Canada, federated country in North America, made up of ten provinces and three territories. Canada is the second largest country in the world but has about the same population as the state of California. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa.

Australia, island continent located southeast of Asia and forming, with the nearby island of Tasmania, the Commonwealth of Australia, a self-governing member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The continent is bounded on the north by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the Torres Strait; on the east by the Coral Sea and the Tasman Sea. The capital of Australia is Canberra, and the largest city is Sydney; both are located in the southeast.

The Czech Republic is in central Europe. It has borders with Poland, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. Formerly parts of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia split on January 1, 1993. The Czech Republic has 3 parts: Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. The second biggest city is Brno and it also is the capital city of Moravia. The Czech Republic has an area around 80 000 square km. Prague is the capital and largest city. The population of the Czech Republic is around 10 000 000 inhabitants and Prague has around 1 200 000 inhabitants. Prague is the seat of president (Václav Klaus now), parliament, senate and Radek Korcak. The Czech Republic became part of European Union from 1st May.

The original name of Great Britain is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain lies off the north-west coast of Europe. It consists of two large islands - Great Britain and Ireland - and about 5,000 smaller ones. Its neighbors are Ireland to west and France to south-east.

New York City is the most popular city of the United States of America with about 8 million people. It is also the biggest port in the USA. New York City is subdivided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Brooklyn. Almost all of the Bronx is situated on the mainland, but the other boroughs are situated on islands. In all, New York City comprises some 50 islands. It is one of the world's leading commercial, financial, and cultural centers. There are 4 airports, 15 TV stations, 39 radio stations, over 100 hospitals, 29 universities, many cultural institutions, galleries.

London is one of the world's most important financial and cultural centers. London has an area of 1579 sq. km. The city of London has been largely rebuilt since World War II, because of German bombing, London remains a city rich in structures with historic associations.

William Shakespeare was born on the 23rd of April 1564 in Stratford – upon – Avon. He was one of the eight children of John Shakespeare and Marry Arden. His father was a gloves maker. William attended a grammar school, which he had to leave when he was 14 years old, because his father lost his property. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway who was 8 years older. They had 3 children – 2 girls and one boy who died when he was 11 years old. Then he moved to London, where he became an actor in a Lord’s Strange company. Some years later he shared a part of the Globe Theater, which burned up. The actors moved to the Black friars. Afterwards he returned to Stratford where he died in year 1616.

The USA is situated in the southern part of North America. Its neighbors are Canada in the north, Mexico in the south and Russia in Alaska. It covers the area of nearly 10 million square kilometers. It is a federal republic which contains 50 states. For example: Colorado, Oregon, California, Florida, Texas and the last ones were Alaska and Hawaii. The capital city is Washington D.C.

Prague is the capital city of Czech Republic. It lies in the center of Europe, on a place that has been an intersection of continental merchant routes since time immemorial. It is called the mother of all cities or city of one hundred towers. It was the seat of Czech princes and kings from the tenth century A.D. In the mid-14th century, Prague was the centre of the Holy Roman Empire and Europe’s third largest city in terms of population. As part of the Hapsburg monarchy, Prague remained the capital of Czech lands, which became the strongest part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in terms of economy during the 19th century.

Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England on January 18, 1884. His father Cyric was a history professor and a great lover of nature. As a child, Arthur spent much of his vacation in sailing, camping and exploring the countryside in England's Lake Country. This beautiful countryside influenced many other famous English writers, such as William Wordsworth. Arthur and his father shared a great love of fishing. He later used these wonderful settings from nature in his children's books. Like many upper class English children, Arthur was educated at Rugby where he actually lived in Lewis Carroll's study room. His poor vision, lack of athletic skills and poor academic performance left him with some unhappy memories of his school experiences.