story (play) by Agatha Christie?
7. What plays by Agatha Christie have been staged in Russia?
8. What plays have you seen?
9. What was Agatha Christie famous for?

10. What American and English writers of the 20th century do you know?
11. Who is your favourite English (American) writer?
12. Who are the most well-known English (American) writers alive?

advised—следуя совету

amateur theatrical  — любительские спектакли

be keen on  —увлекаться

be regarded  — считаться

best-selling writer—автор книг, которые продаются лучше других

brain —мозг

Cairo  —г. Каир

coast resort  — прибрежный курорт

crime novel  —детективный роман

damage  —вредить

despite  — несмотря на

devising  — выдуманный

distinction  —известность

mystery writer—писатель детективов

outsell (outsold, outsold) — продаваться лучше, чем другой товар

puzzle  — головоломка, шарада

science fiction —научная фантастика

"The Mousetrap"  — "Мышеловка"

Torquay — г. Торки в Англии