Katherine Johnson: She Counted Everything… Then an Astronaut Asked for Her
As a girl, Katherine Johnson counted everything. At NASA, she calculated the paths of spaceships by hand — and in 1962, astronaut John Glenn would not fly until she checked the computer's numbers. Learn five B1 words with the true story of Katherine Johnson.
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
An astronaut was ready to fly around the Earth.
But he did not trust the new computer.
He wanted one woman to the numbers.
Would they be right?
This is the story of Katherine Johnson.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is a person who is an expert in math.
Her professor said she would be a great .
. When you , you use math to find an answer.
The past is .
She the of the spaceship.
. A is the line that something follows when it moves.
Every spaceship needs an exact .
. When you something, you look at it carefully to see if it is right.
The past is .
She every number by hand.
. An is the round of something that goes around a planet.
Glenn's ship made three around the Earth.
Now, one pattern: who.
We use who to give more information about a person.
She was a woman. She the numbers.
She was the woman who the numbers.
Ready? Let's begin.
Katherine Johnson was born in West Virginia in 1918.
As a little girl, she counted everything.
She counted the steps to the road, the steps to the church, and the plates she washed.
She learned very fast at school.
At only ten, she started high school!
But near her home, there was no high school for Black children.
So her family moved to another town.
At college, a professor who saw her talent made new math classes just for her.
Her professor said she would be a great .
At eighteen, she finished college with top marks.
In 1953, she started work at a government research center for airplanes.
She was a , a woman who did hard math by hand.
Black women worked in a separate room.
The engineers had important meetings, but women did not go.
Katherine asked if there was a law against it.
There was not.
So she went.
In 1961, she the of the spaceship for the first American in space.
In 1962, John Glenn was ready to fly around the Earth.
Every spaceship needs an exact .
New electronic computers it.
But Glenn did not trust the machines.
Who could he trust?
He said: "Get the girl to the numbers.
If she says they are good, I am ready to go."
Katherine was the woman who the numbers.
For a day and a half, she every number by hand.
The numbers were right.
On 20 February 1962, Glenn's ship made three around the Earth.
Then it came home safely.
Later, she also for the first trip to the Moon.
For many years, few people knew her name.
Then, in 2015, at 97, she received one of America's highest honors.
She died in 2020, at 101.
She was the girl who counted everything.
Let's review. Her professor said she would be a great .
She the of the spaceship.
Every spaceship needs an exact .
She every number by hand.
Glenn's ship made three around the Earth.
And remember: she was the woman who the numbers.
Katherine Johnson's story teaches us: careful work and brave questions can take people to the stars.
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Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
mathematician noun
a person who is an expert in math
“Her professor said she would be a great mathematician.”
calculate verb
to use math to find an answer (past: calculated)
“She calculated the path of the spaceship.”
path noun
the line that something follows when it moves
“Every spaceship needs an exact path.”
check verb
to look at something carefully to see if it is right (past: checked)
“She checked every number by hand.”
orbit noun
the round path of something that goes around a planet
“Glenn's ship made three orbits around the Earth.”
human computer noun
a person whose job was to do long math calculations by hand, before electronic computers
“She was a human computer at a research center.”
launch verb / noun
to send a rocket or spaceship up into the sky; the moment it goes up
“The rocket was launched early in the morning.”
trajectory noun
the curved path of something that flies through the air or space
“She calculated the trajectory of the first American spaceflight.”
Grammar in the story
person + who + verb
We use it for: to give more information about a person and join two sentences into one
- the woman who checked the numbers
- a professor who saw her talent
- Glenn was the astronaut who orbited the Earth.
From the story
- She was the woman who checked the numbers.
- She was the girl who counted everything.
Find it in the story 7 times
Your turn
She was a human computer, a woman did hard math by hand.
A professor saw her talent made new classes for her.
Glenn was the astronaut made three orbits around the Earth.
Step 4
Story Challenge
10 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
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Take it further
Before you watch: Do you like math? Do you count things in your everyday life — steps, money, minutes? When do you check your work twice?
After you watch: Write three sentences about people you know with who. For example: My sister is the person who makes me laugh. My teacher is a woman who loves science.
Think about it: John Glenn trusted a person more than a new machine. Today, do you trust computers more than people, or people more than computers? Why?
