World News for Students of English

19-03-2015 15:00

Renowned fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died at the age of 66. He’s best known for his Discworld series and wrote more than 70 books over his lengthy career. His first novel “The Carpet People” was published in 1971 and after this he wrote on average two books a year.

Pratchett was the UK’s best-selling author of the 1990s and has sold over 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages. He’s the second most-read writer in the UK and was awarded an OBE in 1998 and knighted in 2009. He was diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer’s in 2007 but continued to write. In an interview before his death, he spoke about the disease.

“It’s a terrible disease, but I can and will still have some fun out of life on the way, I think.”

Pratchett’s publicist confirmed the author’s death in a statement which said that he passed away in his home with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family.

Difficult words: renowned (famous), OBE (he became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire), knight (to be given an honorary title as a knight — it shows the country respects you), pass away (to die).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com