Is the person in the picture a famous scientist? inventor? actor? politician? What is his name? What do you know about him? Listen, read and find out.
The person I admire
by Jenny Smith
1. The person that I admire most is the scientist Stephen William Hawking. He was born on 8th January 1942, in Oxford, England. Stephen was famous for his work on the basic laws of the universe. He was also famous for the way he copes with having Motor Neuron Disease (MND).
2. Stephen studied Physics at University College, Oxford. He was diagnosed with MND while still at university. Stephen slowly lost control of his muscles and eventually he couldn’t walk. Despite this, he finished his studies, got married and started a career at the university.
3. Some years later, he lost his voice completely. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of writing a book at the time and suddenly had no way to communicate other than blinking. A computer system on his wheelchair enabled him to speak. Of his many books, A Brief History of Time is Stephen’s bestseller. Hawking died on 14th of March, 2018.
4. The reason I admire him is because he was very intelligent and brave, and he never gave up on life. When I think of him, I know that anything is possible as long as you really want it and work hard to achieve it.
Which of these adjectives best describe Hawking? Give reasons.
• determined
• brave
• artistic
• imaginative
• ingenious
a) Find the prepositions that follow these words in the text. Use them in sentences of your own.
• famous
• work
• cope
• lose control
• give
b) Explain the words in bold.
Read the spidergram, then complete the sentences in your notebooks. Give your own examples.
GIVE
back (return sth)
away (give sth to smb for free)
up (stop doing sth)
1. They ….. their old toys to the poor children last week.
2. He ….. smoking last year.
3. ….. me ….. my book, please.
Use the headings to complete the paragraph plan in your notebooks: later years, date of death, the reasons Jenny admires him, name, date/place of birth, profession, early years.
Introduction
Para 1
Main Body
Para 2
Para 3
Conclusion
Para 4
Portfolio: Write an article about a person you admire for the school magazine. Use the paragraph plan in Ex. 5 to help you and the text in Ex.1 as a model. (80−100 words)