He lived in the 16th century. A few things, but not really that many, are known about his

life. And yet around the world the comment is unanimous; he was the greatest writer who ever lived. His name was William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare was born in 1564 in a little town called Stratford-upon-Avon. When he was in his twenties, he made his way to London. There he spent most of his working life. The theater was very popular at that time, and soon Shakespeare was writing plays. He belonged to an acting company called the Lord Chamberlain 's Men and wrote plays for them. (He also acted in some of the plays. ) In 1599 the company built the famous Globe Theater. There Shakespeare wrote and acted until he retired in about 1607.

Shakespeare wrote three kinds of plays:comedies, tragedies, and histories. Many of the comedies involved mistaken identities, women pretending to be men, and slapstick (滑稽剧) situations. One of his famous comedies is A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare 's tragedies were often about a noble and honorable man who had one fault that helped bring about his downfall. Hamlet is an example. Shakespeare's histories were usually about kings of England, such as Richard III or Henry V.

What made Shakespeare's work so great？ It was not necessarily his stories. Many were retellings of stories the audience already knew. But the way he told the stories was often remarkable. He understood the way people thought and acted, and he built this into his characters. Even though they were created 400 years ago, Shakespeare's characters are believed today.

Shakespeare's use of language—such as his beautiful descriptions and his clear, to-the-point statements—also made him great. Hundreds of famous English sayings come from his plays. One example; "To be or not to be, this is a question.

This passage is mainly about______.

A．the Globe Theater

B．theater in the 1500s

C．Shakespeare's histories

D．Shakespeare's life and work