You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen-friend David who writes:
...Thank you for the book you sent me about the Lyceum years of Pushkin and his friends. I\'m glad it was in English. My elder sister is reading it now. Isn\'t it amazing that all the 10-year old boys could read, write and speak French before they got to the Lyceum?! Was home education typical for all kids under 10 in Russia in the 19th century? Would you like to study in a boarding school like Pushkin\'s Lyceum? Next week I am planning to apply to a University.
— answer his questions;
— ask 3 questions about the University he is going to apply to.
Izhevsk
Russia
31/10/20
Dear David,
Thanks for your letter. I’m sorry I haven’t answered earlier because I was so busy with my school.
You asked about education in nineteenth century. So, I think that it wasn’t so wonderful that all ten year old boys can speak French Some of them could forget Russian because the main thing for them was learn French. So some adult in nineteenth century spoke very good only in French. However, not all kids had opportunity to study at home. Only nobles could afford a good education for their kids under ten. Well, I don’t want study in a school like Pushk