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Bright Lives English
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Alexander Fleming: A Messy Lab and a Holiday… Then a Medicine That Saved Millions

Level A2 (Elementary) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/alexander-fleming-messy-lab/

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. holiday (noun)
  2. dish (noun)
  3. mould (noun)
  4. germ (noun)
  5. medicine (noun)
  6. penicillin (noun)
  7. messy (adjective)
  8. bacteria (noun (plural))
  1. a medicine made from a mould that kills many germs
  2. a time when you don't work or go to school (US: vacation)
  3. a very small living thing that can make you ill
  4. not tidy; with things everywhere
  5. very small living things; some of them are germs
  6. something you take to get better when you are ill
  7. a soft green or blue thing that grows on old food (US: mold)
  8. (in a lab) a small, flat, round glass box for growing germs

B Complete the sentences from the story

germs · holiday · mould · messy · bacteria · medicine · dish · penicillin

  1. A was growing on the dish.
  2. Around the mould, the were dead.
  3. The mould gave the world a new .
  4. In the summer of 1928, he went on .
  5. One was strange.
  6. His lab was very !
  7. He called the mould juice .
  8. The mould killed the around it.

C Did you understand?

  1. Fleming grew up in a big city.True / False
  2. What did his mother give him for his cold hands?
    1. Gloves from London
    2. A cup of tea
    3. A hot potato
    4. A warm stone
  3. What was his lab like?
    1. Very big and new
    2. Very messy
    3. Always clean
    4. Empty
  4. Around the mould, the germs were dead.True / False
  5. Who found a way to make a lot of penicillin?
    1. Fleming's mother
    2. Soldiers in the war
    3. A farmer in Scotland
    4. Scientists in Oxford

D Put the words in order

  1. The / it / lucky / lab / was / but / messy / was

E Grammar: past simple, but past simple

We use it for to join two different ideas in one sentence. The lab was messy, but it was lucky. · He worked in an office, but he didn't like it. · It killed many germs, but he could not make a lot of it.

Example from the story: The lab was messy, but it was lucky.

  1. He worked in an office, he didn't like it. (but / and / so)
  2. It killed many germs, but he make a lot of it. (could not / can / did)
  3. The lab was messy, it was lucky. (but / because / or)

F Your turn

Retell Alexander Fleming's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Transcript

A scientist went on holiday.

He did not clean his lab.

When he came back, something strange was growing on a dish.

It changed medicine forever.

This is the story of Alexander Fleming.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Holiday. A holiday is a time when you don't work or go to school.

In the summer of 1928, he went on holiday.

Dish. In a lab, a dish is a small, flat, round glass box.

Scientists grow germs in it.

One dish was strange.

Mould. Mould is a soft green or blue thing.

It grows on old food.

A mould was growing on the dish.

Germ. A germ is a very small living thing.

It can make you ill.

Around the mould, the germs were dead.

Medicine. Medicine is something you take when you are ill.

It helps you get better.

The mould gave the world a new medicine.

Now, one pattern: but.

We use but to join two different ideas.

The lab was messy.

It was lucky.

The lab was messy, but it was lucky.

Ready? Let's begin.

Alexander Fleming was born on a farm in Scotland in 1881.

He walked a long way to school across the hills.

In winter, his mother gave him a hot potato for his cold hands.

At thirteen, he moved to London.

He worked in an office, but he didn't like it.

Then his uncle left him some money.

He went to study medicine.

He became a doctor and a scientist.

He studied germs.

He was a very good scientist, but his lab was very messy!

In the summer of 1928, he went on holiday.

He left many dishes with germs on his table.

In September, he came back.

One dish was strange.

A mould was growing on the dish.

Around the mould, the germs were dead.

Maybe he said: "That's funny."

He did not throw the dish away.

He looked carefully.

He called the mould juice penicillin.

It killed many germs, but he could not make a lot of it.

For ten years, not many people knew about it.

Then scientists in Oxford found a way to make it.

In the Second World War, penicillin saved many soldiers.

In 1945, Fleming and two other scientists won the Nobel Prize.

The mould gave the world a new medicine.

Later he said: sometimes you find something you are not looking for.

The lab was messy, but it was lucky.

Today, medicines like penicillin save millions of lives.

Let's review. In the summer of 1928, he went on holiday.

One dish was strange.

A mould was growing on the dish.

Around the mould, the germs were dead.

The mould gave the world a new medicine.

And remember: the lab was messy, but it was lucky.

Alexander Fleming's story teaches us: look carefully at your mistakes, because they can be lucky.

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Answer key

A. 1b 2h 3g 4c 5f 6a 7d 8e

B. 1 mould · 2 germs · 3 medicine · 4 holiday · 5 dish · 6 messy · 7 penicillin · 8 bacteria

C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 b · 4 True · 5 d

D. 1 The lab was messy but it was lucky.

E. 1 but · 2 could not · 3 but