اللغة الإنجليزية 7 فصل ثاني

An important discovery

 

Mariam was sitting on her bed. She didn’t feel very well, so her mum took her to see the doctor. ‘Please can you tell us what we should do?’ they asked. The doctor looked at Mariam and took her temperature. Mariam got a prescription for some medicine, which was called Penicillin. She started taking the pills and soon she was feeling better. She was curious about the medicine that she had taken, so when she went back to school, she asked her science teacher about it. ‘Excuse me, Miss Alrammal, ’ she said. ‘Could you tell me who discovered Penicillin? Do you know if it’s a new medicine?’ Miss Alrammal replied, ‘Penicillin is a type of antibiotic and it was first discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929. But it was Dorothy Hodgkin who found out more about it in 1945. Why don’t you do some research about her and you can do a short presentation in next week’s lesson?’ ‘I’d love to!’ said Mariam, delighted.

The day of the presentation arrived and Mariam felt a bit nervous. She took her time as she stood up. She relaxed and began her talk. ‘Today, I’d like to talk to you about an important English scientist, Dorothy Hodgkin. She was born in 1910 and she always loved science. She studied Chemistry at Oxford University and then later worked there. She did a lot of research and carried out experiments in an X-ray laboratory in Oxford. She made many important discoveries and found out a lot about Penicillin and Vitamin B12. She won the Nobel Prize in 1964. Do you know why I wanted to do my presentation? Two weeks ago I felt really ill and now I feel better! And that’s because of Dorothy Hodgkin and other important scientists. I wonder if in the future one of us will discover or invent something that will help people, too. I hope so!’ Everyone clapped and Mariam sat down, smiling. Miss Alrammal said, ‘Thank you, Mariam, for that brilliant presentation and good luck to all of you with your future inventions and discoveries!’

 

Let's break down the story a bit:

• Mariam: A girl who is sick and has a fever. Her mom takes her to the doctor.
• The Doctor: He gives Mariam medicine called Penicillin.
• Penicillin: The story explains that it's an important medicine that fights bacteria and was discovered by Alexander Fleming.
• Dorothy Hodgkin: Another important scientist mentioned who did research on Penicillin and Vitamin B12.
• The Presentation: Mariam gets better and has to do a presentation about a scientific discovery. Miss Alrammal, her science teacher, suggests she talks about Penicillin because of her experience.
• The Setting: It seems to be a modern time (since they have antibiotics) and takes place at Mariam's home and school.