Roberto Clemente: A Baseball Star Got on an Old Plane… to Help Strangers
Level B1 (Intermediate) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/roberto-clemente-generous-star/
A Match the words to their meanings
- hit (noun)
- generous (adjective)
- earthquake (noun)
- victim (noun)
- supplies (noun (plural))
- charity (noun)
- relief (noun)
- humble (adjective)
- a person who is hurt or killed by something bad
- food, medicine and other things people need
- food, money and help sent to people after a disaster
- not proud; not thinking you are better than others
- happy to give time, money or help to others
- help or money given to people in need, or a group that gives it
- a sudden, violent shaking of the ground
- (in baseball) when you strike the ball and reach a base safely
B Complete the sentences from the story
victims · generous · hit · earthquake · charity · humble · supplies · relief
- It was his 3,000th .
- Planes carried to Nicaragua.
- He was famous for being .
- He did a lot of work.
- Thousands of needed help.
- He organised for Nicaragua.
- He came from a family.
- An destroyed much of Managua.
C Did you understand?
- Roberto Clemente grew up in a rich family.True / False
- What did Roberto make his first bat from?
- A coffee sack
- A guava branch
- A milk can
- An old chair
- Where did the earthquake happen in December 1972?
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Pittsburgh
- Managua, Nicaragua
- Carolina
- Roberto heard that soldiers were stopping the supplies.True / False
- What happened in 1973?
- He hit his 3,000th hit
- He joined the Pirates
- He won his first World Series
- He became the first Latin American player in the Hall of Fame
D Put the words in order
- go / he / himself / would / said / that / He
E Grammar: said (that) + past (reported speech)
We use it for to tell what someone said. He said that he would go himself. · He said that Latin American players did not get the respect they deserved. · He told her that babies were dying.
Example from the story: He said that he would go himself.
- In 1972: "I will go myself." → He said that he go himself. (would / will / is)
- In 1972: "Babies are dying." → He told her that babies dying. (were / are / be)
- In 1972: "They need supplies." → He said that they supplies. (needed / need / needing)
F Your turn
Retell Roberto Clemente's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Transcript
On New Year's Eve, 1972, one of baseball's greatest stars did not stay home to celebrate.
He climbed into an old plane full of food and medicine for strangers.
This is the story of Roberto Clemente.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Hit. In baseball, a hit is when you strike the ball and reach a base safely.
It was his 3,000th hit.
Generous. A generous person likes to give time, money or help to others.
He was famous for being generous.
Earthquake. An earthquake is a sudden, violent shaking of the ground.
An earthquake destroyed much of Managua.
Victim. A victim is a person who is hurt or killed by something bad.
Thousands of victims needed help.
Supplies. Supplies are the food, medicine and other things that people need.
Planes carried supplies to Nicaragua.
Now, one pattern: reported speech.
We use it to tell what someone said.
He said, "I will go myself."
He said that he would go himself.
Ready? Let's begin.
Roberto Clemente was born in 1934 in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest child in a big family.
His father worked in the sugar-cane fields.
The family had little money.
Roberto made a bat from a guava branch and a glove from a coffee sack.
He delivered milk to buy a bicycle, and he squeezed rubber balls to make his hands strong.
In 1955, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Life in the United States was hard.
Some reporters made fun of his English.
He said that Latin American players did not get the respect they deserved.
But he kept working hard.
He had a famous throwing arm, and he helped his team win two World Series.
In 1971, he was the best player of the World Series.
On 30 September 1972, the crowd stood up.
Roberto hit the ball hard into the outfield.
It was his 3,000th hit.
It was also his last hit in a regular-season game.
Off the field, he was famous for being generous.
Every winter, he taught baseball to poor children in Puerto Rico.
In Nicaragua, he met a boy who had lost his legs, and he helped him get new ones.
Just before Christmas, 1972, an earthquake destroyed much of Managua.
Thousands of victims needed help.
Planes carried supplies to Nicaragua.
But Roberto heard that soldiers were stopping the supplies.
What would he do?
He said that he would go himself.
Then the supplies would reach the people.
His wife was worried.
He told her that babies were dying, and that they needed the supplies.
On New Year's Eve, an old plane took off from San Juan, full of supplies.
Soon after take-off, it fell into the sea.
Roberto never came home.
In 1973, he became the first Latin American player in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The usual five-year wait was skipped for him.
Today, a prize for generous players carries his name.
Let's review. It was his 3,000th hit.
He was famous for being generous.
An earthquake destroyed much of Managua.
Thousands of victims needed help.
Planes carried supplies to Nicaragua.
And remember: he said that he would go himself.
Roberto Clemente's story teaches us: a true star shines brightest when he helps others.
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Answer key
A. 1h 2e 3g 4a 5b 6f 7c 8d
B. 1 hit · 2 supplies · 3 generous · 4 charity · 5 victims · 6 relief · 7 humble · 8 earthquake
C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 c · 4 True · 5 d
D. 1 He said that he would go himself.
E. 1 would · 2 were · 3 needed