Magawa the Rat: A Rat Walked Across a Minefield… and Saved Lives
Part of: Animal Heroes & Amazing Trees
In Cambodia, millions of landmines were hidden in the ground. A rat called Magawa learned to find them by their smell, and he was too light to set them off. Learn five B1 words and 'can be + past participle' with this true story.
Coming 2 January 2027, 3:00 pm New York time
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
In Cambodia, millions of were hidden in the ground.
One day, a big rat walked slowly across a field.
Suddenly, he stopped and started to scratch the earth.
Why did he stop?
This is the story of Magawa the hero rat.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is a bomb hidden under the ground.
It explodes when someone steps on it.
Millions of were hidden in Cambodia's fields.
. When you , you breathe in quickly through your nose to smell something.
Magawa the ground as he walked.
. An is a substance that can blow up.
Rats can smell the inside a .
. A is something good that you get because you did something well.
His was a piece of banana.
. To something means to find or notice something that is hard to see.
In five years, Magawa seventy-one .
Now, one pattern: can be, plus a past participle.
We use it to say what is possible, when the action matters more than the person who does it.
A rat can find a by its smell.
A can be found by its smell.
Ready? Let's begin.
For many years, Cambodia had wars.
Millions of were hidden in Cambodia's fields.
Long after the fighting stopped, the mines were still there, and many farmers were afraid to work on their own land.
Magawa was an African giant pouched rat, much bigger than a city rat.
He was born in Tanzania, where a charity called APOPO trains rats to save lives.
He learned to look for one special smell.
Rats can smell the inside a .
In training, every time Magawa found the right smell, he got a treat.
His was a piece of banana.
Peanuts were his other favourite.
In 2016, Magawa moved to Siem Reap, in Cambodia.
In the mornings, he wore a small , and his held him on a long rope.
Magawa the ground as he walked, up and down the field.
But why didn't the mines explode under him?
Magawa was big for a rat, but he was still very light.
He was too light to set off a mine.
So a can be found by its smell, and nobody gets hurt.
When Magawa smelled the , he stopped and scratched the ground.
His marked the place.
Later, the mine could be destroyed safely by a team of experts.
And he was fast.
Magawa could check a field the size of a tennis court in about twenty minutes.
A person with a metal detector can take one to four days.
In September 2020, a British animal charity gave Magawa its gold medal for bravery.
Before him, only dogs had won this medal.
Magawa was the first rat ever to win it.
In five years, Magawa seventy-one .
He also found thirty-eight other bombs that had never exploded.
He helped to make land as big as thirty football fields safe.
In June 2021, Magawa was getting older and slower, so he stopped working.
He spent his days playing and resting.
In January 2022, he died peacefully, at the age of eight.
Today, families live, work and play on land that Magawa checked.
Thanks to rats like him, more can be found quickly, and many lives can be saved.
Let's review. Millions of were hidden in Cambodia's fields.
Magawa the ground as he walked.
Rats can smell the inside a .
His was a piece of banana.
In five years, Magawa seventy-one .
And remember: a can be found by its smell.
Magawa's story teaches us: small heroes can do big things, and patient work saves lives.
Want more interesting lessons? Go to brightlivesenglish.com. Please subscribe and learn with us.
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.
landmine noun
a bomb hidden under the ground that explodes when someone steps on it
“Millions of landmines were hidden in Cambodia's fields.”
sniff verb
to breathe in quickly through your nose to smell something
“Magawa sniffed the ground as he walked.”
explosive noun
a substance that can blow up
“Rats can smell the explosive inside a landmine.”
reward noun
something good that you get because you did something well
“His reward was a piece of banana.”
detect verb
to find or notice something that is hard to see (past: detected)
“In five years, Magawa detected seventy-one landmines.”
handler noun
a person who trains and works with an animal
“Magawa's handler held him on a long rope.”
harness noun
a set of straps that goes around an animal’s body
“Every morning, Magawa wore a small harness.”
minefield noun
an area of land where landmines are hidden
“Magawa walked across the minefield.”
Grammar in the story
can be + past participle
We use it for: to say what is possible, when the action matters more than the person who does it
- A rat can find a landmine by its smell. → A landmine can be found by its smell.
- People can save many lives. → Many lives can be saved.
From the story
- A landmine can be found by its smell.
- This door can be opened with a card.
Find it in the story 5 times
Your turn
A landmine can be by its smell.
Many lives saved by rats like Magawa.
The tickets can online.
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.
Well done!
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Take it further
Before you watch: Which animals do you think have the best sense of smell? How can animals help people do dangerous jobs?
After you watch: Write three sentences with can be + past participle. For example: This book can be borrowed from the library. Bananas can be eaten raw or cooked. The museum can be visited for free on Sundays.
Think about it: Magawa did the same careful job every morning for five years. Why is patient, repeated work sometimes more important than one big brave moment?
Did you know? Magawa was born at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania, where APOPO has bred and trained its rats since 2000. His main handler in Cambodia was Malen. His medal was made small enough to fit on his work harness. Cambodia still has some of the most landmines in the world, and APOPO also trains rats to find the illness tuberculosis by smell.
Image credits (via Wikimedia Commons):
- Photo: a HeroRAT gets its reward — “HeroRAT rewarded”, From one to another, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Photo: a mine-clearing demonstration with rats, Siem Reap — “Siem Reap - Apopo mine clairing demonstration with rats 4”, Ellywa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: a HeroRAT finds a mine — “HeroRAT finds mine”, From one to another, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Photo: Bosco, another APOPO rat — “Bosco the rat at APOPO”, Mx. Granger, CC0
- Photo: rice fields in Cambodia — “Cambodia Rice Fields (9731295674)”, Gary Todd, CC0
- Photo: an African giant pouched rat — “Cricetomys-gambianus”, Liftarn, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Photo: a mine-clearing demonstration with rats, Siem Reap (2) — “Siem Reap - Apopo mine clairing demonstration with rats”, Ellywa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: a demining excavation — “Demining Excavation”, TheHeroAntagon1st, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Illustration: all other pictures are AI-generated illustrations (artistic interpretations, not real photos). There are no real photos of Magawa himself in the lesson.
