Text 20
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MADAM TUSSAUD
Madame Tussaud was born in Strasbourg in 1761. Her father died two months before she was born, and her family moved to Switzerland.
Her mother worked for a German doctor. The doctor was a kind man who enjoyed making wax models of parts of the human body. He soon got a reputation for making good likenesses of people’s heads as well.
He moved to Paris because he wanted to earn money by making models of the rich and famous. Soon Marie and her mother joined him in Paris. When she was six years old, the doctor taught her how to work in wax. Her portraits became so popular that by the time she was twenty she was living in the Palace of Versailles because the royal family invited her to live there.
The French revolution started in 1789, and this was the beginning of hard times for Marie. However, she met and married Francois Tussaud, who was an engineer. They had three children, a daughter who died and two sons. In 1802 she received permission from Napoleon to go to London, because she wanted to take her waxwork collection to England. She went round Britain and Ireland with her four-year-old son, and her shows were a great success. She never saw France or her husband again.
She opened her exhibition centre in London in 1835, and it has been in the same place over since. Marie died in 1850. Madame Tussaud’s is now London’s most popular tourist attraction. About 2.2 million people visit it every year.
Do the exercises below.
Exercise 1. Answer the questions below.
1. When was Marie Tussaud born?
2. Who taught her to make wax models?
3. Where did she live when she was twenty years old?
4. When did hard times begin for Marie?
5. Did she have a family?
6. Who gave her permission to go to London?
7. When did she open her exhibition centre?
Exercise 2. Complete the sentences from the text.
1. Madame Tussaud was born in ... . 2. Her father died ..., and her family ... to Switzerland. 3. The doctor was a kind man who enjoyed making ... . 4. He moved to Paris because he ... . 5. Soon Marie and her mother joined him in ... . 6. When she was six years old, the doctor taught her how to ... . 7. Her portraits became so popular that by the time she was twenty she was living in ... . 8. The French revolution started in 1789, and this was the beginning of ... . 9. However, she met and married ... . 10. In 1802 she received permission from ... . 11. She went round ... . 12. She opened her exhibition centre in ... . 13. Marie died in ... . 14. About 2.2 million people ... .
Exercise 3. Find English equivalents of the following words from
the text and memorize them:
переїжджати; віск; подібність; важкі часи; дозвіл; виставка; успіх.
Список рекомендованої літератури
Hotline /By Tom Hutchinson – Oxford University Press, 1997.
The World Book encyclopedia: In 22 vol. – Chicago etc.; World Book, 1984-1994.
Ultimate visual dictionary /By Jo Evans ed. In chief. – 2-d ed. – Lodon: Dorling
Kindersley, 1995.