Read the text and mark the sentences True, False or Not stated.
The Beatles
Ask anyone, in any country, whether they are young or old, rich or poor, if they’ve heard of the Beatles and they will all say: ‘Yes, of course!’ Most people know the names of at least two members of the group; most likely, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Some people may also know a few things about when they were very young. They probably know, for instance, that they were born in Liverpool, went to school there and that there were four members of the group. But that’s all that most people know about them. John Lennon started The Beatles. He was abandoned by his parents when he was a baby and caused lots of trouble at school. He was a great fan of American rock’n’roll and started his first band when he was at school. Paul McCartney went to see this band play in 1957 and joined it shortly afterwards. Lennon and McCartney soon became very close friends. McCartney’s talent impressed Lennon and Lennon’s knowledge of the world impressed McCartney. Soon they agreed that everything they wrote together or individually would be published under their joint names ‘Lennon-McCartney.’ They kept this agreement for nearly 15 years. George Harrison was the next person to join the group and, later, the drummer, Pete Best, who was replaced by Ringo Starr. The group had lots of different names when it started. They were originally called the Quarry Men, then Johnny & the Moondogs, and The Silver Beatles. They finally decided on the name Beatles with Lennon misspelling it on purpose to make the pun on ‘beat group’. In 1960, The Beatles spent four months playing at clubs in Hamburg, Germany. They worked really hard there and performed eight hours every night. This helped them to build up a really impressive act and they signed their first record deal in 1962. The Beatles’ enormous success, which followed immediately after their first record was released, was unbelievable. John Lennon later talked about what it was like to be a Beatle in the early days. He said they spent all their time in a car or in a hotel room, because they travelled by road so much all over the country and spent their time between gigs in hotels. The Beatles stopped touring everywhere shortly after 1964 and although they continued to compose and perform songs together, that was really the beginning of the end of the group. The Beatles formed their own music company called Apple and from 1966 to 1970 they produced many famous collections and songs which reflected the spirit of the time and which are still popular nowadays — songs such as ‘Hey Jude’ or ‘Let It Be’. And then, finally, the group split up. But that was not the end of their musical creativity. Lennon, for example, formed another band soon afterwards and wrote one of the most famous songs of all time: ‘Imagine’.

• Группы
  • True
  • False
  • Not stated
• Варианты
  • There are many people who know everything about The Beatles.
  • At first there were five people in the group.
  • John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the best-known members of the group.
  • Paul McCartney was the first to start the group.
  • The Beatles was the only name of the group.
  • The Beatles travelled all over Europe during the first two years.
  • The end of the group didn’t mean the end of their music.