Roger Bannister: They Said It Was Impossible… Then He Ran a Mile in 3:59
In 1954, many people thought no one could run a mile in less than four minutes. A busy medical student trained in his lunch break, watched a church flag on a windy evening, and ran into history. Learn five A2 words with the true story of Roger Bannister.
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
In 1954, many people believed no one could run a in less than four .
A busy young medical student wanted to try.
Could he do it?
This is the story of Roger Bannister.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is a distance of about one thousand six hundred metres.
One is four laps of the .
. A is the best result so far.
The world was a little more than four .
. There are sixty in one .
Each lap had to take less than one .
. If something is , nobody can do it.
Many people thought it was .
. A is a very short time.
Every was important.
Now, one pattern: comparatives.
Fast becomes faster than.
Little becomes less than.
Other runners were fast.
He was faster than them.
He ran faster than anyone before him.
Ready? Let's begin.
Roger was born near London in 1929.
As a boy, he loved to run.
He ran for across fields and hills, and he won his school's big race three times.
Later, he studied medicine at Oxford.
In 1952, he ran at the Olympic Games in Helsinki.
He finished fourth.
No medal. He almost stopped running.
Then he found a new goal: the .
One is four laps of the .
The world was a little more than four .
Each lap had to take less than one .
Many people thought it was .
But Roger was a busy medical student in London.
So he trained in his , about one hour a day.
Every month, he got a little faster.
On 6 May 1954, Roger worked at the hospital.
Then he took the train to Oxford.
But the wind was very strong.
In strong wind, running is harder.
Would the wind stop?
At six o'clock, Roger looked at a flag on a church tower.
Then, suddenly, the flag dropped.
The wind was weaker.
Roger decided to run.
Two friends ran in front of him.
Every was important.
One lap. Two laps. Three laps. Near the end, Roger ran past them, faster and faster.
The announcer said: "The time was three…"
The crowd shouted so loudly that nobody heard the rest.
Three and 59.4 .
He did it.
He ran faster than anyone before him.
His lasted only 46 days.
But now, other runners knew it was possible.
Roger became a brain doctor.
He said this work was more important to him than running.
Let's review. One is four laps of the .
The world was a little more than four .
Each lap had to take less than one .
Many people thought it was .
Every was important.
And remember: he ran faster than anyone before him.
Roger's story teaches us: often means that nobody has done it yet.
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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.
mile noun
a distance of about 1,600 metres (1.6 km)
“One mile is four laps of the track.”
record noun
the best result so far
“The world record was a little more than four minutes.”
minute noun
sixty seconds
“Each lap had to take less than one minute.”
impossible adjective
nobody can do it; it cannot happen (opposite: possible)
“Many people thought it was impossible.”
second noun
a very short time; sixty seconds make one minute
“Every second was important.”
track noun
a round path for running races
“One mile is four laps of the track.”
lunch break noun
the time in the middle of the day when you stop work to eat
“He trained in his lunch break.”
stopwatch noun
a small clock that you start and stop to measure how long something takes
“The timekeepers held their stopwatches.”
Grammar in the story
comparatives: faster than / less than / more … than
We use it for: to compare two things or people
- short adjectives: fast → faster than, strong → stronger than, hard → harder than
- long adjectives: important → more important than
- irregular: good → better than, bad → worse than, little → less than, much / many → more than
- faster and faster = it keeps getting faster
From the story
- He ran faster than anyone before him.
- Each lap had to take less than one minute.
Find it in the story 18 times
Your turn
He ran than anyone before him.
Each lap had to take than one minute.
His work as a doctor was important to him than running.
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: How far can you run without stopping? How long do you think it takes a very fast runner to run 1,600 metres?
After you watch: Write three sentences with comparatives about you and a friend or family member. For example: My brother is taller than me. I run faster than my sister.
Think about it: After Roger’s run, many other runners also broke four minutes. Why do you think it became easier for them once one person had done it?
