William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest English writer and poet to have ever lived. He wrote 38 plays for the theater and 154 sonnets. A sonnet is a rhyming poem with 14 lines. His works have been translated into every major language and are still performed more than those of any other playwrights. What's more, about 1,700 common English words were actually created by Shakespeare. There are also countless idioms, phrases, and figuresof speech credited to this amazing wordsmith. Compared with most famous people, very little is known about Shakespeare's private life. We do know that he was born in a small English town called Stratford-upon-Avon sometime in 1564. Many historians think his birthday was possibly April 23. There are no records of him ever going to school, but he probably did go to King's New School in his home town. He got married when he was 18 and had three children. Practically nothing is known about the next 10 years of his life, however. When he was 28, his family moved to London. Shakespeare then started to work as an actor in a theater company. He also started to write plays in which he sometimes acted. His plays were very popular and Shakespeare soon became wealthy enough to build his own theater.
rhyming a. 押韻的 rhyme vi. 押韻 The word rain rhymes with the word pain. rain 和 pain 這兩個字押韻。
be translated into... 被翻譯成…… translate vt. 翻譯 This novel has been translated into 42 different languages. 這部小說被翻譯成四十二種不同的語言。
figure of speech n. 比喻說法 figure n. 圖表；數字；人物；身材 According to the figures, our company has made a lot of profit this season. 根據數字，我們公司這一季獲利甚多。
(be) credited to sb 歸功於某人 The success of this project is credited to Mr. Wang. 這項計劃的成功是王先生的功勞。
Compared with + N/V-ing, S + V 和……相比／較，…… Compared with the hustle and bustle of city life, I prefer the easy tempo of country living. 和喧囂擾攘的都市生活比起來，我比較喜歡鄉下生活的輕鬆步調。 * hustle and bustle 熙熙攘攘
private a. 私人的，個人的 It is not wise to be curious about others' private affairs. 對別人的私事感到好奇很不明智。
record n. 紀錄 set / break / hold a record 創紀錄／破紀錄／保持紀錄 Samantha set a new world record in the high jump. 珊曼莎創下跳高比賽的世界新記錄。
practically adv. 幾乎 You can see that chain store in practically every city. 你幾乎可以在任何一座城市中看到那家連鎖店。
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