In pairs. One will be Student A, another will be Student B. Do your tasks.

After reading and completing the exercises work in groups. In what ways do you think Ian Fleming was similar to James Bond?

Ian Fleming

Student A

Look at the photo of Ian Fleming.

Tick ( √ ) the adjectives that you think

Describe him.

sophisticated	well-dressed
kind	funny
well-educated	outgoing
good-looking	confident

Read the information about the first half

Of Ian Fleming’s life. Answer the questions.

1 Where was Ian Fleming born?

2 What was his family like?

3 What happened to his father?

4 What did Ian think of school and

the army?

5 What happened in the early 1930s?

6 What was Ian doing when the Second

World War started?

Use the clues to write questions about the

Second half of Ian Fleming’s life. Then

Ask your partner the questions.

1 What / he / do in his career?

What did he do in his career?

2 Where / he / travel?

3 What / his life / like?

4 What / happen / after the war?

5 Why / 1952 / an important year?

6 How many / books / he / write / before

/ he / die?

How many / he / sell?

Work in groups. In what ways do you

Think Ian Fleming was similar to James Bond?

The man behind James Bond

IAN FLEMING wrote 14 James Bond books between 1953 and 1964. But how much is the author like the hero of the books? Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London, on May 28th, 1908. He had three brothers and they were the children of a rich family. His grandfather was a millionaire banker and his father was a Member of Parliament. Ian didn’t know his father well because he died in the First World War, when Ian was only nine years old. Ian was quite close to his brothers but he was very different from them. They all went to Eton, a very expensive private school in the south of England. The brothers enjoyed school, but Ian hated it. He left before graduation. He also hated being in the army and did not want a career as a soldier. In 1930, Ian went to Geneva to continue his education. Then the next year he wanted to join the Foreign Office, but he didn’t pass the exams. He went back to England and he was living with his mother, feeling very bored, when he got a job as a journalist. He worked in London, Berlin, and Moscow. After that, he became a stockbroker. He was doing this job when the Second World War started. Then his life changed. …

Ian Fleming

Student B

Look at the photo of Ian Fleming.

Tick ( √ ) the adjectives that you think

Describe him.

sophisticated	well-dressed
kind	funny
well-educated	outgoing
good-looking	confident

Read the information about the first half

of Ian Fleming’s life. Answer the questions.

1. What did he do in his career?

2. Where did he travel?

3. What was his life like?

4. What happened after the war?

5. Why was 1952 an important year?

6. How many books did he write before he died?

How many did he sell?

Use the clues to write questions about the

Second half of Ian Fleming’s life. Then ask your

Partner the questions.

1. Where / Ian Fleming /born?

Where was Ian Fleming born?

2. What / his family / like?

3. What / happen / to his father?

4. What / Ian / think of school and the army?

5. What / happen /in the early 1930s?

6. What / he / do / when the Second World War/ start?

The man behind James Bond

IAN FLEMING wrote 14 James Bond books between 1953 and 1964. But how much is the author like the hero of the books?   … Ian joined Naval Intelligence and had contact with MI5 and the Secret Service. He started working in the world of spies and went on secret mission in North Africa, Lisbon, and the USA. When he wasn’t working, he enjoyed an expensive lifestyle. He was good-looking, always well-dressed, and he had a lot of girlfriends. He drank a lot and smoked about 60 cigarettes a day. This created health problems for him later in life. After the war, he went to Jamaica, bought some land and decided to build a house. He called in Goldeneye, a name he also used for one of his books. In 1952, three important things happened – he god married, he had a son, and he started writing the James Bond stories. His first book was Casino Royale, then he wrote Live and Let Die in 1954. Fleming wrote the other 12 books in the following 10 years. He continued to enjoy a life of travel, good food, and smart clothes. His last full James Bond novel was The Man with the Golden Gun, but Ian Fleming died before its publication. At the time of his death in 1964, his books were incredibly popular with 40 million copies sold around the world.

Exercise 37 Read the text about Steven Spielberg and put in necessary words.