Jules Verne was born on 8 February, 1821, in Nantes, 76 ____his father, Pierre Verne, was a successful lawyer. At sixteen Jules entered his father’s law firm, and in 1848 he went to Paris to complete his law studies.
At about this time he wanted to become a dramatist. 77 ____Alexander Dumas’ help, his one–act play, Broken Straws, was produced in 1850. 78 ____he supported himself by writing for journals. He was 79 ____that the whole future of man lay in science and decided to write a series of science fiction books.
80 ____working for a theatre, he was able to devote his spare time to every book about exploration and discovery he could find. Then he fell in love with a young widow and married her.
In 1863 he published his first book Five Weeks in a Balloon, an adventure story 81 ____on his ideas about the future of ballooning. Then on board one of his boats he wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It was published in 1870 and brought him great success. He became one of the most popular writers in France. His best known work, 82 ____, is, Round the World in Eighty Days, which was published in 1873.
83 ____in these modern times, when it is possible to make the journey round the world 84 ____air in half the number of hours Verne predicted, the story still has the power to interest, excite and thrill. It will continue to do so 85 ____books are read.

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