Angličtina

(1898-1961) was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954 for his famous book The Old Man and the Sea, which is about human strength in fighting both external natural things and bad sides of one’s character („A man can be destroyed but not defeated.“). Hemingway became a journalist after WWI. A Farewell to Arms is one of the best novels about WWI. It is a love story of an American lieutenant in the Italian Ambulance Service and an English nurse. For Whom the Bell Tolls is a psychological picture of war given on an episode from the Spanish Civil War. One of the best parts of the novel is Robert Jordan’s monologue about what a beautiful place the world is and how much it is worth fighting for. His other famous novels are Fiesta, Death in the Afternoon, A Moveable Feast, Islands in the Stream. Hemingway is a master in short story writing.

His father was a doctor and mother was an artist. Father loved fishing and hunting. Ernest inherited these passions. His character was very similar to his father´s character. They travelled a lot and they liked fishing. He started to write to the newspapers as he was at the high school. When the world war one started he became a volunteer and he spent that time in Italy as a driver of ambulance of Red Cross. He was seriously injured. He was operated in Milano, his led was damaged. After world war the first. He returned to America and he was disappointed because he met just misunderstanding because he had his experience and nobody who didn´t experience it couldn´t understand him. He decided to go back to Europe to Paris. He met there woman called Gertrude Stein. She was born in America but lived just in Paris. She was writer and the patron of the art. She influenced Ernest´s writing very much. There gathered significant people in her house (Picasso, Matis, etc.). He named this group of people The Lost Generation. He participated in the Spanish civil war as the war reporter. Then started the world war two and he was in London and he take part at the invasion to Normandy on the D day. He also liberated Paris. Then he returned to America, he was married four times. He spent his time in Cuba and he spent on hunting in Africa, he also visited Spain – he loved bull fighting. He suffered from very deep depression and he lost whole his creativity and inspirations. He was treated by electroshocks in hospital but it didn’t work. Three days after returning from hospital he committed a suicide with a shotgun as his father had done before.

He wrote three significant books. His first book A Farewell to Arms is probably his autobiography written in Italy. It´s about American ambulance driver who met very beautiful English nurse. They felt in love. She born the child, child died and the mother died also, soldier stayed alone.

From The Whom The Bell Tolls is about American soldier who fought on the side of the Spain guerrillas (partisans) against fascism. He got the special task to destroy a bridge which was important for transporting. During his mission in Spain he felt in love with Spanish girl Maria. The soldier was seriously injured, he sent his group soldiers away and he waited for enemies alone and then he could shot enemies. He saved the others but he died.

The Old Man And The Sea was awarded by the Nobel Prize. The old sea man has nice relationship with the young boy who goes fishing with the old man. Parents banned the boy to go fishing because they didn´t get any fish. After several days the man caught a gear fish and they struggled. Fish pulled the man to the open sea. When the great fish finally died sharks came and they ate whole fish and only skeleton left when the old man returned to the shore. He won the fought against the fish, nature and the ocean but none of the fish left.

“The man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

American literature started in the 19. century. The American literature was delayed because first they wrote just about history and it was boring for common readers. In Europe was in 19th century was romantic and revolution-romantic movement. In Europe people fought against society but in America they were (and still are) very proud of their new state.

Washington Irving

(1783-1859)

wrote on American topics – the history of New York, essays on American life, a large biography of George Washington One of his wellknown books is The Sketch Book.

He admired Europe and was minister of foreign affairs in Spain. He wrote biography of George Washington and history of New York. Loved Europe but wrote about America.

James Fenimore Cooper

(1789-1851)

described American wilderness and wrote Indian novels of adventure (The Last of the Mohicans).

He admired English gentlemen, spent seven years in France. His children got the best European education. He hated America but returned back and started to write books about Indians. The embodied the features of English gentlemen in American Indians. He saw Indians better than they were indeed. He wrote The Last Of Mohicans.

Walt Whitman

(1819-1892)

was a poet of democracy, freedom and sexual love and he made the American poetry independent on European poetry. He influenced the whole modern poetry with rhythmical free verse which was his innovation. His most famous collection is Leaves of Grass. Gras is symbol of humbleness and modesty (skromnost) because it is everywhere.

His father was carpenter and mother was illiterate (negramotná). He was only talented one from ten children. He was homosexual. He left school at the age of eleven. Started to work as journalist and later as a teacher. He established free verse in American poetry. He separated American from European poetry. He loved sexual love, freedom, democracy.

Edgar Allan Poe

(1809-1849)

a poet and short story writer, critical essayist, the founder of both science-fiction and the detective story. He is said to be the forerunner of modern literature and French poets Baudelaire to Valéry regarded him as a genius. His best poem is The Raven (1845) – on a stormy night a tired student who has lost his love asks if he will ever meet her again in some other world. His doubts are underlined by the raven’s repetition of „Nevermore“. Poe wrote wonderful short stories such as The Black Cat, The Golden Bug, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue etc.

He is considered to be a genius especially in France. He was admired by Baudlaire and Valéry. He was a poet and founder of sci-fi and detective story. He became orphan at 2 years. He was adopted by family Allan. He moved to England and got English education. As he came back to America he studied Virginia University. He married 13 years old Virginia. She died after seven years of tuberculosis. He fell into very deep depression after her death. He was found in delirium in the street of Baltimore because he stopped writing after her wife´s death. He was 4O. The poem Raven – student lost his loved girl and asked the raven if he has possibility to meet her again in the future and the raven always repeated Never More. The poem The Pit and The Pendulum – a man is sentenced into the prison and he was bounded to the bench and over his body was moving the pendulum. Pendulum was getting closer and closer and he couldn’t move and the pendulum could cut his body every minute. Around were many rats. He could just fall down bud under him was the big pit and he would die if he had fallen.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(1803-1882)

was the leading philosopher in the „transcendentalist movement“. It was based on the doctrine of free will, on the individual conscience and the sense of right. Emerson believed that the history of mankind is the history of great personalities. The doctrine of self-reliance is dominating. All the transcendentalists were isolated people, even though they lived together in a „Utopian Community“ which they established at Brook Farm in Concord (Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne lived there).

He is founder of transcendentalist movement in America. It has three elements: free will, individual conscience, sense of right. Transcendentalism emphasis relationship between human beings and nature and it can transcend (přesáhnout) into divine feeling. He founded the society called Utopian Community. His main work is called Self–reliance. This community settled in Brook Farm in Concord. They ended in complete isolation and lost themselves (lost their way). Complicated writer. He thought that history of mankind was the history of the strong personalities.

Herman Melville

(1819-1891)

was the greatest symbolist; he sailed on seas for many years. His experience at sea were the basis for almost all his novels. The most famous novel is Moby Dick, the symbolic story of Captain Ahab, a free man, striving against his own fate, for which Moby Dick – the white whale – means evil. The book culminates in the tension of the three-day hunt of Moby Dick which ends in disaster – Captain Ahab, who wants fo fight Moby Dick alone, is pinned to the whale’s body by his own harpoon.

He was born in New York, his father was importer and went bankrupt (zbankrotoval) and shortly after that he died. They moved to his mother family and she could help them with the money. Herman was very desperate in fact. At the age of twenty he left the family and the reason was deep misunderstanding. He sailed as shipman to Liverpool and back. He wanted to solve the problems in family as he returned but wasn´t successful. He became shipman again. He sailed with whaler. And stayed in the southern islands in pacific and lived among cannibals. Then embarked another whaler and got to Japan. From there he returned to America, got married and adventures ended. His wife corrected his work. He wrote the Moby Dick. There are two narrators: Ismael (from the bible) who spoke in the third person and Narrator who spoke in the first person. The book consists of three parts: in the first part captain Ahab sought (hledal) his crew. Captain appeared on the boat short before the ship departed (odplouvat). He took with him a gold coin and nailed the coin the mast (stěžeň) and proclaimed: the person that will see Moby Dick first will get the coin. In the second part is explained the hunting and chasing the Moby Dick what lasted several months. In third part is explained the fight between Captain Ahab and the Moby Dick. (Captain lost his leg because of Moby and captain wanted to revenge.) In the end captain Ahab is seen on the body of Moby Dick pint (připíchnut) with his own harpoon. Boat was smashed and the crew was smashed. Just Ismael survived to tell us the story. Melville is great symbolist because Moby is symbol of the independence and freedom for readers and for Ahab is Moby symbol of evil.

Mark Twain

(1835-1910)

is one of the greatest US authors. He comes from the South and he worked as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river. „Mark twain“ is a river-man’s phrase meaning two-pathoms-deep. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He became famous as a humorist and story-teller. His novel The Gilded Age gave the name to the whole period after the Civil War. This book is a bitter satire on one period of the get-rich-quick years in the second half of the 19th century. His best books are based on his own experience along the Mississippi -The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These books describe the adventures of boyhood. Huck is a portrait of a frontier boy. Huck is a free boy and remains free till the end of the book, when he runs away because he is afraid that Aunt Sally will adopt him and civilize him. And this he would not be able to „survive“. (Twain’s other books are: The Celebrated Jumping Frog, The Innocents Abroad, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Life on the Mississippi).

He was born in the area of Missouri. His father was unsuccessful lawyer and Mark left the family as he was twelve years old. First he went to east and then he returned to the river Mississippi and became a steamboat pilot and got a lot of experiences and travelled a lot. After the marriage he stopped traveling, settled down and became a very respectable man. Mark twain was sign for the depth of the water. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck wanted to stay independent and Aunt Sally wanted to adopted him and civilize him, so he ran away. The Gilded Age – the book named the period after civil war. After civil war everything started to recover and economy was in the great progress. The period was also called “get rich quick” period.

The story takes place in Denmark on the royal courtyard. One day dies the king of Denmark and everybody thinks that it was by an accident. But the spirit of dead king tells to his son Hamlet the true – that was murdered by his brother and Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius. Hamlet but has no proofs to achieve this fact.

Brother and murderer Claudius started to rule after the king’s death in Denmark. He marries also with Gertrude (Hamlet’s mother). Hamlet wants to revenge his father but he hesitates if he is the right person to punish others´ sins. He keeps his secret.

Hamlet falls in love with the daughter of Polonius – Ophelia. She becomes a source of piece for him in these hard times, but even to her he doesn’t tell the true about the murder of his father, so she is a little bit confused with his moods.

One day comes the theatrical group to the court and that is the chance to Hamlet. He arranges the play in the theatre for Claudius, where will be the true story of his brother performed. When it happens and the performance is in the situation, that the actor – brother – kills the king, Claudius stands up and leaves the theatre. And this is the proof for Hamlet, that he has done it! Claudius sends Hamlet to England, where he should be killed. But he returns. But He kills on the way by accident Polonius in his mother’s bedroom (the thought it was a spy) and when he returns, he notices that his love Ophelia committed a suicide by drowning. She could not stand the secrecy (tajnůstkářství) of Hamlet.

At the end Laertes (brother of Ophelia and son of Polonius) wants to revenge whole his family. He joins Claudius and his wish to kill Hamlet.

The story ends with the great battle in which Laertes kills Hamlet with the poisoned sword, but before Hamlet’s death the Prince of Denmark catches in (stihnout) to kill Laertes and Claudius. His mother also dies, when she drinks the poisoned wine, which Claudius has prepared for Hamlet (if Laertes wouldn’t defeat him). At the door-step of death Hamlet thinks about his deeds, about his revenge and about the meaning of life and then as the greet hero finally dies. Only one who survives and can spread this story to the others is his best friend Horatius.

This story is about a love of two young people who had to suffer for their love, because the company didn’t accept it.

The story began in Italian town Verona, where lived two very significant families – the family of Montague’s and family of Capulet´s. They hated each other and everybody knew it.

One day father Capulet organized the ball and invited a lot of aristocrats. Young and cheeky (drzí) Montague Romeo but came too. At the ball he met Juliet and immediately fell in love with her. In the same night he stood under her balcony and whispered her, how much is he in love. Juliet returned his love, no matter that he was Montague. After well known love dialogue they decided, that next day they would secretly marry and that Romeo’s friend priest Lawrence would wed (oddá) them. And so did.

Another day after the wedding met Romeo the cousin of Juliet – Tybalt. He told him, that he had seen him at the ball, where he had had nothing to do. So he challenged him to the fight, because he wanted to punish his arrogance. But Rome refused to fight with him, knowing that Tybalt after the wedding is his relative. So instead of him fought his friend Mercucio, but Tybalt killed him, so Romeo, furious from the friend’s death, revenged and murder Tybalt.

After this fight was Romeo sent to exile (out of Verona) by Prince of Verona. Juliet is hopeless, but still keeping the secret about their wedding. But her parents tried to force her to marry to a young nobleman Paris. She could not marry him because she didn’t love him and also because she had already had a husband. She didn’t know what to do but priest Lawrence helped her. He gave her a magic potion, which should hypnotize her, that everybody would think that she was dead. And so did. Juliet, appearing as being dead was given to the tomb and waited for her burial. But suddenly came Romeo back to Verona and heard the new, that his wife is dead. Depressed with this information he decided to commit a suicide and so he went to the tomb of Capulet´s and drinking a poison he fell dead to the body of his wife. After that Juliet woke up and saw death body of her husband. In this moment had the life no reason for her and so she stacked (probodla) herself with Romeo’s dagger. Then this information came out to both families and both of them recognized, to where led their rivalry (rivalita)

He is considered to be the greatest dramatic all over the world.

He was born in Stratford upon Avon. He was a son of glove maker John Shakespeare and his wife Merry Arden. He was the youngest child in family (he had one brother and one sister). He studied local grammar school and very often walked along the banks of Avon – this surroundings became a great spring for his later literate works.

He got married very early, when he was only 18 years old. He married to Anne Hathaway, who was about 8 years older then William. Together they had three children – daughter Judith with her twin boy Hamnet and next daughter Susan.

After this he went to London, where he started his carrier. He became a member of the theatrical group Lord Chamberlain’s men. Here he rewrote the old plays to the common drama-style. He became very well known in higher society.

Elizabeth I. and King James I. started to be very interested in his works and so they decided to support the group around William Shakespeare. This group was renamed to King’s men and began to earn a lot of money.

In the year 1599 he had already enough money to buy his own theater – and it was the Globe Theater. In these times he wrote his most famous plays.

But one day died his only 11 years old son Hamnet and that was a strange strike on his psychic. He decided to return to Stratford. He was quite rich enough in these times to buy here new house. He lived here a peaceful and quite boring life then before. He had a beautiful relationship with his daughter Susan.

He died in 1616 of a heart attack during his birthday celebration. The legend says, that this celebration was very wild and that the reason of William’s death was that he was too much over drunk.

CARRIER

He wrote 37 plays and sonnets. His work we can divide into three parts :

COMEDIES

the Comedy of Errors, the taming of the Shrew, The two gentlemen of Verona, The merchant of Venice, A Midsummer-night’s dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado about nothing, As you like it, Twelfth Night.

HISTORY PLAYS

Henry IV,V,VI, Richard III, Richard II and Julius Caesar

TRAGEDIES

Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth

VICTORIAN AGE

This is a time of 19th century, the time of critical realism. During this time wrote the writers the novels about society, about the relationships in the society and about the depravation (mravní zkaženost) of the noblemen. They wanted to show a truth, very often spoilt, face of the world. The society was extremely various. This is a time of the industrial revolution. On the one side were there a poor people who lived in the poverty (bída) and had to manually work in factories. On the second there were rich noblemen who owned these factories.

The writers:

Sisters Brontë´s

Emily and Charlotte. Together with their third sister Ann lived in the countryside of Moorland. They new very well the people who lived in their village and that they used for they books.

Charlotte Brontë wrote the novel Jane Eyrie about an innocence girl who falls in love with one nobleman, who prisons his mad wife.

Emily wrote the novel: Wuthering Heights (Na větné hůrce).

Charles Dickens

He came fro ma very poor family. He criticized the hurdles (bezcitnost) of the Middle class. His novels describe us the lowest parts of the society, the underground of London but also a high rich society. He criticized both of these groups, which do not support a common life. Comical situation in his works show us a real bitter of life.

His most famous works are Little Dory, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist.

Oliver Twist – this is a story a about a boy who is born in an orphanage. Here Dickens describes us the terrible conditions in the orphanage. Then Oliver is sold to the one family of the coffin-maker. His life is not much better. He has to work as a slave and is chicaned by one boy. So he runs away from this family. He runs away from his born town. He meets e.g. one very polite old woman who takes care for him for a while. Then he continues and arrives in London. He joins here a group of little thieves which is led by one old criminalist. Oliver learns how to steal and intrigue but in his innocence he doesn´t understand anything. One day he tries to prey (okrást) one old nobleman but Oliver isn´t successful but also not put into a prison. The old nobleman invites him to his house to become his educator. In this time is Oliver really happy. He learns the differences between good and evil etc. But the group of thieves wants him to return and avail (zneužít) him to help them to rob the house of his old nobleman. He is forced to help them but this robbery isn´t successful. The thieves are put into prison and Oliver can finally live a peaceful life.

FIRST HALF OF THE 20th

Is presented by these authors :

Thomas Hardy

He represents the stream of naturalism – the stream which wants to show us the most real picture of our society. It describes the body, the biological influence of our deeds ec.

In his works he describes us the violence which is done on the poor people.

Work: Far from the madding Crowd – daleko od hlučícího davu.

David Herbert Lawrence

He came from the Black area around Manchester. He studied at the Nottingham University. He fell in love with the wife of his professor and also married her. Together they started travelling around Europe and then they returned to England. But his wife was a German and this time was a time of the WWII. So in England all Germans weren´t welcomed. So they had to leave the country. He died at tuberculosis.

Work – Sons and lovers – about the love affair with his mother.

Oscar Wilde

He was born in Dublin but then moved to London. He became very popular in the society. He was very handsome. He was a homosexual for which was also prisoned. He found a new aesthetic cult in Europe. He wore very extravagant clothes. He supported lar-pour-lart. Died in France.

Work : Happy prince, Picture of Dorian Gray –

This is a story about one very handsome man who falls in love with his youth and beauty. One artist Bastien draws his picture. As Dorian can see it, he wishes to become young and handsome forever. And so happens. Dorian is still young and the picture gets old. Thanks lord Henry he becomes very proud, arrogant and spoilt. But he is scared from his getting-older picture so he hides it and kills Bastien. After some time come the qualms (výčitky svědomí) because of his spoilt way of life. He wants to get better but he can´t because of his cattiness (neupřímnost). He is so angry that he destroys his, now very old and nasty, picture. In this time he dies. In the moment of his death the face of the picture and real face of Dorian are changed again. On the floor lies died old and nasty Dorian and on the picture is again young and handsome innocence boy.

Rudyard Kipling

In 1907 he won the Noble price for his two famous books: Jungle book I and Jungle book II. He lived in India and about the countryside of this land he also wrote many stories.

John Galsworthy

In his famous book Forsyte saga describes the three generations of family during the Victorian age.

Virginia Woolf

She came from the intellectual family. In the house of her father gathered the journalists, artists and all important persons. Here she met journalist Leonard Woolf who became later her husband. She suffers from the mentally illness and deep depressions. So one day she drowned.

Works: To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway.

James Joyce

Born in Dublin. He was influenced by two philosophers – Marcel Proust and Franz Kafka. They were interested in theory of consciousness and unconsciousness (vědomí a nevědomí).

Joyce uses in his literature the stream of consciousness. He jumps from one picture of our mind to the other as the monkey. These pictures are only very narrowly connected. The reason of their connection is in the unconsciousness.

The sentences of his work are long e.g. as one paragraph. He ended in isolation because his books were extremely hard for reading.

The Dubliners

The Ulysses – based on the original theme from Homer. The main heroes of this book are connected with the mythical original heroes and they have the same abilities. But the Ulysses of Joyce travels around Dublin and his travelling is long instead of 24 years 24 hours.

George Bernard Shaw

Famous dramatic who was also awarded with the Nobel Prize. He was a founder of the Fabian society. He wanted to solve the social problem by the peaceful way, not by the way of revolution.

Work – Pygmalion – drama about an ambitious girl who goes through the society to higher levels and doesn´t stop before anything.

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

William Golding

He wrote the Lord of the flies, where he uses his experience from WWII.

This story is about group of children who travel by aircraft to some land. But they crash on one island and have to live together. For the first time they are happy, because they can live without any duties, parents etc. But then the group disintegrates to two parts. The fist is led by Ralph and the second by Jack. Then 2 boys – Simon and Piggy are murdered. The children start to be very aggressive. They are cold as an ice. But in the end they found, that they were false and find the lost humanity. The ship finds them at the end and they are saved.

John Ronald Ruel Tolkien

Professor of Anglo-Saxon language at the Oxford University. We worked for 14 years at his well known trilogy – the Lord of the rings. He was inspirited with an old myth about Beowulf.

The Lord of the rings, Hobbit, Silmarillion – to vím nee…

George Orwell

He was born in India but live in England. He was a strange critic of communism.

1984, the Animal farm – this story is a critic of communism in Russia. The main historical persons are shown here as the animals who fought for independence. For the first time they set out the farmer who keeps down their lives (for a suggestion of the oldest boar in the farm – symbol of Lenin). Then the pigs take a power and they start to rule. No animals can look through their plans, only one old donkey can see their cruelty and pretence (přetvářka). In the end the pigs move on two legs, sleep in the beds, drink alcohol, make false businesses and are so spoilt as the humans against who they fought in the beginning.

Agatha Christie

Very famous writer of detective stories. She wrote e.g. 10 little Negros, Sleeping murderer etc. Her main detective was called Hercules Poirot or madam Marple.

John Osborne

He was a member and founder of the group of Angry Men, who protested against the social stratification after the year 1945. This group is named after the book of Osborne – Look back in anger.

Samuel Becket

He also won a Nobel Prize for his drama Waiting for Godot. This absurd drama is about two persons who wait for someone who is unknown – maybe it is death or what? Whole play is about a chat of these two persons and from their dialogue we can notice the typical symbols of the society in the 20th century.

Firstly I’d like to speak briefly about our educational system and about its differences with other English speaking countries. Our school attendance is compulsory from the age of 6 or 7 till 14 or 15. But before this school attendance children usually go to the kindergarten, which is voluntary, same as the crèches for the smallest children. Children visit the kindergarten usually from the age of 3 to the age of 5 or 6 and the main purpose is to teach children how to behave in the society.

Then they go to the primary school. In this school they learn writing, reading, counting, drawing; singing they learn the basic knowledge about geography, biology, physics, history Czech language and English or German language.

When they are 10 or 11 years old, they can go from the primary school to the eight-year gymnasium in which more talented children are situated, but they have to pass the entrance exam. In the year of 14 or 15 their compulsory education comes to an end.

But most of the children don’t go to work immediately after the school. They can choose which higher – officially called middle or secondary – education they will take. There are many possibilities – they can study e.g. at :

General gymnasium – This should prepare us for higher education at the Universities.

Middle economic and business school – This should prepare us for a job of the officer.

Technical and industrial school – which should prepare us for a life of e.g. the computer technician.

Art school – which is for talented children in the dancing, singing, painting etc.

Training center – for children who want to do some craft (řemeslo).

Whole these middle schools are finished with passing the Maturita exam in 18 or 19 years. This exam consists of written work from the Czech language and of 4 oral exams from the laid (daný) subjects – two are compulsory/obligatory – Czech and foreign language, and two are voluntary/elective.

After passing Maturita exam children usually go to work or they try to get to the University. This University is the highest type of a school. It lasts 5 years if you want to take a Master title. After 3 years you are honored with the Bachelor title and you can continue to the Master level.

Our most famous universities are:

Charles University – the biggest Czech university which was built by Charles IV in Prague in the year 1348 and it became one of the oldest universities in Europe. It was also proclaimed in Shanghai as the 305th best University of the World, 100th best European University, and the best East-European University! Today you can study at 17 various faculties, e.g. the Faculty of Social Sciences, which is going to be my future Faculty, I hope!

Masaryk University – our second Czech university founded in 1919 by our first Czechoslovak president T.G. Masaryk in Brno. Today you can study here at 10 faculties.

British system

In some things is a little bit different from our system. E.g. children usually start school at 9 a.m. comparing with our children who have to be usually ready for class already at 8 a.m. On the second side British children have a little bit shorter summer holidays – only about 6 weeks.

At the beginning can children visit the nursery school to take some preschool education. Then at the age of 5 they have to go to the primary school. The girls and boys are educated in the same classes but they have to wear the same uniform. That’s because of hiding the social differences.

At the age of 11 they go to the comprehensive school or grammar school which last to their 16 years. At the end of this school they have to take a national exam called GCSE. After that they can continue on with their higher education or they can go to work if they wish. The others who continue have to pass in 18 years another exam called GCSE-A level. With that degree they can go to the university or college.

The main Universities in GB are Cambridge and Oxford UNI, which were established in 12th or 13th century. Next important UNI are e.g. in London, Durham, Kent, Manchester etc. The newest in Sussex, York or Kent.

Lectures, lecture assistants or professors teach at the Universities. Each student has also his own tutor (konzultant) ho directs him during his studies.

University education lasts usually 3 or 4 years but in some special occasions as medicine, veterinary etc. lasts 5 or 6 years. Grandaunts receive title /degree B.A or B.Sc – that depends on, if you study Science or Art. Then you can continue and take another Master or Doctor degree.

American system

American system of education is very varied because in every State is another law.

Children start the school at the age of 6 or 7 in the Elementary school, where they learn mathematics, reading, writing, history, citizenship (občanka), music, art, economy, biology, physics, geography etc.

Then they go to the Secondary school, which are also called High school. These schools are finished by the final exam and then the students get the diploma and can go to the UNI. During this High school which lasts to the age of 18 can student take from 17 to 20 different units which should be useful for them – e.g – First aid, Mythology, Home economics, History, Music etc. Some units are elective and some are obligatory.

In the US schools isn’t marked with the numbers but with letters – A to E, where A is excellent.

The Higher education is dual – firstly you can go to the University, where the system is very similar to European UNI. So for the first time you study to be a Bachelor (bakalář) and then a Master. Or you can go to the Technical training institution which last from 0, 5 to 4 years and where you are educated in various technical skills as hair styling, business accounting or computer programming).

The Schools in USA are private or state, but the private are very expensive – at a medium the fee for whole stadium are about 60 000USD.

If you would like to study at the university in USA so for the first time you would have to pass the TOEFL test which checks up your knowledge of English. The entrance exams for native speakers are in the form of interviews, tests or recommendation from the High school.

The 20th century brought many radical changes to all the countries. These involved the economy, industry, borders of countries, political conditions and ideology. 20th century became a century of many discoveries from the technical or industrial sphere. Many of them have a positive or on the other side negative influence.
The most important occasions in the 20th century are:
1901 – Australia became a part of the British Commonwealth. In the same year the blood groups were recognized and also technique of removing tumor was found.
1910 – The theory of Sigmund Freud – psychoanalysis was originated. The light bulls were originated.
1912– The revolution in Balkan was on the top. For the first time Albania took its independence from Austria-Hungary and then also other countries reached their dominion.
1914 – The WWI broke out. The reason was simple. For a long time the countries fought about colonies across the ocean. Also the nationalistic movements of unfree nations culminated. The connection between European countries was very fragile. One day came the crown prince of Austria-Hungary František Ferdinand d Este with his wife to Sarajevo in Bosnia to conclude (vyjednat) conditions of future relationship with A-H. But the assassin Gabrilo Princip from organization Black Hand assassinated František with his wife because he wanted to protest against the politic which lead Bosnia with A-H. This attempt (atentát) get started the WWI. One of the most important battles was e.g. Battle on Marne.
1915 – German submarine war started
1916 – The first tanks were built and used in the battle.
1917 – The USA joined the war and in Russia started the October socialistic revolution led by Lenin.
1918 – This year the war ended and also A-H disintegrated as it forecast President Wilson in his manifestation of 14 points. In Philadelphia the independence of Czechoslovak republic was proclaimed.
1925 – The fascism in Italy came to the power.
1929 – The black Friday on the New York’s stock exchange. The stocks lost their value but people still were buying them. In October 1929 this manipulations were recognized and stock exchange fell.
1933 – Adolf Hitler came to the power in Germany. The economical situation in
Germany was tragic. After the worldwide depression (krize) the countries were full of rebellion and radical political streams were coming to the power.
1939 – Beginning of WWII. Attack at Poland.
1945 – Germany capitulated. Adolf Hitler committed suicide and Germany split into 2 countries which were separated by the wall in Berlin. In this year also hold two important occasions –Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor and then the revenge from USA – throwing of 2 bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1947 – India and Pakistan took their independence.
1948 – Coup de tat in our country took place and Czechoslovakia became a communistic country.
1949 – Warszawa pact, COMECON and NATO were founded. Also 2 Germanic states came to exist. The peoples republic of China was formed.
1953 – Stalin, the main leader of red revolution in Russia died.
1961 – Yuri Gagarin as the first man was send to the outer space.
1963 – President of the USA J.F. Kennedy was murdered.
1968 – The government of Czechoslovak rep. (Dubček) wanted to reform socialism. They wanted to innovate socialism and show it with more human face – Prague spring. But when the 6 army of Warszawa pact noticed it, they decided to attack our state and for more then 20 years the Russian red armies besieged our country.
1970s – Vietnamese war began. The communists, supported with Russia fought, fought against democrats who were supported by Americans. The main tendency of USA was not to accept the communist side, which was coming to the power in Vietnam.
1989 – This year was a year, when the total supremacy of communists was defeated. This revolution is called Velvet revolution. Not only Czechoslovakia but also Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania were set free.
1990 – Two German republics disintegrated and the wall between them was destroyed.
In this year also Iraq attacked Kuwait – action Desert storm.
1991 – COMECON, Warszawa pact and USSR disintegrated. Kuwait was liberalized.
1993 – Czechoslovakia disintegrated and 2 independent state we formed – Czech and Slovak republic.
1996 – The end of war in Yugoslavia between Serbs and Croats.
1999 – Czech republic became a member of NATO together with Poland and Hungary.
2001 – On September 11th two aircrafts hijacked by terrorists crashed into Twins. This day is called a black day. Also a part of Pentagon in Washington was destroyed. This attack claimed more then 3000 victims. Both towers collapsed after this accident. This action was caused with terrorist organization AL-QAIDA led by Bin Ladin. This attack opened a war between USA and Iraq.
2003 – The USA and GB attacked Iraq because it was suspected from owning the weapons of mass destruction and from supporting terroristic actions.
2004 – Czech Republic became a part of EU on the first of May.

First inhabitants

Our country started to be inhabited since 70 000BC when the first prehistoric people came to our land. Then the first certain inhabitants were the Celts who came to our land 400BC. They were the first tribe which had their own currency. They were also very good merchants and artisans.

First empire

Since 5th the first Slavs from Ukraine started to move to our land. In our land came to exist many Slavonic tribes. These tribes were connected into one empire in 623 under the frank merchant Samo. He wanted to protect our land against wild tribes of Avars from the east and economically connected our land to Frank Empire.

Great Moravian Empire

Samos’s empire disintegrated in the year 658. Then in 9Th century came to exist the Great Moravian Empire. During this time e.g. came two scholars – Cyril and Metoděj- to our land. They wanted to reinforce(posílit) the Christianity in our country. They also translated the Bible into staroslověnština. They wanted to make the faith for poor people simpler. They also created new typeface/scripture/writing Hlaholice.

The Empire lasted for 70 years and then was conquered by Hungarian tribes.

The Přemysld dynasty

In the 11th century came to the power in Bohemia the House of Přemysls. They consolidated their power in Bohemia. During their rule was unsigned well known Golden Bull of Sicily in 1212. Thanks this bull the sons of kings had a law to inherit the Czech throne. During this period ruled the kings as Bořivoj I, Spytihně, Vratislav, Holy Václav, Vladislav, Soběslav or Přemysl Otakrar I and II.

Luxemburgs and Charles IV

In the 14th century died out (vymřít) the men line of Přemysld dynasty. Only Eliška Přemyslovna survived. The Czech aristocrats had a problem. They had to find a suitable husband for her and elect a new king. Finally was chosen John Luxemburg as the most suitable king. His son became very important for our country. His name was Charles IV. He became a Czech King and also in 1349 sat on the thrown of Holy Roman Empire as the emperor. During his rule also became the Czech state and especially Prague cultural and political centre of the Empire. He organized the construction of well known Charles Bridge or Charles University which became the oldest university in the Central Europe. His main seat became the castle Karštejn.

John Hus and rebellion in Czech state

The main symbol of 14th and 15th century became the rising power of the Catholic Church and the following revolution. The main leader of this revolution in our country became Master John Hus. He worked as a university professor of theology and preacher (kazatel) in the Bethlehem Chapel; He criticized the way of life of the priests and the Church. He criticised costliness (hamižnost) of the Church and their efforts to rule also on the political scene. For this was arrested and in the 1415 in Kostnice burnt. His sufferer death provoked a rebellion called Husits rebellion. The soldiers and peasants started to fight against the Catholics. They founded also their own Church, burnt the symbols of the Catholic Church (churches etc.). Finally they were defeated at the battle of Lipany in 1434.

Habsburgs

In the 16th century came to the power the Habsburgs. The Czech aristocrats wanted to resist them at the battle on the White Mountain in 1620, but were definitely defeated. After this battle became a strange process of germanisation. The main language became German and the only one accepted religion became catholic Christianity. In this time also a lot of non-catholic artists had to leave the country. One of them was well known “teacher of the Nations” John Amos Comenius. Well known rulers of Habsburg dynasty were Marie Terezie who ruled since 1740 till 1780 and initiated the obligatory school attendance and her son Josef II who cancelled a labour (robota) and gave in the protestant Church. (povolit)

The rule of Habsburgs lasted for more then 300 years.

Fight for independence

Since the end of the 18th century began a fight against the germanisation. Many writers and artists started to support the Czech language and the Czech art. They wanted to liberalize the Czech state. The main persons of this time were: Josef Dobrovský, Josef Jungman, Jan Kolár, František Ladislav Čelakovský, Karel Havlíček Borovský, Josef Kajetán Till etc.

20TH and 21th century

1918 – This year the WWI ended and also A-H disintegrated as it forecast President Wilson in his manifestation of 14 points. In Philadelphia the independence of Czechoslovak republic was proclaimed. The first president became T. G. Masaryk. Then next very important persons were A.Rašín, E.Beneš or Štefánik.

1948 – Coup de tat took place in our country and Czechoslovakia became a communistic country.

1968 – The government of Czechoslovak rep. (Dubček) wanted to reform socialism. They wanted to innovate socialism and show it with more human face – Prague spring. But when the 6 army of Warszawa pact noticed it, they decided to attack our state and for more then 20 years the Russian red armies besieged our country.

1989 – This year was a year, when the total supremacy of communists was defeated. This revolution is called Velvet revolution. Not only Czechoslovakia but also Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania were set free. The president of the Czechoslovak republic was elected writer and dramatist Václav Havel who ruled to the year 2003.

1993 – Czechoslovakia disintegrated and 2 independent states were formed – Czech and Slovak republic.

1999 – Czech Republic became a member of NATO together with Poland and Hungary.

2004 – Czech Republic became a part of EU on the first of May.