John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a famous British writer.

He is best known for his

fantasy books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien was born on 3rd January 1892, in South Africa. When he was four years old,
the family moved to England. In 1900, his mother became a Roman Catholic and four
years later, when his mother died, Tolkien was taken care of by a Catholic priest. He
attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham and then Exeter College, Oxford. He
was very good at languages. He studied not only Latin and Greek, but also Gothic and
Finnish. He studied Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Germanic languages and classic
literature.
Tolkien met his future wife when she was 16 years old. As Edith was a Protestant and
Tolkien Catholic, it was forbidden to see each other. When he was 21, Tolkien stated
his love to Edith, who was then engaged to another man. But she broke her
engagement and the couple remained together until their deaths, for 55 years. She
was the inspiration for the character of Lúthien (the most beautiful elf princess that has
ever lived).
In the same year they married, he was sent to war to the Western Front. Soon he
became ill and was sent back to England. After the war, Tolkien taught English
language and literature at the University of Leeds. Later he became a professor at
Oxford University. There he started a writing group called The Inklings. One of the
members of this group was C.S. Lewis (‘The Chronicles of Narnia’), who became one
of Tolkien’s closest friends. They shared great enthusiasm for the myths, sagas, and
languages of northern Europe. Over the course of his life he invented several
languages, such as „Elvish“, „Dwarvish“, „Entish“ and „Black Speech“, purely for fun.

In summer 1930 he saw a blank piece of paper on his desk. Suddenly inspiration came
and he wrote the first sentence of The Hobbit: “In a hole in the ground there lived a
hobbit“. In 1937, Professor Tolkien published The Hobbit, with his own drawings. He
wrote it as bedtime stories for his own children. The book became immediately
successful and the publisher asked Tolkien if he had more material. It took him
seventeen years to publish The Lord of the Rings, in 1954. The Lord of the Rings was
written for older children, the same audience who had grown up since The Hobbit was
published. As it was quite a big story it had to be published in three parts. It became a
global bestseller at once.

J. R. R. Tolkien died from a stomach ulcer on 2nd September 1973, at the age of 81.
His son Christopher later edited several works that weren't completed.

A film version of The Lord of the Rings by New Zealand director Peter Jackson,
released in three parts (2001–03) achieved worldwide critical and financial success.
The films won 17 Academy Award nominations, and The Return of the King (the 3rd
part) holds the record for most Oscars ever.
The Return of the King is also the only fantasy film to have won the Academy Award
for Best Picture (best film).
Jackson then also adapted The Hobbit as a trilogy (2012-14) with three Academy
Award nominations which also became a hit among the Tolkien’s fans worldwide.

a. Read the text and answer the following questions.

1 Where was J. R. R. Tolkien born?

- J. R. R. Tolkien was born in South Africa.

2 What did Tolkien study at Oxford?

-Tolkien studied languages, including Latin, Greek, Gothic, Finnish, Anglo-Saxon (Old
English), Germanic languages, and classic literature at Oxford.

3 Who was the inspiration for the character of Lúthien?

-Edith, Tolkien's wife, was the inspiration for the character of Lúthien.

4 Where did Tolkien became a professor and started teaching?

-Tolkien became a professor and started teaching at Oxford University.

 5 What was the name of the writing group that Tolkien started?

-The writing group that Tolkien started was called The Inklings.

6 Why did he start to write a story about a hobbit?

- Tolkien started to write a story about a hobbit after being inspired by a blank piece
of paper on his desk.

7 Who adapted The Lord of the Rings into a trio of films?

-The Lord of the Rings was adapted into a trio of films by director Peter Jackson.

a. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 J. R. R. Tolkien’s mother died when he was 8.--- (T)

2 Tolkien fought in the WW I. ---(T)
3 Tolkien returned to England when World War I ended. ---(T)
4 After the war, Tolkien taught English language and literature at the University of
Manchester. ---(F)
5 Tolkien was friends with C. S. Lewis. ---(T)
6 Tolkien was the first writer to invent languages for elves, dwarfs, ents etc. ---(T)
7 It him took seven years to publish LOTR after The Hobbit. ---(T)
8 Some of Tolkien's stories were published for the first time after his death.---(T)
9 Director Peter Jackson is from Australia.---(F)
10 J. R. R. Tolkien died in 1973.---(F)