The world's greatest polyglot Harold Williams is considered to be the world's greatest polyglot. He was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the only person who could speak as many as fifty-eight languages fluently. Williams was born in 1876 in New Zealand. From an early age, his father - a well-educated pastor-trained him in Latin and Ancient Greek. However, like most people his age, Harold was not very keen on studying. It was only at the age of seven when he experienced a strange sensation, which he later described as 'an explosion in his brain', which radically changed his attitude to learning. From that time on, his capacity to learn grew to an extraordinary degree. It affected languages in particular. He continued studying Latin while at the same time hungrily acquiring other languages. As a schoolboy, he constructed a grammar and vocabulary of the New Guinea language called Douban based only on a copy of a gospel written in that language. Young Harold spent his pocket money on buying New Testaments in as many languages as he could. By the end of his life, he had studied the Bible in twenty-six languages. Before attending high school, he had managed to teach himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian and other Polynesian dialects. Harold continued his education up to university level but his first attempt was unsuccessful, as he failed mathematics at Auckland University. He listened to his father's advice and became a pastor himself at the age of twenty. It was then that he picked up Polish and Russian. Inspired by his fascination with the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, Williams decided to set off to Europe to visit the home of the famous writer. However, before going to Russia, he first went to Germany to continue his university education. Harold studied philology, ethnology, philosophy, history and literature and in 1903 gained his PhD in languages. These years as a student were marked by poverty. Harold's grant from New Zealand had quickly run out and he was forced to sell his books and the prizes he had won at school. He also taught English part-time to earn some money. As a result of his study of Slavic languages, Williams became interested in Russia. He quickly started his career as a journalist and soon established himself as an authority on Russian affairs. By 1914 he was already living in Russia. Supposedly, he knew Russian grammar much better than most of his Russian friends. During this time he also learnt Finnish, Latvian, Estonian, Georgian and Tartar. The outbreak of the Russian Revolution forced Williams to leave Russia. He arrived in Britain where for some time he worked for the British government. At that time he taught himself Japanese, Old Irish, Tagalog, Hungarian, Czech, Coptic, Egyptian, Hittite, Albanian, Basque and Chinese. He mastered a book of 12,000 Chinese Mandarin characters. Despite a vast knowledge of languages and his great experience in journalism, Williams was unemployed for a few years. In 1921 his luck changed and he was offered a job in The Times. He held the position of foreign editor until his early death in 1928. William's incredible gift for languages is still a mystery. He still holds the title of the world's greatest polyglot. 1. Before he turned seven, Harold O had not enjoyed learning new things. O had not studied anything. O had had strange sensations. O had not known any Latin or Greek. 2. When he turned seven, Harold O stopped studying Latin. O discovered his unusual talent. O could read the Bible in twenty-six languages. O spent his pocket money on buying gospels. 3. Harold went to Europe because he wanted to Ovisit Germany. Obecome a pastor. Obecome a famous writer. visit Russia. 4. According to the article, when he was a student in Germany, Harold O worked as a book seller. O studied more than one subject. O taught more than one language. O regularly received money from New Zealand. 5. Harold's knowledge of Russia was a result of his study of Finnish. O guaranteed him a job as a journalist. was better than that of his friends. Owas highly valued by others. 6. Although Harold knew so many languages, he Onever had any luck in his life. O did not have any experience in journalism. O could not find work for some time. O was unemployed until 1928.​



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