Reading Comprehension 8-th form unit "Books and Writers"

Reading  Comprehension,  8-th form unit “Books and Writers”

R. L. Stevenson

Robert Luis Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The boy was often ill and during the cold winters stayed in the house. He had no broth­ers or sisters. Books were his only friends. Robert read a lot. He thought about other countries and drew maps of different places, which he wanted to see. The boy wrote stories of adventures on the sea and told those stories to his parents.

In summer when Robert was not ill, he travelled with his father over Scot­land. He saw storms on the sea and described those storms in his stories. At school he began to write stories and poems and wanted to be a writer; but his father was an engineer and wanted his son to be an engineer too. He told Robert that writing poems and stories was only a hobby, not a profession

Stevenson went to the Edinburgh University for some time, then he trav­elled in different countries and wrote many stories. In 1883 R. L. Stevenson published his book “Treasure Island”. Readers liked the book very much. In 1886 another book “Kidnapped” appeared, then other books of adventures came out. People in many countries read and still read Stevenson’s stories. The hob­by of a small boy became his profession. But the writer was very ill and in 1894 he died.

1.       Mark True or  False.

1.      During the cold winter Robert didn’t go out.
2.      He was  onlychild in his family.
3.      His favourite activity was reading.
4.      He didn’t want to travel to other countries.
5.      His dream was to become a writer.
6.      Robert wanted to become an engineer.  
7.      When Robert was 33 he published his book “Treasure Island”.
8.      He liked writing adventure stories.
9.      In 1883 another book “Kidnapped” appeared.
10. He died at the age of   54.

2.    Answer the questions.

1.When and where was Robert Luis Stevenson born?

2. Why did Robert stay in the house in winter?

3. How many brothers and sisters did he have?

4. Did he like to write stories of adventures on the sea?

5. When did he travel over Scotland?

6. What was his father?

7. Where did Robert study?

8. What book did he publish in 1883?

9. Do people of many countries read his stories nowadays?

10. What was Robert’s profession?